Joker's Google Blog: Business Intelligence Monitor 211223

※ Several participants including Amazon.com Inc., Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. and Twitter Inc., and at least one keynote speaker, T-Mobile’s chief executive, have withdrawn from the event.

• WSJ: Both Manchin and Biden Are Wrong About Build Back Better’s Inflation Impact

• WSJ: China Locks Down Xi’an, Issuing Stay-at-Home Order to 13 million

※ Tuesday’s tally of Covid-19 infections in the city is the highest in China; officials add more than 100 new cases Wednesday

• WSJ: China Evergrande Says State-Backed Risk Team Will Engage With Creditors

• WSJ: U.S.’s Sullivan, Israel’s Bennett Seek Unity on Containing Iran’s Nuclear Program

• WSJ: Aging Germany Is Running Out of Workers, Putting Europe’s Largest Economy at Risk

• WSJ: Amazon to Require All U.S. Warehouse Workers to Wear Masks Again

• WSJ: Confronting Inflation, Biden Administration Turns to Oil Industry It Once Shunned

• WSJ: China’s Tech-Investment Paradox

• WSJ: Carbon-Neutral Product Labels Are Proliferating. Will They Pay Off?

• NYT: Omicron Is Just Beginning and Americans Are Already Tired

• NYT: Omicron Will Surge Despite Biden’s New Plan, Scientists Say

• NYT: The Flu Makes an Unwelcome Comeback as Omicron Surges

• NYT: Why a Chinese Company Dominates Electric Car Batteries

• NYT: Wall Street hits pause on returning to the office.

• NYT: Want to Buy a Car? You Might Have to Get on a Plane to Claim It.

• NYT: Why Christmas Gifts Are Arriving on Time This Year

• WP: Omicron ‘is going to find you,’ Fauci says in warning to the unvaccinated

• WP: Real-world data from U.K. suggests omicron is less likely than delta to send people to the hospital

• FT: UK reports record 106,000 coronavirus cases

※ Boris Johnson coming under pressure to clarify whether England faces post-Christmas restrictions

• FT: France cancels order for Merck antiviral tablet on efficacy fears

• FT: Brussels seeks €12bn annual revenues from EU carbon trading scheme

※ will implement the other pillar of the recent global OECD deal that introduces a global minimum corporate tax.

※ European Commission: Fair Taxation: Commission proposes swift transposition of the international agreement on minimum taxation of multinationals

• FT: EU urged not to undermine debt rules with green spending incentives

• FT: Draghi says Europe lacks means to deter Russia over Ukraine

• FT: European Commission launches legal action against Poland over court rulings

• FT: If Boris Johnson is ousted, who might replace him as UK prime minister?

• FT: Gas price rises creating ‘national crisis’ in UK, energy companies warn

• FT: Only vulnerable eligible for Covid jab in UK rollout for 5- to 11-year-olds

• FT: Fate of $1.75tn US spending bill centres on growth vs inflation fight

• FT: Taiwan to restrict tech companies’ sales of China assets

• FT: Afghanistan’s looming famine: will the US help the Taliban?

• FT: Xi fails to signal support for a second term for Hong Kong’s Carrie Lam

• FT: Tokyo Olympics cost almost twice as much as predicted

• FT: Turkey’s tumbling foreign assets hint at ‘aggressive’ lira intervention

• FT: Turkish lira savings: a sticking plaster that will not heal wounded credibility

• Bloomberg: Inflation, Virus, War Pose Biggest Risks in 2022: Global Survey

• Bloomberg: Supply Chain Experts Say Buckle Up For Another Bumpy Year

• Bloomberg: Cloth Masks May Not Be Enough in Omicron Fight, Expert Says

• Bloomberg: Biden Takes Victory Lap, Saying Holiday-Shipping Crisis Averted

※ White House: FACT SHEET: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Efforts to Tackle Prices for Americans

