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The World
German news magazine Der Spiegel and others published stories saying that the government in Berlin had decided to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. This follows a long-running debate on the issue among NATO allies, and comes after Poland formally asked Berlin for permission to send some of its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine earlier on Tuesday. Spiegel magazine reported that the decision would involve sending at least one company of Leopard 2A6 tanks. (Deutsche Welle)
The Biden administration is leaning toward sending “a significant number” of M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, two U.S. officials said, and an announcement could come as early as this week. (Politico)
China leads global patent race but needs ‘breakthrough’ to close gap with West in AI, chips. In 2021, China filed 1.59 million patent applications, more than double the number of the United States, the World Intellectual Property Organization says. But according to experts the country has produced ‘few original innovations’ in areas like artificial intelligence and semiconductors compared to the US and Europe. (South China Morning Post)
Finland could reconsider its joint NATO bid with Sweden if Stockholm’s application is delayed further, Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said, a day after Turkey said it would not support the Swedish candidacy. “You have to assess the situation,” Haavisto told Finnish public broadcaster Yle. “Has something happened that the longer term would prevent the Swedish project from going ahead? It [is] too early to take a position on that.” (Politico)
India is buying 33 times as much Russian oil now than this time last year. Western sanctions and price caps mean Russia can sell its oil to far fewer places than before. That means remaining buyers can offer lower prices due to lack of competition. India, the world’s third-largest crude-oil importer, is likely getting an “attractive discount” as a result, an analyst told Bloomberg. It’s good news for India, which gets cheap energy, but also a sign that sanctions are working. Russia is bargaining from weakness and forced to sell cheap now that Europe has proved less reliant on its exports than it hoped. (Semafor)
Milan Luxury Real Estate Booms as Bankers Leave London for Italy: Generous tax breaks, splashy urban development projects and a low cost of living are luring foreigners and returning Italians to the financial hub. (Bloomberg)
Americans spend more than they make: Overall consumer spending fell 4.3% in December from the previous month, with an increasing share of Americans spending more money than they're earning. Inflation may be easing, but high prices are still a big problem for individuals, particularly after a year of spending down savings. It's not a great sign for economic growth. Shoppers are increasingly making tradeoffs. To afford rising food prices at home — up 12%, per the latest CPI — households cut back on restaurant spending by 8%. (Axios Markets)
Economy
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sent a letter to congressional leaders saying she’s suspending the reinvestment of some federal bonds in a government workers’ savings plan — an additional “extraordinary” measure to buy time for President Joe Biden and Congress to raise the nation’s debt limit. The government bumped up against its legal borrowing capacity last Thursday, prompting Treasury to take accounting steps regarding federal employees’ retirement and health care plans that will enable the government to stay open until roughly June. (Associated Press)
With egg prices more than doubling in the past year, calls are coming for an investigation into possible price gouging. U.S. Sen. Jack Reed sent a letter Tuesday asking for the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether egg prices have been improperly manipulated by producers. A farmer-led advocacy group called Farm Action made a similar request last week arguing that there “appears to be a collusive scheme among industry leaders to turn inflationary conditions and an avian flu outbreak into an opportunity to extract egregious profits.” (Associated Press)
Market watchers are bracing for the risk of a sharp rise in cotton prices as last year's flooding in Pakistan and concerns about trade barriers in India combine with an improving global economic outlook that could boost clothing demand. Cotton futures have inched higher this month after largely staying in the same territory since November. Friday's close of 86.7 cents per pound in New York was up 4% from the end of 2022. (Nikkei Asia)
