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The World
The U.S. and China have agreed in principle for their presidents to hold a virtual meeting before the end of the year, after high-level talks aimed at improving communication between the two countries. U.S. officials had suggested that the meeting was a follow-on from President Biden's Sept. 9 call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, prior to which the world's top two economies appeared to have been locked in a stalemate. (Reuters)
China’s military deployed its new J-16D fighter jet designed for electronic warfare to an eastern airbase near Taiwan, according to satellite imagery and a People’s Liberation Army source. It comes amid heightened tensions across the Taiwan Strait, with a record number of PLA warplanes sent into the island’s air defense identification zone in recent days as Beijing ramps up its campaign of military intimidation. (South China Morning Post)
Democrats are planning to accept an offer from Mitch McConnell to let them raise the debt ceiling into December without a GOP filibuster, multiple senators said after a closed-door caucus meeting on Wednesday. Senate leaders were working to finalize the deal on Wednesday night, effectively deciding to kick the can on the stalemate over the nation‘s borrowing limit for the next two months. But even as Democrats accepted part of the Senate minority leader’s entreaties, they pledged to reject his demands that the majority party use the laborious process of budget reconciliation to pass a longer debt ceiling increase. (Politico, Axios)
Gas markets swung sharply after Russia’s president Vladimir Putin said his country was prepared to stabilize the soaring global energy prices that are threatening to curb industrial activity and sharply raise inflation. UK and European natural gas prices shot higher early in the day to trade at close to 10 times their level from the beginning of the year. But prices abruptly reversed course hours later when Putin hinted that Russia’s state-backed monopoly pipeline exporter, Gazprom, may increase supplies to help Europe avoid a full-blown energy crisis. (Financial Times)
In Europe, natural gas prices have rocketed almost 600% this year on worries that current low storage levels will be insufficient for the winter. While in the United States, natural gas futures recently hit 12-year-highs. (Reuters)
India stands on the brink of widespread power shortages as most of the country's coal-fired plants have enough fuel for only a few more days, the latest reports show. More than half of India's 135 coal plants will run out of fuel in less than three days. As of Friday, the stockpiles of all coal plants averaged four days. Coal-fired plants account for about 70% of India's power source mix. (Nikkei Asian Review)
French threaten Calais blockade amid official anger over fishing rights: President Macron has lost patience with Boris Johnson and is reviewing ways to raise the pressure on the prime minister to force him to comply with Britain’s commitments to the EU on fishing rights and other post-Brexit issues. (The Times)
President Biden will speak about vaccine mandates today during a visit to Chicago, home of United Airlines, among the first major carriers to require the shots. (Washington Post)
A Colorado-based health system says it is denying organ transplants to patients not vaccinated against the coronavirus in “almost all situations,” citing studies that show these patients are more likely to die if they get covid-19. (Washington Post)
With Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors near capacity, container ships and oil tankers have had to drop massive anchors in designated sites that place them near oil platforms as well as an undersea infrastructure of oil lines, sewage treatment pipes and communications equipment. The U.S. Coast Guard is now looking at the possibility that the crush of shipping traffic came into violent contact with this network of undersea infrastructure and triggered a spill that sent an estimated 144,000 gallons of oil into the ocean. (Los Angeles Times)
Economy
The U.S. trade deficit widened to a record in August as American consumers continued to show a strong appetite for imported goods such as pharmaceutical products, toys and clothing. The trade gap in goods and services expanded to $73.3 billion in August from $70.3 billion in July. The August deficit was slightly larger than the prior record of $73.2 billion in June. (Wall Street Journal)
Target said it will pay an extra $2 an hour to store and service center employees who work peak days during the holiday season, such as on Saturdays and Sundays in the final weeks before Christmas. The big-box retailer previously said it would scale back holiday hiring and give more hours to its staff. (CNBC)
The record VC funding pace continued into 3Q21 with $160 billion invested globally, matching the huge funding increase in 2Q21 and up 78% YoY. (Crunchbase)
Bitcoin surged to its highest level in five months, as market sentiment continued to improve due in part to news a hedge fund controlled by billionaire investor George Soros trades bitcoin. Investors also expect a seasonal rally in cryptocurrencies this quarter. (Reuters)
More fund managers see greater potential in Ethereum than bitcoin, according to a CoinShares report, despite the total value locked in Ethereum decreasing this year amid more competition in the layer-1 space. 42% of investors see Ethereum as having the most compelling growth outlook, compared to bitcoin at 18%. The findings come as market share of Ethereum investment products has risen from 11% at the beginning of the year to 26%. (Blockworks)
Amazon has won a record amount of tax breaks this year as local officials try to lure the online shopping giant to expand its one-day or same-day delivery networks in their areas. According to data from Good Jobs First, an economic development watchdog based in Washington DC, Amazon has so far secured about $650m in sweeteners from local and state governments in 2021, a mixture of grants, tax exemptions and other incentives. (Financial Times)
That Tesla has announced its highest ever number of deliveries, up 73% on last year, is quite an impressive feat given the global shortage of computer chips. That shortage, and other supply chain issues, have weighed on rival automakers such as Ford and General Motors, which saw their respective sales fall 27% and 33% in the most recent quarter. (Chartr)
Technology
NBCUniversal’s streaming service, Peacock, is helping MSNBC reach viewers at least a decade younger than those watching on its traditional cable channel, according to MSNBC’s president, Rashida Jones. Peacock is helping broaden MSNBC’s audience by creating a platform for different content formats and talent than what can be found on the TV airwaves. (The Information)
A Gen-Z survey published by Transistor shows that Spotify is almost three times more popular with 13-23 year olds than Apple Podcasts. (PodNews)
Google announced a suite of new features that it says will help people who use their platforms make more sustainable choices. The new services focus on reducing planet-heating greenhouse gas emissions and are primarily found on Search, Maps, Travel, and Nest. (The Verge)
Apple Health is struggling. On top of the health group's series of high-level departures, employees said those who raise concerns about the division have faced negative treatment. (Source Code)
Apple will be hit with an EU antitrust charge over its NFC chip technology, a move that puts it at risk of a possible hefty fine and could force it to open its mobile payment system to rivals. (Reuters)
Apple shares memorial to Steve Jobs on 10th anniversary of his death with a short film and a statement from Jobs’ family. (The Verge)
Twitch disclosed a data breach, and it was far from an average, run-of-the-mill leak. This breach involved hundreds of gigabytes of sensitive company data, including platform source code, internal tooling and future product plans, like an Amazon-owned competitor to Valve's Steam marketplace codenamed "Vapor." Yet perhaps the most sensitive leaked info, and from which we can expect the most fallout, is more than two years' worth of data pertaining to streamer payouts on the platform. Internet sleuths and other curious onlookers have already begun compiling this data into neat spreadsheets and working to verify it against publicly available info. (Protocol)
Smart Links
Cathie Wood to move investment manager ARK from NY to Florida. (Wall Street Journal)
SPAC veteran Betsy Cohen predicts that about 30% of SPACS will fail. (Bloomberg)
Uber will now track your flight and wait for you at the airport. (Washington Post)
Labor shortages will strain hospital budgets through 2022, Moody's says. (Healthcare Dive)
Wu, Khan and Kanter: Biden's antitrust troika falls into place. (Nikkei Asian Review)
The race to grab all the UK’s lithium before it’s too late. (Wired UK)
General Motors aims to double sales by 2030 with boost from electric vehicles. (Financial Times)
Wine deal making surges as investors look past Covid-19 woes. (Wall Street Journal)
Noma wins world’s best restaurant as Denmark claims top two spots. (The Guardian)