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The World
NATO leaders warned that China poses “systemic challenges” to the rules-based international order in a sign of growing western unease over Beijing’s military ambitions. Members cited disinformation, Chinese military co-operation with Russia and the rapid expansion of China’s nuclear arsenal as part of the threat. The strength of the NATO statement showed how far relations between the west and Beijing have deteriorated in the 18 months since NATO countries last met. (Financial Times)
ASEAN defense ministers will meet today as South China Sea tensions rise. The discussion will be followed by broader talks with US, China and others. (Nikkei Asian Review)
Criminal hackers carrying out ransomware attacks now represent a bigger risk to UK national security than online espionage by hostile states, Britain’s cyber defense chief warned. Lindy Cameron, chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre — a branch of GCHQ — accused Britons of neglecting the threat from ransomware hackers, adding: “The primary key threat is not state actors but cyber criminals.” (Financial Times)
States with higher vaccination rates now have markedly fewer coronavirus cases, as infections are dropping in places where most residents have been immunized and are rising in many places people have not, a Washington Post analysis has found. (Washington Post)
Fresh Covid-19 outbreaks in Asia disrupt global shipping and the chip supply chain. An outbreak at one of the world’s busiest ports led to global shipping delays, while infections in the chip supply chain worsen the global shortage. (Wall Street Journal)
Boris Johnson said that Britain must learn to live with coronavirus as he delayed the end of Covid restrictions by four weeks and insisted that July 19 would be the new “terminus date.” Meanwhile, the Wimbledon singles finals — scheduled for July 10 & 11 — will be played in front of a full Centre Court, and there will be 45,000 fans at Wembley for the July 11 climax of Euro 2020. (The Times, The Times-2)
Moscow orders non-essential workers to stay at home as Covid cases surge to their highest levels since December. (Financial Times)
2020 was the deadliest gun violence year in decades. So far, 2021 is worse. Through the first five months of 2021, gunfire killed more than 8,100 people in the United States, about 54 lives lost per day, according to a Washington Post analysis of data from the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit research organization. That’s 14 more deaths per day than the average toll during the same period of the previous six years. This year, the number of casualties, along with the overall number of shootings that have killed or injured at least one person, exceeds those of the first five months of 2020, which finished as the deadliest year of gun violence in at least two decades (Washington Post)
Texas grid operator urges electricity conservation as many power generators are unexpectedly offline and temperatures rise. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas says a large number of power plants are offline, but it could not provide details as to what may be causing the “very concerning” number of outages. At the same time, the state is experiencing near-record demand for electricity in June. (Texas Tribune)
More than a quarter of the 100 U.S. hospitals with the highest revenue sued patients over unpaid medical bills between 2018 and mid-2020, according to new research by Johns Hopkins University. The report suggests that, rather than being an anomaly, patient lawsuits are relatively common across the country and among the largest providers. (Axios)
Economy
“The great resignation” is what economists are dubbing it. Workers have had more than a year to reconsider work-life balance or career paths, and as the world opens back up, many of them will give their two weeks' notice and make those changes they’ve been dreaming about. University of Michigan economist Betsey Stevenson told Axios, "People have had a little more space to ask themselves, 'Is this really what I want to be doing?'"(Axios)
Wall Street’s return-to-office gulf exposed by Goldman, Citi: Goldman Sachs welcomed all staff back to its office today, while three minutes away, Citigroup has vowed hybrid approach. (Bloomberg)
Morgan Stanley chief talks tough on return to the office: ‘If you can go into a restaurant in New York City, you can come into the office,’ said CEO James Gorman. (Financial Times)
Fed-up young workers fear they need offices to save their careers: Fears of stunted careers and struggles with loneliness are driving many back to their desks. (Bloomberg)
In a report called The Next Great Disruption Is Hybrid Work – Are We Ready?, Microsoft found that as well as 54% of Generation Z workers, 41% of the entire global workforce could be considering handing in their resignation. Similarly, a UK and Ireland survey found that 38% of employees were planning to leave their jobs in the next six months to a year, while a US survey reported that 42% of employees would quit if their company didn’t offer remote working options long term. (World Economic Forum, Microsoft)
