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The World
House set to vote today on Biden’s $1.75 trillion economic plan: Speaker Nancy Pelosi is punting a pair of long-anticipated votes on President Biden's domestic agenda to today after House Democratic leaders made huge headway but failed to fully resolve months of dug-in disputes. The House will reconvene this morning with plans to vote on both a party-line $1.75 trillion social policy bill and Biden's Senate-passed infrastructure bill. Senior Democrats were upbeat about the prospects of wrapping up both measures Friday — despite the many hurdles still ahead with centrists — given that many in the caucus are set to embark on overseas trips ahead of next week's recess. (Bloomberg, Politico)
The White House is asking Democratic senators to meet with Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell before Thanksgiving — leading some to believe President Biden will renominate him this month. (Axios)
The White House has said Opec+ risks imperiling the global economic recovery by refusing to speed up oil production increases and warned the US was prepared to use “all tools” necessary to lower fuel prices. The move came after Saudi Arabia-led Opec and its allies such as Russia rejected US calls to help tame rising oil prices, insisting they would stick with a plan of only gradually increasing output, even as demand roars back from the depths of the pandemic. (Financial Times)
More than 40 countries pledged to phase out coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, in a deal announced Thursday at the United Nations climate summit that prompted Alok Sharma, the head of the conference, to proclaim “the end of coal is in sight.” But several of the biggest coal consumers were notably absent from the accord, including China and India, which together burn roughly two-thirds of the world’s coal, as well as Australia, the world’s 11th-biggest user of coal and a major exporter. The U.S., which still generates about one-fifth of its electricity from coal, also did not sign the pledge. (New York Times)
Apple will remove its mask mandate for customers at many U.S. retail stores from Friday as COVID-19 cases decline. More than 100 of the company's about 270 stores across the country will scrap the requirement, with more stores adopting it gradually. (Reuters)
Union leaders sent a strike notice to Kaiser executives, warning the system that as many as 28,400 healthcare workers in southern California are set to walk off the job after the two sides failed to agree to new contract terms. The notice sets in motion a strike without a stated end date that could significantly hinder operations for the nonprofit. (Healthcare Dive)
Colorado River is Exhibit A in water crisis: As world leaders meet in Scotland to discuss efforts to address the climate crisis, experts are urging greater focus on adapting to fundamental shifts in the planet’s water supplies — and they’re pointing to the Colorado River as a prime example. The river, a vital water source for about 40 million people from Denver to Los Angeles, has continued to shrink and send reservoirs declining toward critically low levels. Water resiliency advocates say the shortage reflects fundamental problems in how Hoover Dam and other infrastructure projects were designed for a climate that no longer exists, and how water supplies continue to be divided under a rigid and antiquated system. (Los Angeles Times)
US astronomy’s ambitious ten-year plan: A long-anticipated road map for the next ten years of US astronomy just dropped, and it’s super-ambitious. It recommends that NASA coordinate, build and launch three flagship space observatories that are capable of detecting light over a broad range of wavelengths. It suggests that the US National Science Foundation fund two enormous ground-based telescopes in Chile and possibly Hawaii, to try to catch up with an advanced European telescope that’s under construction. And for the first time, it issues recommendations for how federal agencies should fight systemic racism, sexism and other structural issues that drive people out of astronomy, weakening the quality of the science. (Nature)
US astronomers want a giant telescope to hunt for new Earth-like planets. (MIT Technology Review)
Economy
Partnerships Form a Better Path to Profits: More than money, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice brings operational excellence to drive winning outcomes. If you want to understand how much COVID-19 changed the retail landscape, just ask Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) partner Ken Giuriceo. “My 70-year-old mother now uses Instacart, and she probably has more apps on her phone than I do,” he laughs. “Technology is making things more accessible, more convenient, and less expensive than ever before, and people are now realizing it.” Online shopping was already robust before COVID, but the pandemic accelerated the pace of adoption. Brick-and-mortar retailers needed to reinvent aspects of their business to deliver new consumer experiences or risk being irrelevant. Willingness to change and be changed draws CD&R the companies in which it invests. Founded in 1978, the investment firm has nine operating partners, and its funds have an additional 28 advisors with histories of operational excellence who understand the path to profits. “I have driven these types of improvements many times in my career,” says CD&R partner John Compton, former president of PepsiCo, Inc. and former chairman of US Foods. “I believe this is why entrepreneurial owners want to work with us. In fact, if they don’t believe that the business will grow faster and perform better under our ownership, the deal is probably not going to happen.” CD&R takes a partnership approach to its investment process, looking for companies they understand and situations where they believe their expertise and capital can unlock value. (Inc.)
