Below you’ll find the “quick shot”—a supercharged summary of summaries, followed by the “slow brew”—longer summaries with select graphics, and comments from me. Additionally, I’ve included a lock icon (🔒) to identify articles that are behind a paywall. I appreciate everyone’s feedback, and will continue to make changes based on any further feedback you provide.
THE QUICK SHOT 🚀
A supercharged summary of summaries
WORLD
BRICS Expansion: Saudi Arabia and Iran are set to join BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) as new members in January 2024, along with Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates. BRICS is a group of major emerging economies that considers itself a counterweight to Western powers. The expansion was announced during the annual BRICS summit held in Johannesburg. (Al Jazeera)
NORTH AMERICA
Trump's Legal Troubles: Former U.S. President Donald Trump was booked at an Atlanta jail on over a dozen felony charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia. His mug shot was released as part of the legal process. (Reuters)
Tropical Storm Hilary: Tropical Storm Hilary caused flooding, power outages, and mudslides in Southern California. While there were no reported deaths in the U.S., one fatality occurred in Mexico as a result of the storm. (Reuters)
Maui Wildfires Lawsuit: Maui County officials have publicly blamed Hawaiian Electric, the state's largest electric utility, for wildfires that killed at least 115 people. They filed a lawsuit alleging "intentional and malicious" mismanagement of power lines that allowed the fires to start. The disaster has left over 1,000 people unaccounted for. (The New York Times 🔒)
Texas Power Grid: Texas' electric power grid is facing another test, this time due to unusually hot summer weather. Record electricity demand is being met by a changing mix of power sources, including wind and solar. The reliability of the state's power system has come into question following the dramatic grid collapse during a winter storm in 2021. (The Washington Post 🔒)
LATIN AMERICA
Guatemalan Election: Bernardo Arevalo, an anti-corruption crusader, won the Guatemalan presidential election with 58% of the vote. His victory comes amid violence and food insecurity in the country, which has led to increased migration to the United States. (Reuters)
Panama Canal Shipping: The Panama Canal Authority has reduced ship weights and daily crossings due to a historic drought and rising sea temperatures. This has tied to concerns about climate risks affecting the ocean shipping industry, which transports 80% of global trade. The drought is partly attributed to an El Niño climate pattern. (Reuters)
EUROPE
Ukraine's F-16 Capability: Ukraine is not expected to have a basic F-16 capability until at least 2024, and developing proficiency with the aircraft could take an additional four or five years, according to Gen. James B. Hecker, commander of U.S. Air Forces Europe and Air Forces-Africa. This development comes as the U.S. is set to begin training Ukrainian F-16 pilots within the next two months. The F-16s are not seen as a "silver bullet" in Ukraine's fight against Russia's invasion. (Air and Space Forces, Defense News)
U.S. Citizens Urged to Leave Belarus: The United States has urged American citizens in Belarus to leave the country "immediately" due to spillover risks from the war in Ukraine, including a buildup of Russian troops in Belarus. The advisory also cited Belarus's role in facilitating Russia's attack on Ukraine and the arbitrary enforcement of local laws. (The Washington Post🔒)
MIDDLE EAST
Saudi-Israel Normalization: The U.S. has lowered expectations for the Saudi-Israel normalization agreement it is working on, with national security adviser Jake Sullivan stating that there is still a way to go in discussions. While peace between the two countries would be significant, Sullivan emphasized the goal of creating a more integrated and stable Middle East. (VOA News)
Investigation into Migrant Killings: Ethiopia will conduct a joint investigation with Saudi Arabia following a Human Rights Watch report alleging that Saudi border guards killed hundreds of Ethiopian migrants. (CBS News)
Saudi Arabia's Nuclear Plant: Saudi Arabia is considering a Chinese bid to build a nuclear power plant in the country. This move is seen as a means to pressure the Biden administration to compromise on conditions for U.S. assistance with Saudi Arabia's nuclear program. The U.S. has sought nonproliferation conditions not sought by China. Saudi Arabia has asked the U.S. to help develop a civilian nuclear program as part of a potential deal that could include diplomatic normalization with Israel. (The Wall Street Journal🔒)
Iran's Armed Drone: Iran's Defense Ministry unveiled an armed drone called the Mohajer-10, which resembles America's MQ-9 Reaper. Iran claims the drone is capable of staying airborne for 24 hours and could reach Israel. (AP News)
ASIA
Mercenary Leader in Plane Crash: Yevgeny Prigozhin, a mercenary leader known for leading a brief armed rebellion against the Russian military, is presumed dead following a plane crash north of Moscow that killed all 10 people on board. (Military Times)
Foreign Companies Exiting Russia: Moscow is demanding bigger discounts on the price tags of assets being sold by foreign companies trying to exit Russia. Russia has tightened exit requirements since Western companies started leaving due to the conflict in Ukraine, leading to significant losses for these companies. (Reuters)
Japan-South Korea Defense Commitments: U.S. President Joe Biden has facilitated a series of trilateral defense initiatives between Japan, South Korea, and the United States. The agreements include annual trilateral military exercises, ballistic missile defense cooperation, and strengthening the security of defense supply chains. These efforts aim to improve relations between Japan and South Korea and bolster U.S. alliances in Asia to counter China and address North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. (Defense News)
Fukushima Treated Water Release: Japan has started discharging treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean. This move has prompted protests in the region and retaliation from China, which is the biggest buyer of seafood from Japan. Japan asserts that the released water is safe, but critics call for further studies and a halt to the release. (BBC News)
China's Interest Rate Cut: China's central bank has cut a key interest rate to counter a growth slowdown in its economy following the COVID-19 pandemic. The one-year loan prime rate, a benchmark for corporate loans, was reduced, while the five-year LPR, used for pricing mortgages, was held steady. These rates are now at historic lows. (Voice of America)
China's Economic Challenges: China's economy is facing challenges, including slowing growth, downbeat consumer sentiment, struggling exports, falling prices, and high youth unemployment. These issues are related to President Xi Jinping's efforts to shift away from the debt-fueled growth model of the past. China is now navigating an "expectations recession" that could impact its economic trajectory. (Bloomberg🔒)
