This week in the news | 11 Aug 23
News from the past week, and a few other things.
Hello Reader,
This week in the news:
Major fires in Hawaii leave 50+ people dead (North America)
A presidential candidate in Ecuador was assassinated (Latin America)
Niger coup: US envoy holds 'difficult' talks with junta, while leaders from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) order 'immediate activation' of standby force in Niger (Africa)
Ukraine: Peace talks end with few concrete steps (Europe)
Poland plans to deploy 10,000 troops to its border with Belarus (Europe)
3000+ Marines and sailors deploy to Middle East, and Iran releases four Americans from Evin prison (Middle East)
China tips into deflation and exports fall as U.S. companies and others are buying less (Asia)
The Perseid meteor shower peaks this weekend (Space)
There’s been a sudden surge in cyberattacks on government (Cyber)
US suicide deaths reached a record high in 2022 (Life)
Used cars are continuing to get cheater (Home & Auto)
10,000 people have offered to legally change their name to “Subway” to get free sandwiches (Food & Drink)
Most of your plastic isn’t really getting recycled (Nature)
Mattel wants to pay you $277 an hour to play Uno (For Fun)
Disney’s streaming service is about to get more expensive (Entertainment)
U.S. women’s soccer team is eliminated from the World Cup by a millimeter (Sports)
And people are getting better at sports overall (Sports)
…among many other news items.
NORTH AMERICA
Fires in Hawaii leave 55 dead and hundreds missing
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-66461158
The number of people killed in the Hawaii wildfires has risen to 55, and hundreds more are said to be missing on the island of Maui. Governor Josh Green says the fires are the "largest natural disaster in Hawaii state history" and 80% of historic seaside town Lahaina is "gone". Tens of thousands of visitors have been evacuated while 11,000 people remain without power on the western side of the island.
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Russia and China Sent Large Naval Patrol Near Alaska
https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-and-china-sent-large-naval-patrol-near-alaska-127de28b
A combined Russian and Chinese naval force patrolled near the coast of Alaska last week in what U.S. experts said appeared to be the largest such flotilla to approach American shores. Eleven Russian and Chinese ships steamed close to the Aleutian Islands, according to U.S. officials. The ships, which never entered U.S. territorial waters and have since left, were shadowed by four U.S. destroyers and P-8 Poseidon aircraft.
LATIN AMERICA
Ecuador Declares State of Emergency After Assassination of Presidential Candidate
Troops deployed across Ecuador on Thursday to enforce a state of emergency as six people accused of plotting the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio are due to appear before a judge. Villavicencio was gunned down on Wednesday afternoon as he left a campaign event in Quito, sparking a shootout between the assassins and the candidate’s bodyguards, Lasso said. The attackers also threw a hand grenade that failed to explode, he added.
EUROPE
Ukraine Peace Plan Talks End in Saudi With Few Concrete Steps
A peace plan pitched by Ukraine and its allies to more than 40 countries this weekend in Saudi Arabia brought little in the way of concrete steps to stop the war or reverse Russia’s territorial gains. The most tangible outcome from the Jeddah meetings was a plan to form working groups under various points of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s 10-point “peace formula” — on areas including food supply and nuclear security — according to people familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they’re not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
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Ukraine to receive additional Patriot air defence systems from Germany -Zelenskiy
Germany and Ukraine have agreed on the supply of additional Patriot air defence missile systems to Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his evening address on Wednesday.
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Ukraine orders evacuation of parts of north-east
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66466050
Ukraine has ordered the mandatory evacuation of all civilians from 37 settlements in the north-east as Russia steps up its attacks there. The authorities in the Kupiansk district of the Kharkiv region said they had to act because of "constant Russian shelling" in the area.
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Poland plans to deploy 10,000 troops to its border with Belarus
https://apnews.com/article/poland-belarus-border-troops-e4eaf9ad104063453295b22bf05ab31b
Poland intends to put 10,000 soldiers along its border with Belarus, the country’s defense minister said Thursday as Warsaw worries about the presence of Russian-linked mercenaries in Belarus and migrants trying to cross the border without authorization.
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Italy shocks banks with 40% windfall tax for 2023
Italy dealt a surprise blow to its banks and sent shockwaves across the sector in Europe by setting a one-off 40% tax on profits reaped from higher interest rates, after reprimanding lenders for failing to reward deposits. Sharply higher official interest rates have yielded record profits for banks, as the cost of loans soared while lenders held off paying more on deposits. Lenders in Italy have passed on to depositors on average 12% of the rise in rates, versus 22% in the euro area, Jefferies calculated. Italian banks are up 50% over the past year, outperforming a 20% European sector rise. Citi analysts calculated the tax could wipe up to 12% off Italian banks' 2023 earnings. Bank of America estimated proceeds of between 2-3 billion euros for the government.
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Germany’s Tardy Trains Cause Cultural Crisis; ‘an Embarrassment’
https://www.wsj.com/articles/germany-late-trains-national-psyche-7d84166f
Germany, the land of meticulous planning and clockwork punctuality, can’t seem to make its trains run on time. Last year, a third of all long-distance trains operated by Germany’s national railway company Deutsche Bahn ran late, the worst showing in 10 years, deepening an existential crisis in a country where failing to show up on time is verboten.
