Week of June 7th, 2021

Five of them, actually.

It’s profoundly changed how Americans think about work and life, one sociologist says.

Also: Some British executives are getting bonuses for good behavior, and has the pandemic changed Americans’ relationship with vacations?

Do you wait? Change your plans? Buy something else?

Do the rising prices of things like cars and homes actually affect how people are spending their money?

More senior executives in Britain are winning a financial reward for running their companies ethically. But isn’t that part of the job?

With the main talks on fixing infrastructure at an impasse, a side group of 10 Democrats and Republicans in the Senate say they’ve come up with a deal, although details are scant and it’s unclear if others key players will embrace this. Plus, among the things that have gotten more expensive over the past year and last several months: food away from home. We look at the rise in restaurant prices. And, decisions from the G-7 summit on getting more vaccine doses to the countries that need them.

A daily snapshot of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are still no emergency COVID standards from OSHA for other industries like meatpacking and farming.

Regulators want banks to have cushions of capital when it comes to cryptocurrency investments.

Restaurant prices are up 4% compared to May of last year.

More than a year into the pandemic, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has released emergency standards for the workplace, but they’re only for health care workers. Also, ahead of the G-7 summit, there were reports that President Joe Biden was going to raise concerns about tensions in Northern Ireland in his talks with U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday. Johnson, speaking with the BBC, said that did not happen. And, new guidelines this week call for banks to take extra care in case cryptocurrency investments go bad.

From the BBC World Service: Leaders gathering in Britain for the G-7 summit are expected to pledge the shots for lower-income nations as part of a global push to end the pandemic. Plus, Hong Kong will ban films that violate its national security law, further restricting artistic freedom. And, congestion at Chinese ports due to pandemic lockdowns means warnings of disruption to global shipping routes.

Cement, an ingredient of concrete, produces 8% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Plus: electric trucks, game show history and a new ocean (??) on this not-so-hollowed-out Thursday.

U.S. companies have to navigate a complicated and expensive health insurance system.

The Biden administration pushes for expansion of the clean-energy technology, but logistical, cost and even aesthetic hurdles loom.

Also: Why 5 million Americans are still receiving extended federal unemployment benefits and a conversation about debt relief for Black farmers.

The latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that food prices rose in May. That’s a trend that will likely continue in the short term.

Many of them will face the hardest path back into the labor force.

Pipelines have met increasing opposition, but persistent demand for crude may help them get approved.

Katrina Amaral of Timberdoodle has seen more interest in custom orders. And the spike in lumber prices has improved her pricing power.

Dewayne Goldmon of the Agriculture Department sees the aid as narrowing the economic gap between farmers of color and white farmers.

Ana Sauceda spent a decade trying to fit her parent’s script before throwing it out and writing her own.

Econ Extra Credit newsletter #64

One think tank CEO says the G-7 summit is a moment to envision an economic restructuring similar in scale to that of post-WWII.

The company that was building the Keystone XL oil pipeline has canceled the project. President Joe Biden had already revoked the pipeline’s permit. Plus, G-7 leaders gather for a summit with ambitions to set a new global economic agenda. And, a significant increase in U.S. energy storage abilities and what it means cleaner power in the face of climate change.

Emerging technology and cheaper prices have brought an energy storage boom.

There was a 0.6% increase in prices over April and 5% over the past year, the biggest 12-month inflation spike since 2008.

Companies may say it’s OK for employees to work from home, but if CEOs are always in the office, that sends a different message.

Jobless claims fell by 9,000 to 376,000 from 385,000 the week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The latest data point when it comes to what the post-pandemic future of work will look like: Facebook is giving more employees the option to keep working remotely, and Mark Zuckerberg said he plans to spend part of his time working remotely well into 2022. We have more on how CEO actions set the tone. Plus, the world’s largest meat processing company paid an $11 million ransom to get control of their systems back. And, an agenda for global economic resilience and restructuring ahead of the G-7 summit featuring President Biden.

From the BBC World Service: U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and President Joe Biden meet ahead of the G-7 summit in England, planning to unveil a renewed Atlantic Charter focused on trade and travel. Plus, JBS, the world’s biggest meat packing company, paid a ransom of $11 million to put an end to a cyberattack which disrupted its operations in the U.S., Australia and Canada. And, how animation and music production are helping tackle Zimbabwe’s high youth unemployment.

A day in the life of a TikTok talent manager, and how her creators avoided burnout during the pandemic.

Maybe change your password. Plus, Kai and Molly answer more listener questions about tariffs, vaccine lotteries and day drinking.

But they do reduce the number of people receiving food assistance.

As supply chain shortages back up orders of parts and raw materials, bike manufacturers are struggling to keep up with surging demand.

Also: The Senate is allocating $250 billion to technology R&D, a study finds that work requirements for SNAP benefits don’t lead to more people working and Chinese families are stressed by the demands of extracurricular classes.

U.S. government funding for even basic research has been in decline for decades.

Tariffs on wine, cheese, steel and aluminum are among the issues to be resolved.

Academic competition pressures families to enroll children in tutoring courses. But some parents are resisting.

That’s what the Senate just held a very bipartisan vote on, passing a bill that aims to boost U.S. semiconductor production and the development of artificial intelligence and other technology in the face of growing international competition, most notably from China. Also, new analysis of Fortune 500 companies finds overall progress on diversifying corporate boards is moving “painfully slow.” We look at the reasons why. And, could the future of the museum be in the form a drive-thru?

An new analysis of Fortune 500 companies finds that progress in diversifying corporate boards has been “painfully slow.”

