Know someone who would like this newsletter? Forward it to them.
The World
The fires, floods and extreme weather seen around the world in recent months are just a foretaste of what can be expected if global heating takes hold, scientists say, as the world’s leading authority on climate change prepares to warn of an imminent and dire risk to the global climate system. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will publish a landmark report today, the most comprehensive assessment yet, less than three months before vital UN talks that will determine the future course of life on Earth. (The Guardian, IPCC)
Dixie fire, now the second-largest in California history, has burned more than 400 structures. (Los Angeles Times)
Afghanistan slid towards collapse as the Taliban stormed three more cities and pilots deserted the air force after a colleague was murdered. Five provincial capitals have fallen to the insurgents in three days as militants overran the northern cities of Kunduz, Sar-e Pol and Taloqan. A Taliban offensive left more than a dozen cities under siege after the dam burst on Friday as the western city of Zaranj fell without a shot being fired. The northern city of Sheberghan capitulated on Saturday, after days of fighting. Other provincial capitals were on the brink of defeat. (The Times)
As the Taliban capture cities, the U.S. says Afghan forces must fend for themselves. The muted American response to the Taliban siege shows in no uncertain terms that the U.S. war in Afghanistan is over. (New York Times)
Support for Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga slid below 30% for the first time since he took office, a sign the Tokyo Olympic Games failed to boost his ratings amid a Covid resurgence. Roughly a third disapproved of holding the Games and 60% said they did not want Suga to stay on as premier, according to the poll conducted by Asahi newspaper, darkening his ruling party's prospects in general elections to be held later this year. (Reuters)
North Korea is scrambling to resume land-based trade with China in hopes of a much-needed economic shot in the arm, having halted shipments from its northern neighbor well over a year ago to keep the coronavirus out. The North is expanding quarantine facilities at a military airfield near the Chinese border. With large numbers of personnel deployed, North Korea aims to bring the facilities online this month. (Nikkei Asian Review)
Chinese spies are posing as refugees in an attempt to enter Britain through a resettlement scheme designed for Hongkongers, The Times can reveal. Government sources have said they are aware of sleeper agents applying for British National (Overseas) visas under the pretence of seeking refuge from the totalitarian state. (The Times)
Companies thought they had plans for fall; now they are scrapping them: No longer is a September return a target for many companies. Some employers have in recent days shifted return-to-office dates to October. Meanwhile, a range of other prominent companies now predict it will be 2022 until most workers return. (Wall Street Journal)
People will need to be fully vaccinated against coronavirus in order to travel between countries “for evermore,” the UK transport secretary has warned. The comments from Grant Shapps suggest the pandemic will permanently alter the way people travel, and that the airline and tourism industries will have to adapt to extra bureaucracy and checks when people cross borders indefinitely. (Financial Times)
A record Covid surge has forced factories to shut in southern Vietnam, hitting one of the world’s busiest manufacturing centers for clothing and footwear and sending global brands looking for back-up suppliers. The supply chain disruption is a blow to a country that had largely tamed local transmissions of the virus in 2020. (Financial Times)
Two-thirds of Americans say that once the pandemic ends, they plan to put on masks when sick and wear comfortable clothes more often than before, according to a Washington Post-Schar School poll that points to enduring cultural shifts the public health crisis may bring about. When it comes to crowded places, more than 4 in 10 U.S. adults intend to wear masks in such circumstances after the pandemic. And nearly three-fourths of Americans say they expect to spend more time outdoors after the pandemic. Among those under 40, more than 8 in 10 say they intend to be outdoors more frequently. (Washington Post-Schar School poll)
Economy
For the first time, average pay in restaurants and supermarkets climbed above $15 an hour. Wages have been rising rapidly as the economy reopens and businesses struggle to hire enough workers. Some of the biggest gains have gone to workers in some of the lowest-paying industries. Overall, nearly 80% of U.S. workers now earn at least $15 an hour, up from 60% in 2014. Job sites and recruiting firms say many job seekers won’t even consider jobs that pay less than $15 anymore. For years, low-paid workers fought to make at least that much. Now it has effectively become the new baseline. As competition for workers heats up, large employers are taking notice and bumping up starting pay. CVS said it will increase starting pay from $11 to $15 by next summer, joining other large employers like Target, Best Buy, Costco and Disney. When major employers raise their wages, it pushes smaller competitors in the area to follow suit, Brandeis and Princeton researchers recently found. The overall effect has been one of the fastest periods of rising wages since the early 1980s for rank-and-file workers and a clear spike from pre-pandemic trends. This higher pay is likely to be permanent as wages rarely fall once they move up. (Washington Post)
