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The World
Western nations escalated their pressure on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, with the EU approving a ban on Russian coal and the U.S. moving to strip Russia’s trading privileges and prohibit its energy sales in the American market. The new punishments came as the UN General Assembly took a symbolically important vote to penalize Russia by suspending it from the Human Rights Council, the 47-member U.N. body that can investigate rights abuses. Western diplomats called the suspension a barometer of global outrage over the war and the growing evidence of atrocities committed by Russian forces. (New York Times)
NATO member states agreed to supply new types of advanced weaponry to Ukraine, as Kyiv prepares for a fresh offensive by Russia in the country’s east. The pledge came after a plea from Ukraine’s foreign minister for western countries to move faster with fresh supplies or instead see “many people die . . . because this help came too late”. (Financial Times)
Even as multinational companies have flooded out of Russia in response to the war in Ukraine, Samsung Electronics has yet to take a clear stance on the matter, fearing it could lose some substantial smartphone and television market share to Chinese rivals. (Nikkei Asia Review)
Dozens of Chinese firms have built software that uses artificial intelligence to sort data collected on residents, amid high demand from authorities seeking to upgrade their surveillance tools, a Reuters review of government documents shows. According to more than 50 publicly available documents examined by Reuters, dozens of entities in China have over the past four years bought such software, known as "one person, one file". The technology improves on existing software, which simply collects data but leaves it to people to organize. (Reuters)
Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruled that Imran Khan’s move to dissolve parliament and block a confidence vote was unconstitutional. It ordered MPs to return in a ruling that could spell the end of Khan’s turbulent premiership. The former cricket star threw Pakistan into renewed political chaos when he dissolved parliament before the vote which he appeared certain to lose. In its ruling, the court ordered MPs to return within two days and the vote to go ahead. (The Times)
Covid creeps ever closer to Biden: "It’s almost impossible to isolate the president of the U.S. in a way that would keep him from getting sick," one pandemic expert says. Nancy Pelosi tested positive for Covid and is "currently asymptomatic.” (Politico)
Georgetown, Johns Hopkins temporarily restore some covid measures, as both campuses describe a rise in coronavirus cases among students. Georgetown University is bringing back an indoor mask mandate on the main and medical center campuses, roughly two weeks after making face coverings optional. Johns Hopkins University will again require masking in dining facilities and residence hall common areas, and undergraduates will need to undergo twice-weekly testing until at least April 22. (Washington Post)
In Shanghai, in the name of the zero Covid policy, children and newborns separated from their parents. As China's largest city enters a second week of draconian confinement, the isolation of even very young children in the event of a positive test is arousing anger and anxiety. (Le Monde)
A trio of studies has shown that even people who have had COVID-19 get long-lasting benefits from being fully vaccinated. In one study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, researchers found that two doses of vaccine prevented about 65% of expected COVID-19 infections in a group of people who had previously been infected. A second study, also in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, found that people who had been infected with SARS-CoV-2 had a 95% reduced risk of infection compared with people with no immunity. That risk was further reduced by two doses of vaccine. A third study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, found that ‘hybrid’ immunity caused by infection and vaccination is long-lasting, protecting against symptomatic disease for six to eight months after infection. (Nature)
Telehealth use rose for third straight month in January as omicron spread: Among the top five telehealth diagnoses in January, COVID-19 tied for second with acute respiratory diseases and infections. Mental health conditions were by far the most common diagnosis, coming in at nearly 60% of all claims. (Healthcare Dive)
For the seventh straight year, U.S. public concern about the quality of the environment is near its two-decade high, with 44% of Americans worrying "a great deal" about it. The rest are about evenly divided between those worrying "a fair amount" (27%) versus "only a little" or "not at all" (28%). The recent stretch of elevated public concern about the environment contrasts with more muted worry in the first 15 years after Gallup began tracking this public sentiment in 2001. From 2001 to 2015, closer to a third of Americans said they worried a great deal about the environment, with the figure exceeding 40% only twice, in 2001 and 2007. (Gallup)
100-degree temps on tap as heat wave comes to SoCal. (Los Angeles Times)
Global emissions of methane, the second-biggest contributor to human-caused climate change after carbon dioxide, surged by a record amount in 2021, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. NOAA said the annual increase in atmospheric methane last year was 17 parts per billion, the largest amount recorded since systematic measurements began in 1983. The increase in methane during 2020 was 15.3 parts per billion. In 2021, atmospheric methane levels averaged 1,895.7 parts per billion, or roughly 162% greater than preindustrial levels. (CNBC)
Economy
