The World
Private payrolls increased by 167,000 in July, well below Wall Street estimates of 1 million — with all but 1,000 of the jobs coming in the services sector. Meanwhile, economists warn the lapse in extra unemployment benefits threatens the U.S. recovery, while a gulf exists and relief bill agreement remains “far away” between Congress and the White House — and rising grocery prices are stretching budgets. Though the Fed says consumer prices have been kept in check due to weak demand, since February, beef and veal prices saw the steepest spike (20.2%), followed by eggs (10.4%), poultry (8.6%) and pork (8.5%). (CNBC, Wall Street Journal, Finance 202, Financial Times, Washington Post)
Senior U.S. and Chinese officials will review the implementation of their Phase 1 trade deal and likely air mutual grievances during an Aug. 15 videoconference, as Microsoft CEO Nadella has waded into U.S.-China tensions in his TikTok pursuit -0- and U.S. HHS Secretary Azar plans to visit Taiwan in the “coming days,” the highest-level visit there in four decades. Meanwhile, China and the U.S. have both conducted ballistic missile tests in recent days. (Reuters, Wall Street Journal, The Times, South China Morning Post)
New York City will put up quarantine checkpoints to ensure that travelers from 35 states comply with the state’s 14-day quarantine mandate. Australia soldiers are going door to door to find out who’s broken quarantine in Melbourne, which is back under lockdown a second time. Hong Kong, a city that earlier went weeks without reporting new infections, is scrambling to build temporary hospitals to prepare for a surge in COVID-19 patients. (Reuters, Los Angeles Times)
Beirut: How chemicals abandoned in 2014 by a Russian businessman triggered a devastating blast felt in Cyprus. The timer was ticking, when 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate were taken from an impounded ship and stored in the port of Beirut. It was a massive bomb just waiting to go off. At least 100 are dead, 4,000 are injured, and 300,000 more are homeless. (The Telegraph)
Critical, but biased: While 84% of Americans say that, in general, the news media is “critical” (49%) or “very important” (35%) to democracy, 49% see “a great deal” (49%) or “a fair amount” (37%) of political bias in news coverage. (Knight Foundation/Gallup)
Economy
Foreign investors are piling back into Russian bonds, attracted by high yields and the country’s relatively strong finances compared with emerging-market peers. Despite a heavy reliance on oil exports and tense relations with the West, investors say yields on Russian government bonds are attractive given its ability to withstand oil-price volatility. Compared with emerging-market peers, Russia has relatively low government debt measured as a percentage of gross domestic product. It has also built up its central-bank reserves in recent years. (Wall Street Journal)
Disney’s 2Q20 earnings were down 94% compared to 2Q19 — however, Disney has won the first stage of the streaming wars. Meanwhile, NBCUniversal began staff cuts across its entertainment portfolio. With 35,000 full-time employees, the reductions are expected to be held to less than 10% of staff. (CNBC, Wall Street Journal)
Wells Fargo will cut $1 billion from its external consultancy spend after an internal backlash. Plans on the verge of being unveiled also include thousands of job cuts among Wells’ 266,000 global workforce and branch closures. (Financial Times, Consulting.us)
Bain & Co.’s Hugh MacArthur says private equity must adapt to thrive in a post-Covid world, as the pandemic is forcing firms to work toward incorporating technology more effectively into their operations. (Wall Street Journal)
Leadership: Why CEO efforts to communicate fail and how to do it right. Five tips: Set a foundation of integrity, trust and respect; Communicate, communicate, communicate. Once is not enough; Engage in the conversation; Feedback is the breakfast of champions…as long as we’re willing to eat it; Be courageous. (Chief Executive)
Technology
Teladoc, one of the country's largest telemedicine providers, agreed to buy Livongo, a digital health company focused on managing chronic conditions for $18.5 billion in cash and stock just days after President Trump signed an executive order to expand telehealth services to Americans living in rural areas. (Axios)
Digital revenue exceeded print for the first time for the New York Times — 2Q20 subscription growth was the best quarterly result ever as the pandemic squeezed web and print advertising. (New York Times)
U.S. podcast ad spending next year will surpass $1 billion next year — up nearly 45% over 2020 — as more than one in five digital radio ad dollars will go toward podcasts. (eMarketer)
TikTok executives sought to reassure rattled employees during a town hall meeting, now that the video app’s future is uncertain. The previously unreported all-hands meeting, held remotely by TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer and the app’s general manager for North America was the first since the Microsoft talks came to light. Meanwhile, Instagram today launched a new direct competitor, Reels, in more than 50 countries. (The Information, The Verge)
Smart Links
Remote work really does mean longer days — and more meetings. (Washington Post, NBER)
Masks mandates for employees have major impact. (MIT News)
M.B.A. programs’ back-to-school plans under threat. (Wall Street Journal)
Consumers don't fully trust smart home technologies. (University of Warwick)
The end of the Arab world’s oil age is nigh. (Economist)
Scientists discover new penguin colonies from space. (Science Daily)