MIDDLE EAST
Thousands of Marines and sailors deploy to Middle East to deter Iran from seizing ships
https://abcnews.go.com/International/thousands-marines-sailors-deploy-middle-east-deter-iran/story
More than 3,000 Marines and sailors arrived in the Middle East on Sunday in a deployment meant to deter Iran from seizing and harassing merchant ships near the Strait of Hormuz, according to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. They came aboard the dock landing ship USS Carter Hall and amphibious assault ship USS Bataan, which together can carry dozens of aircraft, including Ospreys and Harrier jets, plus amphibious landing craft and tactical vehicles. These forces belong to the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group and 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU). Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the move last month "in response to recent attempts by Iran to seize commercial ships" in the Middle East, according to U.S. Central Command.
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Iran Releases Four Americans From Evin Prison
https://www.wsj.com/articles/iran-releases-four-americans-from-evin-prison-b396ee09
Iran has freed five Americans from a notorious Tehran prison with the understanding that five of its own prisoners and billions of dollars in frozen revenue from energy sales would be released in return, U.S. and Iranian officials said. On Thursday, Tehran released four Americans into house arrest with the intention of allowing them to travel to the U.S. in the coming weeks. A fifth American was already under house arrest and is set to leave Iran with the other four.
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Saudis Agree With U.S. on Path to Normalize Kingdom’s Ties With Israel
https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-saudi-arabia-agree-to-broad-terms-for-israel-normalization-ac6d549c
The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have agreed on the broad contours of a deal for Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel in exchange for concessions to the Palestinians, U.S. security guarantees and civilian nuclear help, according to U.S. officials. U.S. officials expressed cautious optimism that, in the next nine to 12 months, they can hammer out the finer details of what would be the most momentous Middle East peace deal in a generation. But they warned that they face long odds.
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Netanyahu Seeks to Change How Judges Are Named, Then Stop Revamp
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he won’t pursue the entire judicial overhaul originally planned by his government, working only to change the makeup of the judge selection committee while abandoning any other steps.
AFRICA
Niger coup: US envoy holds 'difficult' talks with junta
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-66424858
A senior US official has held face-to-face talks with Niger's military leaders following last month's coup. Acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said the conversations had been "extremely frank and at times quite difficult". Washington has said the coup can still be ended diplomatically and President Mohamed Bazoum reinstated, but has suspended aid payments in the meantime.
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ECOWAS orders ‘immediate activation’ of standby force in Niger
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/10/africa/niger-ecowas-standby-force-intl/index.html
West African leaders on Thursday ramped up the rhetoric against Niger’s coup leaders, ordering the “activation” and the “deployment” of a regional standby force to restore constitutional order in the coup-hit country. Meeting in Abuja, Nigeria after the expiration of the one-week ultimatum they gave to the Niger’s military junta, leaders from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) called for a deployment “to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger,” according to a statement read by Omar Alieu Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission.
ASIA
China tips into deflation as efforts to stoke recovery falter
China's consumer sector fell into deflation and factory-gate prices extended declines in July, as the world's second-largest economy struggled to revive demand and pressure mounted on Beijing to release more direct policy stimulus.
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Country Garden Expects First-Half Loss of Up to $7.6 Billion
Country Garden Holdings Co. expects to report a multibillion-dollar loss for the first half of this year, as the Chinese developer provided more specifics to its recent forecast that helped fuel stock and bond declines. The country’s sixth-largest builder said in a Hong Kong exchange filing Thursday night it anticipates posting a net loss of 45 billion to 55 billion yuan ($6.2 billion to $7.6 billion), compared with earnings of 1.91 billion yuan in the first half of 2022. The company on July 31 only said it expected a loss for the opening half of 2023.
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Chinese Exports Fall at Steepest Pace Since February 2020
https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-exports-fall-at-steepest-pace-since-february-2020-e930246b
China’s exports to the rest of the world tumbled in July, adding to the challenges for the world’s second-largest economy and offering fresh evidence that a drying up of Western demand is hurting Beijing’s attempts to rekindle growth. After a short-lived rebound in the spring, goods exports from China resumed a long-term slide that dates to October last year, when consumers in Western developed countries began shifting their spending away from buying furniture and electronic gadgets, and instead diverted it toward services such as entertainment and dining out. July’s 14.5% drop in Chinese outbound goods shipments was sharper than the 12.4% year-over-year decline in June and outpaced the 12% decline expected by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal. Chinese goods shipments to the U.S. fell 23% in July compared with a year earlier. Shipments to the European Union and to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a group of 10 countries that includes Singapore and Indonesia, each dropped by about 21%.
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U.S. companies are buying less from China as relations remain tense
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/08/06/us-china-economy-trade-mexico/
U.S. companies are accelerating efforts to reduce their dependence upon Chinese suppliers, even as officials in Washington and Beijing labor to put a floor under their sour relationship. Through the first five months of this year, U.S. imports from China were down 24 percent from the same period one year ago, according to the Census Bureau. Companies such as HP, Stanley Black & Decker and Lego are among those that have been repositioning their supply lines for American consumers, either to avoid the risk of being pinched between rival superpowers or as part of a longer-term strategy to produce goods closer to customers.
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Don’t Be So Picky About a Job, China’s College Graduates Are Told
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/08/business/china-youth-unemployment.html
A record number of Chinese college graduates are entering the job market, exacerbating an already bleak employment outlook for the country’s young people. The confluence is deepening one of the most intractable issues keeping the world’s second-largest economy from regaining its vibrancy. China’s unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds in urban areas hit a record 21.3 percent in June. The numbers for July are expected to be even higher as the next wave of graduates officially transitions from students to job seekers. Government policymakers struggling to address the problem are now leaning on colleges to do more to find jobs for graduates. The job performance of school administrators was already tied to the percentage of their students who find employment after graduation. Now top school officials are being encouraged to visit companies to unearth opportunities.