China-Russia Trade Relationship: China is playing an increasingly vital role in supporting Russia's economy and war effort. Recent trade data shows that China is a major source of goods for Russia, including some items with potential military applications. China and Russia are working together to counter Western containment efforts. China now accounts for a significant portion of Russia's imports. (The Wall Street Journal🔒)
Japan's Hometown Tax System: Japan's "hometown tax" system allows taxpayers to redirect some of their local taxes to other towns or cities and receive gifts or tokens of gratitude in exchange. Initially aimed at helping rural areas losing population, it has evolved into a competition between municipalities to attract enough taxes to maintain public services. This system has attracted millions of taxpayers, and donations reached nearly a trillion yen in the last fiscal year. (The Wall Street Journal🔒)
Leadership Change in Cambodia: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has transferred the premiership to his son, Gen. Hun Manet, marking a generational shift in leadership. This move is significant because Hun Sen had maintained his grip on power for nearly four decades. (The New York Times🔒)
North Korea's Airline Resumes International Flights: North Korea's flagship carrier, Air Koryo, has flown its first international flight since the pandemic. The flight from Pyongyang to Beijing signifies a resumption of international air travel, although details about the passengers are unclear. (BBC News)
Cable Car Rescue in Pakistan: Drone footage shows the dramatic rescue operation of passengers trapped in a stranded cable car in Pakistan. The operation involved a military helicopter and zip wire experts and successfully saved all passengers, including six children and two adults. The cable car company owner was later arrested on charges of negligence and endangering lives. (BBC News)
SPACE
Moon Landings and Crashes: Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft recently crashed into the Moon, just two days before a planned landing attempt. India's Chandrayaan-3 mission successfully placed a lander and rover on the Moon, marking a significant achievement four years after the Chandrayaan-2 lander crashed during its descent. (The New York Times🔒)
North Korea's Spy Satellite Launch Fails: North Korea's second attempt to put a spy satellite into space has failed. A successful spy satellite would allow North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to monitor incoming attacks and enhance strategic capabilities. Despite this setback, North Korea's space agency has indicated that it will make another attempt in October. (BBC News)
ECONOMY
Fed's Inflation Control Challenge: The Federal Reserve faces the dilemma of controlling inflation after it has dropped to 3.2%, with implications for consumers, markets, and the economy. (The Wall Street Journal🔒)
Depletion of Pandemic Savings in America: Research shows that Americans have spent over 90% of the excess savings they accumulated during the pandemic, potentially depleting this economic pillar. (The Economist🔒)
BUSINESS
Financial Firms Exodus from NY and CA: New York and California have lost nearly $1 trillion in assets managed by financial firms relocating to other states, impacting jobs, tax revenue, and property markets. (Bloomberg🔒)
Concerns Among FedEx Pilots: A surplus of pilots due to reduced package volume and consolidation of FedEx's delivery units has left pilots worried about job security. (The Wall Street Journal🔒)
Approval of 5-Year Contract for UPS Workers: The union representing 340,000 UPS workers has approved a 5-year contract, averting disruptions in package deliveries, with UPS drivers expected to make around $170,000 annually. (NPR)
REAL ESTATE
Rents Decline for Third Month: July 2023 marks the third consecutive month of year-over-year rent decline for 0-2 bedroom properties, though median asking rents in the largest metros increased slightly to $1,759. (Realtor.com)
Existing-Home Sales Dip in July: Existing-home sales slipped 2.2% in July, with a median sales price increase to $406,700 and an increase in unsold existing homes. (National Association of Realtors)
Surge in US Housing Starts: Single-family homebuilding surged by 6.7% in July, a sign of economic resilience despite rising mortgage rates and shortages in existing housing. (Reuters)
Resilience in Retail Real Estate: Retailers plan to open 1,000 net new stores in the U.S. this year, defying commercial real estate challenges with robust demand for retail space. (The Wall Street Journal🔒)
Trend of Smaller Homes: Home builders are shrinking the size of new single-family homes to make them more affordable, with the average unit size decreasing by 10% nationally since 2018. (The Wall Street Journal🔒)
Mortgage Rates on the Rise: 30-year fixed-rate mortgages have reached their highest level since 2001, impacting existing home sales while providing slight relief to the housing inventory predicament. (Freddie Mac)
PERSONAL FINANCE
Summer of Market Angst: Surging bond yields, rising energy prices, and concerns over China's economy are affecting global stock markets, impacting investment decisions and raising worries about the attractiveness of stocks amid rising yields. (Reuters)
CYBER
Europe's Tech Regulations: Europe's Digital Services Act, part of a comprehensive set of tech-focused regulations, has come into effect, requiring tech giants like Google, Facebook, and TikTok to adhere to rules aimed at cleaning up online content and protecting users' rights. (AP News)
LIFE
Booming Business of American Anxiety: Anxiety, exacerbated by the pandemic and increased mental health awareness, is driving a growing industry offering relief through therapies, supplements, products, and mental health coaching, as the supply of qualified therapists struggles to meet demand. (The Wall Street Journal🔒)
HEALTH
Disappearing Nursing Homes: The U.S. has 600 fewer nursing homes than six years ago, with more senior care shifting to homes due to the pandemic, resulting in frail elderly patients staying in hospitals for extended periods, creating challenges as the elderly population grows. (The Wall Street Journal🔒)
CDC Warns on Pet Turtles: A salmonella outbreak linked to small turtles in 11 states has led the CDC to caution pet owners against close contact, including kissing or snuggling, with turtles and to avoid eating or drinking around them to prevent infection. (The Wall Street Journal🔒)
HOME & AUTO
Car Prices: New car prices have surged, leaving only a single model selling for less than $20,000 in 2023, making it challenging for the average American to afford a new car and leading to longer loan terms with higher interest rates. (The Wall Street Journal🔒)
FOOD & DRINK
