Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - Biden vows revenge

Following warnings from intelligence officials about an imminent threat, explosions rocked Kabul’s international airport, killing more than 70 people including 12 U.S. military personnel. The attack claimed by the Islamic State terrorist group comes after more than 100,000 people had been evacuated from Afghanistan since the Taliban moved to take the capital city. General Kenneth McKenzie said he expects more attacks as the U.S. military continues evacuations and pulls its forces out by Aug. 31. He estimated that just over 1,000 Americans remain in the country, though he said he doesn’t know how many want to leave. “ISIS will not deter us from accomplishing the mission,” he said. In a speech to the nation, President Joe Biden mourned the dead, defended the evacuation and vowed revenge. —David E. Rovella

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

On the eve of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s annual Jackson Hole symposium, three of its leading hawks came out in favor of accelerating the timeline for slowing asset purchases aimed at propping up the U.S. economy.

Seven Chinese billionaires have directed a record $5 billion to charity so far this year, exceeding by 20% all national giving in 2020. The pledges, coincidentally, arrive just as President Xi Jinping is pushing broad industry crackdowns amid a campaign to close the country’s wealth gap. 

The coronavirus pandemic has been steadily weakening the pull of city centers. Commuter traffic on subways and trains is down, as are sales at all those sandwich shops and delis that rely on white-collar foot traffic. Young couples are stepping over each other to buy little suburban houses like the ones they grew up in. By some early measures the pandemic was supposed to be over by now. But thanks in part to wildly unequal vaccine access and (often politically motivated) science-free vaccine refusal (including by badly needed nurses), new variants are brewing and more people are dying, adding to the millions already killed. In the business world, what was to be a back-to-office September has been largely canceled by the delta variant, perhaps a final nail for the old-style work week. But with that transformation may come a silver lining, one that just might kickstart sluggish economies.

Bloomberg’s August Covid Resilience Ranking shows stark shifts as  delta spreads. The U.S. and Israel dropped as did New Zealand and Australia. European countries proved the most resilient amid widespread immunization. The U.K. plans to study why some vaccinated people suffer breakthrough infections and others don’t, while India just recorded the most daily cases in more than a month. In the U.S., where 633,000 people are confirmed to have died from Covid-19 (though the actual number is likely higher), another 100,000 are likely to perish in the next three months. Here’s the latest on the pandemic.

New U.S. unemployment claims rose last week, with Maryland posting the largest increase followed by California and Illinois. Here’s your markets wrap.

A global supply chain crunch that was meant to be temporary may not ease until the middle of next year. The culprit as with most everything else these days is the delta variant, which has hobbled Asia factory production and disrupted shipping.

Apple CEO Tim Cook this week picks up his tenth and final payment of a compensation package he received a decade ago for filling the shoes of Steve Jobs. Already a billionaire, this is how much Cook gets.

Apple CEO Tim Cook presents the keynote address during Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference in San Jose, California, in 2019. Photographer: Brittany Hosea-SmallAFP

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• A right-wing radio talk show host could be California’s next governor.
• Home prices in Manhattan’s most prized neighborhoods are falling.
• EV startup offers a lesson in how SPACs can go sideways on investors.
• There’s a new hurricane that may be headed for Louisiana and Texas.
• The epic family feud behind a famous weight loss camp for kids.

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In June 2020, as Black Lives Matter protests targeted Confederate memorials in the wake of the Minneapolis Police Department’s murder of George Floyd, then-President Donald Trump issued an executive order aimed at protecting monuments, memorials and statues from  “rioters, arsonists, and left-wing extremists.” The order, since revoked by Biden, is still being used by America’s internal security agency—the Department of Homeland Security—to spy on citizens.

Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg

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Bloomberg New Economy Conversations—China’s Tech Crackdown: Join New Economy Forum Editorial Director Andrew Browne on Sept. 8 at 10 a.m. as he analyzes the sweeping regulatory crackdown underway in China. The private sector helped power China’s economic rise, but President Xi Jinping seems determined to rein in what he sees as its excesses. Is this transitory or a game-changing shift? Joining Andy are Keyu Jin, Associate Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics & Political Science, and Kevin Rudd, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Asia Society. Register here.