Wall Street’s pandemic-era trading boom could be drawing to a close, with JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon signaling a 38% decline in trading revenue from a year ago -- a bigger drop than previously expected. Trading revenue at the largest U.S. bank will drop to just north of $6 billion in 2Q21, Dimon said. However, Dimon foresees investment banking boom picking up earnings slack and predicts ‘one of the best’ quarters for M&A fees as bank expands market share. (Bloomberg, Financial Times)
The EU and US are poised to resolve a 17-year dispute over aircraft subsidies, lifting the threat of billions of dollars in punitive tariffs from their economies in a boost to transatlantic relations. (Financial Times)
Some of Germany’s largest companies must ensure they have at least one woman on their management boards under legislation passed by the Bundestag. The bill requires publicly listed companies that have more than 2,000 employees, more than three management board seats and a supervisory board structure with equal representation from employees and shareholders to include at least one woman management director. (Wall Street Journal)
Three quarters of all LPs will invest differently in response to issues connected with sustainability and climate change, and a similar proportion will focus on new opportunities in healthcare and biotech. “The fact that key ESG issues – climate, sustainability and health – are at the top of investor agendas should surprise no one,” says Jeremy Coller, Chief Investment Officer of Coller Capital, “but the fact that half of all private equity investors think ESG investing will in itself boost their portfolio returns should be a wake-up call to anyone who still thinks ESG is a ‘nice to have’ or a PR tool.” (Private Equity Wire)
CEO optimism about the economy continues to fade in June on concerns over soaring materials and labor costs, supply-chain snarls, and increasing taxes and regulations, which CEOs say they expect will stall the recovery—and growth in their businesses. After 5 months of expansion, our CEO Confidence Index reading of conditions 12 months from now declined for the second month in a row in June, to 6.9 out of 10. The Index peaked in April at 7.3/10 and is now back to where it was in December, before vaccination efforts began. Overall, only 36% of CEOs participating in our June poll expect conditions to improve in the next year—down from 42 percent the month prior and from 63 percent at the beginning of the year, when Covid-recovery hopes were highest. (Chief Executive)
Technology
Apple is working on new Apple Watch models and health features, spanning display and speed upgrades, an extreme sports edition and body temperature and blood sugar sensors. The tech giant is planning to refresh the line this year -- with a model likely dubbed the Apple Watch Series 7 -- by adding a faster processor, improved wireless connectivity and an updated screen. Next year the company plans to update the main Apple Watch alongside a successor for the lower-end Apple Watch SE and a new version targeting extreme sports athletes. (Bloomberg)
Stripe has yet to go public, but investors are still craving a piece of it. The company, which processes payments for e-commerce businesses, recently offered investors the chance to acquire sizable stakes in the company from existing shareholders, including current and former Stripe employees, according to people familiar with the transaction. Bids from those investors exceeded $4 billion, some of the people said. But only about $1 billion of those bids were filled, one of the people said, suggesting that many current Stripe shareholders believe their stock has a long way to climb. (Wall Street Journal)
Three billion people now use Google's Workspace apps every month, making Gmail and the Google Calendar/Docs/Slides/Meet suite among the most popular apps on the internet. For its next act, Google is looking to win in messaging. Because without it, you can't win the future of work. (Protocol)
Inside the fight to reclaim AI from Big Tech's control: For years, Big Tech has set the global AI research agenda. Now, groups like Black in AI and Queer in AI are upending the field’s power dynamics to build AI that serves people. (MIT Technology Review)
NPR’s podcasting revenue will be up 30% this fiscal year. Meanwhile, Spotify is nearing a deal to bring top podcaster Alexandra Cooper and her show “Call Her Daddy” to its service, discussing a licensing deal for around or over $20 million. (WAN-IFRA, Wall Street Journal)
Smart Links
Bitcoin rallies after Musk’s tweet of faith. (The Times)
‘Revenge Spending’: Lamborghinis are almost sold out for 2021. (Bloomberg)
Americans are keeping their cars longer, as vehicle age hits 12 years. (Wall Street Journal)
Amazon will overtake Walmart as the largest U.S. retailer in 2022, JPMorgan predicts. (CNBC)
Hoover Dam reservoir hits record low, in sign of extreme western U.S. drought. (Reuters)
Anti-vaxxers are weaponizing Yelp to punish bars that require vaccine proof. (MIT Technology Review)
Email security space quietly heats up. (Crunchbase)
Estimated military spending of NATO countries and share of GDP in 2021. (Statista)