Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - Dangerous games

After a yearlong delay due to Covid-19, and some scandals and high profile resignations, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are finally underway. The Games, the first ever without spectators, promise to be among the strangest and most fraught in history. The opening ceremonies kicked off in a mostly empty stadium due to pandemic restrictions. Just hours ahead of the opening, organizers reported a record number of new daily infections linked to the Games. The event has triggered fierce public opposition in Japan, where vaccination rates lag other developed countries. If that weren’t enough to discourage organizers, it looks like Japan is directly in the path of an approaching tropical storm. — Margaret Sutherlin

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

China sanctioned seven people and entities including former U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in retaliation for the Biden administration’s warning about doing business in Hong Kong. 

Deutsche Bank has yet another legal and compliance headache in the U.S. The bank is accused of turning a blind eye to a years-long Ponzi scheme that involved fraudulent investments in Florida.  

With interest rates at record lows, banks are shelling out cheap loans to the ultra-rich to help fuel their luxurious lifestyles. 

The U.S. is bracing for another bout of record temperatures. A heat dome is expected to settle on the Plains with temperatures soaring to more than 100 degrees.

Pfizer and BioNTech will supply the U.S. with another 200 million doses of their Covid-19 shot in a push to protect kids and potentially provide boosters. Indonesia—the new epicenter of the pandemic—reported a record 1,566 deaths Friday, and European regulators approved the Moderna shot for teens. A new study suggests that a Sinopharm vaccine offers poor protection for the elderly. Here’s the latest on the pandemic. 

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged Congress to act quickly to raise the debt ceiling and avert a payment default that could happen this fall. Data shows that the European recovery could be at risk from so-called reopening inflation. Here’s your markets wrap.

After intense lobbying by fossil fuel-friendly Australian officials, the Great Barrier Reef was not granted endangered status by the United Nations—despite its accelerating destruction by global warming. 

• Former top Trump fundraiser Tom Barrack reached a bail deal.
• GM recalls Chevy Bolt cars for the second time in less than a year. 
• Mario Batali will pay $600,000 to settle harassment claims.
• Meet Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Guardians. 
• How Instagram changed the business of being an Olympic athlete. 
• Our taste for hard seltzer is fading. 
• How exactly did Americans spend time during lockdown?

Americans cooped up at home for a year may be in for a rude awakening when they hit the road in August. Airline capacity constraints, labor shortages, surging demand, unprecedented weather and the delta variant are coming together in a perfect storm to ruin your summer getaway. 

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