Brazil's Corn Export Surge: Brazil is set to surpass the U.S. as the world's top corn exporter in 2023, driven by a strong harvest and improved logistical routes, particularly through its northern ports, challenging the U.S.'s traditional dominance. (Reuters)
Global Rice Shortages: Rising fertilizer prices, drought, and a ban on rice shipments by India have led to soaring rice prices, affecting people worldwide who depend on cheap imported rice for sustenance. (AP News)
Subway's Sale to Roark Capital: Subway, the sandwich chain, is being sold to Roark Capital for more than $9 billion, making Roark one of the largest restaurant operators globally. Subway has around 37,000 restaurants across the world. (Reuters)
NATURE
Impact of Vulture Decline: The near-extinction of Indian vultures in the mid-1990s led to an increase in the human mortality rate in areas where these birds had once thrived. Vultures play a vital role in nature as scavengers, and their decline caused problems with sanitation and disease. (The Economist🔒)
Legless Lizards: Legless lizards are distinct from snakes and can be found in various regions. In a trivia note, they were also used in the movie Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark for the famous snake scene. (University of Florida and Snopes)
TRAVEL
American Airlines: American Airlines expects higher costs in the third quarter due to a new labor deal with its pilots that includes significant pay and benefits increases, reflecting a trend of rising labor costs in the airline industry. (Reuters)
Global Travel Economy: Travel is projected to become a $15.5 trillion industry by 2033, representing more than 11.6% of the global economy, reflecting a significant increase from its 2019 value of $10 trillion. (Bloomberg🔒)
American Airlines vs. Skiplagged: American Airlines has filed a lawsuit against Skiplagged, a website that allows passengers to book flights with layovers and get off at the layover city instead of traveling to the final destination, accusing the site of deceptive practices. (The Washington Post🔒)
SPORTS
Women's World Cup: The 2023 Women's World Cup final set records for television viewership in Spain and England, underscoring the growing popularity of women's football. Spain won the final against England 1-0. (Reuters)
VOCABULARY
Edgelord: "Edgelord" refers to someone who intentionally expresses opinions or content that is likely to shock or offend people, often for attention or to appear edgy or controversial. It is commonly used, especially on the internet, to describe individuals who push boundaries with their statements or behavior. (Cambridge Dictionary)
FOR FUN
Edinburgh Fringe Joke: Comedian Lorna Rose Treen won the title of the funniest joke at the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe with a pun about dating a zookeeper who turned out to be a "cheetah." The joke received high marks from the audience. (BBC)
T-Rex World Championships: Over 200 people participated in the 2023 T-Rex World Championships at Emerald Downs, where they raced down the track wearing inflatable Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur costumes. The event ended with a photo finish. (AP News)
THE BOOKSHELF
The Neverending Story by Michael Ende: "The Neverending Story" is a German novel published in 1979 that inspired the 1984 movie of the same name. The novel explores themes of imagination and storytelling, and the 1984 movie adaptation covered only the first half of the book. The story is known for its layered narrative and breaking of the fourth wall. (Goodreads)
Saudi Arabia and Iran are among six countries to join BRICS as new members next year, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced, on the final day of a summit of the group that considers itself a counterweight to Western powers. The group encompassing five major emerging economies – China, Brazil, South Africa, Russia and India – which makes decisions by consensus, agreed on “the guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures of the BRICS expansion process”, during the three-day annual summit held in Johannesburg this week, Ramaphosa said on Thursday. As part of the first phase, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates will join Saudi Arabia and Iran to become full BRICS members in January 2024. Other phases will follow.
Donald Trump's mug shot was released on Thursday evening after he was booked at an Atlanta jail on more than a dozen felony charges as part of a wide-ranging criminal case stemming from the former U.S. president's attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat in Georgia.
Storm Hilary flooded streets, downed power lines and triggered mudslides across Southern California on Monday after unleashing record-breaking downpours overnight, but no U.S. deaths were attributed to the storm and fears of disaster dissipated. Hilary arrived in California as a rare tropical storm that dumped 4 to 5 inches (10 to 12 cm) of rain on coastal areas and 10 inches (25 cm) or more in the mountains, National Weather Service meteorologist Richard Thompson said. No fatalities or significant injuries were reported in the U.S.. One man was killed in Mexico when his family was swept away while crossing a stream on Saturday, Mexican officials said.
For the first time, Maui County officials publicly blamed Hawaii’s largest electric utility for the wildfires that killed at least 115 people this month, claiming in a lawsuit filed on Thursday that “intentional and malicious” mismanagement of power lines had allowed flames to spark. The lawsuit accused the utility, Hawaiian Electric, of failing to respond to ominous weather reports on the day of the fires, Aug. 8, when red-flag fire danger warnings were issued because of hurricane-fueled winds, and of failing to perform basic maintenance in the years beforehand. More than two weeks after the fires ignited, the full toll of the disaster remains unclear. At least 1,000 people were unaccounted for as of Tuesday, leaving families increasingly desperate as officials prepared to release a list of the missing.
The electric power grid in Texas, which collapsed dramatically in a 2021 winter storm, is being tested again as the state suffers unusually hot summer weather. Demand for electricity has reached new records at a time of rapid change in the mix of power sources as wind and solar ramp up. That’s feeding a debate about the dependability of the state’s power.
Guatemalan anti-corruption crusader Bernardo Arevalo was voted in as president on Sunday, preliminary results showed, a victory that until recently seemed impossible and which many voters hope will end years of rule dogged by allegations of graft and authoritarianism. Arevalo, a 64-year-old ex-diplomat and son of a former president, had a 58% to 37% lead over former first lady Sandra Torres with 99% of votes counted. His victory comes as violence and food insecurity roil the country, triggering fresh waves of migration. Guatemalans now represent the largest number of Central Americans seeking to enter the United States.
