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The World
The White House opened a debate over the merits of companies making ransom payments to cyber attackers after a group of hackers shut down a U.S. oil pipeline over the weekend. The F.B.I. has long opposed such payments on the grounds that they will encourage more ransomware attacks. Anne Neuberger, US deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technologies, said the Biden administration was “definitely looking at” its “approach to ransomware actors and ransoms overall.” A criminal gang believed to be based in Eastern Europe was involved in the hack.(Financial Times, Wall Street Journal)
U.S. pump prices head for their highest levels since 2014, while American Airlines adds stops to two flights after pipeline outage. (Reuters)
Most economists expect prices for many goods and services to show continued gains tomorrow when the Labor Department releases its next monthly inflation report. (Washington Post)
Montana will no longer offer the extra $300 in unemployment benefits, but it plans to give a one-time $1,200 bonus for workers who accept a job and complete a month of paid work. Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) will propose a bill to use boosted unemployment insurance funds for a "two-month signing bonus" for workers hired by July 4. (Axios)
GA Gov. Brian Kemp said he’s open to the possibility of slashing jobless benefits, putting the state in line to join others canceling the extra $300 in weekly payments that millions of Americans receive on top of their unemployment checks during the pandemic. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Unemployed Mississippians will no longer be eligible for $300 per week in federal COVID-19 unemployment benefits after Gov. Tate Reeves announced today that Mississippi will opt out next month. (Mississippi Free Press)
New U.S. coronavirus infections have fallen to the lowest level in 11 months, as the F.D.A. authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children 12 to 15. “We are [on] the verge of having Covid on the run in the U.S. thanks to Americans getting vaccinated,” Andy Slavitt, a senior White House coronavirus adviser, tweeted. The sharp decline has tracked a swift rise in vaccinations, as it has in other countries with successful mass inoculation programs such as Israel and the UK. (Financial Times)
Delta Air Lines and Alitalia are to launch “quarantine free” flights from the US to Italy, opening up the first such route linking the US and Europe since travel restrictions were introduced during the pandemic. Delta said passengers traveling on select Atlanta to Rome flights would not have to self-isolate if they test negative for Covid-19 three times. (Financial Times)
Russian spy unit suspected of directed-energy attacks on U.S. personnel: U.S. officials suspect that a notorious Russian spy agency may be behind alleged attacks that are causing mysterious health issues among U.S. government personnel across the world. Officials do not have a smoking gun linking Russia’s military intelligence unit, the GRU, to the suspected directed-energy incidents. The intelligence community has not reached a consensus or made a formal determination. However, officials have told lawmakers that they have intensified their investigation in recent weeks to include all 18 federal intelligence agencies, and that it is focused on the GRU’s potential involvement. CIA Director William Burns is now receiving daily briefings on the investigation. (Politico)
China 2020 census shows slowest population growth since 1-child policy: China said its population has reached 1.41 billion with “low-speed” growth over the past 10 years, in the closely watched release of its once-a-decade census. The National Bureau of Statistics said that the national population had increased 5.4%since that last census in 2010, with average annual growth of 0.53% over that period. (Washington Post, Reuters)
China has increased spending 500% to influence America: According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Chinese foreign agent spending has skyrocketed from just over $10 million in 2016 to nearly $64 million last year. (Axios)
Chinese became more trusting of the government several months into the pandemic, according to a survey conducted by researchers from China, Canada and Sweden. Nearly 20,000 people were polled across 31 provinces or administrative regions in mainland China from April 22 to 28 last year. Some 49.2% of respondents said they trusted the national government more since the outbreak, while just 3.3% trusted the government less. (South China Morning Post)
A historic decline in U.S. births signals more enrollment troubles: The enrollment crash expected in 2025 could last for a decade, new data on birth rates suggest. (Chronicle of Higher Ed)
California has expanded a drought emergency declaration to a large swath of the nation’s most populated state amid “acute water supply shortages” in northern and central parts of California. The declaration, expanded by Governor Gavin Newsom, now includes 41 of 58 counties, covering 30% of California’s nearly 40 million people. (The Guardian, Los Angeles Times)
