The Biden administration said it will begin updating its guidance for travel, schools and other sectors, likely further relaxing rules across the U.S. after health officials largely lifted mask mandates for Covid-vaccinated people. While the move is a first major step towards normality, the new guidelines also put the onus on business to regulate employees and customers—something that’s proven to be controversial, and difficult, during the pandemic. For their part, a few major Las Vegas Casino owners are telling customers to ditch their masks, while Delta says all new hires must be vaccinated. The White House announcement also means managers are re-evaluating return to work plans, especially on Wall Street. —Margaret Sutherlin Bloomberg has launched a new section called Odd Lots, an expansion of our popular markets podcast with Executive Editors Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway. Become a Bloomberg.com subscriber to get access to Odd Lots exclusives on the latest market crazes, the weekly newsletter and much more. Evening Briefing subscribers get 40% off. Here are today’s top stories The inflation debate continues in the U.S.—the very one the Federal Reserve was trying to avoid. U.S. consumer sentiment deteriorated unexpectedly in early May as more Americans grew increasingly concerned about rising prices. After markets’ biggest retreat in 11 weeks over inflation data, equities seemed to level off Friday with the focus shifting on the benefits of an economic rebound. Here’s your markets wrap. Amazon union vote scandal. Security guards at an Amazon warehouse had keys to a mailbox the company encouraged employees to use to send in their ballots in a high-profile union vote, a worker said Friday in a National Labor Relations Board hearing. The U.K. is stepping up its vaccinations to head off a fast-spreading variant from India. Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned the new strain could derail plans to end a lockdown there. India Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned that the Covid catastrophe in his country is moving from the cities to rural areas, where 70% of the 1.3 billion people live. A lack of healthcare infrastructure could make a rural outbreak especially deadly. Singapore is also returning to lockdown. Here’s the latest on the pandemic. An Indian health worker takes a nasal swab sample in Jhargaon village, outskirts of Gauhati. Photographer: Anupam Nath/AP When one of the creators of the cryptocurrency Ethereum donated more than 50 trillion Shiba Inu coins ($1 billion) into an aid fund for Covid-ravaged India, it raised more concern than relief. Not only did the contribution (more than 5% of total Shiba Inu coins in circulation) send prices plummeting by 50%, it also created questions about how to use the currency. It’s the latest story in one very wild week for crypto. A bomb ripped through a mosque in northern Kabul during Friday prayers, killing 12 worshippers and wounding 15, Afghan police said, the latest in a surge in violence there as the U.S. prepares to leave. Israel’s forces fired artillery into the Hamas-run Gaza Strip and kept up a blistering five-day air assault, sweeping aside international appeals for de-escalation. At least 120 Palestinians, including children, and nine Israelis have died. High-earning Americans are now more likely to move homes than low earners—a reversal of the usual pattern—as the pandemic offers remote-work opportunities to white-collar employees. What you’ll need to know tomorrow The tobacco industry long ago learned that it was reliant on, and had to continually solicit, what it has referred to as “permission from society to exist.” Now, Juul is learning the same holds true for itself, with one special addition: The enemies you least want, Bloomberg Businessweek reports, are the parents of your teenage customers. Like getting the Evening Briefing? Subscribe to Bloomberg.com for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and gain expert analysis from exclusive subscriber-only newsletters. The Bloomberg Businessweek: On May 17, “The Bloomberg Businessweek” kicks off a week-long virtual experience bringing our “How To” issue to life with influential leaders in technology, finance, economics, healthcare, science, entertainment and more. Speakers include Cynthia Marshall, Anthony Fauci, Nick Jonas, Cathie Wood, Jay Leno, Anjali Sud, Alex Rodriguez, and many more. Sponsored by Deloitte, Intersystems and IEDC. Register here. Download the Bloomberg app: It’s available for iOS and Android. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. Learn more. |