Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - The SEC is coming

U.S. hiring dropped abruptly in August with the smallest jobs gain in seven months, complicating any decision by the Fed to begin scaling back monetary support by the end of the year. Trailing all forecasts, the data from the Biden administration revealed employment in leisure and hospitality, which had showed strong gains of late, was flat amid both persistent hiring challenges and the delta variant of the coronavirus, which has triggered one of the worst infection waves of the pandemic. Here’s your markets wrap. —David E. Rovella

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

The SEC is coming. U.S. regulators have long said they’re dubious about the green labels Wall Street has been slapping on $35 trillion in so-called sustainable assets. Now the watchdogs are hunting for proof they’re right. The Wild West of greenwashing gold may be coming to an end.

Blackstone is again trying to sell its Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas resort, this time for at least $5 billion. Apollo Global Management, which has been acquiring gambling businesses around the world, is said to be exploring an offer.

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas Photographer: Joe Buglewicz/Bloomberg

U.S. Senate Democrats are discussing a wider range of tax proposals than President Joe Biden offered as part of his economic package, including levies on stock buybacks, carbon emissions and executive compensation. The revenue is to be spent on measures aimed at helping America’s poor, increasing healthcare and fighting the climate crisis.

In Canada, Erin O’Toole is the one person standing in the way of a third term for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. As the Sept. 20 election approaches, the Conservative Party leader is pitching himself as the safest alternative. His platform notably includes left-leaning flourishes like increased spending on social programs and a promise to reduce harmful emissions, though not as aggressively as Trudeau would.

Erin O’Toole delivers his victory speech last year as newly-elected leader of Canada’s Conservative Party. Photographer: Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press

Singapore will maintain current virus curbs despite a recent rise in cases, and plans to start vaccine booster shots soon for vulnerable groups. With one of the world’s best vaccination rates, Singapore said it will boost testing and allow infected people with mild symptoms to recover at home.

A U.K. government advisory panel declined to recommend rolling out Covid-19 shots to adolescents. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said he plans to resign so he can devote the rest of his time in office to fighting the pandemic. In the U.S., more people are dying of Covid-19 in Florida than at any other time during the pandemic. Medical experts who advise regulators on vaccines are chafing at what they call political interference by the Biden administration in the review process of booster shots. The rollout of third doses across America later this month may be in doubt. Here’s the latest on the pandemic.

The Tesla owner killed along with a friend last spring in a fiery crash outside Houston had almost twice his state’s legal limit of alcohol in his system, an autopsy report shows.

• The U.S. moves to learn more about its 124,000 Afghan refugees.
• Millennials and Gen Z are hooked on a $46 billion shopping app.
• Supply-chain management is the new business degree of choice.
• Russia has a dangerous gas problem, and winter is coming.
• The U.S. says it can’t wait forever on Iran in nuclear talks.
• Biden reportedly orders FBI documents tied to 9-11 declassified.
• Hints of worker confidence belie the rise in Black unemployment.

The ferris wheel is once again spinning at the  Minnesota State Fair. Alpacas are dressed up for the llama-alpaca costume contest, and a gondola ferries riders across the 322-acre grounds. Near the entry gate, the local health department has set up a Covid vaccination tent. Hand-washing and hand-sanitizing stations are placed throughout the fairgrounds; attendees are “strongly encouraged” to wear masks indoors and outdoors—but they’re not mandated. Despite the threat, the fairs go on.

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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.