Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - Infections are rising again

There are on average 83,000 new confirmed Covid-19 cases in the U.S. each day, though the true number is likely much higher. More than 1,000 Americans are dying of the disease every 24 hours. With signs that infections are rising yet again across the hardest-hit country, Louisiana and Texas—supported by officials in a dozen other right-leaning states—sued to block a federal vaccine requirement for employees at hospitals, hospices, skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies. Separately, a majority Republican appointee-federal appeals court was selected to hear challenges to the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for large employers. Meanwhile, Pfizer has asked federal regulators for emergency-use authorization of its Covid-19 pill, which could play a critical role in protecting high-risk patients from the disease’s worst effects. Here’s the latest on the pandemic. —David E. Rovella

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

President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping met virtually on Monday in a summit aimed in part at dialing back the temperature in an increasingly volatile relationship. Not too much happened, but in Beijing, Xi has been getting a lot done: The Chinese Communist Party decided to publish a landmark document right after the meeting, one that sets up Xi to potentially rule for life. Biden meanwhile headed to New Hampshire to tout the massive flow of money coming from his huge infrastructure bill.

U.S. President Joe Biden meeting virtually with China President Xi Jinping on Nov. 15. Photographer: Sarah Silbiger/UPI

Elon Musk keeps selling his Tesla stock, sometimes tanking the electric carmaker in the process. The world’s richest person disposed of more than 934,000 shares on Monday for about $930 million. That adds to the $6.9 billion he already sold last week. He apparently has some taxes to pay.

Inflation panic? Consumer confidence in the dumps? You wouldn’t know it from U.S. retail sales, since they just rose for a third month in a row, signaling households aren’t done spending. The value of overall retail purchases increased 1.7% last month, the most in seven months, following an upwardly revised 0.8% advance in September.

So how does one square that with the recent drop in consumer confidence? Well, the old axiom of watching what people do rather than what they say is a good starting point. Whine as they might, U.S. consumers are behaving right now as if everything is just fine. 

Wall Street seems to think so, too. Stocks rose on those retail sales numbers, with results from industry giants Walmart and Home Depot showing strong demand. The retail figures came alongside better-than-estimated factory output and homebuilder confidence. “It’s crystal clear that inflation isn’t standing in the way of consumers,” said Mike Loewengart, managing director of investment strategy at E*Trade Financial. “Despite some hiccups on the labor market and inflation fronts, this could serve as the vote of confidence investors needed signaling that the economy is still chugging along nicely.” Now if just everything would arrive in time for the holidays. Here’s your markets wrap.

What the trauma of pandemic, lockdowns and recession have wrought, the resulting inflation may very well undo. The so called “lie flat” movement, a term that originated in China but a trend that is decidedly global, is a backlash against escalating workplace demands in the face of Covid-19’s planetary lesson on mortality. Catchy phrases like “Great Resignation” are arguably insufficient to describe the tectonic shift underway as workers of all ages leave their jobs. But the economic realities forming up may bode ill for those looking to take a break from the rat race. 

Qualcomm, the biggest maker of chips that run smartphones, gave an upbeat sales forecast on Tuesday fueled by growth in new markets. The company seems to be having success at combating concern that it will lose Apple as a customer.

• Chinese officials are clubbing pets of the Covid-quarantined to death.
• Fall of Boeing: Build unsafe plane, then blame pilots when it crashes.
• Bloomberg Opinion: Greenspan’s conundrum is haunting markets.
• Richard Branson just sold a $300 million stake in Virgin Galactic.
• Democratic hopes of keeping Congress in 2022 suffer another blow.
• Prince Andrew’s £1.5 million loan paid off by a top political donor.
• Amazon to New Jersey: Thanks, but no thanks.

China is accelerating plans to replace American and foreign technology, quietly empowering a secretive government-backed organization to vet and approve local suppliers in sensitive areas from cloud to semiconductors. 

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Watch the Bloomberg New Economy Forum live from Singapore Nov. 17-19. At a moment of unprecedented crisis, world leaders are convening to define the challenges that face the global economy and to draft solutions together. Learn more about this year’s agenda and speakers. Watch it live here.