The Panama Canal Authority has reduced maximum ship weights and daily ship crossings in a bid to conserve water. Maritime transportation experts fear such events could become the new normal as rainfall deficits in the world's fifth-wettest country spotlight climate risks affecting the ocean shipping industry that moves 80% of global trade. Ship owners have the options of carrying less cargo, shifting to alternate routes that can add thousands of miles to the trip or grappling with queues that earlier this month backed up 160 vessels and delayed some ships by as much as 21 days. The restrictions already are sending China-U.S. spot shipping prices up as much as 36% amid soaring sea temperatures that climate scientists warn could supercharge extreme weather. A naturally occurring El Nino climate pattern associated with warmer-than-usual water in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean is contributing to Panama's drought. Water levels in Gatun Lake, the rainfall-fed principal reservoir that floats ships through the Panama Canal's lock system, have remained below normal despite accumulation from the current rainy season.
Ukraine won’t get a basic F-16 capability until at least 2024, and developing proficiency with that aircraft “could be four or five years down the road,” Gen. James B. Hecker, commander of U.S. Air Forces Europe and Air Forces-Africa, said Aug. 18. Yet Hecker downplayed the significance the F-16s may have in helping Ukraine combat Russia’s invasion, saying the capability won’t be a “silver bullet” but will simply ease Ukraine’s use of air-to-ground weapons already being provided. His comments echo previous remarks from Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, who have said F-16s won’t be a “game-changer” or “magic weapon,” respectively.
The U.S. will begin training Ukrainian F-16 pilots within two months, Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a briefing Thursday. While he didn’t give specific numbers, he said there would be “several” pilots and “dozens” of maintainers trained. This follows comments earlier in the week that the U.S. would participate in the process only if the Netherlands and Denmark — who are leading the transfer of planes — reached capacity. The training will begin in October at Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson, Arizona, and will be conducted by the Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing, Ryder said. In September, the pilots will first receive English language training tailored to the training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.
The United States is urging Americans in Belarus to leave the country “immediately,” citing spillover risks from the war in Ukraine, including a buildup of Russian troops in Belarus. The U.S. Embassy in Minsk, the Belarusian capital, said in an advisory on Monday that Americans should avoid traveling to Belarus because of the country’s “continued facilitation of Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine, the buildup of Russian military forces in Belarus, the arbitrary enforcement of local laws” and the risk of detention and civil unrest.
U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan lowered expectations for the Saudi-Israel normalization agreement that Washington is working on, rejecting news reports that suggest it is imminent. "There is still a ways to travel with respect to all of the elements of those discussions," Sullivan said during a briefing for reporters Tuesday. In past months, Sullivan and his deputies have begun separate negotiations with the Saudis and Israelis to lay groundwork for a deal. Peace between the two countries would be "a big deal" and benefit the U.S. "in a fundamental way," Sullivan said, highlighting the goal of a "more integrated, more stable Middle East" where countries could collaborate on "everything from economics to technology to regional security."
Ethiopia will launch a joint investigation with Saudi Arabia into a Human Rights Watch report accusing the kingdom's border guards of killing hundreds of Ethiopian migrants, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. "The Government of Ethiopia will promptly investigate the incident in tandem with the Saudi Authorities," the ministry said on X, formerly Twitter, a day after the publication of the HRW report sparked global outrage.
Saudi Arabia is weighing a Chinese bid to build a nuclear-power plant in the kingdom, Saudi officials familiar with the matter said, in a move designed to pressure the Biden administration to compromise on its conditions for U.S. help in the kingdom’s quest for nuclear power. The U.S. has said American nuclear aid is contingent on the Saudis agreeing to not enrich their own uranium or mine their own uranium deposits in the kingdom—nonproliferation conditions not sought by China, which has been seeking to strengthen its influence in the Middle East, to the consternation of Washington. Saudi Arabia has asked the U.S. to help it develop a civilian nuclear program as part of a potential deal that would include diplomatic normalization with Israel, which Riyadh doesn’t recognize. Saudi Arabia is also asking the U.S. to provide security guarantees for the kingdom as part of such a deal.
Iran’s Defense Ministry unveiled a drone on Tuesday resembling America’s armed MQ-9 Reaper, claiming that the aircraft is capable of staying airborne for 24 hours and has the range to reach the country’s archenemy Israel. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency published a photograph of the drone, called the Mohajer-10, on display at a conference marking Defense Industry Day with what appeared to be smoke-machine fog underneath it.
Mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who led a brief armed rebellion against the Russian military earlier this year, was presumed dead Wednesday after a plane crash north of Moscow that killed all 10 people on board. Prigozhin was on the plane, according to Russia’s civil aviation agency, which cited the airline. The crash immediately raised suspicions since the fate of the founder of the Wagner private military company has been the subject of intense speculation ever since he mounted the mutiny.
Some foreign companies trying to exit Russia are facing a big jump in costs as Moscow is demanding bigger discounts on the price tags of assets they want to sell, three people with knowledge of the matter said. Russia has steadily tightened exit requirements since Western companies started leaving soon after Moscow began what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine in February 2022. Executives say navigating the rules is becoming harder. Foreign companies have already been hit by losses of more than $80 billion from their Russian operations due to writedowns and lost revenue, based on an analysis by Reuters of company filings and statements. Dutch brewer Heineken (HEIN.AS) said on Friday it had completed its exit from Russia by selling its operations there to Russia's Arnest Group for a symbolic one euro.
U.S. President Joe Biden brokered a series of trilateral defense initiatives with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at Camp David on Friday as the two U.S. allies move past decades of strained relations. The agreements between the three countries include annual trilateral military exercises, ballistic missile defense cooperation and shoring up the security of defense supply chains. The U.S. has worked to reconcile Japan and South Korea for well over a decade as it seeks to bolster its alliances in Asia to counter China and contain North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
Japan has begun its controversial discharge of treated waste water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean, sparking protests in the region and retaliation from Beijing. China is the biggest buyer of seafood from Japan, and on Thursday it said it would block all such imports. Japan says the water is safe, and many scientists agree. The UN's nuclear watchdog has also approved the plan. But critics say more studies need to be done and the release should be halted. More than a million tonnes of water stored at the nuclear plant will be discharged over the next 30 years.
