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The World
Healthcare employment is rebounding from the job losses created by Covid-19, but the overall numbers still trail pre-pandemic levels. Overall sector employment at the end of 1Q21 was down by 44,000 compared to the end of last year. Hospital employment has sunk for three consecutive months, and is down 37,000 jobs since the end of last year. (Healthcare Dive)
More COVID-19 cases are now being recorded globally each day than ever before, surpassing the previous global peak in early January. This time, the biggest source of new cases is India. New Delhi imposed a weeklong lockdown to prevent the collapse of the Indian capital’s health system, as hospitals are overwhelmed, supplies like oxygen are scarce and morgues are overfull. (Axios, Associated Press)
Since the pandemic began, about 42% of U.S. adults have gained weight — 29 pounds, on average, according to the American Psychological Association’s “Stress in America” report. About half of the weight-gainers reported adding more than 15 pounds; 10%, more than 50 pounds. Men have put on more weight than women (37 vs. 22 pounds, on average), and younger adults have gained more than older people (millennials averaging 41 pounds vs. baby boomers at 16 pounds). (Washington Post, American Psychological Association)
Younger Americans are least likely to vaccinate: Among adults under the age of 35, 36% say they don't plan on getting a Covid-19 vaccine. That's higher than the 27% overall and much higher than the 10% of senior citizens who say they won't get a shot. (CNN, Quinnipiac poll)
Summer in Paris is starting to look like possible for Americans. French President Emmanuel Macron said the country was working to “progressively” lift travel restrictions at the beginning of May, probably paving the way for summertime visits from other Europeans as well as Americans. (Washington Post)
State Department to list 80% of countries as 'Do Not Travel' as it updates advisory system to align with CDC. (CNN)
The State Department said the U.S. ambassador to Russia, John Sullivan, will now be returning to the U.S. this week before returning to Moscow "in the coming weeks." The statement comes just hours after Axios reported that Sullivan had indicated he intended to stand his ground and stay in Russia after the Kremlin “advised” him to return home to talk with his team. (Axios)
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he is prepared to send military ships to “stake a claim” over oil and mineral resources in the South China Sea – while noting that challenging Beijing in the disputed waters will only lead to violence: “If we go there to assert our jurisdiction, it will be bloody.” (South China Morning Post)
Myanmar’s military coup has pushed its fledgling digital economy to the brink of collapse. Amid internet blackouts, economic isolation, and massive strikes, a decade of development is unwinding. Meanwhile, Pakistan temporarily blocked several social media services last week. (Rest of World, TechCrunch)
The battle lines for Germany’s general election were drawn as the centre right named its candidate to succeed Angela Merkel at the end of a chaotic seven-hour video summit. Armin Laschet, 60, the leader of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), was elected to stand for the chancellorship by 31 votes to nine in a fractious session of the party’s ruling board, drawing a line under a week of infighting. (The Times, Deutsche Welle)
Of six environmental problems facing the U.S., Americans remain most worried about those that affect water quality. Majorities express "a great deal" of worry about the pollution of both drinking water (56%) and rivers, lakes and reservoirs (53%). Fewer, though still substantial minorities ranging between 40% and 45%, express a great deal of concern about the loss of tropical rain forests, global warming or climate change, air pollution, and the extinction of plant and animal species. (Gallup)
Economy
After a collapse in cross-border dealmaking in 1H20, foreign investment into the UK has risen considerably in recent months. Inbound M&A reached GBP58.7 billion (196 deals), over 3x higher than during 1Q21 (GBP18.6 billion). This also represents the highest quarterly inbound deal count since 3Q17 (200 deals). (Private Equity Wire)
Where startups see money in the $2.3T infrastructure bill: President Biden’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure spending plan would see hundreds of billions of dollars spent on high-tech sectors including expanded broadband access, domestic semiconductors, renewable energy and electric vehicles. These — and some less tech-centric sectors — are all areas where venture capitalists and other startup investors spy business opportunities. (Crunchbase)