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North Korea's Kim dismisses top general, calls for war preparations
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un replaced the military's top general and called for more preparations for the possibility of war, a boost in weapons production, and expansion of military drills, state media KCNA reported on Thursday. Kim made the comments at a meeting of the Central Military Commission which discussed plans for countermeasures to deter North Korea's enemies, which it did not name, the report said.
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Exclusive: India bars makers of military drones from using Chinese parts
India in recent months has barred domestic manufacturers of military drones from using components made in China over concerns about security vulnerabilities, according to four defence and industry officials and documents reviewed by Reuters. The measure comes amid tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours and as New Delhi pursues a military modernisation that envisages greater use of unmanned quadcopters, long-endurance systems and other autonomous platforms.
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Imran Khan Sentenced to Prison, Likely Dashing Hopes of Political Comeback
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/05/world/asia/imran-khan-pakistan-arrested.html
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan was arrested on Saturday after a trial court sentenced him to three years in prison, a verdict likely to end his chances of running in upcoming general elections. The police took Mr. Khan into custody from his home in the eastern city of Lahore soon after the court’s decision was announced in Islamabad. The verdict is a climactic turn in a political showdown between Mr. Khan and Pakistan’s powerful military that has embroiled the country for over a year. It comes on the heels of a monthslong intimidation campaign by the military aimed at hollowing out Mr. Khan’s political party and stifling the remarkable political comeback he has made since being ousted from office last year in a vote of no confidence. Now, the prospect that Mr. Khan, a cricket star turned populist politician, will be disqualified from running in the country’s general elections — the next ones are expected this fall — has offered a major victory to a military establishment that appears intent on sidelining him from politics.
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Cambodia: PM's son Hun Manet appointed next ruler in royal formality
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-66391334
The eldest son of Cambodia's long-term ruler has been endorsed as the country's next premier in a formality confirming the transition of power. On Monday, Cambodia's king issued a decree stating Hun Manet will succeed Hun Sen, who has ruled for 38 years. Hun Sen announced he would step down just days after the 23 July election, which critics said was not democratic. His party won all but five seats in parliament, after the main opposition was barred from the vote.
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Philippines Summons Chinese Ambassador Over Water Cannon Incident
The Philippine government summoned China's ambassador Monday and presented a strongly worded diplomatic protest over the Chinese coast guard’s use of water cannons in a weekend confrontation with Philippine vessels in the disputed South China Sea, officials said. The tense hours-long standoff occurred Saturday [5 Aug] near Second Thomas Shoal, which has been occupied for decades by Philippine forces stationed onboard a rusting, grounded navy ship but is also claimed by China. It was the latest flareup in long-seething territorial conflicts in the South China Sea involving China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.
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South Korea Tells Scouts to Leave World Jamboree Site as Typhoon Nears
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/07/world/asia/world-scout-jamboree-south-korea-typhoon.html
After several setbacks at the World Scout Jamboree, the South Korea-hosted event faces yet another hurdle: As Typhoon Khanun makes its way to the nation’s coast this week, the participants will be leaving the campsite early. On Monday, the South Korean government informed the world Scout body that “an early departure will be planned for all participants at the 25th World Scout Jamboree from the campsite in Samangeum.” The scouts plan to move out of the site, which lies on a reclaimed wetland on the southwest coast of the peninsula, on Tuesday.
SPACE
On board Virgin Galactic's tourist journey to space
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-66470128
For the first time, a mother and daughter, Anastatia Mayers and Keisha Schahaff, headed to the edge of space. Joining them was was 80-year-old Jon Goodwin. The group experienced zero gravity on Virgin Galactic's first tourism flight.
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Russia launches first space mission to Moon in 47 years
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-66470294
Russia launched its first mission to the surface of the Moon in nearly half a century, in a bid to be the first country to land on the lunar south pole. Moscow's Luna 25 mission lifted off on schedule from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Russian Far East. The Moon's south pole is believed to hold deposits of water. The Russian mission is racing against India, which sent up its own lander last month that is already orbiting the Moon.
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The Perseid meteor shower peaks this weekend and it’s even better this year
https://apnews.com/article/perseid-meteor-shower-how-to-watch-5ab6be27963080fed7fb20f875461ae9
The annual Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak this weekend, sending bright trails of light streaking across the night sky. With only a sliver of moon in the sky, conditions this year will be ideal for seeing lots of meteors.
GOVERNMENT
Biden requests $40B to boost funding at select agencies
https://www.govexec.com/management/2023/08/biden-requests-40b-boost-funding-select-agencies/389319/
The White House on Thursday asked Congress for $40 billion to support efforts at the Defense Department and agencies across government, saying the emergency spending was necessary to sustain critical activities. The supplemental funding request included $24 billion for agency efforts to assist Ukraine, including money for the Pentagon; the departments of Treasury, Health and Human Services, and Energy; and the U.S. Agency for International Development. About $4 billion would go to the departments of Homeland Security, State, Justice and Labor for border operations as the Biden administration looks to ensure it has adequate resources for law enforcement personnel, migrant sheltering and other services and the fentanyl crisis. The White House also asked for $12 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to refill the coffers for disaster response.
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White House calls on agencies to 'aggressively' reduce telework this fall
The White House is continuing its push for federal agencies to reduce their use of telework and remote work in favor of more in-person time at the office this fall. White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients said in an email to Cabinet officials Friday that increasing the amount of in-person work is “critical” to federal agencies’ workplace culture and to meeting missions, although agencies will continue to make use of telework and authorize some workers to work fully remotely. The email’s existence was first reported by Axios.
