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The World
The Dow Jones closed above 30,000 for the first time, extending an eight-month rebound that has taken many analysts by surprise. The blue-chip gauge advanced 454.97 points, or 1.5%, to 30046.24, continuing a recent winning streak that has put it on track for the best month since 1987. The run has put the Dow up 62% from its March low, when the U.S. Federal Reserve ended a panic that wiped out trillions of dollars in investments by outlining a plan to counter the pandemic’s economic stress. Hopes rise for smooth transition and vaccine progress buoy markets. (Wall Street Journal, Financial Times)
President-elect Joe Biden said the U.S. will be “ready to lead” again on the global stage, introducing his nominees for top national security positions and turning the page on President Trump’s “America First” policies as he pledged to work together with the nation’s allies — while adding “diplomacy is back,” and America will be “a country of welcome.” A key challenge: How to safeguard U.S. democracy from the threat of disinformation. (Reuters, CNBC, Foreign Affairs)
The U.S. logged nearly 2,100 coronavirus-related fatalities, the deadliest day since early summer — and yet Flightradar24 data reveals that more flights are in the air today than on the same travel day two years ago, even though the CDC has recommended against traveling for the holiday. Meanwhile, vaccines face trust gap in Black and Latino communities. UPS said it has boosted its dry ice production capabilities in preparation for distributing vaccines that must be kept at freezing temperatures, while Russia said the Sputnik Covid vaccine shows 95% efficacy and offered to share the technology. The CDC may soon shorten the length of time it recommends that a person self-quarantine after potential exposure, likely between seven and 10 days and include a test to ensure a person is negative. In the UK, families will be allowed to meet two other households in a “Christmas bubble” under a five-day relaxation of social distancing rules — while in Australia, home parties can host 50 people. (Washington Post, Fast Company, Washington Post-2, AJC, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, The Times, Sydney Morning Herald)
JP Morgan estimated there is an “80 percent” chance of a trade deal between the EU and UK after reports of progress in the latest round of talks. (The Times)
China’s interest in a Pacific trade deal sets stage for new U.S. showdown after President Xi Jinping ups the ante. Xi’s statement of intent on the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership has caught the eye of member states, while analysts say Biden’s election sparked firming up of Beijing’s interest. (South China Morning Post)
A Russian warship allegedly threatened to ram a U.S. destroyer during a rare naval standoff between the two countries in the waters off Russia’s Pacific coast. Russia said that the Admiral Vinogradov, a destroyer, threatened the USS John S McCain, a U.S. navy guided-missile destroyer, for “operating illegally” in its territorial waters in the Sea of Japan. (The Guardian)
Princeton will invite all undergraduate students to campus this spring. Meanwhile, several large universities are planning to increase coronavirus testing in the spring, including the University of Florida, University of South Carolina and University of North Carolina. (The Daily Princetonian, EducationDive)
More than 1.1 million households in the U.S. lack what the U.S. Census Bureau calls "complete plumbing" — hot and cold running water, plus a bathtub or shower. Nearly half of those people are located in the nation's 50 largest metropolitan areas, where householders of color are 34% more likely to lack complete plumbing compared with white, non-Hispanic householders. (Harvard Kennedy School, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)
Economy
What’s next for remote work: An analysis of 2,000 tasks, 800 jobs, and nine countries. Our analysis finds that the potential for remote work is highly concentrated among highly skilled, highly educated workers in a handful of industries, occupations, and geographies. More than 20% of the workforce could work remotely three to five days a week as effectively as they could if working from an office. If remote work took hold at that level, that would mean three to four times as many people working from home than before the pandemic and would have a profound impact on urban economies, transportation, and consumer spending, among other things. In terms of countries, 16% of jobs in China and 12% of jobs in India can be done remotely. Compare that with the 33%, 30% and 29% of jobs that be done from home in the U.K., Germany and the U.S., respectively. (McKinsey, Axios)
ViacomCBS is close to a deal to sell book publisher Simon & Schuster to German media giant Bertelsmann SE for more than $2 billion in a deal that would create a publishing behemoth accounting for about a third of all books sold in the U.S. The deal could draw attention from the U.S. Justice Department. (Wall Street Journal)
Tesla’s market value soars to $500bn ahead of S&P 500 debut. The electric carmaker’s inclusion in blue-chip index triggers fresh wave of buying. (Financial Times)
The head of Sanford Health, one of the largest regional health systems in the Midwest, was replaced less than a week after telling employees that he had recovered from COVID-19 and was not wearing a mask around the office. (Associated Press)
Technology
There wasn’t a community for Black women in venture capital, so Black women in venture capital made their own. In the mid 2010s, Sarah Kunst, Mercedes Bent, Sydney Sykes, and Sydney Thomas were scanning the industry for women who looked like them. Once they found each other, they made it their mission to disrupt the VC game from the inside. (Marie Claire)
Private financial technology business Stripe Inc. is in talks to raise a new funding round valuing it higher than its last private valuation of $36 billion. The valuation being discussed could be more than $70 billion or significantly higher, at as much as $100 billion. That would make it currently the most valuable venture-backed startup in the U.S. (Bloomberg)
Stock-Market titans Amazon, Google and Facebook are also driving commercial real estate: Tech’s soaring property demand has been mostly a boon for cities, although it also fuels concerns over rising rents and gentrification. (Wall Street Journal)
Where the teens are hanging out in quarantine: The growing popularity of platforms like Discord and Roblox is changing attitudes about screen time for teens, who found refuge online long before the pandemic. (Bloomberg)
Trump bump: NYT and WaPo digital subscriptions tripled since 2016. But The New York Times and The Washington Post have very different strategies for building the subscription news company of the future. Much of the Post's growth is attributed to back-end technology investments supported by The Post's owner Jeff Bezos. The Times has been vocal about its strategy to build brand awareness to drive subscriptions, which includes everything from launching TV shows to hiring big-name journalists with loyal audiences and building products around them. It's also focused on creating editorial products that it hopes will help make it a daily habit for readers, like its cooking and crossword apps. (Axios)
Smart Links
Amazon’s $3,000 signing bonuses irk workers who got $10 coupons. (Bloomberg)
$10,000 to telework from Tulsa. (Axios)
The global personal luxury goods market declines for the first time in 10 years. (Barron’s)
Can dogs smell COVID? (Nature)
Catch-all travel insurance booms as U.S. flyers take Thanksgiving risks. (Reuters)
What school looks like now — striking pictures from around the world. (Washington Post)
Ancient Maya built sophisticated water filters. (University of Cincinnati)
No, Ticketmaster won't force you to have a Covid vaccine. Reports were false. (BBC News)
Stunning footage of a meteor break up over the ocean has been captured off the southern coast of Tasmania by research vessel Investigator, operated by Australia’s national science agency. (CSIRO)