Joker's Google Blog: Business Intelligence Monitor 220103

※ But Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Sunday that could change this week to require a negative test after five days of isolation.

• WSJ: How This Pandemic Has Left Us Less Prepared for the Next One

• WSJ: Omicron Takes a Toll on Businesses, From Airports to Bars and Supermarkets

• WSJ: Winter Storms, Covid-19 Infections Drive U.S. Airport Snarls

• WSJ: Why Cloth Masks Might Not Be Enough as Omicron Spreads

• WSJ: Workers Should See Job Gains Even Amid the Latest Covid-19 Wave

• WSJ: Fed Rate-Setting Panel Gets New Members in 2022 Amid Rate-Rise Expectations

• WSJ: Beijing Fell Short on Trade Deal Promises, Creating Dilemma for Biden

• WSJ: China and Russia Military Cooperation Raises Prospect of New Challenge to American Power

• WSJ: South Africa Says Its Omicron Wave Is in Retreat

• WSJ: Italy’s Embattled Berlusconi Eyes the Presidency, His Biggest Prize Yet

• WSJ: Stocks Face Rockier Path in 2022 as Fed Rate Increases Loom

• WSJ: The $2 Trillion Cryptocurrency Market Is Drawing Interest From Investors, Scrutiny From U.S. Regulators

• WSJ: Omicron Blurs Oil Outlook After Demand Roars Back

• WSJ: CES 2022: Five Tech Trends to Watch in an Unusual Year

• WSJ: U.S. Companies Are Thriving Despite the Pandemic—or Because of It

• WSJ: AT&T, Verizon Refuse FAA Request to Delay 5G Launch

• WSJ: Tesla Reports 87% Growth in Annual Vehicle Deliveries

• WSJ: Metaverse Needs More Than VR Christmas Bump

• WSJ: Chip Makers Contend for Talent as Industry Faces Labor Shortage

• WSJ: A Booming Startup Market Prompts an Investment Rush for Ever-Younger Companies

• WSJ: Can Paper Replace Plastic? A Packaging Giant Is Betting It Can

• NYT: Studies Suggest Why Omicron Is Less Severe: It Spares the Lungs

※ Compared with earlier variants, Omicron may cause less damage to the lungs, new animal research suggests.

※ EMBO Journal: SARS-CoV-2 receptor ACE2 and TMPRSS2 are primarily expressed in bronchial transient secretory cells

• NYT: People with Omicron are less likely to need hospitalization, U.K. report finds.

• NYT: New York reports 85,000 cases in a day, another record, as surge shows no sign of slowing.

• NYT: With Omicron’s Rise, Americans Brace for Returning to School and Work

• NYT: What We Learned About the Economy in 2021

• NYT: The Fed’s Moves Pumped Up Stocks. In 2022, It May Pull the Plug.

• NYT: Child Tax Credit’s Extra Help Ends, Just as Covid Surges Anew

• NYT: After Catastrophic Fire, Colorado Fights a New Hazard: 10 Inches of Snow

• NYT: Omicron Strains France’s Social Contract on Covid

• NYT: What Default? With Confetti and Fanfare, Evergrande Says It’s Ready to Build.

• NYT: Big Rockets, Massive Asteroids and More Space Highlights for 2022

• WP: ‘Crazy’ omicron surge could peak soon, but the virus is unpredictable as the pandemic enters its third year

※ Columbia University researchers estimate infections could top out during the week of Jan. 9

• WP: Covax vaccine deliveries surge in final stretch of 2021, with a record 300 million doses sent out in December

• WP: Much has changed since the start of the pandemic. But the nation’s public health system remains fractured.

• WP: Biden says he warned Putin of ‘severe sanctions’ if Russia invades Ukraine again

※ there would be “a heavy price to pay”

• WP: House Democrats begin preparing for the post-Pelosi era

• WP: China harvests masses of data on Western targets, documents show

• WP: Israel strikes Hamas targets in Gaza following rocket launches

• WP: 2021 goes down as a year of high risk and high reward for markets

• WP: Maybe 2022 should be the year we turn over decision-making to the AI

• FT: Brussels proposes green label for nuclear and natural gas

※ European Commission paves way for investments despite concerns over waste and CO2 emissions

※ European Commission: EU Taxonomy: Commission begins expert consultations on Complementary Delegated Act covering certain nuclear and gas activities

• FT: German Greens lead attack on EU plan to label nuclear power ‘sustainable’

• FT: Omicron drives Covid cases in US to record highs

※ Chief medical adviser warns of ‘unprecedented’ surge in infections as hospitals are strained

• FT: ‘The easy part is over’: uncertainty looms after world economy’s Covid rebound

• FT: How the Covid pandemic ends: what comes after Omicron?

• FT: Germany gears up for new year vaccination offensive

• FT: Civilians flock to defend Ukraine as Russia tensions mount

• FT: Poland’s inflation surge takes shine off economy

• FT: England’s Covid infection rate climbs to one person in 25

• FT: UK ministers told to draw up ‘robust contingency plans’ for Covid absences

• FT: Suffolk wind power opponents threaten UK’s net zero ambitions

• FT: Energy firms suggest wholesale price mechanism to ease pain of high prices

• FT: US struggles to measure jobs growth as pandemic distorts labour market data

• FT: Prospering in the pandemic: how companies have fared in the Covid era

• FT: Huawei revenues fall 30% in 2021 but company is cautiously optimistic

• Bloomberg: Biden Reaffirms Commitment to Ukraine in Call With Zelenskiy

• Bloomberg: CES Expo to Close One Day Early as ‘Safety Measure’ After Exodus

※ Organizers of the CES tech conference, under fire for not canceling the event during a Covid-19 surge, said they will close the expo one day early as “an additional safety measure.”

• Bloomberg: Trump ‘Went to War With Rule of Law’ in Jan. 6 Riot, Cheney Says

• Bloomberg: China Developers Confront a $197 Billion Challenge in January

• Bloomberg: China’s Xi Vows to Tackle Risks as Pivotal Political Year Begins

• Bloomberg: China Has a New Political Strategy for the Olympics

• Bloomberg: China Punishes People Trying to Flee Covid Controls in Xi’an

• Bloomberg: Dubai Boosts Spending With $16.3 Billion Budget for 2022

• Bloomberg: Record Wave of Emerging-Market IPOs Meets Investors Wary of Risk

• Bloomberg: Good Riddance: All the Things Wall Street Won’t Miss About 2021

• Bloomberg: Commodities Have Their Best Year Since Financial Crisis Rebound

• Bloomberg: OPEC+ Seen Reviving Output in Sign of Confidence for 2022 Demand

• Bloomberg: Gazprom Misses Own 2021 Gas Export Target After Flows Capped

• Bloomberg: U.S. Natural Gas Faces Wild 2022 as Foreign Crises Exert Pull