Weekend Papers Summary
NEW YORK TIMES
-China’s military might has, for the first time, made a conquest of Taiwan conceivable, perhaps even tempting. The United States wants to thwart any invasion but has watched its military dominance in Asia steadily erode.
-For two straight days, Beijing sent a record number of planes near the island, Taiwan said, a display of strength that underscored Chinese demands for unification.
-As Democrats ponder cutting a $3.5 trillion social safety net bill down to perhaps $2 trillion, a proposal to limit programs to the poor has rekindled a debate on the meaning of government itself.
-Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who began her political career with the Green Party and who has voiced alarm over the warming planet, wants to cut at least $100 billion from climate programs in major legislation pending on Capitol Hill, according to two people familiar with the matter.-Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, warned President Biden on Friday that he had no intention of doing so again, reviving the threat of a first-ever federal default in December.
-Only 55% of Black New Yorkers have received at least one vaccine dose, compared with 92% of Asian Americans, 75% of Hispanic residents and 62% of white residents, according to data published by the city government.
-While at least six clinics in Texas had started to perform abortions beyond the limits of the new law this week, most of the state’s roughly two dozen providers chose not to take that step as the case moved through the courts.
-The whistle-blower’s testimony, and the thousands of internal documents she shared with lawmakers, generated unusual bipartisan support for Congress to coalesce around new regulations to rein in the company and perhaps the technology industry as a whole.
-Is Elon Musk’s decision to move Tesla to Texas wise? Tesla’s stated mission is to “accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy,” and its customers include many people “who want sporty cars that don’t spew greenhouse gases from their tailpipes. Texas, however, is run by conservatives who are skeptical of or oppose efforts to address climate change. They are also fiercely protective of the state’s large oil and gas industry.”
FINANCIAL TIMES
-More than 130 countries have signed up to a groundbreaking global deal on corporate tax reform aimed at eliminating tax havens while bringing in $150bn more a year from multinationals.
-As the pandemic drags on and companies struggle to bring employees back to their desks, that conviction is leading many real estate executives to anticipate a generational shake-up in New York’s office buildings that could change the city itself.
-Bob Prince, co-chief investment officer at Bridgewater Associates, said the Federal Reserve’s assertion that the current burst of inflation will prove transitory is likely to be challenged.
-Thursday’s ruling by Polish judges — that parts of EU law are incompatible with the country’s constitution — has sparked fears that a “Polexit”, to follow the UK’s Brexit from the EU, could one day cease to be an idea from political fiction.
-Isabelle de Silva, France’s antitrust chief, was disappointed by President Emmanuel Macron’s decision not to renew her mandate in the middle of a review of a far-reaching broadcasting merger and several competition cases against US tech giants.
-Predictions of a surge of hiring in the US have not materialized. Only 194,000 of the 500,000 jobs expected to have been created last month materialized — the least since the start of the year — even while the unemployment rate dropped to 4.8 per cent, the lowest since the pandemic began.
-According to the World Health Organization, 280m people globally suffer from serious depression, of whom about 30 per cent do not respond well to existing treatments.
-Premier League executives determined that the ultimate owner of Newcastle United would be Saudi Arabia. PIF’s board is chaired by Prince Mohammed and includes his close lieutenant al-Rumayyan as well as six Saudi ministers and an adviser to the royal court.
-President Donald Trump received preferential treatment from Deutsche Bank to ease a loan for his Trump International Hotel while in office, and also failed to disclose the source of $3.7M in billings the property generated from foreign governments, according to a report released by a congressional committee on Friday.
NEW YORK POST
-Facebook policy communications director Andy Stone has questioned the credibility of whistleblower Frances Haugen, faced the ire of Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and tussled with reporters, accusing them of trashing the company with “misleading” stories.
-Apple— behind hits like Ted Lasso, starring Jason Sudeikis and The Morning Show with Jennifer Anniston and Reese Witherspoon — is building a 550,000 square-foot Los Angeles office complex that sprawls into the Culver City neighborhood. It will serve as the company’s headquarters for the region.
- Facebook, Apple, Google and other big tech firms with offices in Ireland are set to take a hit to their bottom lines as the country hikes corporate taxes. - Source TradeTheNews.com