Six Months
What You Need To Know
Today’s posts that caught my eye:
It’s already six months since the attack on the Capitol. Does the country feel like it’s coming together?
Not sure of the chicken or egg, but Chase — whose CEO Jamie Dimon is pushing for employees to return to the office — is “eying sites for potential new skyscraper, in what could lead to one of the largest office leases in Chicago history,” the Chicago Tribune reports. If you have skyscrapers, you certainly have to fill them.
The shootings in American cities — stories today on Chicago and Los Angeles — are not sustainable.
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The World
Six months on from the mayhem on 6 January, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the heart of American democracy to disrupt the confirmation of Joe Biden’s election victory, Republicans and rightwing media have variously attempted to downplay the attack or blame it on leftwing infiltrators and the FBI. Interviews with diehard Trump fans suggest that the riot denialism is working. Many refuse to condemn the insurrectionists who beat police officers, smashed windows and called for then Vice-President Mike Pence to be hanged. The swirl of conspiracy theories, combined with Trump’s deluded claims of a stole election, raise fears of a replay that could be even more violent. (The Guardian)
President Biden said the riot was "disorder," not dissent, and "posed an existential crisis and a test of whether our democracy could survive." He added: "Not even during the Civil War did insurrectionists breach our Capitol, the citadel of our democracy. But six months ago today, insurrectionists did. [S]ix months later, we can say unequivocally that democracy did prevail — and that we must all continue the work to protect and preserve it." (Axios)
China’s government tightened the rules for IPOs, introducing a sweeping overhaul to how the nation’s companies can raise capital onshore and overseas, in a move that may stymie some of the biggest deals in the world’s financial markets. The procedure for overseas listings, including the NYSE and Nasdaq, will be revised, according to a statement issued by the State Council, the Chinese government’s cabinet. The announcement triggered a 25% fall in Didi shares. (South China Morning Post, Financial Times)
Japan would join the U.S. in defending Taiwan against a Chinese invasion, the country’s deputy prime minister said, warning of an “existential threat” that could lead to an attack on its own territory. The remarks from Japan’s finance minister are his most outspoken expression so far of a dramatic shift in Japanese policy towards China. (The Times)
New UK Covid cases could reach 100,000 a day after lockdown restrictions are eased this month, UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid said, but he insisted opening up the country was not a “gamble.” (The Times)
South Korea reported more than 1,200 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, the highest daily count since late December. (Reuters)
Israel’s cabinet mulls reimposing COVID curbs as active caseload climbs back above 3,000. (Times of Israel)
A third of White conservatives refuse to get vaccinated — a refusal shown in polling and the real world. (Washington Post)
At least 125 children and adults contracted COVID-19 after returning from a Texas church summer camp in June. (Axios)
Chicago’s Independence Day weekend marred by violence, with at least 108 people shot, 17 fatally — the most people shot over a July 4 holiday weekend since at least 2017. Meanwhile, Chicago police Superintendent David Brown again took a swipe at the court system as he addressed the violence. (Chicago Tribune)
More than a dozen Angelenos dead in bloody Fourth of July weekend: Killings in L.A. have continued to surge in recent months, following a 31% increase across California in 2020. (Los Angeles Times)
Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued the first-in-the-nation Executive Order declaring gun violence in New York as a Disaster Emergency -- the first step in a comprehensive plan that aims to tackle the surge in gun violence throughout the state. The disaster emergency status will allow the state to address the gun violence crisis by expediting money and resources to communities so they can begin targeting gun violence immediately. (WNBC-NY)
Eric L. Adams, who rose from poverty to become an iconoclastic police captain and the borough president of Brooklyn, declared victory in the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City, putting him on track to become the second Black mayor in the history of the nation’s largest city. The contest, which was called by The Associated Press on Tuesday night, was seen as one of the city’s most critical elections in a generation, with the winner expected to help set New York on a recovery course from the economic devastation of Covid-19 and from the longstanding racial and socioeconomic inequalities that the pandemic deepened. (New York Times)
Journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones said she would join the faculty of Howard University, turning down an offer to teach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill after a long and remarkably contentious effort to recruit her there. In another recruiting win, Howard also announced that author and alumnus Ta-Nehisi Coates would join the faculty of the prominent historically Black institution in the nation’s capital. (Washington Post, Howard University)
Texas students of color returned to in-person learning at below-average rates, but experts say the reasons are nuanced. The Texas Education Agency cited COVID-19’s disproportionate effect on communities of color as reason for lower engagement and attendance rates among students of color. (Texas Tribune)
Banned sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson was not on the Olympic roster released by USA Track and Field, a decision that means the American's positive test for marijuana will cost her a chance at running on the relay team in Tokyo, in addition to her spot in the 100-meter individual race. The federation had two discretionary picks beyond the top four finishers in the 100-meter final at trials but chose not to offer a spot to the 21-year-old sprinter, who was expected to challenge for Olympic gold. (ESPN)
The Department of Defense is calling off the $10 billion cloud contract that was the subject of a legal battle involving Amazon and Microsoft. But it’s also announcing a new contract and soliciting proposals from both cloud service providers. (CNBC)
Another intense heat wave to roast Western U.S., southwest Canada: Temperatures 20 degrees above normal could bring record-challenging heat to the West once again. (Washington Post)