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Supreme Court reinstates regulation of ghost guns, firearms without serial numbers
The Supreme Court is reinstating a regulation aimed at reining in the proliferation of ghost guns, firearms without serial numbers that have been turning up at crime scenes across the nation in increasing numbers. The court on Tuesday voted 5-4 to put on hold a ruling from a federal judge in Texas that invalidated the Biden administration’s regulation of ghost gun kits. The regulation will be in effect while the administration appeals the ruling to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans — and potentially the Supreme Court.
DEFENSE
DOD Announces Establishment of Generative AI Task Force
Today [10 Aug], the Department of Defense (DoD) announced the establishment of a generative artificial intelligence (AI) task force, an initiative that reflects the DoD's commitment to harnessing the power of artificial intelligence in a responsible and strategic manner.
ECONOMY
Cooler July Inflation Opens Door to Fed Pause on Rates
https://www.wsj.com/articles/consumer-price-index-report-july-inflation-a4a0a670
Price pressures continued cooling last month, fresh inflation figures showed, likely deterring the Federal Reserve from raising interest rates at its September meeting. The consumer-price index, a measure of goods and services prices across the economy, rose a mild 0.2% in July, the same as in June, the Labor Department said Thursday. Core prices, which exclude volatile food and energy categories, also increased just 0.2% in both months, extending a broader slowdown in price pressures. The figures led to 3.2% annual inflation in July, up from 3% in June. Annual core inflation ticked down to 4.7% in July from June’s 4.8%.
BUSINESS
Zoom cashed in on work from home—but even this firm is telling employees to return to the office now
https://fortune.com/2023/08/07/zoom-return-to-office-twice-a-week-work-from-home/
Even the company that helped usher in the remote work revolution doesn’t want its workers home all the time now. Zoom Video Communications is telling employees who live within 50 miles of an office to work in person at least two days a week, reports Insider.
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UPS driver pay and benefits deal in US to be worth $170,000 a year, firm says
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-66445496
Shipping giant UPS has warned its profits will be lower than planned this year, in part reflecting the pay increases it agreed to grant US workers in a labour deal last month. UPS said the average full-time driver would earn about $170,000 (£135,000) annually, including healthcare and other benefits, by the end of the five-year contract. That is up from about $145,000 now.
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Tyson Foods shares tumble on slowing demand, plant closures
Tyson Foods (TSN.N) missed Wall Street expectations for third-quarter revenue and profit on Monday, hurt by falling chicken and pork prices as well as slowing demand for its beef products. Shares closed down about 4% after earlier falling nearly 10% as the company said it is evaluating all operations and closing four more U.S. chicken plants in the latest bid to reduce costs.
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Simon & Schuster purchased by private equity firm KKR for $1.62 billion
Simon & Schuster has been sold to the private equity firm KKR, months after a federal judge blocked its purchase by rival publisher Penguin Random House because of concerns that competition would shrink the book market. An executive for KKR is calling the deal a chance to work with “one of the most effective” book publishers. The private equity giant will buy Simon & Schuster for $1.62 billion in cash, said Paramount Global, the parent company of the storied publishing house. Simon & Schuster will operate as a standalone entity, under the leadership of CEO Jonathan Karp.
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Wall Street WhatsApp, Texting Fines Exceed $2.5 Billion
Wells Fargo & Co. and BNP Paribas SA are among firms that will pay hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties for employees using unofficial communications like WhatsApp, personal texts or email to conduct business — the latest in US regulators’ crackdown on Wall Street’s failure to keep records. What began as a look at trading desks’ use of chat apps has expanded into a look into all of finance’s use of any kind of communication tool that doesn’t save records appropriately. Hedge funds and private equity firms are also under investigation for their use of personal communication apps.
CRYPTO
PayPal Launches a Stablecoin in Latest Crypto Payments Push
PayPal Holdings Inc. is rolling out a stablecoin, the first by a large financial company and a potentially significant boost to the sluggish adoption of digital tokens for payments. PayPal USD (PYUSD) is issued by Paxos Trust Co. and fully backed by US dollar deposits, short-term Treasuries and similar cash equivalents, the San Jose, California-based payments company said on Monday. It’s pegged to the dollar and will be gradually available to PayPal’s customers in the US. Stablecoins — crypto tokens that are pegged to an asset like the dollar — have been around for almost a decade, but they’re mostly used by traders to move digital assets between exchanges and have made limited inroads into consumer payments.
ENERGY
OPEC+ Reaffirms Strategy as Saudis Extend Unilateral Oil Cut
OPEC+ signaled it will stay the course as group leader Saudi Arabia extends a production cut aimed at shoring up global oil markets. A monitoring committee comprising the kingdom and other key OPEC+ nations recommended no changes to the coalition’s supply policy at an online meeting on Friday [4 Aug], according to a delegate, who asked not to be named because the information was private. Riyadh announced on Thursday [3 Aug] that it will extend a unilateral cutback of 1 million barrels a day into September — and potentially deepen the reduction after that — to support a fragile market.
