'Surging Rents'
What You Need To Know
Today’s posts that caught my eye:
Liberal Democrats withdraw letter to Biden that urged him to rethink Ukraine strategy.
Fascinating video: China’s former leader Hu Jintao was arguing about official papers, moments before he was escorted off the stage at a key Communist party meeting in Beijing, new footage shows.
The Great Pandemic Hand-Washing Blooper: Should you wash your hands? Yes. Does it matter for respiratory viruses? Not as much as we once thought.
Thank you for subscribing. Know someone who should check out the newsletter? Let them!
The World
Xi Jinping’s men: Why China’s new politburo has spooked markets. For decades the Politburo Standing Committee, the most powerful political body in China, has been a check on the leader’s power through a convention that ensured it was made up of politicians of different ages from all factions of the party. Now, for the first time since former leader Deng Xiaoping’s exit from key party roles in 1989, the elite seven-member group has been stacked with the leader’s own people. Xi’s consolidation of power has also prompted warnings that the world’s most populous country is increasingly fitting the definition of autocracy. “This is complete, total dominance,” Taisu Zhang, a China expert and professor at Yale University, said on Twitter. “Please don’t ever tell me again that Chinese politics is a meritocracy.” (Financial Times)
China’s former leader Hu Jintao was arguing about official papers, moments before he was escorted off the stage at a key Communist party meeting in Beijing, new footage shows. Hu’s apparently reluctant departure from the stage at the 20th congress of the Chinese Communist party (CCP) was a rare moment of unscripted drama at what was otherwise a carefully choreographed week of political theatre. Chinese president Xi Jinping talks to former president Hu Jintao Former Chinese president Hu Jintao unexpectedly led out of party congress Read more The new footage, shot by Channel News Asia but only released two days after the incident, captures about a minute of discreet, high-level manoeuvring before an official arrives to escort Hu away. (The Guardian)
Italy’s new leader Giorgia Meloni has sought to reassure EU partners by vowing to respect the bloc’s rules and supporting Ukraine against “blackmail” from Russian president Vladimir Putin. Addressing parliament for the first time after being sworn in as prime minister on Saturday, the far-right politician said her ruling rightwing coalition would not stand against EU integration, would work with other member states in a “pragmatic and non-ideologic” way and would protect “freedom and democracy”. (Financial Times)
Relations are now so icy between Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz, the leaders of the EU’s two economic powerhouses, that they are even struggling to agree on whether to be seen together in front of the press. (Politico EU)
People who caught mild Covid had increased risk of blood clots, British study finds. Patients with mild Covid, defined as those not hospitalized, were 2.7 times more likely to develop blood clots, according to the study published in the British Medical Journal on Monday. Patients hospitalized with Covid were 27 times more likely to develop blood clots, 21 times more likely to suffer heart failure and 17 times more likely to have a stroke, according to the study. The risk of cardiovascular disease for mild and severe cases was highest in the first 30 days after infection. (CNBC)
The Great Pandemic Hand-Washing Blooper: Should you wash your hands? Yes. Does it matter for respiratory viruses? Not as much as we once thought. (The Atlantic)
Liberal Democrats withdraw letter to Biden that urged him to rethink Ukraine strategy: The Congressional Progressive Caucus has rescinded a letter, signed by 30 House liberals and sent to the White House on Monday, that urged President Biden to negotiate directly with Russia to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. The withdrawal comes a day after the letter, led by Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), triggered fierce pushback from many Democrats. The retraction was also a stunning misstep for a prominent House liberal who has expressed interest in seeking a leadership position in the party. On Tuesday, Jayapal said the letter had been drafted several months ago and “released by staff without vetting.” “As Chair of the Caucus, I accept responsibility for this,” Jayapal said in a statement. “The proximity of these statements created the unfortunate appearance that Democrats, who have strongly and unanimously supported and voted for every package of military, strategic, and economic assistance to the Ukrainian people, are somehow aligned with Republicans who seek to pull the plug on American support for President Zelensky and the Ukrainian forces.” (Washington Post)