China's central bank on Monday cut a key interest rate in an attempt to counter the post-COVID growth slowdown in the world's second-largest economy. The one-year loan prime rate, which serves as a benchmark for corporate loans, was reduced from 3.55% to 3.45%, the People's Bank of China said in a statement, while the five-year LPR, which is used to price mortgages, was held at 4.2%. Closely followed by the markets, the two rates are now at historic lows, after previous reductions in June.
What ails China? There are plenty of answers, from demographics to geopolitics to trade. But the key problem might boil down to household finances and, just as important, everyday citizens’ deeply shaken confidence that their lives will keep improving following China’s Covid-19 emergency. What is really new and notable about the current slowdown is a combination of exceptionally weak consumer prices, consumption, services-sector investment and property investment. All of that points firmly at households.
Xi Jinping’s quest to rewrite the playbook that drove China’s economic miracle for a generation is facing its sternest test yet. The $18 trillion economy is decelerating, consumers are downbeat, exports are struggling, prices are falling and more than one in five young people are out of work. Country Garden Holdings Co., with 3,000 pending property projects up and down the country, is on the cusp of default and protestors have gathered at Zhongzhi Enterprise Group Co., one of the biggest shadow banks, demanding their money as payments are halted. Many of those woes can be traced back to President Xi’s determination to shift away from the debt-fueled growth model of his predecessors. China is undergoing an “expectations recession,” said Bert Hofman, former China country director at the World Bank. “Once everybody believes that growth will be slower going forward, this will be self-fulfilling.” That leaves many observers concluding China will muddle through with targeted help for companies and limited measures to boost sentiment rather than an all-out stimulus plan. But bold moves can’t be ruled out — particularly if the political risks get too high. After all, Xi allowed a sudden dismantling of Covid-era mobility restrictions late last year following spontaneous protests against lockdowns that included calls for his ouster.
China is playing an increasingly important role in propping up Russia’s economy and helping boost its war effort, with recent trade data showing Beijing providing a range of goods, including some with potential military applications such as microchips and trench-digging excavators. China has become the principal source of many of the goods and components Russia’s sanctions-hit economy needs, while also giving Moscow a buyer for its oil and gas. The growing economic relationship is a central piece of the efforts by the two countries to unite against what their leaders describe as Western efforts to contain them. China is now the source for between 45% and 50% of Russia’s imports, up from one quarter before its invasion of Ukraine, according to estimates from the Bank of Finland’s Institute for Emerging Economies, which specializes in research on the economies of China and Russia.
In an effort to secure more tax revenue, this coastal city near Mt. Fuji is offering free welding lessons. Doesn’t sound fun? How about a Porsche test drive, some live koi or a large bundle of toilet paper? Still not interested? What about serving as mayor for a day? Japan has a system that enables taxpayers to redirect some of their local taxes to towns or cities where they don’t live—and receive a gift or other token of gratitude in exchange. But what began as an effort to help rural places that were losing population has devolved into a cutthroat battle between municipalities dangling gifts to attract enough taxes to maintain public services. Almost nine million taxpayers took part in the system last year, the most since it began a decade-and-a-half ago. Under the rules, the typical taxpayer can redirect roughly 20% of the income-dependent portion of his or her “residence taxes” to other local governments, which can then spend about 30% of that on gifts. In the financial year ended March 2023, donations under the system approached a trillion yen, or almost $7 billion. The program was created to help rural areas where tax revenue was eroding as Japan’s population declines and people move to major cities. The idea was that those city transplants could support their home regions, and get some of their favorite local products, such as grapes or peaches, thrown in free. Their payments into the “hometown tax” system could be deducted from their local tax bills and at times their income taxes. The program was a wild success, mutating into a frenzied competition to lure tax payments with a vast array of gifts. Many in Japan now equate the program to online shopping.
Interesting concept—send a portion of your taxes to the area of your choosing…doesn’t surprise me that it’s developed an economy of its own.
For close to four decades, Hun Sen, the prime minister of Cambodia, maintained his grip on power by upholding a simple conceit: The country needed him, and, as such, he could never retire. Not anymore. On Tuesday, Mr. Hun Sen, 71, transferred the premiership to his son, Gen. Hun Manet, a 45-year-old graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and chief of the Cambodian Army. The move caps a generational shift so rare that three out of four Cambodians have only ever known Mr. Hun Sen as their leader.
North Korea's flagship carrier has flown its first international flight since the pandemic. Air Koryo's JS151 left Pyongyang Tuesday morning and landed at Beijing Capital Airport at 09:16 local time (01:16 GMT), data from real-time flight tracking service Flightradar24 showed. It is unclear who was on board or how many passengers JS151 was carrying. Travel agency Koryo Tours said the Pyongyang-Beijing route was reopened as a means for North Koreans to get home.
Suspended precariously in mid-air, drone footage, exclusively obtained by the BBC, shows the passengers of a stranded cable car in Pakistan. All of the people inside the cable car, six children and two adults, were saved during a 12 hour rescue operation which included a military helicopter and zip wire experts. The owner of the cable car company in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was later arrested by police on multiple charges including negligence and endangering valuable lives.
Great close-up video (not for the faint of heart) of the stranded passengers.
Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the moon on Saturday, two days before a planned landing attempt. It was the latest in a series of impacts, belly flops and hard landings — some intentional, others unplanned — since 1959, when the Soviet Union’s Luna-2 became the first probe to hit the moon. India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission placed a lander and rover on the moon on Wednesday, four years after the Chandrayaan-2 lander crashed during descent.
Article contains great info-graphics of moon landing locations. For reference, here’s the size of the moon compared to the United States:
North Korea's second attempt to put a spy satellite into space has failed, three months after its first launch crashed into the sea. The attempt on Thursday morning failed during the third stage of its flight, state media said. For North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a spy satellite is a coveted prize, as it would let him monitor incoming attacks and plot his own more accurately. Pyongyang's space agency has said it will try again in October.
