Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - ‘Code red for humanity’

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has just proclaimed “a code red for humanity.” The unequivocal consensus of the world’s top climate scientists—unveiled in a landmark report Monday—is that not only are humans responsible for the catastrophes befalling the atmosphere, the oceans, the ice packs and the forests, but that without drastic moves by the planet’s leaders to eliminate greenhouse gas pollution, things are going to get a lot worse, and quite soon. The assessment from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that the crucial warming threshold of 2°C will be “exceeded during the 21st century” makes the Paris climate accord, its warnings and goals seem like sunny optimism by comparison. Other findings? The past decade was most likely hotter than any period in the last 125,000 years (when sea levels were up to 10 meters higher) and combustion and deforestation have raised CO2 in the atmosphere higher than it’s been in two million years. “This report,” Guterres warned the world, “must sound a death knell for coal and fossil fuels before they destroy our planet.” —David E. Rovella

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

The fifth wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. began this summer in low-vaccination states in the Ozarks and Deep South. Now, thanks to the highly contagious delta variant, it’s engulfed the entire country, with cases and hospitalizations at their highest since February. Thirty-eight states have transmission levels considered high by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While the latest wave has been blamed on Americans who refuse to be vaccinated, in China, local officials are being punished for failing to curb an outbreak that’s spawned almost 900 symptomatic infections in less than a month. China’s long-term strategy to combat the virus, it turns out, could leave it isolated for years. And despite admonitions from the UN that booster shots be banned until more of the world gets access to initial vaccinations, U.S. officials say they want to start doling them out. Israel already has. Here’s the latest on the pandemic.

Bad news for crypto fans. A change to  reporting rules in the huge U.S. infrastructure bill was blocked in the Senate Monday, leaving in place language that mandates broad oversight of virtual currencies.

Corn, wheat and soybeans fell as a resurgent Covid-19 fueled demand concerns amid a broader pullback in commodities. Oil futures touched an 11-week low, potentially signaling weaker demand for biofuels.

The latest twist in the endless saga of the U.S. debt ceiling underscores how strange the whole concept is, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. Every few years, Congress votes to allow borrowing to fund measures they’ve already approved. The main function is political: Whichever party isn’t in power uses it to try to either extract something from or embarrass the other side. But it can do damage, too.

Unions may be in steep decline and benefits hard to come by, but for the first time in decades, U.S. workers have some leverage when it comes to pay.

China’s microchip industry is feeling the heat of Beijing’s regulatory crackdown. A warning in state media that officials will have no tolerance for speculators in the chip market sent related stocks tumbling. 

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he views peace talks with the Taliban as dead, and is looking to both arm civilians and cooperate with warlords to prevent the militant group from taking control of the country again. Over the weekend, the Taliban captured the capitals of four northern provinces and one in the west, where they met little resistance. 

• Bloomberg Editorial: Opening schools should be the top priority.
• Remember Archegos? Margin call meltdown? So where’s Bill Hwang?
• Wall Street worries on Fed rollback, delta: Here’s your markets wrap.
• More carcinogens are being found in more suntan lotion brands.
• As homeless grow, Venice Beach residents fight about what to do.
• N.Y. legislature said it wants to move quick to make Cuomo history.
• Leon Black accused of flying model to Epstein’s home for sex acts.

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Prices for arabica beans are up 50% in the past 12 months, hitting seven-year highs after drought and frost damaged crops in Brazil. High freight costs and shipping container shortages continue to rattle global supply chains. But even with coffee prices spiking, nobody seems to care.

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