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The World
The U.S population growth slowed in the past 10 years to its lowest rate since the 1930s. The first numbers to come out of the 2020 Census show the U.S. population on April 1, 2020 was 331.5 million people, an increase of just 7.4% between 2010 and 2020. It is the second-slowest rate of expansion since the government began taking a census in 1790. In the 1930s, the decade with the slowest population growth, the rate was 7.3%. Unlike the slowdown of the Great Depression, which was a blip followed by a boom, the slowdown this time is part of a longer-term trend, tied to the aging of the country’s White population, decreased fertility rates and lagging immigration. (Washington Post)
The country’s old center of political power — the industrial belt stretching from New York to Illinois — is once again losing seats in Congress while Sun Belt states such as Florida, North Carolina and Texas will gain them. California will lose a seat for the first time. (New York Times)
Thanks to its fast-growing population — largely due to an increase in residents of color, particularly Hispanics — Texas’ share of votes in the U.S. House of Representatives will increase to 38 for the next decade. The 2020 census puts the state’s population at 29,145,505 — up from 25.1 million in 2010 — after gaining the most residents of any state in the last decade. Census estimates have shown it’s been driven by people of color. (Texas Tribune)
The EU's stance on China is hardening. Only four months after Beijing and Brussels concluded the principles of a landmark investment agreement, a high-level internal report shows the EU is now increasingly pessimistic about keeping business interests separate from political concerns over what it calls President Xi Jinping's "authoritarian shift." This tougher language reflects a new approach in the EU's official communications on China. The EU's "progress report" on China also slams Beijing for "little progress" on economic promises made by the Communist leadership, particularly in regard to opening up digital and agricultural markets, addressing steel overcapacity and reining in industrial subsidies. (Politico EU)
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said troubled relations between Turkey and the US had sunk to a new low after Joe Biden formally recognized that Armenians suffered a genocide a century ago in lands that are now in Turkey. But Erdogan stopped short of announcing any retaliatory steps and instead reiterated his desire to work with Turkey’s NATO ally. (Financial Times)
Public health researchers predict U.S. Covid-19 cases will dip in summer but surge in winter. Switzerland says a third of its population has had Covid-19. (Science News, NZZ)
The U.S. will send up to 60 million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine overseas, as the U.S. comes under pressure to assist countries. (Financial Times)
India hospitals are at a breaking point, as staff plead for more oxygen. Amid day after day of record infections, families and medics can only beg for help in a vast unfolding tragedy. (The Times)
U.S. taxi and limousine services are seeing a boom in business from customers seeking to enter Canada by land to avoid a restriction on international travel that applies only to air traffic. While both Canadian land and air travelers are required to take a test within three days of departure, and again on arrival, only those flying to Canada must spend up to three days of the country's 14-day required quarantine period in a hotel. (Reuters)
West Virginia will offer $100 savings bonds to young people who get vaccinated. (Axios)
California Gov. Gavin Newsom will face a recall election as Republican-led effort hits signature goal. Barring intervention by the courts, Newsom will face a statewide vote of confidence by year’s end. (Los Angeles Times)
More Americans are leaving cities, but don’t call it an urban exodus: Data on U.S. Postal Service changes of address analyzed by Bloomberg CityLab suggest that more Americans are leaving cities than in past years, but it’s more of an urban shuffle — and one that follows a trend that likely predates the pandemic: Most people moved outward but stayed close to where they had been living. Many settled in suburbs within the region, or in satellite cities nearby. In two of America’s most expensive areas, migration patterns were more dramatic. Going forward, some economists say the most important question for cities like New York will be not who leaves, but who moves in. (City Lab)
Economy
The percent of employees reporting overall satisfaction with their jobs remained high in 2020. While some components of job satisfaction declined due to the recession and economic stress, companies devoted more efforts and resources toward supporting their employees, their well-being, and their families during the pandemic. This resulted in the surprising, albeit slight, increase in job satisfaction from 56.3% in 2019 to 56.9% in 2020.
