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The World
In what may be a seminal moment in the global effort to fight climate change, Europe challenged the world by laying out an ambitious blueprint to pivot away from fossil fuels over the next nine years, a plan that also has the potential to set off global trade disputes. The most radical, and possibly contentious, proposal would impose tariffs on certain imports from countries with less stringent climate-protection rules. The proposals also include eliminating the sales of new gas- and diesel-powered cars in just 14 years, and raising the price of using fossil fuels. (New York Times)
Delta variant widens gulf between ‘Two Americas’: Vaccinated and unvaccinated. Infections, hospitalizations and deaths are rising swiftly in some states with low vaccination rates like Arkansas, Missouri, Texas and Nevada, and are beginning to show small upticks in all of the others. The curves have also begun shifting upward in New York City, and the percentage of positive tests in the city has doubled in the past few weeks to just over 1%. The virus has also set off large outbreaks across the globe, from Japan and Australia to Indonesia and South Africa. (New York Times)
The Delta variant is wreaking havoc on UK industry with more than 700 workers at the UK’s largest car factory self-isolating and business groups warning that some companies are missing 20% of their staff. Labor shortages have hit factories, shops and warehouses, with workers told to self-isolate for 10 days if they have come into contact with an infected person. (Financial Times)
Two thirds of Britons think at least some coronavirus restrictions should stay in place after July 19 — 66% of people taking part in the poll wanted some, most or all of the restrictions to remain and 60% thought everyone should continue to wear face masks in shops and on public transport. (Reuters)
Vietnamese factories serving Samsung and a major Nike and Adidas supplier suspended operations after detecting cases of coronavirus at their facilities. South Korea reports 1,600 new COVID cases, outbreak on military vessel. (Nikkei Asian Review, Reuters)
Los Angeles County is seeing a surge in new cases, topping 1,000 for the fifth straight day, and though hospitalizations remain low, each infected patient admitted to a county hospital has not had all their vaccine shots. (CNN)
Covid-19 delays hope of Mecca pilgrimage for millions of Muslims for second year. Saudi Arabia has again sharply limited the numbers allowed to perform the hajj, the once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage that Muslims save years for. (Wall Street Journal)
Police fired teargas to disperse demonstrators in Paris, as thousands of people protested throughout France over new coronavirus restrictions. Protests began as the traditional Bastille Day parade was taking place along the famous Champs-Élysées watched by president Emmanuel Macron. The demonstrators are unhappy at the decision announced on Monday to oblige health workers to get vaccinated and bring in a vaccine health pass for most public places. (The Guardian)
South Africans took the law into their own hands as security forces struggled to contain the violence and widespread looting that has ravaged key cities. The chaos, triggered by last week’s jailing of Jacob Zuma, the former president, has spiraled into the country’s worst unrest since the end of apartheid. Hundreds of shops, warehouses and businesses have been picked clean by looters or set ablaze. At least 72 people have been killed and about 1,200 have been arrested. (The Times)
China’s military continues to be stymied by lagging domestic innovation and corruption in its defense industry, according to a US government-financed study. The report by the Rand Corporation identified China as the “clear pacing threat” to the US in terms of investment in military capabilities but found that much of its progress was the result of intellectual property theft, foreign acquisitions and joint ventures. (South China Morning Post)
The Senate unanimously passed a bill that would ban the importation of all products from Xinjiang, China, due to the forced labor and genocide of Uyghurs and other minorities in the region. (Axios)
Jay Powell fended off a barrage of questions from testy Republicans and anxious Democrats in Congress as he sought to ease concerns over the Federal Reserve’s response to surging U.S. inflation. The Fed chair pushed back against suggestions that the central bank might be complacent about inflation risks during his appearance at the House financial services committee. Powell said the Fed was ready to act if needed to tame prices and that he sympathized with public concern over rising prices. (Financial Times)
UK inflation may hit 4% later this year and the Bank of England could have to remove its stimulus earlier than thought, a deputy governor at the Bank of England has warned. (The Times)
China’s economy grew by 7.9% in 2Q21 compared to a year ago, while in 1H21, it grew by 12.7% year on year. Beijing has set an economic growth target of ‘above 6%’ for 2021 after it grew by 2.3% last year overall. (South China Morning Post)
Lumber prices are way down — but don’t expect new houses to cost less: Futures prices have dropped by about two-thirds since May, helping builders and do-it-yourselfers. (Wall Street Journal)
U.S. drug overdose deaths surged nearly 30% in 2020. A record 93,000 people died last year, reflecting the pandemic’s toll and the continued spread of illicit fentanyl: “It’s huge, it’s historic, it’s unheard-of.” (Washington Post, New York Times)
Economy
Diverse companies performed better during the pandemic than their less diverse counterparts. Companies where women held more than 30% of board seats outperformed their peers in 11 out of 15 sectors. Companies with at least 30% of seats held by non-white directors saw year-over-year revenue grow by 4%, while less racially diverse boards had a revenue decline. The Pipeline, a U.K. consultancy, reviewed the FTSE 350 and found that companies where women make up at least half of the executive committee delivered a profit margin of 21.2%. In comparison, those with zero women on their executive committee saw profits drop by 18%. (Broadsheet, Pipeline Report)
