Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - Delta threatens everything

The U.S. labor market brightened in July with its biggest increase in employment in almost a year, highlighting optimism about the economic recovery. The 943,000 jobs added arguably mark a big step toward the Federal Reserve’s goal of “substantial” further progress justifying tapering of its economic supports. At the same time, more than 5.7 million people remain unemployed compared with pre-pandemic levels, and more Black Americans dropped out of the workforce. Indeed, what positive news was in Friday’s report may be snuffed out entirely by the delta variant of the coronavirus, which threatens much of the progress made since the crisis began. Here’s your markets wrap. —Margaret Sutherlin

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

Florida is home to 6% of the U.S. population, but accounted for about 20% of its coronavirus cases in the past week. Covid-19 patients are filling the state’s intensive-care units, and as with India when it was crushed by the delta variant, the state is having a hard time getting enough oxygen to patients. But Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has refused to change course, promising to fight mask mandates and other public health measures in a bid to curry favor with the GOP’s far-right base. At least 84 of DeSantis’s constituents died from the virus yesterday alone. Earlier this week, the potential Republican presidential candidate was spotted fundraising in Michigan. Here’s the latest on the pandemic. 

The U.S. Senate is heading toward a weekend vote on President Joe Biden’s $550 billion infrastructure legislation, after an attempt to pass the bill late Thursday was thwarted by disagreements over cryptocurrency regulation. 

Nasdaq won the Securities and Exchange Commission’s support to help get more women and minorities on boards of companies trading on the stock exchange. The endorsement is among the agency’s most substantial actions taken to encourage diversity and inclusion.

In Afghanistan, the Taliban killed the director of the country’s government media center and appeared to have taken their first provincial capital—the city of Zaranj in southern Nimroz province—since the U.S. withdrawal.

Most of the current momentum behind climate action can be traced back to a 2018 report from a panel of climate scientists at the United Nations. On Monday, the group is expected to deliver a sweeping new study on the global outlook on the climate crisis. This is what you need to know. 

After rushing back to the office, Wall Street is facing a delta variant crisis that might send traders and bankers back home. Many see little reason to stay at their desks after banks proved they can earn outsize profits with employees logged in at the kitchen table.  

New details are coming to light about the frat boy culture of game maker Blizzard. Before the ousting of its president this week and a lawsuit by the state of California, current and former employees say managers were already setting the tone that led to the current uproar. 

• The White House extended a freeze on student loan payments.
• The European Union is expected to reimpose U.S. travel restrictions. 
• Didi is considering giving up data control to appease Beijing.
• More Covid long haulers means disability programs need money.  
• Bloomberg Opinion: Businesses must require Covid vaccinations. 
• Ex-staffer of Andrew Cuomo filed a criminal complaint against him. 
• French wine production is going to tumble this year. 

Silicon Valley executives sometimes seem to believe they are proprietors of a post-racial paradise. But the demographics tell a different story, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. There are few Blacks and Hispanics employed in Big Tech, with hardly any in technical roles. And even Asian Americans find that, although they’ve achieved significant success in the industry, the story is much more complicated.

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