Getting real about recession risk and the yield curve: The yield curve’s predictive ability may have been clouded by the recent spike in inflation, according to Goldman Sachs Research. When inflation jumps, it’s more common for the yield curve to flatten or even invert. Furthermore, researchers at Goldman Sachs have found that the curve using inflation-adjusted yields (real rates) is still positive and hasn’t inverted. Their models using nominal (not accounting for inflation) yield curves suggest the probability of recession is around 41% (as of April 5th), and curves using real and breakeven rates signal a probability that is closer to 39%. Doing the same analysis based on data from periods of higher inflation (from 1971 to 1991), strategists at Goldman Sachs found a slightly lower chance of recession. Real and breakeven rates had a stronger statistical significance for forecasting an economic downturn using data from that time period, and that model puts the current odds of recession at about 35%. “Under any measure, the broader yield curve's signal of recession risk has risen of late, but the magnitude of that change and current odds of recession risk depend somewhat on the assessment of the inflation environment,” according to Goldman Sachs Research. (Goldman Sachs)
Rising mortgage rates are causing more home sellers to lower their asking prices. About 12% of homes for sale had a price drop during the four weeks ending April 3. That’s up from 9% a year ago. The number of new listings last week jumped 8% from a year ago. This follows four straight weeks of annual declines in new listings. Buyers are sweating because the average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage really took off in the past few weeks, surpassing 5%. (CNBC)
As mortgage rates rise, home sellers fear time is running out to cash in. A growing sense of urgency grows to list properties before the housing market cools. (Wall Street Journal)
The venture market in Asia is not immune to the decline in funding seen globally. Asia venture funding declined to $36.3 billion in the first quarter, a 7% drop compared to the same quarter last year, and a much more dramatic 31% dip compared to 4Q21. (Crunchbase)
The NFL, other major sports leagues, players unions and team owners are leading the latest round of investment in Fanatics, the rapidly growing sports online-platform company. The latest investment totals $1.5 billion, with the NFL kicking in the largest portion at $320 million. Fanatics is valued at $27 billion. The NFL Players Association also made an investment. Other investors include MLB and its players union, as well as the NHL. (CNBC)
Technology
Twitter plans to host Elon Musk for a question-and-answer session with employees after a week of internal outcries over his appointment to the social network’s board of directors, according to company messages obtained by The Washington Post. The announcement from Twitter chief executive Parag Agrawal of the highly unusual internal AMA — which stands for “ask me anything” — session was an effort to assuage anxious workers, who in recent days have expressed worries that the firebrand Musk could inflict damage to the company’s culture, as well as make it harder for people to do their jobs. (Washington Post)
Memo: NYT's Dean Baquet tells staff Twitter presence is “purely optional”, to “meaningfully reduce” time on the site, and attacking colleagues is “not allowed.” (Insider)
One of the most interesting announcements at Google’s Search-focused keynote in September was a big upgrade to Lens that lets you take a photo and ask questions about it. “Multisearch” in Google Lens is now available to beta test on Android and iOS. Multisearch is Google’s “entirely new way to search” that aims to address how you sometimes don’t “have all the words to describe what you were looking for.” It starts by taking a picture (or importing an existing one) with Google Lens and then swiping up on the results panel and tapping the new “Add to your search” button at the top. This will let you enter a “question about an object in front of you or refine your search by color, brand or a visual attribute.” (9to5Google)
Innovations in the U.S. and China have largely overshadowed Europe’s tech scene. But the sector is set to take off thanks to a surge of private capital, the accelerated adoption of online services and more supportive government policies. Online usage is soaring. The adoption of online services by consumers and businesses has accelerated dramatically through COVID with three- to five- years’ worth of growth taking place in 2020 alone across sectors such as e-commerce and online streaming, explains Lisa Yang, head of the European Media and Internet team for Goldman Sachs Research, on the latest episode of Exchanges at Goldman Sachs. Unicorns are multiplying. “We've seen more and more European online companies starting to scale up and being able to compete at the global scale,” Yang tells Exchanges host Allison Nathan. “The number of European tech unicorns has doubled in the space of just two years.” New platforms and digital enablers underpin the infrastructure behind Europe’s digital economy. “What we've seen is that some of these smaller companies can be innovative and benefit from all of this compute and storage in a highly scalable way, even if they don't have as much specialized IT infrastructure themselves,” says Alexander Duval, head of Europe Tech Hardware, Semiconductors and Video Games for Goldman Sachs Research. (Exchanges at GS)
Smart Links
There’s no shortage of aspiring Goldman bankers as record 236,000 students apply for internships. (CNBC)
U.S. life expectancy falls for 2nd year in a row. (NPR)
Le Monde launches English website on eve of French election. (Bloomberg)
The proportion of elected city offices held by women rose by just 3% in 2022. (City Lab)
Siren call of daylight saving must be resisted, scientists say. (Harvard Gazette)
Remarkable Tiger Woods in Masters hunt after opening 71. (Reuters)