Europe's Misguided Vaccine Panic | eToro’s $10 Billion SPAC | Rise Of Robo-Tractors

Plus:  Tiger Woods’ 2K Video Game Deal Helps Tee Up A Lucrative Retirement From Golf

Good morning.

European countries’ decision to suspend the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine are at odds with medical advice, and a threat to the global fight against coronavirus. We’re also looking at the latest fintech SPAC, this time involving Robinhood rival eToro, and at the latest funding round for electric robotic tractors maker Monarch.

In The News Today

70,000 Uber drivers in the U.K. will be classified as workers for the ride hailing app and qualify for benefits such as paid leave following a Supreme Court decision last month.

Police arrested 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long in relation to three shootings in Atlanta that targeted massage parlors and killed eight people, six of whom are of Asian descent. 

Top Take-Aways

The decision taken by some European countries to suspend the use of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 jabs is not only at odds with guidance from the European Medicines Agency and the WHO, it’s eroding confidence in vaccines just when the world needs it the most.

Social investment network eToro plans to go public through a SPAC merger with blank check company FinTech Acquisition Corp. V in a reported $10.4 billion deal that could set a reference point for the IPO of eToro’s rival Robinhood, valued at $11.2 billion last year. 

As the third round of stimulus checks make their way to U.S. banks and credit unions, the IRS instructed taxpayers with federal tax debts who didn’t get the first two rounds of stimulus payments to file 2020 tax returns to claim the money as a recovery rebate credit.

Ja Rule decided to turn a 48-inch-by-60-inch painting commissioned for the misbegotten Fyre Festival into another hype moment, auctioning it on Flipkick, a new exchange that focuses on selling non-fungible tokens (NFTs), that are part digital, part physical objects.

Monarch Tractor, a startup cofounded by a member of the Mondavi wine family, just raised $20 million as it prepares to start deliveries of electric robotic tractors that, it says, can make farming safer and more sustainable.

Dustin Moskovitz, the billionaire cofounder and CEO of Asana, shares his review of Simon Sinek’s The Infinite Game, in our ongoing series of book reviews by leaders from the worlds of business, academia, entertainment and politics. See more reviews from leaders here.

230 firms feature in Forbes’ annual ranking of America’s best management consulting firms, compiled from surveying more than 7,500 partners and executives of management consultancies, as well as 1,000-plus senior executives who worked with such firms over the last four years.

Today's Must Read

In Case You Missed It

Less than four years after its launch, over 500,000 students use SchooLinks to navigate their futures. They use features like its career cluster exploration, resume and portfolio builder and financial aid calculator—all for free. The company makes money by charging school districts for annual subscriptions to their platform. It also just raised $8.3 million.

Tips You Can Trust

What Is ‘Covid Arm,’ A Side Effect From Covid-19 Coronavirus Vaccines?

Travel Changes For Those Who Are Fully Vaccinated

Follow the latest news for experiences around the world in the Forbes Passport newsletter by instantly signing up.

Across Forbes