Bernie Sanders: House progressives were wrong on Ukraine. (Semafor)
1 million vote early in Georgia, a dramatic increase from 2018. In Virginia, more than 411,000 people have voted so far, surpassing the total number of people who voted early in 2018, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. In North Carolina, more than 530,000 voters had cast ballots in some way as of Monday, down from 590,000 at this time in 2018, although early voting was offered for more days during that election. In Texas, about 550,000 people have voted, according to the state elections office. At this point in 2018, more than 695,000 people had voted in Texas, showing a stark drop-off in engagement between midterm elections. (Washington Post)
Alaska GOP votes to censure McConnell for supporting Lisa Murkowski. (Axios)
Debates:
NY: Hochul, Zeldin both take swings in only debate in tightening governor's race. (Politico)
MI: Michigan governor debate: Whitmer says Tudor Dixon is "dangerous". (Axios)
PA: Fetterman and Oz face off on economic issues, abortion in first and only debate. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
President Joe Biden’s job approval rating is 40%, a step down from the 44% measured in August but still above his term-low 38% from July, according to Gallup. In all other months in 2022, his approval rating has been in the 40% to 42% range. (Political Wire)
Natural gas prices on European exchanges have slipped below $100 per megawatt hour for the first time since Russia cut supplies in the summer — a drop of around 70% from their peak. The dip has been caused by nearly full storage capacity across the continent and unusually warm weather leading to a supply glut, and European leaders are now faced with the challenge of finding places to store the gas they know they will need in a few weeks. (Financial Times)
Investor Vinod Khosla says focusing on 2030 climate targets is the wrong approach: Vinod Khosla, the founder of the Silicon Valley venture capital firm, Khosla Ventures, says 2040 is the more important goal post in combating climate change than 2030. Khosla, who cofounded computer hardware firm Sun Microsystems in 1982 and spent 18 years at venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, is interested in big bets like commercializing fusion and deep geothermal technology. “People who think we have the technology is wishful thinking. We can deploy the current technologies. I am not saying slow down, but we need the breakthroughs,” Khosla said. (CNBC)
Deadliest summer for heat-related deaths in Arizona’s biggest county: Maricopa county’s 359 heat-associated fatalities this year outpace 339 deaths confirmed in 2021, figures show. (Associated Press)
Partial solar eclipse graces the skies across the Middle East. (Reuters)
Economy
Surging Rents Push More Americans to Live With Roommates or Parents: After a long stretch of record-high rents, Americans are renting fewer apartments as demand in the third quarter fell to its lowest level in 13 years. Some renters are choosing to take on roommates, while others are boarding with family or friends. More people are opting to stay longer in their parents’ homes or moving back in, rather than pay steep rent increases, according to a recent UBS survey. Apartment demand in the quarter, measured by the one-year change in the occupancy of units, was the lowest since 2009, when the U.S. was feeling the effects of the subprime crisis, according to rental software company RealPage. Measured quarterly, the drop in demand was the worst of any third quarter—normally prime leasing season—in the more than 30 years RealPage has compiled the data. (Wall Street Journal)
Home Prices Fell in August in Biggest Monthly Decrease Since 2011. Economists expect price growth to continue to decelerate this year. (Wall Street Journal)
Americans now say they will need $1.25 million to retire comfortably, survey finds. The average expected retirement age has also increased to 64, up from 62.6 last year. (CNBC)
Gilt yields fall in vote of confidence for Rishi Sunak: UK government bond yields have fallen to the levels they were before last month’s tax-cutting mini-budget in a boost for Rishi Sunak. The yield on the 10-year gilt, regarded as a proxy for the cost of government borrowing, fell to 3.68 per cent. Before the fiscal statement, or mini-budget, on September 23, which set out Liz Truss’s unfunded growth plans, the yield was around 3.8 per cent. (The Times)
A study analyzing over a decade of data at about 58,000 startups in Portugal found that workers put in almost 7% less overtime, and 1% fewer regular hours, for female bosses. (Bloomberg)
Online banks are once again racing for savers’ cash. Over the course of the Federal Reserve’s seven-month campaign of rate hikes, a common complaint from lawmakers and consumers alike is that rates are going up for borrowing — mortgages, credit cards, personal loans — but not savings accounts. That has changed quickly. Online banks led the charge in the second half of this year. (Protocol)
