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The World
Senate Democrats are aiming to vote and approve a roughly $2 trillion package to overhaul the nation’s health-care, education, climate, immigration and tax laws before Christmas, hoping to muscle through a jam-packed schedule to deliver the remaining piece of President Biden’s economic agenda. Yet the path to passage for Democrats’ signature spending plan appears especially precarious, as party lawmakers continue to contend with political dissent among their own ranks. A pivotal swing vote, Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), has yet to offer his endorsement of the legislation. (Washington Post)
The EU is set to unveil a powerful new trade weapon that could result in China and other countries accused of economic bullying being shut out of lucrative parts of the EU market. The anti-coercion instrument will target states that try to “interfere in the legitimate sovereign choices” of the EU or one of its 27 member states “by applying or threatening to apply measures affecting trade or investment.” It lays out a large range of punitive actions the EU can take when it is satisfied that coercion is taking place, including tariffs, suspension of market access through the use of quotas or trading licenses, and restricted access to public procurement programs and investment markets. (South China Morning Post)
A new study suggests Omicron is causing more infections in people who have recovered from an earlier bout with the virus, one sign that the new variant is able to escape at least some of the immune system’s defenses. However, early data from South Africa hints Omicron variant may cause less severe Covid. (Science, STAT News)
The CDC advised Americans against travel to France, Jordan, Portugal, and Tanzania. (Reuters)
In his parting shot against the coronavirus, the outgoing New York City mayor Bill de Blasio mandated that all private employers in the city require their staff to be vaccinated by Dec. 27. But it is unclear how long that new mandate will remain in force. In less than a month, Eric Adams will succeed de Blasio as mayor, and on Monday Adams declined to commit to enforcing the new rules. (New York Times)
Gov. Hochul will order some NY hospitals to halt elective surgeries. (Axios)
From military-grade drones to sensor systems and experimental technology, the EU and its members have spent hundreds of millions of euros over the past decade on technologies to track down and keep at bay the refugees on its borders. Poland’s border with Belarus is becoming the latest frontline for this technology, with the country approving last month a €350m (£300m) wall with advanced cameras and motion sensors. The Guardian has mapped out the result of the EU’s investment: a digital wall on the harsh sea, forest and mountain frontiers, and a technological playground for military and tech companies repurposing products for new markets. (The Guardian)
New government data puts in stark relief how dramatically telehealth use exploded last year, with the share of Medicare visits conducted virtually skyrocketing from just 840,000 in 2019 to 52.7 million in 2020. That's a nearly 63-fold increase. Specialists like behavioral health providers saw the highest telehealth use relative to their peers. Other interesting findings include that telehealth services were accessed more in urban areas than rural ones, and Black Medicare beneficiaries were less likely than White beneficiaries to use virtual care. (Healthcare Dive)
61% of respondents to a survey that anonymously polls Capitol Hill senior staffers said that supply chain issues will be a top focus of Congress in 2022. 62% of Republicans say that, and 60% of Democrats. Democrats said they are feeling the heat on supply chain slowdowns, and there will be pressure on the leadership to take action. (Punchbowl News)
Economy
China increasingly obscures the true state of its economy to outsiders: A new data-security law has made it harder for foreign companies and investors to get information, including about supplies and financial statements. Several providers of ship locations in Chinese waters stopped sharing information outside the country, making it hard to understand port activity there. Chinese authorities have restricted information on coal use, purged documents related to political dissent cases from an official judicial database, and shut down academic exchanges with other countries. (Wall Street Journal)
Stocks and oil rose on hopes of a milder Covid variant. The Dow climbed more than 600 points as investors assessed early indicators that Omicron may be causing milder illness than previously feared. Meanwhile, Bitcoin edged up from weekend lows. (Wall Street Journal)