Job satisfaction did however vary by age group: Those under 35 experienced a drop in satisfaction, while those 55+ experienced an increase. Remarkably, the results show that the job satisfaction of those working remotely was not significantly different from the satisfaction level of other workers. (The Conference Board)
China's largest distressed debt manager has announced it will miss another results disclosure deadline, further unsettling bond investors and raising fresh concerns over a potential default. China Huarong Asset Management said it will not meet an end-of-April deadline for announcing its 2020 audited results as auditors need more time to finalize their inspection of an unspecified transaction. The company, which is majority owned by the Ministry of Finance, earlier failed to disclose its preliminary results by March 31 as required by the Hong Kong stock exchange, sparking a sell-off of the company's bonds. (Nikkei Asian Review)
The White House hopes to capitalize on growing support from U.S. utilities, unions and green groups for a national clean energy mandate by pushing Congress to pass a law requiring the U.S. grid to get 80% of its power from emissions-free sources by 2030, according to a senior administration official. The goal would fall short of Biden's stated ambition of net zero carbon emissions in the grid by 2035, but is an interim milestone that could be passed without Republican support through a process called budget reconciliation. (Reuters)
Technology
Apple released iOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.5, and watchOS 7.4, allowing Apple Watch owners to unlock with Face ID while wearing a mask — Apple has been working on the next update for iPhone and iPad for quite some time, seeding more than half dozen betas in the process. (Apple)
Apple’s iOS 14.5 update is shaking up the app economy: Long-awaited privacy changes on the iPhone will redefine how apps make money. (Financial Times)
How Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook Became Foes: On Monday, Apple released a new privacy feature that requires iPhone owners to explicitly choose whether to let apps like Facebook track them across other apps. One of the secrets of digital advertising is that companies like Facebook follow people’s online habits as they click on other programs, like Spotify and Amazon, on smartphones. That data helps advertisers pinpoint users’ interests and better target finely tuned ads. Now, many people are expected to say no to that tracking, delivering a blow to online advertising — and Facebook’s $70 billion business. At the center of the fight are the two C.E.O.s. Their differences have long been evident. Cook, 60, is a polished executive who rose through Apple’s ranks by constructing efficient supply chains. Zuckerberg, 36, is a Harvard dropout who built a social-media empire with an anything-goes stance toward free speech. (New York Times)
Apple will increase its planned investment in the U.S. by $80 billion over the next five years, adding onto a 2018 pledge to pour $350 billion into offices, jobs and other investments. It also will hire for an additional 20,000 jobs over the next five years, the company said in a lengthy announcement of its plans. Part of its sizable investment will be a new campus in North Carolina’s Research Triangle region near Raleigh, a project the state has been courting Apple to win for more than three years. (Washington Post, Raleigh News-Observer)
A group of Germany’s largest media, tech and advertising companies accused Apple of antitrust abuse as it introduces changes to the privacy settings of iPhones that they say will harm the ads market. Nine industry associations, representing companies including Facebook and Axel Springer, the owner of Bild, Die Welt and Insider, filed the complaint on Monday with Germany’s competition regulator. (Financial Times)
Lyft and Stripe changed their compensation packages so employees vest their entire stock awards in one year, doing away with a long-standing Silicon Valley custom of requiring staff to stick around for four years before they have their full compensation in hand. (The Information)
Smart Links
Price of US summer rentals in the great outdoors surges. (Financial Times)
Five days in the office? For these startups, the future of work is old school. (Wall Street Journal)
Study finds ride-sharing intensifies urban road congestion. (MIT News)
Tesla posts record earnings at start of turbulent year. (Wall Street Journal)
The brain ‘rotates’ memories to save them from new sensations. (Quanta)
Oscars telecast, down 58%, draws 9.85 million viewers a record low. (Los Angeles Times)
Study: Body-worn camera research shows drop in police use of force. (NPR)
How productive is an hour of work? (Statista)
Live Events
Today, 12 pm ET: EU-U.S. Trade Relations: Where Do They Stand Under the Biden Administration? (Harvard Belfer Center)
Today, 9 pm ET: A View from Across the Pacific: Chinese Perceptions of the United States. (Stanford University: Register)