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The World
Republicans are growing increasingly frustrated with Treasury Secretary Mnuchin as he makes what they see as unacceptable compromises for a stimulus deal with House Speaker Pelosi. Mnuchin has committed to a top-line figure of around $1.9 trillion, much too high for many Senate Republicans, including at least $300 billion for state and local aid. Meanwhile, the recession is forcing a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. workforce: 1 in 3 people were either working in a different job in September than they were in February or were unemployed. An estimated 42% of jobs lost will eventually be gone for good, while more than 25% of U.S. workers earned less in September than they did in February. (Washington Post, Politico)
Former VP Biden’s pledge in the final debate to “transition away from the oil industry” to address climate change put the issue on center stage as the warming planet has played a larger role this election than ever before. Biden later later clarified that he would stop giving federal subsidies to the industry. U.S. solar stocks rose on Biden's clean energy focus. (New York Times, Washington Post, Reuters)
The FDA gave full approval for remdesivir to treat Covid-19 patients in hospitals, saying it cut recovery time on average by five days during clinical trials. The W.H.O. said remdesivir had little to no effect on patients' survival. Meanwhile, a British Medical Journal study suggests that “convalescent plasma” has only limited effectiveness and fails to reduce deaths or stop the progression to severe disease. The W.H.O. executive director said there is “too much of the nanny state” in how young people are scolded about their behavior around Covid-19, they were “sick of being told what not to do,” and governments risked losing them in their messaging. Europe’s reported cases more than doubled in 10 days, crossing 200,000 daily infections for the first time — as France imposed a curfew on two-thirds of the country - 46 million people - for six weeks. The U.S. logged more than 73,000 new infections, the highest daily count since late July, as 12 states reached their highest seven-day average for new cases and hospitalizations rose 40% in the last month. Chicago Mayor Lightfoot announced a 10 p.m. curfew on nonessential businesses. (BBC News, British Medical Journal, Irish Times, Reuters, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune)
Sudan and Israel agreed to the normalization of relations, as President Trump informed Congress of his intent to formally rescind Sudan’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. Meanwhile, Israel will not oppose the sale of F-35s to the United Arab Emirates, and a senior Israeli defense official said Saudi Arabia will soon move to normalize ties with Israel. (Jerusalem Post, Times of Israel)
China told Britain to "immediately correct its mistakes" andthreatened to stop recognizing British Nationality (Overseas) passports after the UK reaffirmed its plan to offer a route to British citizenship to almost three million people living there. Meanwhile, in a speech marking the 70th anniversary of China’s entry into the Korean war, President Xi said China is ‘determined to defeat invaders” and outlined that the “century of humiliation” Beijing said it suffered at the hands of Western aggressors was long gone. (BBC News, South China Morning Post)
‘It was carnage’: Nigeria reels from bullets and brutality of protest crackdown, as peaceful demonstrations in Lagos end in violence and reports of 10 dead. Thailand's embattled prime minister has no plan to quit, as he lifted a state of emergency after calls for his resignation. (Financial Times, Nikkei Asian Review)
An explosive Colorado wildfire that has already forced the evacuation of several mountain communities and the closure of Rocky Mountain National Park blackened another 45,000 acres as it jumped the U.S. Continental Divide. (Reuters, Summit Daily)
U.S. voters have cast more than 51.5 million votes for the presidential election — eclipsing total early voting from the 2016 election with 12 days to go and on pace to fuel the highest turnout since 1908. (Election Project, Reuters, The Guardian)
Economy
Microsoft pushed back its return-to-work target date from January to July 2021. Meanwhile, remote work is moving beyond white-collar jobs, allowing physical work at a distance—from surgery to seeding. (ZDNet, Wall Street Journal)
American Express said consumer retail spending improved in 3Q20, but spending on travel and entertainment remained substantially lower. Non-travel and non-entertainment spending — which made up about 70% of spending going into the pandemic — increased about 1% in the third quarter from a year earlier. Whirlpool reported that net sales were up 3.9% in 3Q20; Chipotle said revenue increased 14.1% compared with last year; Mattel reported that doll sales were up 22%. (Wall Street Journal, New York Times)
Britain’s & the Eurozone’s economic recovery has been hampered by tighter coronavirus restrictions, prompting fears of a double-dip recession. UK growth slowed to its weakest level since the a national lockdown in the spring, as the UK Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index dropped to a four-month low of 52.9 in October. (The Times, Financial Times)
The median U.S. home buyer is paying roughly $20,000 more than they did just three short months ago. Meanwhile, residential developers are planning a wave of work-from-home amenities, from co-working spaces and Zoom conference rooms to broadcast booths and TikTok studios — trading movie rooms and lounges for souped-up work spaces. (Mansion Global, Wall Street Journal)
Technology
Forrester Research predicts consumers will see a 40% increase in marketing message volume in 2021, with more emails, texts and push notifications than ever before as brands try to develop more direct relationships with customers. Other predictions: A significant uptick in loyalty and retention marketing; a shift to local-first marketing strategies; and a renewed focus on campaign optimization capabilities. (CNBC, Forrester Research)
South Korea’s antitrust chief believes Google has undermined competition, adding that the agency plans to present a case to its review committee this year. TripAdvisor’s CEO says Google uses its “dominance in internet gatekeeping” against travel sites. (Reuters, CNBC)
Digital games earned $10.7B in September 2020, up 13% year-over-year. Games earned more across all platform types than during the same period in 2019. Mobile revenue was up 9%, PC rose by 8% and console earnings increased 38% as major fall titles began to hit the market. (SuperData Research)
Tech entrepreneurs of color often struggle to attract early-stage funding for their startups. But that may be starting to change—thanks in part to investors of color.
Professional networks have formed in cities such as Chicago, Detroit and Miami in recent months to identify and recruit Black, Latino and other angel investors of color to fund tech entrepreneurs. At the same time, venture firms founded by women as well as racial and ethnic minorities are growing their profiles in raising funds to inject capital into startups. (Wall Street Journal)
Smart Links
Why algorithmically calculated wages are bad news for gig workers. (OneZero)
AI assesses Alzheimer’s risk by analyzing word usage — with 70% accuracy. (Scientific American)
Humans are born with brains 'prewired' to see words. (Ohio State University)
Southwest CEO says it may be a decade before business travel returns. (CNBC)
Target shoppers can make reservations to avoid crowds. (Washington Post)
What digital currencies issued by central banks could mean for users, banks and the economy. (Wall Street Journal)
Learn More (Today, 2 pm ET): Election 2020 — Behind the Decision Desk. Nancy Gibbs, Director of the Shorenstein Center and formed Editor-in-Chief of TIME; Brian Carovillano, Vice President and Managing Editor of the Associated Press; David Chalian, Vice President and Political Director of CNN; Chuck Todd, Host of NBC News Meet The Press. (Harvard Kennedy School)
Tesla’s ‘Full Self-Driving’ beta is here, and it looks scary (must see reaction at 1:32). (The Verge)