The Job Market for Remote Workers Is Shrinking: After remote work surged during the pandemic, fewer employers now feel the need to lure talent with the promise of working from home. Remote jobs made up 13.2% of postings advertised on LinkedIn last month—down from 20.6% in March. Other job sites such as Indeed and ZipRecruiter also report declines in remote listings. Demand for these jobs remains high. Remote jobs attracted a majority, or 52.8%, of all applications submitted on LinkedIn, slightly higher than a year before. The decline in remote listings marks the latest shift in the power dynamic between employers and employees. Companies are showing they can be choosier in their recruiting after months of scrambling for new talent. Hiring and wage growth have slowed from the red-hot pace of much of 2022. And while many laid-off workers in tech and elsewhere are finding employment again, it is taking, on average, longer to secure a new job than it did last spring. (Wall Street Journal)
Rupert Murdoch has withdrawn his proposal to re-combine Fox Corp and News Corp. Fox said Tuesday its board received a letter from Murdoch, its chairman, and his son and Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch that “determined that a combination is not optimal for the shareholders” of either of the companies at the time. The withdrawn proposal comes as News Corp has been in advanced discussions to sell its stake in Move Inc., the parent company of Realtor[dot]com, to commercial real estate company CoStar Group, according to a person familiar with the matter. News Corp confirmed in a regulatory filing Tuesday that it is engaged in discussions with CoStar regarding a potential sale of its stake in Move. (CNBC)
Technology
The Justice Department is seeking the breakup of Google’s business brokering digital advertising across much of the internet, a major expansion of the legal challenges the company faces to its business in the U.S. and abroad. A lawsuit filed Tuesday, the Justice Department’s second against the Alphabet unit following one filed in 2020, alleges that Google abuses its role as one of the largest brokers, suppliers and online auctioneers of ads placed on websites and mobile applications. The filing promises a protracted court battle with wide-ranging implications for the digital-advertising industry. (Wall Street Journal)
Cybersecurity hiring remains strong amid tech layoffs: The total number of employed cybersecurity workers in 2022 remained relatively unchanged from previous estimates at around 1.1 million. Public-sector cybersecurity demand grew 25% throughout 2022 with 45,708 job postings. Private-sector demand grew roughly 21% to about 710,000 listings. (Axios Codebook)
NASA will partner with the US military's research and development agency, DARPA, to develop nuclear-powered rockets that could fly astronauts to Mars. NASA says it could allow spacecraft to travel faster, reduce transit time, and have other benefits such as increased payloads on missions. Administrator Bill Nelson said Tuesday that the US space agency could "develop and demonstrate advanced nuclear thermal propulsion technology as soon as 2027." "With the help of this new technology, astronauts could journey to and from deep space faster than ever, a major capability to prepare for crewed missions to Mars," Nelson said. (Deutsche Welle)
TikTok is cracking down on remote work, telling some U.S. workers they could lose their jobs unless they show they have already moved near their assigned offices. Last week, TikTok informed some employees over its internal software, Lark, that they may face disciplinary action—including job termination—because their home address doesn’t match their assigned office location, according to a message reviewed by The Information. The warning adds to a growing backlash against remote work. In recent months, companies including Snap and Twitter have severely restricted their employees’ remote work options as demand for online services has slowed after the pandemic-fueled spike. (The Information)
Tesla plans to construct a new plant in Nevada to build the new electric Tesla Semi, according to public officials. Driving the news: Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) announced the plans Monday night — and the White House confirmed the news Tuesday. "I am looking forward to joining Elon Musk and the team at Tesla (Tuesday) when they unveil plans to build a brand new $3.5 billion dollar advanced manufacturing facility in northern Nevada," Lombardo said, per a transcript of his "State of the State" address. Why it matters: The faster the U.S. can build manufacturing capacity, the faster EVs will become viable options for consumers, businesses and government buyers. (Axios)
Smart Links
Britain’s carmaking industry is increasingly under threat. (Economist)
Big pharma groups rejoin battle with governments on drug prices. (Financial Times)
Stanford, Columbia, U-Penn and Mount Sinai medical schools join widening revolt against U.S. News rankings. (Washington Post)
Rich Customers Pull Money From Banks Offering Paltry Interest Rates. (Wall Street Journal)
Amazon launches RxPass, a $5/month Prime add-on for all-you-need generic drugs covering 80 conditions. (TechCrunch)