They’re already placing orders for the 2021 holiday season, but some things are easier to buy well ahead of time than others.

The World Bank is warning that the human potential of nearly 2 billion young people could be wasted because they can’t get training to help them recover from the pandemic. Plus, retailers already buying for the 2021 holiday season are facing shortages and delays of computer chips, plastics and more. And, is it wrong that sometimes retail spaces are important to us and we miss them when they’re gone? The latest from our “Vanishing America” series is about a thrift store.

From the BBC World Service: Bars, restaurants and gyms in France are allowed to have customers indoors for the first time this year, and some international travel rules have been relaxed. Plus, a post-Brexit row is sizzling between Britain and the EU over transporting sausages and other chilled meat products from mainland Britain into Northern Ireland. And, consumer confidence has returned in China, where livestream selling could grow to more than $250 billion this year.

Converting to a drive-thru meant one company with animatronic dinosaurs didn’t have to hang up the Stegosaurus.

Beatrice Hogg talks about what she remembers and misses about her local Sacramento Thrift Town.

Whether to occupy their time or to obtain new skills, tens of millions of people joined Coursera during the pandemic.

Expert Robert Latiff says “cyber hygiene” is fine, but the U.S. needs more holistic action to protect critical infrastructure.

Also: The Biden administration announces a strategy to strengthen supply chains, labor and supply shortages are driving up costs for consumers and Las Vegas hosts its first major business convention since the pandemic.

Higher costs for labor and supplies are increasing price tags.

Cryptocurrencies have allowed digital ransom and extortion to explode in recent years.

But the U.S. has also spent the last few years alienating many of those allies.

World of Concrete is the first of many business gatherings on Las Vegas’ calendar. Conventions are key to the city’s economic rebound.

Lower home appraisal values contribute to the wealth gap between white communities and communities of Black and Latinx people.

A lot of food trucks found new opportunities in the suburbs during the pandemic, says Matt Geller of the National Food Truck Association.

We’ll start getting answers to that question this week from Las Vegas, where the World of Concrete trade show for the construction industry is kicking off. Las Vegas did $11 billion in trade show and convention business back in 2019. Also, the annual price tag on a newly approved drug to treat Alzheimer’s is about $56,000, even as there are lingering questions about the drug’s effectiveness in slowing the progression of disease. And, an update on a proposed law in China seen as a response to U.S. sanctions.

Demand is picking up as more and more people resume their normal lives after vaccination.

Working from home can give Black workers a break from microaggressions, but it can also cut them off from their peers.

For many Black workers, there are particular concerns about going back to inequitable workplaces. Plus, the U.S. has recovered some of the ransom paid to those who carried out the Colonial Pipeline cyberattack. And, keeping an eye on the price of oil and whether increased demand will push it to $100 per barrel.

From the BBC World Service: Following heavy criticism of the slow pace of its inoculation drive, the Indian government has also performed a U-turn and will now run vaccine distribution centrally rather than asking states to coordinate it themselves. Plus, travelers rush back from Portugal as new COVID travel restrictions take hold in Britain. And, the U.K. faces a shortage of truck drivers.

Police used to be able to directly email users, requesting footage. Now, they have to publicly post a request.

Plus more headlines from the future on this newsy episode.

The American Chamber of Commerce seeks release of Jay Y. Lee, convicted of bribery. His company is mulling a big U.S. investment.

Also: Why some states are dealing with a tax revenue surplus, the SelectUSA trade show is trying to bring foreign investors back to the U.S., and Mohamed El-Erian on inflation and the economic recovery.

More than half of U.S. states took in as much or more in tax revenue between March 2020 and February 2021 than they did the year before.

The G-7 agreed to back a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15%. While the proposal faces an uphill battle that could last years, larger, advanced economies stand to benefit most.

An agreement by the G-7 to set minimum levels of corporate tax will need ratification by governments and, closer to home, faces an uphill battle in Congress.

The renowned investor and policy adviser is skeptical of the Federal Reserve’s insistence that the inflation we’re seeing is “transitory.”

Though canceled last year, the trade show has been key to attracting international business to the U.S.

If national legislatures approve the new G-7 deal on taxing multinational companies, corporations would have to pay a new global minimum tax no matter where they put their headquarters. So far, this is just a pledge from G-7 countries, though, not a law. Plus, Apple’s developer conference gets underway with data privacy in focus. And, a push to diversify city-appointed boards in Nashville.

The world’s biggest economies have agreed on a global minimum corporate tax rate of at least 15%. Part of that agreement concerns how multinational corporations are taxed for selling digital services like advertising around the world. Plus, new data on how many people were forced to retire because of the COVID-19 pandemic and what it could mean for inequality. And, tribal governments prepare for the rollout of more federal COVID relief money.

From the BBC World Service: El Salvador could become the world’s first country to adopt the cryptocurrency Bitcoin as legal tender. Plus, Ireland faces the prospect of losing more than $2 billion a year from a proposed global corporation tax agreed to by G-7 nations. And, Thailand is launching a mass vaccination program in a bid to bring back foreign tourists.

A vacancy on the all-white fairgrounds panel underscores the issue of how members of governing boards are selected.

The American Rescue Plan provides $20 billion in aid, but problems with the previous CARES Act rollout have made tribes vigilant.

The Worldwide Developers Conference will likely focus on privacy. But it’s also a big event for third-party software developers.

Black workers and those without college degrees were forced out of jobs at the highest rates during the pandemic.

Predictive analytics can help providers anticipate which patients are at risk of coming back to the hospital, but that information can be misused.