Investors seem much less worried about the Federal Reserve’s plans than they were last month, lifting the S&P and Dow industrials 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite 0.01% to a new record. The Fed’s minutes from its June meeting, released Wednesday afternoon, showed policy makers debating how and when to start pulling back their support for the economy. A June press conference after the Fed meeting led to a market dip last month. At the same time, on Wednesday, the 10-year U.S. Treasury note’s yield reached multimonth lows, reflecting investors’ anxiety about the economy and concerns about the highly contagious Delta variant of Covid-19. In global trading today, Asia was down, Europe was down at midday and U.S. stock futures fell.

• U.S. job openings held at record levels headed into the summer.
   
• Jobless claims are expected to have continued their downward trend last week. 
   
• Ketchum, Idaho, like many towns in the West with economies built around tourism, is facing a housing crisis caused by a rush of new residents, growing demand for workers and a shortage of affordable homes.
   
• Americans are borrowing again, with demand for auto loans, credit cards and personal loans hitting records.

The United Arab Emirates is pushing to sell as much crude as possible before demand dries up, a strategy that has triggered a rare public feud between it and Saudi Arabia. The U.A.E. has been the lone holdout regarding a deal to boost crude output among members of OPEC+, saying it would agree to the plan only if it can boost its own output. While the U.A.E. expects to have buyers for its crude for decades, it wants to sell as much as it can now, when demand and prices are strong. Proceeds will help it wean its economy off oil.

Consolidation and perceived anticompetitive pricing in the ocean-shipping and railroad industries will be among the targets of a sweeping Biden administration executive order expected this week. The administration says the relatively small number of major players in the ocean-shipping trade and in the U.S. freight-rail business has enabled companies to charge unreasonable fees. The executive order will also call on the Federal Trade Commission to adopt rules that curtail noncompete agreements and to ban unnecessary occupational licensing requirements.

• The Google Play app store is the target of an antitrust lawsuit filed by 36 states and the District of Columbia.

Airlines are racing to keep up with demand that is stronger than anticipated, with flight plans snarled by bad weather and staff shortages. Some of the staffing challenges are likely just near-term, while others, such as a shortage of pilots that existed before the pandemic, threaten to pose challenges in coming years.

In other business news…

• Facebook, Twitter and Google are being sued by former President Donald Trump, who is seeking to restore his social-media accounts.
   
• Melinda French Gates could eventually depart from the Gates Foundation’s leadership if she and Bill Gates determine they can’t work together.
   
• Kaseya, the company whose software was exploited a massive ransomware spree, was notified in early April of a cybersecurity vulnerability used in the attack.

• 🎧What’s News: WSJ's Frances Yoon looks at tech-startup success in South Korea.
   
• ▶️Video: Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is challenging Amazon by promising fast deliveries from China to anywhere in the world. WSJ visits Alibaba’s largest automated warehouse to see how robots and a vast logistics network are helping it expand globally.

Some U.S. hospitals are starting to mandate that workers get Covid-19 vaccines as new immunizations flag and variants of the virus spread nationwide. Some hospital executives say mandates signal confidence in vaccines and protect their workforce, with employers in some cases willing to fire those who don’t comply. The moves are spurring pushback from employees and challenging hospitals that are debating whether to act amid a hiring boom.

• Japan declared a new state of emergency due to Covid-19 that will continue through the Summer Olympics, making it likely the organizers will drop plans to allow some spectators at the Games.

• The Delta variant has become the dominant strain in the U.S., according to federal data.

• Cuba says it has developed a Covid-19 vaccine that its ally, Venezuela, has begun administering despite warnings from regional health authorities and Venezuelan doctors.

PHOTO: REUTERS

• ▶️Video: New York City threw a ticker-tape parade for essential workers, including those in hospitals, schools and government.

Democrats are split over how to proceed with an effort to cut drug prices—debating whether to fold the measure into a budget package or try to pass it on its own. Many Democrats see a budget package, which could clear the evenly divided Senate with just a simple majority, as their best shot at overhauling the system. But intraparty divisions over policy issues could complicate that path, and some lawmakers advocate for making more modest changes with GOP support.

Many Afghan professionals are fleeing ahead of the Taliban’s advance. Afghans had been leaving for Europe, Australia and the U.S. long before President Biden announced the U.S. withdrawal. Now, many of the well-educated people who prospered in the new Afghanistan and hadn’t dreamed of leaving have also concluded that staying put is no longer an option.

What We’re Following

Haiti Assassination: Four suspected killers of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse were fatally shot by National Police in a gun battle in the affluent district where Mr. Moïse resided. Two others were captured.

Rescue to Recovery: The 14-day effort to find survivors at the collapsed Champlain Towers South site was called off Wednesday, with 86 people unaccounted for. The crews transitioned to recovery, continuing to look for the remains of those missing and to investigate the cause of the building’s collapse.

Julian Assange: The U.S. has assured the U.K. that Julian Assange wouldn’t be held under the strictest maximum-security conditions if extradited to the U.S., part of a package of assurances aimed at putting the WikiLeaks founder on trial on espionage charges.

Theranos Trial: Lawyers for Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes asked a federal judge to place new restrictions on the scope of evidence that prosecutors can present at her coming criminal-fraud trial, arguing her defense is hampered by the loss of a database with millions of blood-test results.

PHOTO: ILANA PANICH-LINSMAN FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Life & Arts

Millennials and members of Generation Z increased their use of dating apps to make platonic friends during the pandemic. (Read)

Home gardeners and plant aficionados are building backyard greenhouses. (Read)

Upbeat, bouncy songs by BTS, Doja Cat and Dua Lipa are topping the charts this summer, along with moody retro jams. (Read)

Today's Question and Answer

In response to our question about watching your parents work:

Dick Harris, California
My dad was a small-town retail merchant. His workweek was 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, but he was always home for lunch and dinner. Many times I would accompany him back to the store after dinner for another hour or so of work. He taught me a number of things, including the value and dignity of an honest day’s labor. He never brought his work home: When he walked through the living-room door, he was fully there—another valuable lesson.

Andreas Schwarz, New York
My mother worked as a speech pathologist in schools and built a private practice. She showed me the joys of working when you are passionate and serious about your career. Although during the school year she was beholden to a set classroom schedule, she maintained incredible flexibility, doing paperwork late at night on the couch or even by the pool on vacations. This proved invaluable to me now as my work has gone fully remote because of Covid-19, and flexibility will be key to future career success.

Jennifer Jakel, Wisconsin
As a kid growing up on a dairy farm, I watched both my parents work from dawn to dusk every day. From a work perspective, I learned that the job has to get done. The cows won’t wait and don’t care if you are tired, have a cold or have a party to go to out of town. No excuses. I also saw my dairy-farmer dad read The Wall Street Journal every night. From that, I learned that you need to be informed to plan for the markets and your future.

📣 Question for the next 10-Point:
How are you feeling about the economy today? Why? (This question was suggested by reader Karin Livingston of Colorado.)