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Aramco boosts dividend as Q2 profit drops 38% to $30.1 bln
https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/aramco-q2-profit-down-38-30-bln-2023-08-07/
Saudi state oil giant Aramco (2222.SE) on Monday announced an additional near $10 billion dividend, most of which will go to the government, the first of several extra payouts on top of its expected $153 billion base dividend for 2022 and 2023. The Saudi state remains overwhelmingly Aramco's biggest shareholder. The government directly holds 90.19%, the sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF), 4% and PIF subsidiary Sanabil another 4%, according to Refinitiv data. Saudi Arabia posted a budget deficit of 8.2 billion riyals in the first half of 2023, raising the possibility of a full-year deficit after it notched its first surplus in nearly a decade last year. The PIF, which sometimes receives government injections, spent 120 billion riyals domestically last year as it pushed to deliver an ambitious economic agenda to wean the economy off oil by building new industries.
REAL ESTATE
July 2023 Monthly Housing Market Trends Report
https://www.realtor.com/research/july-2023-data/
The number of homes actively for sale decreased by 6.4% compared to last year. The total number of unsold homes, including homes that are under contract, decreased by 9.1% compared to last year. Home sellers were less active this July, with 20.8% fewer homes newly listed for sale compared to last year. The median price of homes for sale decreased by -0.9% annually in July, the second month in a row that listing prices decreased on a year-over-year basis. Homes spent 45 days on the market, which is 11 days longer than last year but still shorter than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
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U.S. Foreclosure Activity Dips In July 2023 While Lender Repossessions Continue To Climb
ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property, and real estate data, today released its July 2023 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows there were a total of 31,877 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions — down 9 percent from a month ago but up 5 percent from a year ago.
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A Real-Estate Haven Turns Perilous With Roughly $1 Trillion Coming Due
Apartment buildings, long considered a real-estate haven, are emerging as the next major trouble spot in the beleaguered commercial-property world. Investors bid up the prices of multifamily buildings for years, attracted by steadily rising rents and the prospect of outsize returns. Many took on too much debt, expecting they could raise rents fast enough to pay it down. Unlike office buildings and malls, which have been hit hard by remote work and e-commerce, rental apartments have low vacancy rates. The apartment sector’s main problem isn’t a lack of demand—rents have soared since 2020—it is interest rates. The sudden surge in debt costs last year now threatens to wipe out many multifamily owners across the country. Apartment-building values fell 14% for the year ended in June after rising 25% the previous year, according to data company CoStar. That drop is roughly the same as the fall in office values.
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New Lending by Mortgage REITs Has Dried Up
https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-lending-by-mortgage-reits-has-dried-up-49551878
Some of the biggest names in commercial real-estate lending have all but turned off the spigot. Blackstone Mortgage Trust and KKR Real Estate Finance Trust, two of the biggest mortgage real-estate investment trusts, have halted loans to any new borrowers. While these firms continued to provide financing related to existing loans, they didn’t originate any new loans during the first half of this year, according to the companies. Starwood Property Trust, another lender in the sector, has greatly decreased its appetite for new lending in recent quarters, securities filings show. Mortgage REITs, which lend to property owners instead of buying and developing real estate like equity-oriented REITs, typically originate an average of about $10 billion in loans a quarter, according to Jade Rahmani, an analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.
PERSONAL FINANCE
Social Security’s Next Cost-of-Living Raise Is Forecast Around 3%
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/28/business/social-security-cola-medicare.html
The recent slowdown in inflation points to a 2024 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, of around 3 percent, according to a forecast by the Senior Citizens League. That would still be higher than the average 2.6 percent adjustment over the past two decades, said Mary Johnson, a policy analyst for the league, a nonpartisan seniors’ organization.
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People are losing more money to scammers than ever before. Here’s how to keep yourself safe
With the help of technology, scammers are tricking Americans out of more money than ever before. But there are steps you can take to keep your money and information safe. In 2022, reported consumer losses to fraud totaled $8.8 billion — a 30 percent increase from 2021, according to the most recent data from the Federal Trade Commission. The biggest losses were to investment scams, including cryptocurrency schemes, which cost people more than $3.8 billion, double the amount in 2021. Younger adults ages 20-29 reported losing money more often than older adults ages 70-79, the FTC found. But when older adults did lose money, they lost more. Many retirees have assets like savings, pensions, life insurance policies or property for scammers to target. With the rise of the digital economy, scammers now reach targets by social media and text, as well as phone and email. Online payment platforms, apps, and marketplaces have also increased opportunities. Still, many of their tactics and strategies are similar.
TECHNOLOGY
Biden Orders Ban on New Investments in China’s Sensitive High-Tech Industries
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/09/us/politics/biden-ban-china-investment.html
President Biden escalated his confrontation with China on Wednesday by signing an executive order banning new American investment in key technology industries that could be used to enhance Beijing’s military capabilities, the latest in a series of moves putting more distance between the world’s two largest economies. The order will prohibit venture capital and private equity firms from pumping more money into Chinese efforts to develop semiconductors and other microelectronics, quantum computers and certain artificial intelligence applications. Administration officials stressed that the move was tailored to guard national security, but China is likely to see it as part of a wider campaign to contain its rise.
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Early adopters in Mexico lend their eyes to global biometric project
Eager early adopters recently descended upon a Mexico City cafe where their eyes were scanned by a futuristic sphere, part of an ambitious project that ultimately seeks to create a unique digital identification for everyone on the planet. Mexico is one of nearly three dozen countries where participants are allowing the sphere, outfitted with cameras and dubbed an orb, to scan their iris. The project's goal is to distinguish people from bots online, while doling out a cryptocurrency bonus as a incentive to participate. The so-called Worldcoin project is a biometric verification tool led by Sam Altman, the chief executive of Open AI, and the crypto company he co-founded, Tools for Humanity.