• Bloomberg: Russia Sends Less Gas to EU as Buyers Hit Supply Limits Early

• Bloomberg: Russia Welcomes U.S. Readiness to Talk, Seeks Proposals

• Bloomberg: Europe’s Power Crunch Shuts Down Factories as Prices Hit Record

※ French nuclear outages push European power prices higher again

• Bloomberg: Europe’s Energy Crisis Is Taking Its Toll on Heavy Industries

• Bloomberg: France Reports Surge in New Covid-19 Cases as Omicron Spreads

※ New daily cases totaled 84,272 in France on Wednesday

• Bloomberg: Omicron Will Be the Dominant Variant in France Within a Week

• Bloomberg: Germany Could Be Swamped by Omicron in Weeks, Expert Says

• Bloomberg: Just a Year of Brexit Has Thumped U.K.’s Economy and Businesses

• Bloomberg: For BOE’s Quantitative Tightening Plan, More Surprises Beckon

• Bloomberg: EU Imposes Additional Tariffs on Chinese Aluminum Foil

• Bloomberg: Spain to Mandate Outdoor Face Masks to Stem Omicron Spread

• Bloomberg: IMF Cuts Spain’s Economic Outlook on ‘Key’ Pandemic Risk

• Bloomberg: China Set to Fall Short on Promises to U.S. as Trade Deal Ends

• Bloomberg: China’s Growth Seen Picking Up in 2022 on Policy Easing, MS Says

• Bloomberg: China Property Bets Roiled by Deleted Post on ‘All Out’ Support

• Bloomberg: Japan Plans Record Annual Budget for Election Year

• Bloomberg: Japan Finds First Omicron Community Spread in Osaka

※ Japan confirmed its first cases of community spread of the omicron variant in Osaka prefecture after finding three cases it couldn’t trace.

• Bloomberg: Japan’s Ex-Vaccine Czar Urges Rolling Out Booster Shots Faster

• Bloomberg: Why Vietnam Took Philippines’ Spot as Worst Place to Be in Covid

• Bloomberg: AI Firm SenseTime Prices Hong Kong IPO at Bottom of Range

• Bloomberg: China’s Yuan Is Propelling Emerging Currencies Like Never Before

• Bloomberg: Cobalt Rally Will Extend Into 2022 on Demand Surge, Major Trader Says

• Bloomberg: Intel Comes Under Fire in China Over Xinjiang Labor Stance

• Bloomberg: China Telecom Vows to Keep Operating Despite U.S. Order to Stop

• Bloomberg: Apple Self-Driving Car Faces Make-or-Break 2022

• Reuters: Amazon among key tech firms to drop CES plans on COVID-19 concern

• Reuters: U.S. testing struggles to keep up with Omicron

• Reuters: Omicron severity question answered in 3-4 weeks, WHO official says

• Reuters: EXCLUSIVE Vaccine maker Serum waives AstraZeneca shot indemnity for refugee programme

• Reuters: Global Markets in 2021: Recoveries, reflation and wrecking balls

• Reuters: Analysis: Omicron, inflation cloud 2022 U.S. profit picture

• Reuters: Minmetals confirms China rare earths merger, creating new giant

• Reuters: Analysis: Italy faces debt doubts again as ECB dials back support

• Reuters: Analysis: Weak winds worsened Europe's power crunch; utilities need better storage

• CNN: China's economic growth will slow sharply in 2022, World Bank says

※ World Bank: China Economic Update – December 2021

• CNBC: WHO says Covid vaccine booster programs will prolong pandemic

• CNBC: Omicron could potentially hasten the pandemic’s end, experts say — here’s how

• CNBC: U.S. can get to 100% clean energy with wind, water, solar and zero nuclear, Stanford professor says

• USA Today: COVID omicron variant: IHME models predict 140M infections this winter

※ “Total infections in the U.S. we forecast are going from about 40% of the U.S. having been infected so far, to having in the next 2 to 3 months, 60% of the U.S. getting infected with omicron.”

• SCMP: China would be wrong to write off the US, Communist Party history expert warns

• SCMP: China’s infrastructure plans aim to shore up economy, but experts say Beijing may first need to ease up on local debt

• SCMP: China tackles ‘corruption in numbers’ to ensure economic, social stability in 2022

• SCMP: China’s economic downturn ramps up urgency for Beijing to keep market expectations in check

• SCMP: China’s economic rise ‘no threat’ to US, says ambassador

• Caixin: Energy Insider: China Expands Clean Power Generating Capacity

• Caixin: As Southeast Asia Covid Lockdowns Lift, Cost of Shipping From China Spikes to 10 Times Pre-Pandemic Rate

• Nikkei Asia: Quantum computing: Japan takes step toward light-based technology

• Nikkei Asia: Analysis: When China's leading paper ignores Xi, all bets are off

• Mainichi: Bank of Japan members saw need to keep monetary easing despite costs: minutes

• Economic Times: Plan on table to halt new coal-fired power plants

※ considering a proposal to halt new coal-based power units as the country works out a plan to meet commitments made at COP26.