Economy
Amazon set a record in the corporate bond market, getting closer to the level of interest paid by the U.S. government than any U.S. company has previously managed in a fundraising. The ecommerce group raised $18.5bn of debt across bonds of eight different maturities, ranging from two to 40 years, according to people familiar with the deal. On its $1bn two-year bond, it paid just 0.1 percentage points more than the yield on equivalent US Treasury debt. (Financial Times)
Chipotle said it will increase restaurant wages resulting in a $15 average hourly wage by the end of June, as it looks to bring on 20,000 workers. Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol said the current labor market is among the most challenging he’s seen in his career in the restaurant industry. He cited a range of reasons including child care and a rethinking of work post-pandemic. (CNBC)
Under pressure from employees, tech companies relax remote work policies: As the pandemic loosens its grip on the U.S., technology companies are—sometimes hurriedly—crafting and revising return-to-work policies, hoping to appease employees who have grown used to more flexible work arrangements. (The Information)
A transatlantic rift has opened up in banking over the merits of bringing employees back to the office quickly, with some US executives calling for a swift return to pre-pandemic normality while many of their European counterparts take a more cautious approach. JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs have summoned all US staff back to their offices as soon as next month. By contrast, European banks from London-based HSBC to France’s Société Générale are returning to the office more cautiously and with a more relaxed attitude to flexible working. (Financial Times)
UK consumer spending rose above pre-pandemic levels in April for the first time this year, buoyed by many sectors reopening and older people booking holidays, according to payments card data. Spending rose 0.4% in April compared with the same period in 2019, up from a 7.2% contraction in March and the first expansion this year, according Barclaycard, which tracks nearly half of all UK credit and debit card transactions. (Financial Times)
Funding rebounds for travel and tourism startups: Funding for travel and tourism startups hit a five-year low in 2020. But investment is picking up big time in 2021, with companies in the sector raising about $3.4 billion across 173 deals. Industry insiders say they’re optimistic that those who survived the past year will be well-positioned as travel demand rebounds. (Crunchbase)
Used car prices have hit a record as both new and preowned vehicles are harder to come by. The average price paid for a preowned vehicle hit a record of $25,463 in April, about $2,800 higher than in the same month last year. It also was the first time ever that the average used-car price had exceeded $25,000. The climb, which began last year, has surprised some dealers who say they don’t see the trend ending soon. (Wall Street Journal)
Technology
Only 4-5% of Americans are opting into iOS app tracking. That spells bad news for Facebook — though things are better overseas, with 11-13% of worldwide users opting in. (Source Code)
In a letter sent to Mark Zuckerberg Monday, attorneys general from 44 states urged the Facebook CEO to abandon plans to launch a version of Instagram for kids under 13. "Facebook has historically failed to protect the welfare of children on its platforms," the letter reads. "The attorneys general have an interest in protecting our youngest citizens, and Facebook's plans to create a platform where kids under the age of 13 are encouraged to share content online is contrary to that interest." (Protocol)
The Information and human rights groups have found seven companies supplying device components, coatings and assembly services to Apple that are linked to alleged forced labor involving Uyghurs and other oppressed minorities in China. At least five of those companies received thousands of Uyghur and other minority workers at specific factory sites or subsidiaries that did work for Apple, the investigation found. (The Information)
Sony warns that the PlayStation 5 will remain in short supply through 2022, citing challenges despite a supply boost, with a goal of selling 14.8M units this FY. (Bloomberg)
China could soon have stronger privacy laws than the U.S. when it comes to corporations collecting data. A major draft law could end the free-for-all in the world's largest market. (Protocol)
Smart Links
These beautiful Italian towns in Tuscany and Lazio will pay you to work remotely. (CNN)
How Uber and Lyft are losing the race to the electric future. (Bloomberg)
Vice Media targets valuation of nearly $3 billion in proposed SPAC deal. (Wall Street Journal)
NBC says it won’t air Golden Globes in 2022. (Los Angeles Times)
Universities in the UK and Europe have a start-up problem. (Financial Times)
Study suggests link between primary care, life expectancy. (Annals of Internal Medicine)
DARPA awards nuclear spacecraft contracts to Lockheed Martin, Bezos’ Blue Origin and General Atomics. (CNBC)
Global electric car stock passes 10-million milestone. (Statista)