Several U.S. banks have started deploying camera software that can analyze customer preferences, monitor workers and spot people sleeping near ATMs, even as they remain wary about possible backlash over increased surveillance. (Reuters)
Toyota Motor is set to introduce 15 electric vehicle models by 2025 as the world's biggest automaker looks to capture a slice of the fast-growing EV market. The Japanese automaker is known for kick-starting the market for hybrid vehicles, which combine an engine with an electric motor, but has been less aggressive than its U.S. and European rivals in developing fully electric models. (Nikkei Asian Review)
New report details COVID-19’s impact on the digital economy: 1) The impact of government interventions and social distancing on the pandemic is critical. 2) Post-pandemic planning is key to the economic fallout and business implications of COVID-19. 3) Social media has a large role in creating and fighting coronavirus misinformation and bias. 4) Digital technology helped track COVID-19 and transformed the nature of work. 5) Vaccine acceptance is still unfolding, but there are ways to increase approval. (MIT Sloan)
IBM beats across the board, posts revenue growth after four quarters of declines. (CNBC)
Technology
Why the Chip Shortage Is So Hard to Overcome: Semiconductor producers are trying to increase output, but the small gains are unlikely to fix the shortfalls hampering production of everything from cars to home appliances to PCs. Chip makers are trying to eke out more supply through changes to manufacturing processes and by opening up spare capacity to rivals, auditing customer orders to prevent hoarding and swapping over production lines. The bad news is, there are no quick fixes, and shortages will likely continue into next year. (Wall Street Journal)
Startups are poaching Facebook, Google execs: A few days before DoorDash went public last December, it hired a new VP of enterprise sales and business development — a 16-year veteran of Google. In the past three months, grocery-delivery service Instacart has recruited four executives from public tech companies, including two from Facebook. In March, Google vice president Aparna Chennapragada joined Robinhood. Data shows that private tech companies ramped up their recruitment efforts for executives at Google, Facebook and Amazon in October. Such outreach spiked again in March. (The Information)
Zoom created a $100 million Zoom Apps Fund, with plans to invest anywhere from $250,000 to $2.5 million in companies across the video spectrum. (Protocol)
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg discussed the company’s plans to build new audio products over the next few months with Casey Newton. Newton’s five “big things that stood out”: 1) Facebook is betting on small business over big business; 2) How to moderate live audio is still an open question; 3) Facebook thinks creators should have more ownership over their audiences; 4) Substack’s margin is Facebook’s opportunity; 5) and Zuckerberg argues that some of the negative attitudes about Facebook are explained by the same forces propelling the success of creators: the shift in power from individuals to institutions. Facebook says it will start testing Live Audio Rooms in Groups and expects to roll out the feature to everyone on the Facebook app by the summer. (Platformer, Facebook)
Clubhouse downloads dropped 72% in March compared to February, when the app was downloaded 9.6 million times. In March, Clubhouse was downloaded 2.7 million times — putting it just ahead of the 2.4 million downloads it had in January. (The Wrap)
Google recently decided to adopt a new way to track users: Federated Learning of Cohorts, or FLoC. Google says it's more private than cookies and still nearly as effective for advertising. Rather than track you individually, FLoC puts you into a larger group with other people who share your interests. So far, the rest of the internet pretty much hates FLoC. The WordPress development team is proposing to "treat FLoC as a security concern," and opt every site out of the system by default. Given that Wordpress powers about 40% of the entire web (and its market share is even higher among publishers), that could be a massive blow to FLoC as a concept. (Source Code)
Smart Links
Mid-Atlantic, Massachusetts and Colorado lead as U.S. early-stage funding surges. (Crunchbase)
Several key officials leave U.S. Chamber of Commerce. (CNBC)
Atlanta home prices jumped again in March. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
The e-scooters loved by Silicon Valley roll into New York. (New Yorker)
China’s births may fall below 10 million annually in next five years. (Reuters)
U.S. considering rule to cut nicotine in cigarettes. (Wall Street Journal)
MLB seeing record-high streaming viewership despite All-Star Game backlash. (CNBC)
Oprah-backed Oatly files for IPO. (Wall Street Journal)