Before US President Joe Biden sat down with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a seaside resort in Bali on Monday, officials were downplaying any hope for tangible progress between the rival superpowers, a not-uncommon messaging strategy prior to such a fraught meeting. The outcome however easily exceeded those low expectations. At the end of their three-hour chat, the two men decided to resume cooperation on the climate crisis and food security, the US said. Biden and Xi also jointly chastised the Kremlin for its loose talk about nuclear war. “I’m not suggesting this is kumbaya, you know, everybody’s going to go away with everything in agreement,” Biden said after the meeting. But “I absolutely believe there need not be a new Cold War.”—Natasha Solo-Lyons Amazon is going to fire 10,000 people, the largest-ever mass termination by the e-commerce giant founded by Jeff Bezos. The company faces slower growth and fear of a downturn, similar to other tech companies that have cut thousands of people over the past few weeks. Meanwhile Bezos, the fourth-richest person in the world, says he’s planning to give away the bulk of his fortune while he’s still alive. Jeff Bezos Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty Images Cryptocurrency prices rallied Monday after Binance Holdings CEO Changpeng Zhao announced plans to launch a crypto recovery fund to help industry players facing a liquidity crunch. Bitcoin edged towards $17,000 following Zhao’s announcement. At the same time, problems are multiplying for the world’s biggest crypto fund as chaos engulfs the industry in the wake of FTX’s shock bankruptcy. Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard said the time was soon coming for the central bank to moderate the size of its interest-rate increases, signaling she favors downshifting to a half-point move as early as next month. Nevertheless, stocks ended lower after Brainard also said there’s still “additional work to do,” echoing other Fed officials in telegraphing the central bank’s intent to push price pressures down to levels consistent with its 2% target. The S&P 500 was down 0.9%, snapping a two-day rally. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 also fell. Here’s your markets wrap. Russia denied an Associated Press report that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was hospitalized while attending the G20 in Bali. It was a checkup, according to local authorities. China issued sweeping directives to rescue its property sector, adding to an earlier recalibration of its Covid-19 pandemic response. Together, they are potential signs that Xi is looking to shore up the nation’s economy. Americans increasingly say they have no intention of moving in the coming year, suggesting a reluctance among the millions of homeowners who locked in ultra-low mortgage rates before they surged. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg Bloomberg continues to track the global coronavirus pandemic. Click here for daily updates. Next month, Tesla plans to deliver the first of its electric Semi trucks—able to haul a full 40 ton-load some 500 miles on a single charge. These massive batteries-on-wheels may accelerate the transition to electrified transport, but those responsible for delivering the power to truck stops across America are wondering if they will be ready. Probably not. Tesla’s Semi Courtesy of Tesla Get the Bloomberg Evening Briefing: If you were forwarded this newsletter, sign up here to receive it in your mailbox daily along with our Weekend Reading edition on Saturdays. The Dawn of Pay Transparency: In the US, New York City is helping lead the way into a less opaque world of work. A new law requires companies to post pay ranges on job ads, but how is it really playing out? Bloomberg wants to hear from you on how access to more salary data is changing the way people get paid. If you’ve applied for a new job in New York or work at a company that’s posting pay, take our survey here. And for stories about the future of work everywhere, sign up for our Work Shift newsletter, delivered to your inbox every Tuesday. |