SCIENCE
US scientists repeat fusion ignition breakthrough for 2nd time
U.S. scientists have achieved net energy gain in a fusion reaction for the second time since December, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory said on Sunday. Scientists at the California-based lab repeated the fusion ignition breakthrough in an experiment in the National Ignition Facility (NIF) on July 30 that produced a higher energy yield than in December, a Lawrence Livermore spokesperson said. Lawrence Livermore achieved a net energy gain in a fusion experiment using lasers on Dec. 5, 2022. The scientists focused a laser on a target of fuel to fuse two light atoms into a denser one, releasing the energy. That experiment briefly achieved what's known as fusion ignition by generating 3.15 megajoules of energy output after the laser delivered 2.05 megajoules to the target, the Energy Department said. In other words, it produced more energy from fusion than the laser energy used to drive it, the department said.
CYBER
'Sudden surge' in cyberattacks on government: report
A new report says cyberattacks targeting government agencies and the public sector increased in recent months, due in part to novel malware campaigns that affected financial institutions, healthcare services, and critical-infrastructure industries. March to May 2023 saw a 40% increase in attacks targeting government agencies and the public sector and a 13% increase in novel malware samples compared to the same period last year, according to the quarterly Global Threat Intelligence report published by Blackberry.
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Exclusive: North Korean hackers breached top Russian missile maker
An elite group of North Korean hackers secretly breached computer networks at a major Russian missile developer for at least five months last year, according to technical evidence reviewed by Reuters and analysis by security researchers. Reuters found cyber-espionage teams linked to the North Korean government, which security researchers call ScarCruft and Lazarus, secretly installed stealthy digital backdoors into systems at NPO Mashinostroyeniya, a rocket design bureau based in Reutov, a small town on the outskirts of Moscow.
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PSNI: Major data breach identifies thousands of officers and civilian staff
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-66445452
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has apologised for mistakenly revealing details of all its 10,000 staff. NI's Police Federation said the breach could cause "incalculable damage". In response to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request, the PSNI had shared names of all police and civilian personnel, where they were based and their roles. The details were then published online, before being removed.
LIFE
US suicide deaths reached record high in 2022, CDC data shows
The number of people who died by suicide in the U.S. hit an estimated record 49,000 in 2022, a 2.6% increase over the prior year, government data showed on Thursday. Over half of all U.S. suicides in 2022 involved firearms, according to the figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "Nine in 10 Americans believe America is facing a mental health crisis. The new suicide death data reported by CDC illustrates why," U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement.
HOME & AUTO
Is There a Limit to Americans’ Self-Storage Addiction? Billions of Dollars Say Nope
https://www.wsj.com/articles/self-storage-addiction-investors-80e0a14b
There are self-storage facilities around the world, but nowhere have they been more popular to rent and profitable to own than in the U.S., thanks to Americans’ propensity to accumulate more stuff than they can squeeze into their homes. Storage is the rare investment that has done well in good times and spectacularly in periods of economic upheaval. Profits exploded during the pandemic, when bedrooms became offices and basements became gyms and the displaced items had to go somewhere. Shares of publicly traded storage companies trounced the broader stock market—and every other real estate class—from the late 1990s through the end of last year. During the pandemic, they even beat the celebrated FAANG tech companies. Storage executives say business may never be as good as it was between the lockdown summer of 2020 and last summer. “In hindsight, we may look at those and say they were the best 24 months in the history of this business,” CubeSmart Chief Executive Christopher Marr told investors at a recent conference. The bullish case for storage is made by America’s pack-rat ways. Market researchers estimate that more than one in 10 Americans lease storage space. In June they paid an average of about $165.55 a month, down 1% from records in January, but about 20% more than in June 2019, according to a KeyBanc analysis of debit and credit card data. Storage owners compete fiercely to get customers in the door. They duke it out online with algorithmic one-upmanship and move-in specials. But once someone signs up, the battle for their business is over. The storage customer is typically described as irrational, because they are willing over time to pay far more than the value of whatever they are storing.
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Morning Bid: A sticky inflation situation
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/global-markets-view-usa-graphic-pix-2023-08-10/
Gasoline prices at the pump are up 8% on where they were a month ago, according to the American Automobile Association - an unwelcome development right in the middle of the summer driving season. However, they're still down 5% from last year and well below the eye-watering $5 a gallon in June 2022. Used cars were one of the major inflationary goods when the pandemic struck, as global supply chains snarled up and and created a huge shortage of new vehicles. Second-hand car prices fell for 11 months in a row in July. This is their longest consecutive stretch of declines in a decade, after an unbroken 27 months of increases to August 2022 and are now nearly 12% below where they were this time last year, according to the most recent Manheim used vehicle index. In April 2021, the index showed an annual rise of 54%.
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American Cars Are Developing a Serious Weight Problem
The average weight of a new vehicle sold in the US last year was a whopping 4,329 pounds. That’s over 1,000 pounds higher than the average in 1980, and up about 175 pounds in just the last three years. Essentially, more than a third of the average American car has been added in the past 40 years, a trend now exacerbated by the switch to electric models.
FOOD & DRINK
Fast-Food Customers Are Giving Up on Dining In
https://www.wsj.com/articles/mcdonalds-burger-king-fast-food-dining-in-94980895
Americans are eating their burgers, fries and nuggets at home, in their cars and at the office—increasingly anywhere but at the fast-food restaurants themselves. Dine-in customers now represent less than 10% of visits in most U.S. McDonald’s restaurants, according to chain franchisees, compared with around a quarter of domestic sales before the Covid-19 pandemic. Across U.S. fast-food chains, diners ate 14% of orders at a restaurant in the first five months of this year, less than 21% before the pandemic, data from market-research firm Circana show. In June, diners ate 14% of their fast-food orders in the restaurant’s dining room, compared with 22% in 2015, Circana said.
