Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - Crypto’s silver tax lining

A handful of investors rattled by Beijing’s sweeping crackdown on domestic tech giants are heading for the exits. Indeed, after 40 years of letting the market play an expanding role in driving prosperity, China’s leaders have remembered something very important. —David E. Rovella

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

Yes, crypto fans, the IRS is coming for you and your trades—but there’s a silver lining. The new push by Congress to require crypto brokers to report transactions might also clarify rules for traders and users of Bitcoin and other digital tokens, potentially strengthening the system in the long run.

For the first time in more than five years, the U.S. Treasury will soon scale back its mammoth quarterly sales of notes and bonds, a shift so large that it could more than counter the Fed’s looming reduction in purchases.

The Treasury also began using additional special measures to avoid a U.S. default after the debt limit was reinstated Aug. 1. U.S. equities declined on Monday following softer-than-expected U.S. manufacturing growth amid lingering supply constraints. Here’s your markets wrap.

As President Joe Biden moves toward a possible legislative victory with his $550 billion infrastructure bill, one might ask what its success (if it passes) says about American politics. Tyler Cowen writes in Bloomberg Opinion that it’s mostly good news, regardless of whether you agree with it—or Biden for that matter.

The world’s biggest pension fund lowered U.S. government bonds and bills to 35% of its foreign debt holdings, a record cut to the weighting of U.S. Treasuries.

China is confronting its broadest outbreak since the novel coronavirus first emerged there in late 2019. The delta variant is spreading to places that had been virus-free for months, including the original epicenter of Wuhan. In the U.S., 70% of adults have received at least one dose of a vaccine, a key milestone as hospitals in some states are buckling under the nation’s fifth infection wave. Meanwhile, more mask and vaccination requirements are being implemented in the public and private sectors. Here’s the latest on the pandemic.

When India failed to show up at climate talks in London last week, the British took it as a snub. It was also a reminder of how hard it will be to pull the Earth back from the brink of disaster. There are less than three months to go before the next round of high-stakes negotiations. With the clock ticking down, the chances of a global accord in the face of increasingly catastrophic climate change are fading.

• These are the winners and losers in the huge U.S. infrastructure bill.
• Biden is searching for ways to replace the federal eviction ban.
• Yesterday’s wars haven’t prepared the Pentagon for today’s China.
• Bloomberg Opinion: Chinese stocks will get more warnings.
• Ecuador defaulted last year. Now its bonds are the world’s best.
• Can delivering your groceries in 10 minutes actually be profitable?
• Tokyo Olympics medal tracker: See which nations are cleaning up.

Virtual reality in the healthcare space has evolved from a radical research topic to powerful clinical tool. Proponents contend VR can help doctors and mental health professionals reach under-served populations while providing assessments and interventions that weren’t previously possible. VR is already proving invaluable as a therapeutic strategy for people coping with issues ranging from battlefield post-traumatic stress to chronic pain. Soon, Bloomberg Digital reports, it may help you too.

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