Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - SEC targets crypto

Washington, Wall Street and Silicon Valley all want to know: where does Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler stand on cryptocurrency? In an exclusive interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, Gensler said he’s mulling robust oversight centered on strong safeguards for the millions of investors who’ve filled their portfolios with tokens. He also signaled he was open to a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund—but with tough regulations. Meanwhile, two U.S. senators are drafting a proposal to overhaul the cryptocurrency provision of the $550 billion infrastructure package (which is deep inside the 2,000-plus page bill.) Unsurprisingly, traders and investors claim the new rules are broad and impractical. But fear of adult supervision sent Bitcoin downward. Here’s your markets wrap. — Margaret Sutherlin

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

U.S. President Joe Biden told Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign after New York Attorney General Letitia James released a bombshell report in her probe of sexual misconduct claims. James alleged Cuomo harassed multiple women, created a “climate of fear” and violated federal and state laws in the process. She didn’t announce any charges, but the findings turbocharged calls for Cuomo’s impeachment and may complete his stunning fall from grace. Little more than a year ago, he was effectively leading much of the country through its initial response to the coronavirus. For Cuomo’s part, he defiantly rejected the report’s allegations. What happens now is up to the state assembly—and him. 

Biden is planning on a new eviction moratorium after the last one expired this weekend, leaving millions of Americans vulnerable to landlords and litigation. If $100 bills couldn’t motivate New Yorkers to get vaccinated, leaders are betting a tougher approach will. New York City said workers and customers at indoor restaurants, gyms and some other establishments will need to show proof of vaccination. The move follows similar actions in Europe where leaders have restricted the unvaccinated as part of the strategy to encourage shots. As the delta variant runs rampant, Florida’s hospitalizations hit a record. Still, as Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, rejects precautions in the face of infection and death among his constituents, schools backed away from requiring Florida children be protected with masks. Here’s the latest on the pandemic. 

How serious are Americans about continuing to work from home? A new survey found 65% would take a pay cut to continue to work remotely permanently. 

Banker burnout? Return-to-office headaches? A new pandemic wave? For the biggest global investment banks, there seems to be a shiny flip-side to all this bad news: they’re minting money like never before.

The U.K. is considering blocking a takeover of Cambridge-based Arm Ltd. by Nvidia over national security concerns. Nvidia, the biggest U.S. chip company by market capitalization, announced the $40 billion deal to acquire Arm as part of a push to spread its reach in the surging market for semiconductors.

China’s most valuable company—Tencent—may be next to fall in Beijing’s crackdown on its own technology industry. State media posted a blistering critique calling online games the “spiritual opium” of children. Shares of the company slid 11%. 

The president of the game company behind theWarcraft and Diablo games is out. Activision Blizzard is facing an internal cultural reckoning over a lawsuit alleging sexual discrimination and harassment. J. Allen Brack is paying the price. 

• Brazil, crushed by Covid, is lifting precautions and  planing a party.
• Spirit and American cancelled hundreds of flights for a second day.
• Clorox shares plunged to the lowest since 2000. Here’s why.
• Texas regulators backed SpaceX in a land dispute with an oil driller.
• Microsoft is the latest to require vaccines to return to the office. 
• Broadway is coming back in September. But can it stay open?
• A record number of Americans were swiping left and right in July.

Because some of them don’t care. For many young Americans, it isn’t just fear, misinformation or mistrust that’s kept them from getting vaccinated. A study found that among unvaccinated young adults, 23% said they felt they could simply go without. But that could be changing. As the pathogen morphs, more young people are getting seriously ill.

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The fourth annual Bloomberg New Economy Forum will convene the world’s most influential leaders in Singapore on Nov. 16-19 to mobilize behind the effort to build a sustainable and inclusive global economy. Learn more here.