Much of the work lowering inflation is done: Amid the most aggressive series of interest rate increases in four decades, it has fallen to 3.2% from 9.1%. This good news presents the Federal Reserve with a new thorny question. How aggressive should it be in squeezing out what’s left? Their decision holds major implications for consumers, the markets and the economy—and whether Fed Chair Jerome Powell achieves a so-called soft landing that beats inflation without causing a recession. Officially, the Fed’s target for inflation is 2%. With inflation running well above that number, officials are still focused on whether to raise rates one more time this year. But that is a relatively small consideration compared with the bigger question of how long to keep rates at that high level.
FOR THE past year the success of America’s economy has rested on three pillars: a healthy labour market, falling inflation and robust spending fuelled by savings accumulated during the pandemic. This last pillar may be starting to give way. Research by Hamza Abdelrahman and Luiz Oliveira of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco suggests that Americans have burned through more than 90% of the “excess savings” they amassed in 2020 and 2021. What little remains, the economists estimate, is likely to be gone by the end of September.
The drip, drip, drip of the finance industry’s exit from New York and California has been measured anecdotally, one at a time, these past few years. Elliott Management decamped to West Palm Beach. AllianceBernstein to Nashville. Charles Schwab moved to suburban Dallas. Now, for the first time, there are hard numbers quantifying the exact scope of the exodus. Both states have in the past three years lost firms that managed close to $1 trillion of assets, Bloomberg News calculated after going through corporate filings from more than 17,000 firms since the end of 2019. The exodus from the Northeast and West Coast has meant the loss of thousands of high-paying jobs, straining city and state finances by sapping tax revenue. Commercial property markets have also lost valuable tenants at the same time they’ve been struggling with the new realities of hybrid work. The moves, often born out of a desire for lower taxes, warmer weather and cheaper mansions, have pushed the industry’s footprint into parts of the US that previously didn’t have much of a finance presence beyond regional banks. It’s upending the economies of the hot new destinations, spurring plenty of angst in the places left behind, and creating new opportunities for investment professionals outside historic financial centers.
A sharp drop in package volume and a move to combine FedEx’s Express and Ground delivery units created a glut of pilots, leaving what was long the company’s most revered class of workers in a state of angst.
The union representing 340,000 UPS workers said Tuesday that its members voted to approve the tentative contract agreement reached last month, putting a final seal on contentious labor negotiations that threatened to disrupt package deliveries for millions of businesses and households nationwide. UPS says that by the end of the new contract, the average UPS full-time driver will make about $170,000 annually in pay and benefits. It's not clear how much of that figure benefits account for. The 24 million packages UPS ships daily amount to about a quarter of all U.S. parcel volume, according to the global shipping and logistics firm Pitney Bowes. UPS says that's equivalent to about 6% of the nation's gross domestic product.
July 2023 marks the third month of year-over-year rent decline in a row for 0-2 bedroom properties (-1.0% Y/Y) observed since trend data began in 2020. The median asking rent in the 50 largest metros increased to $1,759, up by $15 from last month and down $18 from the peak seen 12 months ago. Rent for studios saw its first year-over-year decline in over two years, while larger units saw rents decrease slightly slower.
Existing-home sales fell 2.2% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.07 million. Sales receded 16.6% from one year ago. The median existing-home sales price rose 1.9% from one year ago to $406,700. It was the fourth time the monthly median sales price eclipsed $400,000, joining June 2023 ($410,000), June 2022 ($413,800) and May 2022 ($408,600). The inventory of unsold existing homes increased 3.7% from the previous month to 1.11 million at the end of July, or the equivalent of 3.3 months’ supply at the current monthly sales pace.
U.S. single-family homebuilding surged in July and permits for future construction rose amid an acute shortage of previously owned houses, but mortgage rates climbing back to near two-decade highs could slow the housing market improvement. The sharp rebound in groundbreaking on single-family housing units reported by the Commerce Department on Wednesday was another sign of the economy continuing to defy dire forecasts of a recession. It followed news on Tuesday that retail sales rose strongly in July, which prompted economists to upgrade their growth estimates for the third quarters. Single-family housing starts, which account for the bulk of homebuilding, jumped 6.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 983,000 units last month. They rose 9.5% year-on-year in July. The increase in groundbreaking was led by the West, where single-family starts soared 28.5%. Starts rose 12.5% in the Midwest. But they fell 3.4% in the Northeast and declined 1.3% in the densely populated South.
Retailers are on track to open 1,000 net new stores in the U.S. this year as retail availability hits record lows, in fresh signs of the sector’s resilience despite turmoil in commercial real estate. Landlords say demand for retail space has remained robust this year, defying inflation pressures, high interest rates and liquidations including Bed Bath & Beyond and Christmas Tree Shops. Retail’s strength is largely the result of a sharp drop in retail construction since the 2008-09 financial crisis, which allowed the oversupplied sector to digest its existing real estate. Retailers, meanwhile, started using online sales data and analytics technology to pinpoint locations for successful stores. Also, predictions that internet sales would wipe out physical retail failed to materialize. Digitally native companies are opening bricks-and-mortar locations after reaching the limits of online customer acquisition. Shoppers flocked back to stores and restaurants as pandemic restrictions eased.
Home prices are near record highs, frustrating millions of potential buyers who feel priced out of the housing market. Home builders are having to find ways to make their product more affordable to increase their pool of customers. Shrinking the size of a new single-family home is an increasingly popular way to do it. Smaller homes can help cost-constrained buyers facing high mortgage rates. They also boost the bottom line for builders who are contending with spiraling labor and construction costs. Since 2018, the average unit size for new housing starts has decreased 10% nationally to 2,420 square feet, according to Livabl by Zonda, a listing platform for new construction homes. Home sizes are shrinking the most in some of the hotter markets of previous years. The Seattle area, where the size of newly built homes is 18% smaller than it was five years ago, tops the list. New homes in Charlotte, N.C., and San Antonio shrank by 14%, Livabl by Zonda said.
