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U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated on Friday that “it’s time to taper,” shorthand for the slow removal of financial supports that held up a once pandemic-stricken economy. But he also sounded a note of concern over persistently high inflation. Despite his position that it won’t be around past 2022, Powell said supply chain bottlenecks could complicate matters since they may “last longer than previously expected, likely well into next year.” Markets—which were already being pummeled by a technology stock selloff—turned even lower on his comments. Here’s your markets wrap. —Margaret Sutherlin

Bloomberg is tracking the coronavirus pandemic and the progress of global vaccination efforts.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Nov. 1 on Texas’s extreme restriction of abortion rights, a state law seen by legal experts as a clear violation of existing high court precedent under Roe v. Wade. Despite the expedited hearing, the high court, controlled 6-3 by a Republican-appointed majority, left the controversial statute in place.

Demonstrators protested efforts by Texas and other Republican-controlled states to eliminate abortion rights during the Women’s March in New York on Oct. 2. Photographer: Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg

The effort to inoculate younger children from Covid-19 continues. Pfizer and BioNTech said their vaccine was 90.7% effective against symptomatic cases in children ages 5 to 11. While the U.S. daily average of new confirmed cases is falling, it’s still around 71,000—which is more than double the rate at the height of the first wave in April 2020. Indeed, Covid-19 is far from over in areas with low vaccination rates. Wyoming reported a record number of hospitalizations. Meanwhile, cases in Europe are on the rise again as delta-plus becomes an increasingly concerning mutation. Here’s the latest on the pandemic. 

If you thought prices were high now, brace yourself as everyday staples are going to get costlier. Companies from Unilever, Nestle and Procter & Gamble—and even the streetwear brand Supreme—are warning that they will keep raising prices on consumers, claiming they’re just passing along costs. It’s also not just consumers feeling pain: Snap shares tumbled 24% after it warned ad revenue would be lower than expected because companies didn’t have enough products to sell. And just to pile on—port bottlenecks are still getting worse. 

A $2 million house in California with an ocean view might not come with a reliable water supply by next summer. This is the future of Marin County, an affluent redwood-studded ecotopia north of San Francisco. As droughts made worse by the climate crisis drag on, they pose an existential threat to places that rely on local water sources for most—or all—of their supply.  

Marin County, California Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

New boss Jane Frazer continues to shake things up at Citigroup. The bank agreed to conduct an audit of how its business impacts non-White communities, the first major Wall Street firm to agree to do so.

The super-rich are forming an exclusive new club. To get in, you have to be worth about $100 million and pay $180,000 for a three-year membership. Here’s what you get for the money.

For decades, officials in Bogotá, Colombia, along with event planners hired a mystic named Jorge Elias González to manipulate the weather. But a corruption probe, and a few memorable downpours, has shaken their faith.

Jorge Elias González Photographer: Oliver Schmieg/Bloomberg

• Credit-card giants are shrugging off a growing threat.
• The U.S. posted its second biggest budget gap on record.
• The Brexit trade deal is officially in deep trouble. 
• Another Bitcoin ETF launched Friday—the second this week.
• More than 3 million Americans retired early because of the pandemic. 
• These countries could ruin climate negotiations at COP26.
• Actor Alec Baldwin cooperates in probe of prop-gun killing.

When millions of Americans were forced to work remotely, many found a way to occupy their time: it’s called a dog. Almost 10 million four-legged furry friends were adopted in 2020. And after all, it was a fairly cheap and easy thing to do a year ago. Who needed doggy-daycare when every day was a day at home? But now that the world is reopening and employees are heading back to the office, the sticker shock is setting in.

Photographer: cmannphoto/iStockphoto Photographer: cmannphoto/iStockphoto

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Emerging Markets 2022: Despite the uneven performance of emerging markets this year, Asia, the Middle East and Africa hold exciting pockets of opportunity for investors next year. With assets trading at historically cheap valuations, EM investments will continue to be an attractive proposition for many. Join us on Oct. 27 to hear from industry experts on how they are preparing to manage unpredictability. Register here.