Hertz will have to wait for Teslas, just like other buyers: Tesla and Hertz are negotiating over how quickly Hertz will receive deliveries from a bulk order of 100,000 Tesla electric cars for its rental fleet. Hertz on Oct. 25 said it had placed “an initial order of 100,000 Teslas by the end of 2022.” The press release included no statement from Tesla and Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk on Monday raised doubt about the deal when he tweeted that no contract had been signed yet. Some Tesla officials were surprised by how quickly Hertz said the order would be filled and had been expecting to deliver roughly 10,000 vehicles a year to Hertz. Another one of the people said the press release was shared with Tesla representatives. Wall Street expects Tesla to deliver nearly 900,000 vehicles globally this year. (Wall Street Journal)
There was a strong rally in global bond markets after the Bank of England held interest rates at record lows, surprising investors who had spent the past few weeks positioning for a shift towards tighter monetary policy from big central banks. (Financial Times)
The U.S. trade deficit widened in September to $80.9 billion, a record, driven by climbing demand for capital goods like computers and electric equipment and industrial supplies that have been soaring in cost as global supply chains remain snarled. The deficit in trade of goods and services grew 11.2% in September. The trade deficit has been trending wider throughout the economic recovery, but this was the sharpest monthly increase in the deficit since July of 2020. Imports rose by 0.6% to $288.5 billion, also a monthly record. (Wall Street Journal)
Several companies announced earnings:
Peloton shares fall 25% as company posts wider-than-expected loss and slashes full-year outlook. (CNBC)
Airbnb profits surge 280% in third quarter. (CNBC)
Uber revenue up 72% from last year, but Didi stake contributes to big loss. (CNBC)
Pinterest beats on earnings and revenue even as monthly user number drops. (CNBC)
New York Takes On Miami: New York City mayor-elect Eric Adams plans to take his first three paychecks in bitcoin, in the politician’s latest move to give Miami a run for its money as one of the country’s top destinations for crypto enthusiasts. “NYC is going to be the center of the cryptocurrency industry,” Adams said in a tweet. In this same post, he wrote that in New York, “we always go big” so he would be taking his “first THREE paychecks” in bitcoin. Adams appeared to be trying to one-up Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who said that he would be taking his next paycheck “100% in bitcoin. (The Information, CNBC)
Crypto jobs span the U.S. as hubs spring up from Miami to Denver. (Bloomberg)
Technology
Why consulting firms are becoming software companies: Consulting firms aren't just recommending software anymore, they're building it. Management consulting firms like McKinsey and Booz Allen are upending the traditional consulting model and building their own software. (Protocol)
AT&T and Verizon agreed to delay their planned Dec. 5 rollout of a new 5G frequency band so they can work with the Federal Aviation Administration to address concerns about potential interference with key cockpit safety systems. (Wall Street Journal)
IBM sheds 25% of its business in battle against decade of decline: IBM has completed the spin-off of the IT services business that once brought it back from the edge of bankruptcy, in its most drastic move yet to end a decade-long contraction that has eroded confidence among Wall Street investors and customers. (Financial Times)
While there's been talk about a "White House crypto czar," venture firm Andreessen Horowitz would like for the person to focus on more than just cryptocurrencies. In a new policy outline on Web3, a16z said it "supported" having a senior official dedicated to the area, but the firm hoped that the position would "encompass the more expansive landscape of web3 and decentralized technology in addition to cryptocurrencies." Beyond having someone in the White House focused on the issue, it also thinks more support should be given to Congress to better understand technology. "We think it's time to appoint a senior official to serve as the Administration's web3 czar and allocate additional resources to facilitate technology analysis by Congress," a16z's Global Head of Policy Tomicah Tillemann said in a tweet. (Protocol)
Smart Links
Should you pay off your mortgage before retiring? Usually. (Wall Street Journal)
AMC to sell its own branded popcorn at mall kiosks, supermarkets in 2022. (CNBC)
Planet Fitness CEO says gym membership has almost reached its pre-Covid peak. (CNBC)
Alphabet launches AI company to discover new drugs. (Financial Times)
Are we really ready for the enterprise metaverse? (Protocol)
The 50-year-old problem that eludes theoretical computer science: “P versus NP.” (MIT Technology Review)
Gates Foundation effort releases new tool to compare colleges. (Inside Higher Ed)