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The World
The White House said nothing was off the table a day after Opec+ angered Washington with sharp cuts to world oil supply, as it considered responses — including new releases from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve to contain energy prices. Oil markets rose further on Thursday, with Brent crude reaching $94 a barrel. Brian Deese, director of the White House’s National Economic Council, described the decision as “unnecessary and unwarranted” and said the US was looking at further sales from its strategic stockpile, which has already been drawn down by more than 200mn barrels in the past year. He did not rule out an export ban or limiting exports on petrol and other refined products when reporters asked if the idea was under consideration. “What the president has directed us, and it continues to be the case, is to take nothing off of the table,” Deese said. (Financial Times)
Geopolitical tensions with the U.S. could ‘supercharge’ China’s innovation, JPMorgan says. Tensions between Beijing and Washington have pushed China to be more self sufficient. China has stepped up investment into its chip industry in a bid to be self-reliant in crucial technology needed for electric vehicles, smartphones and more. Separately, in the electric vehicle space in China, Alexander Treves of JPMorgan Asset Management said. JPMorgan looks for companies with the most pricing power — usually the battery makers rather than specific auto brands. (CNBC)
Nord Stream leaks: Swedish probe 'strengthens suspicions of sabotage'. An investigation of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines from Russia to Europe has strengthened suspicions of "serious sabotage" involving explosives that led to four pipeline leaks, Sweden's Security Service has said. (Deutsche Welle)
South Korea and the United States began joint maritime exercises with a U.S. aircraft carrier, South Korea's military said, a day after it scrambled fighter jets in reaction to an apparent North Korean bombing drill. (Reuters)
Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has received two major endorsements as his campaign prepares for a runoff election against far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro on October 30. Simone Tebet, the center-right candidate who came in third place during the first round with 4% of the vote, called on the 5 million people who voted for her to back Lula in the second round. On the same day, former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, who is still respected in business circles, announced he too would cast his vote for Lula's "history of struggle for democracy and social inclusion" over Bolsonaro. (Deutsche Welle)
Thousands of people convicted of cannabis possession have been pardoned by Joe Biden, in a major move that advocates say was “long overdue” and could help pave the way for national marijuana legalization. The pardons cover “simple possession”, which is a low-level offense, meaning people imprisoned for trafficking, sales or other marijuana charges will not be covered. The White House said no one is currently incarcerated in federal prison solely for “simple possession”. Administration officials said that the pardon could benefit about 6,500 people. (The Guardian)
A plurality of Americans give the U.S. healthcare system overall a poor or failing grade, and majorities rate its affordability and equity the same way, according to the West Health-Gallup 2022 Healthcare in America Report. Access to healthcare and quality of care are regarded as somewhat better, though neither earns majority-level positive grades. In all, 21% of U.S. adults grade the healthcare system with an "A" or a "B," 34% with a "C," and 44% with a "D" or an "F." Grades of D or F are even higher for cost (75%) and equity (56%) of care. Though access to healthcare receives negative ratings, on balance, its poor or failing grades are lower (38%). Meanwhile, 47% of Americans grade the quality of care in the U.S. as excellent (A) or good (B). (Gallup)
Economy
Miami tops FT-Nikkei ranking of best US cities for foreign businesses: The Florida city finished first by succeeding where it counts: last year, it pulled in the most foreign direct investment per capita of any place studied. It also scored high in catering to the special needs of overseas companies, including an airport with dozens of non-stops to foreign destinations and access to two of the largest shipping ports in the country. (Financial Times)
Strikes by energy sector workers are beginning to wreak havoc on French fuel and power supplies, with petrol stations that slashed prices at the pump in recent weeks hit hard as they struggle with runaway demand and low stocks. The fuel shortages have been the most acute in northern France, where one major TotalEnergies storage facility is at a standstill as workers demand higher wages to cope with inflation. (Financial Times)
Hong Kong Sees Rebound in Shared Offices After City Opens Up: A coworking-space company that’s planning to open a new office in Hong Kong has seen rising interest from tenants as the city rolls back its Covid-19 restrictions. (City Lab)
Japanese households increased spending in August compared with a year earlier as the economy continued to recover from COVID-19 restrictions, but rising prices are clouding the outlook for further gains. (Reuters)
Crypto executives are fleeing: Call it The Great Resignation, crypto edition. Top executives from some of crypto’s most prominent names — Kraken, FTX, and Celsius — stepped down recently as crypto continued to reel from a very rough year. But these aren’t rank-and-file workers worried about wage stagnation or inadequate benefits. These are highly paid, high-profile leaders at an industry that until recently was hailed as having world-changing potential. If there’s a common thread, it’s this: Crypto winter is wreaking havoc on a once high-flying industry. And for some of the industry’s prominent figures, the cold is simply too much to bear. (Protocol)
Global VC Pullback Is Dramatic In Q3 2022: Venture funding for the third quarter of 2022 totaled $81 billion, down by $90 billion (53%) year over year and by $40 billion (33%) quarter over quarter, according to a Crunchbase News analysis. While funding for the most recent quarter will increase a little in the coming months as stealth fundings are announced, this is a huge drop in funding compared to prior quarters. This past quarter is the lowest quarterly funding amount since the first quarter of 2020, with $70.6 billion in venture funding. (Crunchbase)
Almost half of US families surveyed by the Census Bureau found the recent rise in consumer prices “very stressful” -- and the vast majority of the others were also worried about inflation. The Census Bureau included a new question about the impact from soaring prices in its regular household poll. The result shows that nearly everyone was at least a little stressed by inflation, and particularly so in fast-growing cities like Miami, where the cost of living has surged. (Bloomberg)
Technology
Peloton said it plans to cut about 500 jobs, roughly 12% of its remaining workforce, a move its chief executive said was necessary to save the connected-fitness-equipment maker. he job reductions are the fourth round of cuts this year and will leave Peloton with roughly 3,800 employees globally, less than half the number of people the company employed at its peak last year. (Wall Street Journal)
Impossible Foods to Cut 6% of Workforce in Reorganization. (Bloomberg)
Amazon to Hire 150,000 Workers Before Holiday Season: E-commerce company recently raised hourly pay to entice job candidates. (Wall Street Journal)
ESPN is nearing a large new partnership with sports-betting firm DraftKings Inc. The agreement would pave the way for the media giant to capitalize on the growing wave of legalized sports betting. (Bloomberg)
United Airlines is aiming to have electric planes flying by 2030: Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Denver International Airport are viewed as key markets for the first batch of electric aircraft it recieves. Electric aircraft is just one of the lower-emission forms of aviation technology United is investing in as part of the company’s goal to reduce its carbon footprint to net zero by 2050. (CNBC)
Samsung Electronics reported its first quarterly profit contraction in nearly three years as demand for microchips and electronic devices declined on high inflation and a global economic slowdown. (Financial Times)
TikTok Parent ByteDance Sees Losses Swell in Push for Growth: The Beijing-based social-media giant saw its operating losses more than triple last year to above $7 billion as it spent heavily to continue its torrid growth. (Wall Street Journal)
Smart Links
Cannabis stocks jump after Biden pardons all federal convictions of weed possession. (Financial Times)
Adidas says partnership with Ye ‘under review’. (The Hill)
Twitter Trial Against Musk Is Halted to Allow Deal to Close. (Bloomberg)
Netflix to Show ‘Knives Out’ Sequel in Theaters Before Streaming. (Wall Street Journal)
Why Big Tech shreds millions of storage devices it could reuse. (Financial Times)
This is how much it costs to climb the highest mountain on every continent. (CNBC)
U.S. Stocks on Track for Worst Year Since 2008. (Statista)