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The World
Canada reopened the Ambassador Bridge, a vital border crossing, on Sunday night after Canadian police cleared the blockade by the self-styled “Freedom Convoy,” which continued to disrupt other cities and trade routes and illegally occupy the country’s capital for a third week. Detroit International Bridge Co. said in a statement that “the Ambassador Bridge is now fully open allowing the free flow of commerce between the Canada and US economies once again.” (Washington Post, Detroit Free Press)
But in Canada’s capital, Ottawa, hundreds of truckers were entering their third week of occupation of the area around Parliament Hill, where they appeared to be emboldened by a growing sense of impunity. Late Sunday, the mayor of Ottawa, Jim Watson, revealed back-channel negotiations were underway with the truckers’ leadership to remove their convoy from residential neighborhoods, among other measures. (New York Times)
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged Moscow to deescalate the Ukraine standoff and warned Russia faces sanctions "immediately" if it invades its neighbor. Scholz was speaking on the eve of a trip to Kyiv and Moscow for talks as the prospect of military conflict looms large. Der Spiegel news magazine reported Friday that the Russian military, which has more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine, could invade on Wednesday, citing intelligence sources. (Deutsche Welle)
Oil prices hit their highest in more than seven years — pushing prices toward $100 a barrel — on fears that a possible invasion of Ukraine by Russia could trigger U.S. and European sanctions that would disrupt exports from the world's top producer in an already tight market. (Reuters)
Ukraine advised airlines to avoid flying over the open waters of the Black Sea due to Russian naval exercises taking place there. Still, Ukraine allocated $592m to guarantee the continuation of flights to and from the country, as fears of flying over its airspace led some airlines to scrap or divert flights as tensions between the west and the Kremlin mount over a possible Russian invasion. The Dutch carrier KLM had earlier cancelled flights to Ukraine after the Netherlands government issued a travel warning over the risks of flying in the region, while Germany’s Lufthansa said it was considering suspending air traffic. (Reuters, The Guardian)
‘Speed dating’ with Xi: China is showing off its new friends at Winter Olympics. “The vision of foreign heads of state speed dating with Xi Jinping in Beijing is something to behold,” said Nadège Rolland, a former senior adviser to the French defense ministry, who compared it with the ancient Chinese tributary system. The visitors included Vladimir Putin of Russia, Middle Eastern leaders Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt’s president, as well as Imran Khan, Pakistan’s prime minister, Aleksandar Vucic, president of Serbia and the leaders of each of the five central Asian former Soviet states. (Financial Times)
More Belt and Road: For nearly a decade, Beijing has been investing heavily in middle- and low-income economies to boost China’s economic and political clout. The Belt and Road Initiative, one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects ever, is helping China expand its geopolitical reach and rival America’s influence in Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. (GZERO Media)
Walmart will no longer require fully vaccinated workers to wear masks while working in stores unless required under local or state rules, the company said in a memo to its U.S. employees. (Washington Post)
Hong Kong's is being overwhelmed by the "onslaught" of COVID-19 infections, its leader said on Monday, although deaths in the Chinese controlled global financial hub remain far less than similar-sized cities since the pandemic erupted two years ago. Daily infections have multiplied 13 times over the past two weeks, from about 100 cases at the start of February to over 1,300 on Feb. 13, with authorities scrambling to control the deepening outbreak. (Reuters)
Valérie Pécresse, the centre-right Republicans presidential candidate, pledged to fight immigration, Islamism and cancel culture in a hardline speech designed to revive a stuttering campaign. At a rally in Paris touted as a pivotal moment in her attempt to replace President Macron in the April election, Pécresse, 54, sought to depict herself as a tough leader who would defend France’s interests on the world stage as Margaret Thatcher had defended those of Britain and Angela Merkel had done in Germany. (The Times)