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Dunkin' Spiked Coffee and Tea Are (Apparently) Coming Soon
https://www.foodandwine.com/dunkin-spiked-alcohol-drinks-7629366
If you’re a Dunkin' regular, relying on their coffees and cold brews to kickstart your day, then get ready for a slightly different kind of Dunkin'-branded buzz. The Massachusetts-based coffee giant seems like it’s planning to launch Dunkin' Spiked, a new line of hard iced coffees and hard iced teas.
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Favorite Drinks of All the Top Stars? He Has Them Memorized.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/01/nyregion/sardis-bartender-joe-petrsoric.html
In 1968, Sardi’s was still enjoying its decades-long heyday, commanding the limelight as Broadway’s foremost hub of show folk, from big shots to wannabes to poignant has-beens. Playwrights, agents, publicists and newspaper columnists vied for strategic tables in the restaurant’s dining room, trading artful glances, gossip, poisoned barbs and air kisses. Elated tourists, always an ingredient of the Sardi’s experience, basked in the presence of Groucho Marx or Liza Minnelli entering to applause, a Sardi’s tradition. That was the year a young Croatian immigrant, Josip Petrsoric, whose English wasn’t so great, arrived to far less fanfare. Soon he was making drinks for all of them. This week, Mr. Petrsoric, Sardi’s avuncular bartender known to all as Joe, is ending his nightly performance of stirring, shaking and pouring after 55 years. He is ready to do last call for good, retiring on Friday.
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Subway says nearly 10,000 people have offered to legally change their names to 'Subway' to get free sandwiches for life
The hunger is real. Subway announced Tuesday that nearly 10,000 people said they would legally change their names to "Subway" to receive free sandwiches for life from the quick-serve chain — and that they did so within 96 hours of the original offer’s being unveiled last month. One winner will be selected this month, Subway said. In addition to the sandwiches, the winner will receive money to reimburse legal and processing costs to complete the name change process.
NATURE
His Recycling Symbol Is Everywhere. The E.P.A. Says It Shouldn’t Be.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/07/climate/chasing-arrows-recycling-symbol-epa.html
Now the environmental agency that oversees recycling efforts in the United States is saying that, after close to five decades in the public eye, the “chasing arrows” logo should be retired from plastics that are difficult to recycle. The Environmental Protection Agency asked the Federal Trade Commission in April to substitute the arrows logo on plastics with solid triangles, a decision that the agency believes could help clear up confusion around labeling. The goal is to relieve recycling facilities of the burden of dealing with plastic items that they cannot process. But when it comes to plastics that can be “deceptive and misleading,” Ms. Romer wrote. Manufacturers often pair the iconic logo with a resin identification code, with numbers from 1 to 7 that indicate the type of plastic in the product. “Not all resin codes can be recycled currently in the United States,” she wrote. Many plastics, especially those numbered from 3 to 7, “are not financially viable to recycle.” Roughly 5 to 6 percent of plastic in the United States was recycled in 2021, a drop from 9.5 percent in 2014, according to a 2022 study of recycling facilities by Greenpeace, an environmental advocacy organization. Most types of plastic packaging were “economically impossible to recycle,” partly because of the costs associated with collecting and sorting them, and could remain so in the future, researchers found.
NOTE: Apparently plastic is not recycled nearly as much as we might think it is.
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Texas woman injured after hawk drops snake on her
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66446697
A Texas woman was attacked by a hawk and a snake at the same time after the bird - which eats snakes - accidentally dropped the wriggling serpent on her. Peggy Jones, 64, was mowing her lawn last month when a passing hawk dropped a snake on her before swooping down to angrily try to reclaim its meal. The snake wrapped itself around her arm and began striking her face as the bird sunk its talons deep into her flesh. The bizarre incident took place on 25 July in the town of Silsbee, Texas, near the Louisiana border.
FOR FUN
Mattel wants to pay you $277 an hour to play Uno
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/04/business/mattel-uno-job/index.html
Mattel says it is conducting a nationwide job search for a “Chief Uno player.” The salary: $277 an hour. The toy company is hiring someone to promote the release of their new game, Uno Quatro. The chosen applicant will be paid $4,444 a week for four weeks to play Uno Quatro with strangers in New York City and create social media content featuring the new game. Uno Quatro is a new version of Uno that combines connecting four tiles in a row, as in Connect 4, with the classic Uno feature of matching numbers and colors.
TRAVEL
Pratt & Whitney Engine Problems Lead Some Airlines to Reduce Flights
Airlines in the U.S., Europe and Asia are temporarily reducing some flights and routes to inspect aircraft affected by the recall of hundreds of Pratt & Whitney jet engines, leaving the unit of the aerospace and defense company RTX facing a potential multibillion-dollar bill. Some 137 engines used on Airbus single-aisle jets will need to be inspected over the next several weeks, RTX said Friday. That is fewer than the 200 originally expected but still a problem for carriers that were already dealing with staffing shortages and air-traffic control congestion.