EY Israel rejects break-up plan pushed by global bosses: Local partners of Big Four firm join China in deciding not to split consulting and audit businesses. (Financial Times)
Technology
YouTube’s shrinking ad business is an ominous sign for the battered online ad market: YouTube revenue declined for the first time since Google started reporting YouTube earnings separately. Alphabet’s overall revenue growth drastically declined year-over-year from 41% to 6% in its latest quarter. The growth rate of Microsoft’s search and news advertising business has been shrinking each quarter of the past year, coinciding with the general downward trajectory of entire online advertising marketing. (CNBC)
Alphabet reports Google ad sales of $54.5B in Q3, up from $53.1B YoY, missing estimates of $56.6B, and Google Search revenue of $39.5B, up from $37.9B YoY. (MarketWatch)
Spotify shares dip after third-quarter earnings report: Spotify shares fell 7% in extended trading Tuesday after reporting third-quarter earnings that narrowly beat analyst expectations on revenue. Spotify reported 456 million monthly active users for the quarter, up 20% from the year-earlier period. The company posted 195 million paid subscribers, up 13% year over year. (CNBC)
Spotify says Apple's behavior is “choking competition” after Apple rejected its proposed audiobook purchasing process three times for breaking App Store rules. (The Verge)
Tougher than expected PC market hits Microsoft Windows; cloud growth slows. (Reuters)
Satya Nadella says more than 20M people have streamed games using Xbox Cloud Gaming, double the 10M figure that Microsoft shared in April 2022 (The Verge)
Elon Musk has confirmed on a video call with his advisers that he intends to close his $44bn acquisition of Twitter on Friday, potentially bringing an end to the turbulent acquisition process, according to people briefed about the matter. In another sign that the deal will close by the end of the week, Musk’s lawyers at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom sent paperwork to equity investors in the deal, according to two investors and a person close to the Tesla boss. (Financial Times)
Exclusive: Twitter is losing its most active users, internal documents show. Twitter is struggling to keep its most active users - who are vital to the business - engaged, underscoring a challenge faced by the Tesla chief executive as he approaches a deadline to close his $44 billion deal to buy the company. These "heavy tweeters" account for less than 10% of monthly overall users but generate 90% of all tweets and half of global revenue. Heavy tweeters have been in "absolute decline" since the pandemic began, a Twitter researcher wrote in an internal document titled “Where did the Tweeters Go?” (Reuters)
MrBeast, the YouTube star turned entrepreneur, is looking to raise around $150 million for his business at a roughly $1.5 billion valuation, three sources familiar with the conversations told Axios. Why it matters: The funding would help MrBeast — whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson — quickly expand his massive video empire further across restaurants, consumer goods and merchandise. With 107 million YouTube channel subscribers, MrBeast's main channel is the fifth most-subscribed YouTube channel globally. MrBeast began posting YouTube videos more than 10 years ago. Forbes estimates that MrBeast makes more than $54 million per year. (Axios)
Smart Links
Adidas Ends Kanye West Partnership, Gap Pulls Yeezy Products Over Rapper’s Anti-Semitic Remarks. (Wall Street Journal)
Gender pay gap: Female barristers earn £30k less than their male counterparts. (The Times)
Machine learning could vastly speed up the search for new metals. (MIT Technology Review)
Timeshare Comes to the Office: Companies Save Money on Space by Alternating Days. (Wall Street Journal)
Last chance to secure 9.62% annual interest for Series I bonds is Oct. 28. (CNBC)
Chipotle says price hikes lift revenue as customer visits slip. (CNBC)
Shutterstock partners with OpenAI to let users generate stock images using DALL-E 2 “in the coming months” and launches a Contributor Fund to reimburse creators. (The Verge)
What should I do if I see a bear? First, don’t run away. (Washington Post)
Emperor penguins listed as endangered by US because of climate crisis. (The Guardian)
Good News
New England Aquarium treats elderly penguin with custom footwear. Aquarium staff have worked extensively with a penguin named "Beach Donkey" to treat her for a foot condition. (WBUR)
New Visa to Let Tourists With $130,000 Live in Bali for 10 Years. (Bloomberg)
Thank you for subscribing to my newsletter. Know someone you think would like it?