This week, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage reached its highest level since 2001 and indications of ongoing economic strength will likely continue to keep upward pressure on rates in the short-term. As rates remain high and supply of unsold homes woefully low, incoming data shows that existing homes sales continue to fall. However, there are slightly more new homes available, and sales of these new homes continue to rise, helping provide modest relief to the unyielding housing inventory predicament.
Cracks are forming in a global stocks rally, with surging bond yields, rising energy prices and intensified worries over China’s economy among the factors sapping investors’ risk appetite following months of gains in equity markets. One key worry for investors is a surge in bond yields that has come as signs of stronger-than-expected growth in parts of the global economy fuel bets on central banks leaving interest rates at current levels for longer than expected. Yields on the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury hit their highest level in 15 years on Monday. Meanwhile, U.S. real yields, which show what investors can expect to earn on government bonds after adjusting for inflation, stand near their highest point since 2009. Yields in other economies have also pulled higher. Britain’s 10-year real yield , for instance, on Thursday rose to its highest since last October. One worry is that higher yields on Treasuries and other government bonds will make stocks less attractive at a time when valuations have ballooned in many countries. Benchmark yields also guide other key economic rates, raising the cost of capital as they climb. U.S. mortgage rates surged this month, with the popular 30-year fixed rate hitting the highest level in more than 21 years, further complicating the housing market outlook. Rising yields have also supported the dollar , which is up about 4% from its recent lows against a basket of currencies. More dollar strength could be an unwelcome development for everyone from U.S. exporters and multinationals, who need to convert profits back into their home currency, to emerging market economies, as it makes it more difficult for them to service dollar-denominated debt.
Google, Facebook, TikTok and other Big Tech companies operating in Europe must comply with one of the most far-reaching efforts to clean up what people see online. The European Union’s groundbreaking new digital rules took effect Friday for the biggest platforms. The Digital Services Act is part of a suite of tech-focused regulations crafted by the 27-nation bloc — long a global leader in cracking down on tech giants. The DSA is designed to keep users safe online and stop the spread of harmful content that’s either illegal or violates a platform’s terms of service, such as promotion of genocide or anorexia. It also looks to protect Europeans’ fundamental rights like privacy and free speech.
Americans are anxious—and a flurry of old-line companies, upstarts and opportunistic entrepreneurs aim to fill the demand for relief. Anxiety has come into focus across the country in part due to the stress of the pandemic, increased awareness about mental health and more screening in schools and at doctors’ offices. In a recent federal survey, 27% of respondents reported they had symptoms of an anxiety disorder. That’s up from 8% in 2019, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Americans looking for help have found that the supply of available and qualified therapists hasn’t kept up with demand. Some can’t afford the fees. That has left a growing industry geared toward anxiety outside the medical and traditional mental-health professions, including supplements, products and mental-health coaches.
America’s nursing homes are fading away. The U.S. has at least 600 fewer nursing homes than it did six years ago, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of federal data. More senior care is happening at home, and the Covid-19 pandemic caused many families to shun nursing homes while draining workers from an already short-staffed industry. The result? Frail elderly patients are stuck in hospitals, a dangerous place for seniors, waiting for somewhere to go—sometimes for months. Beds are disappearing while the need for senior care is growing. The American population 65 and older is expected to swell from 56 million in 2020 to 81 million by 2040.
A salmonella outbreak across 11 states has been linked to small turtles, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, leading to 26 infections and nine hospitalizations. The federal agency is telling pet owners not to “kiss or snuggle” their turtles, or eat and drink around them, to avoid possible infection.
Five years ago, there were a dozen models of new cars that sold for less than $20,000. In 2023, there was only one: the spartan Mitsubishi Mirage hatchback, which accounted for about 5,300 of the 7.7 million new vehicles sold in the U.S. in the first half of the year. If you are willing to spend more than $100,000, you can choose from 32 models. For the average American, paying off a new car at current prices demands 42 weeks of income, according to data from Cox Automotive, up from around 33 before the pandemic. Bargains have been hard to come by on the used-car lot as well, where the average vehicle listed for about $27,000—up more than 30% from prepandemic levels, according to Cox’s data. Higher interest rates have made the situation more difficult for buyers. Today’s average new car loan has a monthly payment north of $750, with an interest rate of 9.5%. For used cars, the average rate is above 13.7%, according to Cox. The average term for loans issued over the past three years is nearly six years, according to data from Experian. These numbers could explain a mystery bedeviling auto lending. Seasonalized rates of severe delinquency for auto loans are the highest since at least 2006, but the jobs market is strong. So far, higher prices have been a positive for automakers and dealers. Share prices for public dealership groups have surged this year. Automakers have generated profits that they can put toward their expensive transition to electric vehicles. The large dealerships have made big profits from their parts and service businesses as drivers hold on to cars for longer. But there are signs that the market might already be struggling to sustain itself. If consumers rebel against the higher prices, sales—which so far have been stronger than expected—could slow, particularly among the pricey vehicles that have been generating most of the industry’s profits. And consumers who want to trade in their vehicles might be disappointed with the prices they get.
Brazil is set to overtake the U.S. this year as the world's top corn exporter, reflecting both a bumper harvest and logistical breakthroughs such as the consolidation of northern export routes, which are boosting the competitiveness of the South American grains powerhouse. Corn exports through Brazil's northern ports, which use the waterways of the Amazon River basin to ship grains globally, are on track to beat volumes via the most traditional port of Santos for a third consecutive year, according to a Reuters analysis of grain shipping data.
Prices for rice grown in Kenya soared a while ago because of higher fertilizer prices and a yearslong drought in the Horn of Africa that has reduced production. Cheap rice imported from India had filled the gap, feeding many of the hundreds of thousands of residents in Nairobi’s Kibera slum who survive on less than $2 a day. But that is changing. The price of a 25-kilogram (55-pound) bag of rice has risen by a fifth since June. Wholesalers are yet to receive new stocks since India, the world’s largest exporter of rice by far, said last month that it would ban some rice shipments. It’s an effort by the world’s most populous nation to control domestic prices ahead of a key election year — but it’s left a yawning gap of around 9.5 million metric tons (10.4 tons) of rice that people around the world need, roughly a fifth of global exports.
