President Joe Biden invoked the great public investments of the past as he pushed his plan to spend trillions of dollars to rebuild U.S. infrastructure.
He faces a challenge wrangling the program through Congress, given Republican opposition and criticism from within his Democratic Party. It would be funded by undoing some tax breaks that corporations received during the Trump administration.
Europe continued to grapple with surging coronavirus cases, with Eastern Europe facing the highest per capita fatality rates in the world. France began a nationwide four-week lockdown while Italy extended curbs on business openings. Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez tested positive for Covid-19.
Meantime, for any company doing business in China the choice is clearer than ever: Avoid commenting on controversial subjects or risk losing access to the world’s second-largest economy.
President Xi Jinping’s government endorsed a boycott against retailers like H&M and slapped sanctions on organizations for statements about alleged forced labor in Xinjiang. On Tuesday he signed off on sweeping changes to Hong Kong elections to give Beijing veto power over any candidates.
Dig deeper into these and other topics with this edition of Weekend Reads. — Rosalind Mathieson
Click here for this week’s most compelling political images and tell us how we’re doing or what we’re missing at balancepower@bloomberg.net.
Biden's Infrastructure Boom Risks Adding to Immigration Woes
The administration’s infrastructure plan and recent $1.9 trillion Covid relief package are aimed at turbocharging the U.S. economy. But
Joshua Green notes the expected boom may
exacerbate a key challenge for Biden: handling the rising number of migrants crossing the southern border.
Macron’s Bravado Belies the Far-Right’s Advance in France
A year from now French voters will cast their verdict on President Emmanuel Macron’s performance amid
mounting evidence his displays of self-confidence are a turn-off.
Ania Nussbaum explains the contrast with far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who has worked hard to broaden her appeal and is striking a humble tone.
One of Taiwan’s Allies Weighs Embracing China for Vaccines
As poorer nations struggle to access Covid-19 vaccines, one South American country finds itself
caught in tensions between the U.S. and China.
Ken Parks explains how Paraguay’s 63-year-old alliance with Taiwan is under pressure as it seeks more doses, including potentially from China.
How a Chip Shortage Snarled Everything From Phones to Cars
Semiconductors have gone from little-understood workhorse in powerful computers to the most
crucial and expensive component under the hood of modern-day gadgets.
Ian King,
Debby Wu and
Demetrios Pogkas set out the supply shock now triggering an unprecedented global chip shortage.
Black CEOs Condemn Voter Curbs, Urge Peers to Fight Back
Black executives across the U.S. have joined a call for corporations to
oppose voting-rights legislation being advanced by Republicans in at least 43 states that’s seen as an effort to limit participation by ethnic-minority voters.
Carolina Gonzalez and
Riley Griffin detail the open letter that has garnered the signatures of 72 Black leaders.
An unexpected detractor of the long-awaited joint WHO-China report on a scientific trip to Wuhan was Tedros himself, who said the theory that Covid-19 escaped via a laboratory leak — a hypothesis vigorously denied by Beijing — needed further investigation.
How the Tokyo Olympics Risks Becoming a Superspreader Event
The Tokyo Summer Olympic Games have
survived being postponed, a mountain of scandal and bad publicity.
Lisa Du and
Michelle Fay Cortez lay out the challenge of pulling off the world’s biggest sporting event safely in the middle of a pandemic.
Mexico’s AMLO Uses Energy Nationalism Card Ahead of Key Vote
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is trying to
scrap a policy that opened up Mexico’s energy sector.
Max de Haldevang,
Amy Stillman and
Justin Villamil explain how that feeds into Lopez Obrador’s efforts to keep control of congress in midterm elections just two months away.
China’s Rebound Edges It Closer to Overtaking U.S. Economy
The recovery in the Chinese economy from the pandemic has
sped up this century’s most significant economic shift — its rapid catch-up and likely toppling of the U.S. as the world’s biggest economy. As
Jin Wu and
Tom Hancock note, some now predict China will overtake the U.S. by 2028, two years earlier than previously forecast.
India States ‘Scare’ Investors With Laws to Force Local Hires
A slowing economy and dearth of jobs have led the north Indian state of Haryana to implement a law that
limits private companies from hiring workers from other states.
Bibhudatta Pradhan explains that such laws are quickly becoming popular with other states.
Russia Wants to Keep a Stricter Eye on Its Anti-Putin Youth
The Kremlin is seeking to
counter what it sees as foreign influence on Russia’s increasingly rebellious youth with a law aimed at tightening state control over out-of-school activities.
Jake Rudnitsky and
Irina Reznik dissect the push for patriotic education.
Rich Brazilians Urge Government to Let Them Buy Vaccines
As Brazil
struggles to get its Covid-19 vaccination program off the ground, the man behind Taco Bell and Pizza Hut brands in the country thinks he can do better.
Felipe Marques and
Martha Beck report on Carlos Wizard Martins’ push for businessmen to purchase vaccines themselves to help.
And finally ... Countries in Asia are trying everything from fertility tours to baby bonuses to spur population growth in an aging world. Not so in Indonesia, where officials want to convince people to have fewer children. The world’s fourth most-populous country is promoting later marriages, family planning and contraception, amid concerns that overcrowding could mean fewer job opportunities and strains on government services.
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