Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - Billionaires feel the heat

In a new twist of the Evergrande Group meltdown, Chinese authorities told its billionaire boss Hui Ka Yan to use his personal wealth to pay off the company’s 12-figure debt. The demand adds to signs that Beijing is reluctant to organize a government rescue while President Xi Jinping cracks down on the billionaire class. It also comes as the property giant’s woes spread to other developers and sours sentiment in the nation’s huge real estate market. One extra hiccup: It’s unclear whether Hui’s fortune is even big enough or liquid enough to make a dent in Evergrande’s $300 billion in debt. —Margaret Sutherlin

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

In Washington, Democrats are going after U.S. billionaires and their mountains of untaxed gains in order to pay for President Joe Biden’s economic agenda. Supporters argue the strategy would combat inequality by hiking the effective rate on the super-rich, ensuring their gains are taxed more like the salaries of middle-class Americans. Others argue the provision is too complicated to get passed. Some billionaires said they’d willingly pay more—if Congress spent the money in a way they considered appropriate. Either way, Democratic leaders say they’re getting closer to an overall deal.

Senator Joe Manchin has been a key obstacle to passage of Biden’s economic package, which includes healthcare, climate and social welfare provisions. Having already killed a key climate section, Manchin now says he opposes requiring banks to report deposits and withdrawals of some accounts to the Internal Revenue Service. Photographer: Tom Brenner/Bloomberg

Advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the benefits of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 shot for children as young as 5 outweigh the risks. Hospital admissions are declining sharply among U.S. children with Covid-19, even more than adults, quieting for now some concerns that the return to school could trigger a major uptick in viral transmission. Here’s the latest on the pandemic.

Ahead of climate talks in Glasgow, a new report by the United Nations outlines a vast gap between science and where the world is actually headed without drastic cuts to emissions.

U.S. stocks rose to all-time highs as corporate earnings helped boost sentiment despite concerns about inflation and growth. All eyes after hours were on big tech firms, which boasted strong quarterly earnings. Here’s your markets wrap.

What winter lull? Lumber prices are soaring once again, after hitting records earlier this year. Tight supplies, new duties and a pickup in homebuilding signals elevated prices are going to stick around for longer.  

A construction worker in Edmonton, Canada. The downturn in lumber prices is over, it seems. Photographer: Jason Franson/Bloomberg

The White House is finally shifting attention to filling vacancies at the Federal Reserve–and making a decision about whether to replace or renominate Chair Jerome Powell, a Republican who’s had his hands full with an ethics scandal at the central bank.

For millions of working women in the world’s leading cities for doing business, daily life is often shaped by what they can do and what they can’t do. Bloomberg Equality set out to identify key global centers that are best for women.

• Sudan prime minister deposed in military coup is reportedly home.
• Nor’easter drenches New York City region, spurring flood warnings.
• The Covid Travel Tracker shows 56% of cities are now more open.
• Quebec’s cheap hydro power is attracting more than crypto mining.
• Tom Brady is giving a fan one whole Bitcoin.
• Japan’s monarchy just lost another royal.
• HBO renewed its hit “Succession” for a fourth season. 

It’s clear: more people are interested in buying an electric car. What’s even more clear is that dealers don’t know how to sell them. With more people shifting to adopt EVs, the dealership playbook has lagged behind. It takes more time to sell an EV. There are more details to go over. The consumer is rapidly changing. Here’s how the industry is adjusting. 

A line of Porsche Taycan electric automobiles charge in Berlin. Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg

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