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A New Frontier for Travel Scammers: A.I.-Generated Guidebooks
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/05/travel/amazon-guidebooks-artificial-intelligence.html
Though she didn’t know it at the time, Ms. Kolsky had fallen victim to a new form of travel scam: shoddy guidebooks that appear to be compiled with the help of generative artificial intelligence, self-published and bolstered by sham reviews, that have proliferated in recent months on Amazon. The books are the result of a swirling mix of modern tools: A.I. apps that can produce text and fake portraits; websites with a seemingly endless array of stock photos and graphics; self-publishing platforms — like Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing — with few guardrails against the use of A.I.; and the ability to solicit, purchase and post phony online reviews, which runs counter to Amazon’s policies and may soon face increased regulation from the Federal Trade Commission. The Times also found similar books on a much broader range of topics, including cooking, programming, gardening, business, crafts, medicine, religion and mathematics, as well as self-help books and novels, among many other categories.
ENTERTAINMENT
For Disney, Streaming Losses and TV’s Decline Are a One-Two Punch
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/09/business/media/disney-earnings.html
Disney’s streaming operation lost $512 million in the most-recent quarter, the company said, bringing total streaming losses since 2019, when Disney+ was introduced, to more than $11 billion. Disney+ lost roughly 11.7 million subscribers worldwide in the three months that ended July 1, for a new total of 146.1 million. All the decline came from a low-priced version of Disney+ in India. Last year, Disney lost a bid to renew the expensive rights to Indian Premier League cricket matches. Excluding India, Disney+ gained 800,000 subscribers, primarily overseas. To make streaming profitable, Mr. Iger, Disney’s chief executive, has shifted the focus at Disney+ away from brisk subscriber growth, which requires expensive marketing campaigns. Instead, Disney has been trying to make more money from the Disney+ subscribers it already has. The monthly price for access to an ad-free version of Disney+ rose to $11 in December, from $8. Another hefty price increase is on the way. Starting on Oct. 12, the ad-free version will cost $14, Disney said. Hulu, which is also controlled by Disney, will begin charging $18 for ad-free access, up from $15. As an incentive, Disney will begin selling a new streaming package — ad-free access to both Disney+ and Hulu — for $20 a month starting on Sept. 6.
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100-day strike: Hollywood writers show unity and anger on picket lines
The Hollywood writers' strike marked 100 days on Wednesday with contract talks stalled and people on the picket lines protesting what they describe as a disregard for their demands. The strike began on May 2 after negotiations between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the major studios reached an impasse over compensation, minimum staffing of writers' rooms and residual payments in the streaming era, among other issues. Writers also sought to regulate the use of artificial intelligence, which they fear could replace their creative input.
SPORTS
Sweden Eliminates the U.S. From Women’s World Cup, by a Millimeter
https://www.wsj.com/sports/soccer/us-sweden-penalty-shootout-womens-world-cup-967932f9
After barely surviving the group stage, then grinding through 120 scoreless minutes in its initial knockout-round game, against Sweden, the U.S. women’s soccer team’s hopes of winning a third consecutive Women’s World Cup title came down to a penalty shootout here on Sunday. This wasn’t necessarily good news for a U.S. team that, by then, hadn’t scored a goal in its last four hours or so of game time in this tournament. Yet the opportunity was there. When Nathalie Bjorn sent Sweden’s third kick over the goal to leave her team behind 3-2, the U.S. needed only to pounce on the opportunity. Then the Americans’ problems putting the ball into the net followed them into the shootout. Two-time World Cup winner Megan Rapinoe, normally the team’s deadliest penalty taker, sailed her shot high. U.S. forward Sophia Smith, a 22-year-old World Cup rookie, lofted hers over the goal as well. Then veteran defender Kelley O’Hara—who had been brought on at the last minute specifically for the shootout—sent her shot into the right post. The stunning misses gave Sweden a seventh shot to win it—which it did in spectacularly bizarre fashion. Sweden’s Lina Hurtig booted the ball at U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, who batted the shot away and then appeared to push it out of the goal with a second touch. After a few long moments, an official ruled that the ball had crossed the line by the thinnest of margins.
Studying the Limits of Human Perfection, Through Darts
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/05/upshot/darts-sports-perfection.html
Professional darts is far from the most popular sport in the world, but it is a useful study of progress toward perfection. Its top professional players, on average, post higher scores today than their counterparts did a generation ago. These gains can be seen in other sports, too: Whether it’s hitting the bull’s-eye in archery, nailing a kick between the uprights in football or sinking a free throw in basketball, the world’s top players have improved their rates of precision meaningfully in the last four decades.
The Pac-12 Melts Down, as Five More Schools Depart for Other Conferences
https://www.wsj.com/sports/football/oregon-washington-big-ten-pac-12-college-sports-6312bc5b
The rapid consolidation of college sports accelerated into a frenzy on Friday as five more Pac-12 schools switched conferences, moves that instantly melted down a century-old institution as schools raced to align themselves with the richest conferences. Oregon and Washington said they would jump to the Big Ten. Later Arizona, Arizona State and Utah announced they would leave for the Big 12. The moves left the Pac-12 with just four remaining members committed beyond 2024.
Have a great weekend!
The Curator
Two resources to help you be a more discerning reader:
AllSides - https://www.allsides.com/unbiased-balanced-news
Media Bias Chart - https://www.adfontesmedia.com/
Caveat: Even these resources/charts are biased. Who says that the system they use to describe news sources is accurate? Still, hopefully you find them useful as a basic guide or for comparison.
Two resources to help you be a more discerning reader:
AllSides - https://www.allsides.com/unbiased-balanced-news
Media Bias Chart - https://www.adfontesmedia.com/
Caveat: Even these resources/charts are biased. Who says that the system they use to describe news sources is accurate? Still, hopefully you find them useful as a basic guide or for comparison.