Economy
Rising oil and gas prices add to U.S. economic challenges: West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. oil-price benchmark, hit $76.98 a barrel, its highest level in six years, as OPEC, Russia and their allies again failed to agree on production increases. Prices moderated later in the day but remained nearly $10 a barrel higher than in mid-May. The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in the United States has risen to $3.13, according to AAA, up from $3.05 a month ago. A year ago, as the coronavirus kept people home, gas cost just $2.18 a gallon on average. The auto club said it expected prices to increase another 10 to 20 cents through the end of August. (New York Times)
The economy added 850,000 jobs in June, the biggest one-month gain since last summer. Women accounted for 47.6% of the new jobs added, and 148,000 women re-entered the workforce, meaning they either found work or are actively looking for it. But the uptick comes with a wrinkle: of those who rejoined the labor force, just 3% had a job. Meanwhile, of the 232,000 men who reentered the workforce in June, 88% were employed. All told, women’s unemployment rate actually increased last month to 5.5% from 5.4% in May. That’s for all women; 8.5% of Black women and 7.9% of Latinas were jobless last month. Those figures also mask how many women have left the workforce entirely—meaning they’re not even looking for a job—during the pandemic. If they were accounted for in the unemployment rate, women’s joblessness would be 7.6% instead of 5.5%. (The Broadsheet)
Sales of vacation homes rose 16.4% in 2020 compared with 2019, while the total growth of all existing-home sales was just 5.6% during that same period. And 2021 appears to be shaping up the same way: From January to April 2021, vacation home sales jumped 57.2% YoY compared with the 20% YoY growth in total existing-home sales. (Washington Post)
There is a growing divide on Wall Street: firms calling employees back and firms telling people they can work from home. Titans like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are taking a hard-line approach, beefing up in-person staff five days a week in New York even though it might mean losing talent. Rivals including Citigroup are touting flexibility, betting that a softer approach will help them poach top traders and deal makers. JPM and GS leaders say being in the office leads to better collaboration and idea generation, and they have complained that employees are less productive at home. (Wall Street Journal)
Chase eyes sites for potential new skyscraper, in what could lead to one of the largest office leases in Chicago history. The banking giant recently toured several sites and listened to pitches from developers looking for an anchor tenant to kick off construction of a new skyscraper. (Chicago Tribune)
JPMorgan Chase has made more than 30 acquisitions in 2021, putting America’s biggest bank by assets on track for its largest buying spree in years. The acquisitions and investments in other companies, mostly of smaller groups ranging from an online money manager in Britain to a Brazilian digital bank, are a sign of how JPMorgan chief Jamie Dimon is turning to deals to expand the banking giant. (Financial Times)
China's economy is expected to expand by 7.7% in 2Q21, boosted by strong exports, according to a survey of 29 economists conducted by Nikkei and Nikkei Quick News. (Nikkei Asian Review)
Study of four-day work week in Iceland an "overwhelming success": Cuts in working hours — without accompanying pay cuts — did not impact worker productivity in Iceland, new research shows, and employees reported less stress and an improved work-life balance. Since the trials, 86% of Iceland's entire working population have moved to shorter hours or have gained the right to shorten their working hours, per the new study. (Axios)
Technology
Twitter loses immunity over user-generated content in India: Twitter no more enjoys liability protection against user-generated content in India as the U.S. microblogging giant has failed to comply with new IT rules, the Indian government said in a court filing. The statement is the first time Prime Minister Modi's administration has officially said Twitter has lost its immunity after repeatedly criticising the company for non-compliance. (Reuters)
Huawei's chip design arm has struck a deal aimed at building up its domestic supply chain in a first public move against a U.S. clampdown aimed at cutting its access to vital technology. (Nikkei Asian Review)
Hyperlocal social media platform Nextdoor agreed to go public through a merger with a SPAC, in a deal that it said would give the business an implied valuation of $4.3bn. Founded in 2011, the social network carved a niche distinct from dominant rival Facebook by creating an online space for neighbors to discuss local events, rate local businesses and exchange goods and services. (Financial Times)
Universal will move its pay-one window for films from HBO to Peacock. The move is another sign of the importance that media conglomerates are placing on bolstering their in-house streaming services as they engage in a fierce battle for subscribers. Both Peacock and Universal are owned by Comcast. Universal’s films have been released on HBO since 2005. Now, Peacock will have access to Universal’s most popular franchises, which include the “Jurassic World” and “Fast & Furious” films, as well as the “Despicable Me” movies and spinoffs. New films will appear on the streaming service within four months of their theatrical debut. (Variety)
Top movie franchises by global box office sales. (Axios)
Smart Links
NASA is actively searching for intelligent life in the universe and is looking for habitable planets: NASA Head. (CNBC)
Who’s attending investment firm Allen & Co.’s annual "Sun Valley" summer conference? A partial list. (Axios)
Private equity invests in record 566 Central and Eastern European companies in 2020. (Private Equity Wire)
Grubhub to use robots to deliver on college campuses. (Wall Street Journal)
China beats Google to claim the world's most powerful quantum computer. (New Scientist)
Disputes over mask rules comprise 75% of unruly-passenger complaints on planes. (CNBC)
Apple podcasts continues to be plagued by technical issues. (HotPod)
UK construction grows at fastest pace in 24 years. (The Times)
Good News
Leonardo Da Vinci project finds 14 living male descendants: Researchers hope to understand genius of artist by reconstructing his genealogical profile. (The Guardian)
He realized his dogs have an unusual skill. Now he uses them to help save turtles. (Washington Post)
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