Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - The ‘wrong pandemic’

The U.S. and other countries need to have more of a security mindset regarding health issues in the wake of the coronavirus, Moderna Chairman Noubar Afeyan said Wednesday at the Bloomberg New Economy Catalyst virtual event. Aurelia Nguyen, managing director of the Covax facility, said that while the world was somewhat prepared for a pandemic before Covid-19 struck, it anticipated the wrong kind. In North Korea, Kim Jong Un said a “grave” situation stemming from quarantine negligence has created a “great crisis” in the country. As the world approaches 4 million confirmed Covid-related deaths (though the actual figure is likely higher), the disconnect between wealthy nations with maturing vaccination campaigns and a developing world under assault by the delta variant is widening. Some 383,000 new cases were confirmed on Wednesday alone. Here is the latest on the pandemic. —David E. Rovella

Bloomberg is tracking the progress of coronavirus vaccines while mapping the pandemic worldwide. 

Here are today’s top stories  

Tiger Global Management’s early wager on Didi Global, China’s version of Uber, is paying off. Its investment is now worth more than $1 billion. In markets, gold is headed for the biggest monthly drop in more than four years on the back of Fed-induced gains in the dollar. Wall Street closed out the first half of 2021 on an up note as solid economic data tempered concerns about elevated valuations. Here’s your markets wrap.

There just might be someone who scares the richest man in the world. Amazon.com wants U.S. Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan recused from matters involving the online behemoth founded by Jeff Bezos, citing her penchant for criticizing the company as a threat to competition.

After Republicans including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell  blocked a bipartisan investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the House on Wednesday narrowly passed a bill creating a 13-member committee to investigate the deadly assault by Trump followers, which killed five and injured scores of law enforcement officers. Only two Republicans joined Democrats in the 222-190 vote.

The Ethiopian government said it plans to move ahead with filling a massive hydropower dam on the Nile River and regaining territory lost to Sudan. The announcement comes after the government agreed to a ceasefire with fighters in its Tigray region. Egypt and Sudan, which rely on the Nile for much of their fresh water, oppose any unilateral filling of the $4.5 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. 

Clothing retailer Gap said it will shutter all of its stores in the U.K. while offloading brick-and-mortar operations in France as part of a broad review of its European business.

Seven years ago, Peng Xin and her husband Zhao Lin pledged their home as collateral for a bank loan to get their fledgling bubble tea business off the ground. Today, the company they founded is valued at $3.8 billion.

Authorities say Ramon Abbas, aka Hushpuppi, perfected a simple internet scam and laundered millions of dollars. Bloomberg Businessweek reports on what the case of this famous Instagram influencer, and his past, say about the kinds of stories that get told online. This is the fall of the billionaire “Gucci master.”

What you’ll need to know tomorrow 

• Oil lobbies fearful of ESG disclosure rules are attacking the SEC.
• These are the richest and poorest  European Union countries.
• Donald Trump’s finance chief is to be charged by N.Y. prosecutors. 
• Donald Rumsfeld, an architect of the U.S. war on Iraq, is dead.
• Bill Cosby, convicted and imprisoned for sexual assault, is free.
• As U.S. metros struggle to their feet, one U.S. city bounced back fast.
• Big name athletes are investing in this new sports streaming service.

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Memorializing a Global Pandemic Before It Ends

Creating a historical memory of a planetary disaster that’s killed almost 4 million people, shattered economies and isn’t even over yet may seem like a strange idea. But around the world, museums are beginning to collect and display artifacts that reflect experiences of Covid-19. Bloomberg CityLab reports how they are preserving the here-and-now for future audiences, while a few also offer a chance to contemplate the catastrophe in something close to real time. 

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