Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - U.S. inflation just spiked

Prices paid by U.S. consumers surged in June by the most since 2008, topping all forecasts and testing the Federal Reserve’s commitment to monetary support for the economy. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the so-called core consumer price index rose 4.5% from June 2020, the largest advance since November 1991. Here’s your markets wrap. —David E. Rovella

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

Here are today’s top stories  

U.S. President Joe Biden recently warned Vladimir Putin that if he didn’t do something about hackers in his backyard, he would. Now, it seems the alleged perpetrators of a recent cyber-attack on America from Russian soil had their internet footprint suddenly erased. There are a few theories.

Faced with an uphill battle to preserve voter access in red states, Biden on Tuesday launched a full-throated attack on Republican legislators seeking to limit opportunities to vote and place elections under party control. Biden called the new state laws “an assault on democracy, an assault on liberty, and an assault on who we are,” adding that “bullies and merchants of fears and peddlers of lies are threatening the very foundation” of the country. 

The newest Covid-19 hotspots in Singapore are karaoke clubs. Russia is reporting a record number of deaths and confirmed fatalities in India surged following a data revision. In the U.K., Prime Minister Boris Johnson is coming under increasing criticism as the Tory plans to ease pandemic restrictions, potentially triggering a rise in infections that may strain hospitals. In Greece and the Netherlands, cases surged. Here’s the latest on the pandemic.

Johnson has other problems, too. As the fallout from Italy’s defeat of England in the European soccer championship spreads, there was a new twist. Johnson’s government faces a high-profile fight with its own team after a Black player accused a senior minister of “stoking the fire” that led to a flood of online racist attacks. Tyrone Mings said Home Secretary Priti Patel aggravated tensions by refusing to support players “taking the knee” before matches, which the team regards as an anti-racism stance. In June, Patel called it “gesture politics.”

Apollo Global Management is in talks to acquire a portfolio of assets from communications infrastructure specialist Lumen Technologies. The firm is looking to carve out Lumen’s consumer operations in certain U.S. states in a transaction valued at more than $5 billion.

Elon Musk’s appearance in a Delaware trial is drawing superfans of the unpredictable billionaire eager to show their love.

Late last month, hundreds of gloomy Bitcoin miners crowded into a luxury hotel in Western China. Just weeks earlier, Beijing banned cryptocurrency mining over concerns about illicit coal mining and underlying financial risks. Now they had to figure out how to move millions of computers out of the country. Welcome to the increasingly wild world of crypto power hunting. 

What you’ll need to know tomorrow 

• These charts will show you where a falling Bitcoin might go next.
• SEC fine threatens the merger of a SPAC with space firm Momentus.
• In the U.S. Senate, legalizing marijuana is now on the agenda.
• Apple teams up with Goldman for a “buy now, pay later” option.
• U.S. workers want to shed their Covid poundage before going back.
• Popeyes is hoarding chicken meat. Here’s why.
• Jeff Bezos, GE, Lockheed picked to develop nuclear spaceflight.

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Lockheed Martin’s F-35: 864 Unfixed Defects

Lockheed Martin’s consistently troubled F-35 fighter jet, the most expensive defense program U.S. taxpayers ever had to pay for, remains marred by 864 unresolved software and hardware deficiencies of varying severity that could undercut readiness, missions or maintenance. 

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Invest Talks: A Conversation with Marc Rowan. On July 15, Bloomberg speaks with Apollo Global Management Chief Executive Officer Marc Rowan. He’ll share his vision for the Wall Street giant while expanding on its aspirations to push into new markets. Rowan will also discuss Apollo’s influential role in shaping the alternative and mainstream investment landscape. Register here.