An annual global democracy index dropped to its lowest score since tracking began in 2006, with just 45.7% of the world's population living in a democracy of some sort. The average global score in the Economist Intelligence Unit's 2021 Democracy Index fell from 5.37 to 5.28 — the largest annual drop since 2010, after the global financial crisis.The index ranks countries on a scale of 1-10, based on 60 indicators grouped into five categories: electoral process and pluralism, functioning of government, political participation, political culture and civil liberties. 120 countries, or 71.8%, registered a decline or stagnation in their average score in 2021. (Economist Intelligence Unit, Axios)
Economy
The hidden ways companies raise prices: Shrinkflation. Businesses are passing their rising costs on to consumers with new fees, truncated services and reduced contents in packaged goods, which don’t always show up in inflation data. Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises Inc., a Chicago-based restaurant group, has added a 3% “processing fee” to checks at many of its restaurants. Harley-Davidson Inc. added a charge last year to its motorcycles to cover rising material costs. Peloton Interactive Inc. in January began charging $250 for delivery and setup of some of its indoor bikes, a service that was previously included free. (Wall Street Journal)
‘Survival mode’: Inflation falls hardest on low-income Americans. While inflation is rising everywhere, price hikes are particularly devastating to lower-income households with already tight budgets. Nearly all their expenses go to necessities — food, energy, housing — which have seen some of the largest increases at different points over the past year. (Washington Post)
UK banks are braced for a backlash as they prepare to pay annual bonuses of more than £4 billion at a time when customers are facing a cost-of-living crisis. NatWest, Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds Banking Group are expected to report total profits of £34 billion and bumper bonus payouts in their 2021 results over the next two weeks. (The Times)
The pandemic ‘quickly eroded savings’ for Gen Z, millennials: Millennials were also more likely than other age groups to owe more in credit card debt than what’s in their savings. 46% of the Gen Z respondents say their emergency savings is less in 2022 than it was at the start of the pandemic, while 43% of millennials said the same thing about their savings. The results were even worse for younger millennials, those between the ages of 26 and 32, with 54% of them saying their emergency savings declined during the pandemic. By comparison, about 37% of Gen Xers said their savings declined during the pandemic, as well as only 27% of baby boomers. (CNBC)
FT Global MBA Ranking 2022: US business schools dominate. Wharton and Columbia came first and second, respectively, ahead of Harvard, Northwestern: Kellogg, Stanford, Chicago: Booth, Yale, MIT, NYU: Stern and Berkeley: Haas — which were all among 16 schools in the top tier of the 100 ranked institutions. Insead, in France and Singapore, came third. Others in the top tier include London Business School, Iese in Barcelona, HEC Paris, SDA Bocconi in Milan and China Europe International Business School (Ceibs) in Shanghai. (Financial Times)
Technology
Google Chrome is rolling out Journeys, a feature that lets you revisit your old browsing sessions based on the subject matter you were searching for. If you type a word in the address bar that’s related to some convoluted rabbit hole you’ve been down in the past, you’ll see a “Resume your research” option that links you to the related sites you’ve visited before. In other words, this feature could offer a much more viable solution than digging through your search history for that one site you kind of remember visiting three weeks ago. (The Verge)
Startup investors are cutting valuations amid the tech stock rout and dismal IPOs. Venture firms foresee tougher funding environment ahead, with more muted debuts after pandemic glut. (Wall Street Journal)
Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, is making a $200 million strategic investment in Forbes, the 104-year-old magazine and digital publisher. The funds will help Forbes execute on its plan to merge with a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, in 1Q22. Binance will replace half of the $400 million in commitments from institutional investors announced earlier, making it one of the top two biggest owners of Forbes after its listing. (CNBC)
Coinbase was forced to throttle traffic after its Super Bowl ad surge, but the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange said it was back up and running. (Bloomberg)
Smart Links
U.S. suspends Mexican avocado imports on eve of Super Bowl. (Los Angeles Times)
The U. of Arizona is tightening its embrace of the troubled UA Global Campus. (Chronicle of Higher Ed)
Burnout drove these teachers into new careers. Here’s how they got there. (Wall Street Journal)
Tech focus shapes PE performance rankings. (S&P Global)
Watch the Super Bowl ads, from Budweiser to Uber Eats. (Wall Street Journal)