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As high inflation worsens Americans’ views on the economy and his presidency, Joe Biden decided to act. This week, the president embarked on a new effort to smooth over his powers to fight inflation.
On Tuesday, Biden invited Jay Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, to the White House to offer his support to the central bank to do what is necessary to reduce inflation. Meanwhile, in a publication in The Wall Street Journal, Biden said he was aware that Americans were “concerned” about inflation, stressing that the country was struggling with high prices from a position of “strength” compared to the rest of the world. Senior officials in his administration – including Janet Yellen, the finance minister, who said she was “wrong” on the issue – are also stepping up public appearances.
“I’m sure that [Biden] is concerned about its 40 percent approval rating when the economy recovered so much, “said Don Beyer, a Democratic member of the Virginia House of Representatives who chairs the joint economic committee in Congress.
The picture of inflation has worsened since the war in Ukraine and supply chain disruptions caused by new coronavirus blockades in China. There are now fears that the fiscal and monetary tightening needed to reduce inflation will lead to a sharp slowdown in the economy. Yesterday, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, warned of an economic “hurricane” looming over the country.
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The last of the war in Ukraine:
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Saudi Arabia is ready to pump more oil: The kingdom has told Western allies that it is ready to increase oil production if Russia’s production falls significantly under sanctions, according to five people familiar with the discussions.
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US military aid: As mentioned in yesterday’s bulletin, Washington has already said it will send longer-range missile systems and precision ammunition to Kyiv. What exactly are the systems and how are they likely to affect Ukraine’s strategy in the war?
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Russia’s debt: Moscow’s failure to pay interest on the bond will cause about $ 2.5 billion in payments to holders of credit default swaps, similar to insurance contracts used to protect against default.
Five more stories in the news
1. Stakeholder capitalism is “not awakened,” says Dimon of JPMorgan. Jamie Dimon dismissed claims that stakeholder capitalism was “awakened”, rejecting conservative criticism of the environmental and social agenda that much of corporate America has adopted in recent years. JPMorgan Chase’s chief executive described himself as a “red-blooded free market capitalist” and said people had misinterpreted his insistence on stakeholder capitalism as chairman of the business roundtable.
2. Cheryl Sandberg resigns from Facebook’s mother Meta Cheryl Sandberg resigns as chief operating officer of Facebook’s parent company after 14 years, a major change in which CEO Mark Zuckerberg will lose one of his closest lieutenants.
Cheryl Sandberg will remain on Meta’s board after she leaves the post in the fall © Jose Luis Magana / AP
3. US, Taiwan launch economic engagement initiative The Biden administration says the US-Taiwan 21st Century Trade Initiative will “develop an ambitious roadmap” for negotiations on agriculture and digital trade to climate . But the new Roadmap does not meet Taipei’s hopes for a full agreement, and Taiwan was not included in the Indo-Pacific economic framework that Biden launched last week.
4. Musk demands 40 hours a week in the office Elon Musk told his Tesla workers to show up at least 40 hours a week in the office – explaining that he did not mean “some remote pseudo-office” – or said that employees should leave. The CEO of the electric car maker sent two emails to staff declaring that “remote work is no longer acceptable” and that the production of great products “will not happen by phone”.
5. Pemex plans to repay $ 2 billion to suppliers by offering new debt. Mexico’s national oil company Pemex will offer to pay off about $ 2 billion it owes to large suppliers with new debt, potentially easing conditions for some of its largest contractors. The company did not specify which suppliers will take advantage of the offer.
A day ahead
Celebrations of the military parade in the United Kingdom, as well as public holidays today and tomorrow, mark the Queen’s platinum anniversary – 70 years on the throne.
OPEC + meeting The group of oil producers is meeting today and is expected to stick to its plan to increase production by about 400,000 barrels per month, a goal that has been implemented since last year.
Economic data Data on the EU producer price index and data on factory orders in the US for April are published.
Corporate profits Canadian sports entertainment brand Lululemon Athletica posted first-quarter results, while US food processing company Hormel Food reported second-quarter results.
What else do we read and listen to
The global nursing crisis In 2020, the World Health Organization estimated that there was a global shortage of 5.9 million nurses – almost a quarter of the current workforce of almost 28 million. Covid-19 made matters worse, with many suffering from burnout and mental health problems as they struggled to cope with the chaos of successive waves of the virus.
Fine dining confronts the dark truths of Copenhagen The restaurants tell two stories. The first is in the dining room, a perfectly choreographed luxury show. And then there’s the story you should never hear about what’s happening on the other side.
“We realized that we were in fact victims of abduction, because the life we were offered is not life” – a chef from Ukraine
Record fundraising gives start-ups room to breathe Investment in technology companies stops as ratings fall and technology stocks drag markets down. However, start-ups still have reason to hope, with forecasts that demand for the technology products and services they provide will increase this year. Analytics, cloud computing and security teams should benefit the most.
Tether’s Road to the Spotlight This episode of the Behind the Money podcast begins with a real-life fire that wipes out business. With the help of Financial Times reporters, we delve into the professional stories of executives who sit at the helm of two of the most important crypto businesses: the stable coin issuer Tether and the Bitfinex exchange.
How the Queen built her government on the principles of debt and detachment. While recent opinion polls show that younger Britons are more ambivalent about the role of the royal family, the overall majority in favor of the institution remains relatively stable throughout the reign of Queen Elizabeth II and was still lively on the eve of its anniversary celebrations. . “She was the only constant in a rapidly changing world,” said royal commentator Penny Junior.
The official platinum anniversary portrait of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle © Royal Household / Ranald Mackechnie / via REUTERS
Imposter’s Syndrome
Don’t miss Jemima Kelly’s explanation of why we need to rethink pretense. Should we start thinking of this as a force?
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