One in five working Americans believes their job is meaningless: Only 55% of Americans feel that their job is making a meaningful contribution to the world, while 22% say otherwise. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of Baby Boomers and over half (56%) of Gen X’ers say their job is making a notable impact on the globe. Around half of working Millennials (49%) and Gen Z’ers (49%) feel the same way. (YouGov)
An unusual surge of short-term lending by cash-rich companies is raising concerns on Wall Street that a period of unrest may lie ahead. Investors such as money-market funds and banks are parking over $1 trillion in spare cash overnight at the Federal Reserve. That is the most on record since the Fed opened its facility for these reverse repurchase agreements in 2013. (Wall Street Journal)
How cryptocurrency became a powerful force in Washington: The fact that crypto regulation has become one of the biggest stumbling blocks to passage of the infrastructure bill underscored how the industry has become a political force in Washington — and previewed a series of looming battles over a financial technology attracting billions of dollars of interest from Wall Street, Silicon Valley and financial players around the world, but that few still understand. “What I think you’re seeing is the maturing of the industry — you see the crypto folks now understanding how Washington can influence their world and Washington learning a little bit about the technology,” said Mick Mulvaney, former Trump chief of staff, one of several former officials to be recruited to the crypto industry in recent years. (Washington Post)
Brian Brooks, chief executive of Binance’s U.S. arm, is stepping down from his position at the embattled cryptocurrency exchange after only three months, citing “differences over strategic direction.” Brooks served as the acting comptroller of the currency in the Trump administration until January this year, before taking the helm of Binance’s US group in May. The sudden departure comes as Binance’s main global exchange, Binance[dot]com has faced intense scrutiny this year from regulators in the UK, Germany, Japan and Hong Kong, among others, over concerns around lax consumer protection and anti-money laundering practices. (Financial Times)
Analysis of e-receipts from 1M+ consumers shows that the average Uber and Lyft fares in the U.S. were 50% higher in July 2021 compared with January 2020. (Wall Street Journal)
ByteDance, the owner of short-video app TikTok, has revived a plan to go public despite a widening regulatory assault targeting Chinese technology companies, aiming for a Hong Kong listing by early next year. The Chinese group, which raised about $5bn in December at a $180bn valuation, is planning to list in either 4Q21 or early 2022. (Financial Times)
Technology
Apple’s new ‘child safety’ initiatives, and the slippery slope: An overview of Apple's three new “child safety” initiatives, what critics are getting wrong, and the completely legitimate slippery slope concerns from experts. (Daring Fireball)
Apple filed a patent that leads some to believe the company is finally ready to deliver a touchscreen laptop. Or not. (Protocol, U.S. Patent & Trademark Office)
How France tamed Google: In a single judgement, the regulator, known as the Autorité de la concurrence in French, managed to reshape how Google’s advertising technology works. The FCA’s ruling revolves around technologies within Google’s Ad Manager – a platform that helps companies buy and sell the adverts that are shown on billions of web pages. The FCA took particular issue with two elements of the Ad Manager system: the DoubleClick For Publishers ad server and a sales platform known as SSP AdX. The first allows the owners of websites to sell the adverts sitting around the content they publish, while the latter is involved in controlling the complex split-second auction process. In short, Google used its power to give itself an advantage. (Wired UK)
According to Elon Musk, Walter Isaacson’s next book is on Elon Musk. (Twitter)
Smart Links
Chinese scientists develop glass as hard as a diamond. (South China Morning Post)
How Cisco is trying to stop mansplaining in meetings. (Protocol)
Welcome to Birmingham, AL, one of the U.S.’s tightest labor markets. (Wall Street Journal)
Germany’s wine country counts cost of devastating summer floods. (Financial Times)
Hundreds of AI tools have been built to catch covid. None of them helped. (MIT Technology Review)
Tearful Messi confirms he is leaving Barcelona, in talks with PSG. (Reuters)