Bank of America’s profit jumps, but revenue takes a hit. The second-largest U.S. bank’s earnings more than doubled to $9.22 billion, helped by the economic rebound, but low interest rates weighed on revenue. Citigroup profit climbs to $6.2 billion; Wells Fargo revenue rises 11%. (Wall Street Journal)
People are accumulating less debt post-pandemic: "Consumers have continued to use liquidity from stimulus and other relief programs to pay down debt, driving lower loans," Citibank CFO Mark Mason said. (Axios)
Behind President Biden’s executive order seeking to curb the power of companies that dominate their marketsis a body of academic research that finds the U.S. economy has become less competitive in the past two decades as power swells in large firms. The decline in competition has had big implications for the broader economy, this research finds, including fewer thriving startup companies, a less-dynamic job market, stagnant worker wages and restrained economywide productivity. (Wall Street Journal)
The European Central Bank says it will begin a 24-month “investigation phase” that could lead to the creation of a digital euro by around 2025. The process will take 24 months before decision on adoption taken, as the ECB says the infrastructure would use far less energy than Bitcoin. (Bloomberg)
France wants EU governments to give the responsibility for overseeing cryptocurrencies to the pan-European markets watchdog, instead of national supervisors. French regulators proposed the change as part of a wide-ranging package of reforms intended to strengthen financial regulation across Europe. Regulators are clamouing for stricter rules to control the rapidly expanding crypto market, estimated to be worth around $1.5tn, over concerns that criminal gangs are using cryptocurrencies to finance drug smuggling and other illegal activities. (Financial Times)
The crypto market, though still notorious for wild swings underscored by the recent decline in bitcoin's value, is becoming increasingly attractive to investors and the wealth managers who cater to them, including Wall Street giants like JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs and longtime professionals. The total value of digital assets under professional management was roughly $40 billion this month, compared to $7.5 billion in October 2020, according to CoinShares. One manager cited a key reason for that growth: the melding of talent and expertise from traditional finance and the crypto world. (Protocol)
Technology
Facebook requested that Lina Khan, the new F.T.C. chair, step back from deciding whether to pursue an antitrust case against the tech group, marking an escalation in the battle between the regulator’s chief and Silicon Valley’s largest companies. The social media company filed a petition seeking Khan’s recusal, arguing that she “built her career, in large part, by singling out Facebook as a professed antitrust violator,” citing previous criticisms she made of the company. (Financial Times)
As very few iOS users opt into tracking, Facebook's many advertisers are noticing a negative impact on tracking campaigns, targeting new customers, and more. People give iOS apps permission to track their behavior just 25% of the time. (Bloomberg)
Facebook plans to pay out $1 billion now through 2022 to users who create content for its Facebook and Instagram social networks. As part of this initiative, it plans to roll out new bonus programs by the end of the year that will pay creators for hitting specific milestones. The company said it plans to launch dedicated spaces within its Instagram app this summer and the Facebook app this fall where creators can go to learn about bonuses they can work toward. (CNBC)
China’s mobile phone shipments have sharply plummeted down 27% year-on-year. Handset makers have witnessed a strong contraction in sales in China during the 2H21 despite the country’s economic rebounding following the pandemic. People are holding onto their phones longer instead of upgrading their device, as consumers were put off by the rising costs of mobile devices. (Caixing Global)
France’s antitrust watchdog fined Google €500 million ($590 million) for failing to comply with the regulator’s orders on how to conduct talks with the country’s news publishers in a row over copyright. Google must come up with proposals within the next two months on how it would compensate news agencies and other publishers. If not, they will receive additional fines of up to €900,000 ($1.06 million). (The Guardian)
Say goodbye to Fleets, the row of fullscreen tweets at the top of the Twitter timeline that expire after 24 hours. The ephemeral tweet format is shutting down due to low usage after launching widely just eight months ago. Twitter’s decision to axe Fleets is not just an admission that the feature didn’t work, but that the company still hasn’t figured out how to get people tweeting more. (The Verge)
Smart Links
J&J recalls Aveeno, Neutrogena spray sunscreens after detecting a cancer-causing chemical known as benzene in some samples. (Wall Street Journal)
More than a third of volunteers found errors in their credit reports. (Consumer Reports)
Online fraud up by a third in the UK during the pandemic. (Financial Times)
Maine becomes first state to shift costs of recycling from taxpayers to companies. (Washington Post)
TikTok becomes the first non-Facebook mobile app to reach 3 billion downloads globally. (Sensor Tower)
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro hospitalized after 10 days of hiccups. (Washington Post)
DIY medal ceremonies await stars of Tokyo Olympics. (The Times)
U.S. newsroom employment has fallen 26% since 2008. (Pew Research Center)