Tesla’s streak of declines reached four days — its longest since July — while Morgan Stanley sees the Fed as a great threat to stocks than Omicron. (Bloomberg)
The largest oil and gas companies made a combined $174bn in profits in the first nine months of the year as gasoline prices climbed in the US, according to a new report. The bumper profit totals, provided exclusively to the Guardian, show that in the third quarter of 2021 alone, 24 top oil and gas companies made more than $74bn in net income. From January to September, the net income of the group, which includes Exxon, Chevron, Shell and BP, was $174bn. (The Guardian)
The CEO of Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil producer, has called on global leaders to continue investing in fossil fuels in the years ahead or run the risk of spiralling inflation and social unrest that would force them to jettison emissions targets. Speaking at the World Petroleum Congress in Houston, Texas, Amin Nasser said there was an assumption that the world could transition to cleaner fuels “virtually overnight”, but that this was “deeply flawed.” (Financial Times)
The Bank of England’s deputy governor warned that companies could struggle to hire workers as he predicted that inflation could “comfortably exceed” 5% in the spring. Ben Broadbent said that an anticipated jump in energy bills for millions of consumers would increase the cost of living even as other inflationary pressures moderate. (The Times)
Nasdaq is geared to eclipse rival NYSE in IPOs this year, which has seen companies raise record levels of capital through fresh stock flotations in the U.S. Nasdaq raised a total of $191.38 billion through IPOs in 2021, compared with $109.25 billion raised at the NYSE. (Reuters)
NYSE reveals sweeping changes to top leadership. (Financial Times)
Technology
Ben Thompson explains why, because of Amazon’s immense investments in a “one-stop shop from Chinese ports to customers’ front doors” global inventory shipping and delivery process, the company is perfectly positioned to gain from current supply chain challenges — and third party sellers are, once again, finding Amazon’s offerings too good to pass up. (Stratechery)
Three tech giants control more than half the global advertising market outside China as the pandemic accelerates the industry’s digital transformation and decline of traditional media. Google’s parent company Alphabet, Facebook owner Meta and Amazon have doubled their share of ad revenues in the past five years, according to estimates from media buyers GroupM. (Financial Times)
There are four main goals for TikTok’s algorithm: 用户价值, 用户价值 (长期), 作者价值, and 平台价值, which the company translates as “user value,” “long-term user value,” “creator value,” and “platform value.” That set of goals is drawn from a frank and revealing document for company employees that offers new details of how the most successful video app in the world has built such an entertaining — some would say addictive — product. The document, headed “TikTok Algo 101,” was produced by TikTok’s engineering team in Beijing. The document offers a new level of detail about the dominant video app, providing a revealing glimpse both of the app’s mathematical core and insight into the company’s understanding of human nature — our tendencies toward boredom, our sensitivity to cultural cues — that help explain why it’s so hard to put down. (New York Times)
DoorDash launched an ‘ultra-fast’ delivery in NYC, with couriers who are actual employees. Unlike traditional DoorDash couriers, some DashMart workers will be eligible for benefits. DashCorps workers will have set schedules and be paid $15 per hour, plus tips. To start in NYC, the ultra-fast deliveries — which will arrive within 10 to 15 minutes of order times — will come from a DashMart location in Chelsea that’s open from 7AM to 2AM daily, with more locations to follow soon. (The Verge)
Lyft CFO Brian Roberts, who took the company public, is leaving to take the same role at NFT marketplace OpenSea. The departure is another signal of how executives and engineers are migrating from the “traditional” roster of big tech companies toward so-called web3 crypto startups. OpenSea is one of several fast-rising startups in the crypto space, which has seen renewed attention from venture capitalists who have minted dozens of crypto unicorns in the past two years. (TechCrunch)
Smart Links
Internal Google data reveals it’s bigger than Snowflake in key cloud business. (The Information)
Hometap closes on $60M to let people tap into their home equity without taking out a loan. (TechCrunch)
Why investors are often bullish in December. (Wall Street Journal)
Florida’s flagship university is beset with controversy. Its board says everything is fine. (Chronicle of Higher Ed)
Podcast: Can cultural holidays be celebrated at work? (Call In Podcast)