Subway has agreed to sell itself to private equity firm Roark Capital in a deal valuing the sandwich chain at more than $9 billion, sources said, ending a long-drawn auction that saw several bids from buyout firms. Roark beat out a late challenge from a rival bidding group led by TDR Capital and Sycamore Partners, which also submitted a final bid of more than $9 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Subway, which has roughly 37,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries, did not disclose the terms of the deal on Thursday. The deal will make Roark Capital one of the largest restaurant operators in the world. It controls Inspire Brands, the owner of restaurant chains including Jimmy John's, Arby's, Baskin-Robbins and Buffalo Wild Wings.
The same cast of characters features in most wildlife conservation campaigns: majestic tigers, adorable pandas or other creatures that tug human heartstrings. Images of the blood-splattered bills of endangered vultures tend to evoke less sympathy, but a new study provides a reason to be concerned for their survival. The near-extinction of Indian vultures in the mid-1990s proved fatal for humans too, causing the mortality rate to rise by 4% in districts once populated by the birds. Vultures act as nature’s sanitation service. In India, their diet consisted largely of rotting livestock carcasses—numbering 30m a year in the cattle-revering country. A group of vultures can polish off a cow’s carrion in 40 minutes. Their strongly acidic digestive tracts destroy most germs. Historically, vultures were widespread in India. But between the 1990s and early 2000s their numbers plummeted by more than 90%, from around 40m. The cause was diclofenac, an anti-inflammatory drug that farmers began using to treat their cattle. Though the drug was harmless to both cows and humans, birds that consumed animals treated with diclofenac suffered from kidney failure and died within weeks. Without vultures, carcasses attracted feral dogs and rats. Not only do these animals carry rabies and other diseases that threaten humans, they are far less efficient at finishing off carrion. The rotting remains they left behind were full of pathogens that then spread to drinking water.
I was rewatching Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark and wondered how many snakes they used for the scene where Indiana and Marion are trapped in the building – turns out it was roughly 6,500…and most were “legless lizards,” not snakes. Who knew there was such a thing as legless lizards that look like snakes.
American Airlines (AAL.O) warned on Tuesday it was expecting higher costs in the third quarter following a new labor deal with its pilots that included more than $9.6 billion in total pay and benefits increases over four years. The company's pilots approved a new contract on Monday that also had provisions for retroactive pay for the first four months of 2023, leading to $230 million in added expense that will be reflected in the third-quarter results. Rival United Airlines (UAL.O) too had last month announced a preliminary deal for a new four-year contract that would give its pilots a cumulative increase of 34.5%-40.2% in pay. American Airlines now expects its cost per available seat mile excluding fuel and net special items to rise about 4% to 6%, compared with a prior forecast of about 2% to 4% growth.
On Thursday, American Airlines sued Skiplagged, accusing the company of deceiving passengers. In a 37-page lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, American Airlines alleges that the website tricks passengers into thinking they’re getting “access to some kind of secret ‘loophole’” while in some cases actually charging them more money than if they booked with the airline. The loophole goes by several names — skiplagging, hidden-city ticketing and point-beyond ticketing — all of which refer to the practice of booking a flight with a layover and then getting off at the layover city instead of traveling to the final destination. Getting a lower price on a longer trip is possible because flights with a connection are usually cheaper than direct ones and airlines want to increase efficiency by routing as many travelers as they can through their hubs. Skiplagged, which launched in 2013, allows customers on its website to book flights from Point A to Point C, knowing that their actual final destination is their connecting city — Point B.
The crowds of travelers filling airports in many parts of the world this summer are a telltale sign of what’s ahead for tourism. By 2033, travel is set to become a $15.5 trillion industry—accounting for more than 11.6% of the global economy. This represents a 50% increase over its $10 trillion value in 2019, when travel represented 10.4% of the world’s gross domestic product. The 10-year forecast comes from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the leading advocacy group dedicated to quantifying the industry’s economic impact. Although it was released in May as part of a 2023 World Economic Impact report on travel, the data hasn’t circulated beyond a small set of industry executives until now.
The 2023 Women's World Cup final attracted record television viewing figures for women's football, capping off a tournament which had also drawn a record number of fans at the stadiums. Spain defeated England 1-0 in the final on Sunday in Sydney, and record numbers tuned in to watch in both nations.
Someone who intentionally expresses opinions that are likely to shock or offend people, especially on the internet, as a way of making others notice or admire them.
I learned this word recently…good to know there’s a word to describe this condition/person. It seems like this type of thing is pervasive across the internet and media these days.
A joke about an unfaithful zookeeper has been named the funniest gag at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Comedian Lorna Rose Treen was voted the winner with her pun: "I started dating a zookeeper, but it turned out he was a cheetah." The Dave's Funniest Joke of the Fringe is chosen by members of the public from a shortlist drawn up by judges. The zookeeper one-liner was ranked among the best by 44% of those surveyed.
A track for live horse racing in suburban Seattle turned prehistoric over the weekend as more than 200 people ran down the track cloaked in inflatable Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur costumes. The 2023 T-Rex World Championships at Emerald Downs — an event that started in 2017 as a pest control company’s team-building activity — ended in a photo finish on Sunday, with three competitors hitting the finish line together.
You might’ve seen the 1984 movie “The Neverending Story” (Atreyu!), but did you know that it was a novel before it was a movie? The German novel, published in 1979, was a huge hit, leading to a film series (there were actually three movies), an animated series, a video game, other novels, and even plays and an opera. Interestingly, the 1984 movie only covered the first half of the book. The book itself is quite layered, breaking the fourth wall to get to the heart of the “neverending” title—something that was kind of lost in the movie adaptation.
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.
