Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - The collapse has begun

The U.S. and Germany reiterated Thursday that any Russian aggression against Ukraine would trigger a major response. President Joe Biden said Russia would pay “a heavy price” while Secretary of State Antony Blinken and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock delivered additional warnings after a meeting in Berlin with counterparts from France and the U.K. “We’re at a decisive juncture,” said Blinken, who is to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva on Friday. —David E. Rovella and Natasha Solo-Lyons

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

Jeremy Grantham, the famed investor who has been calling market bubbles for decades, said the historic collapse in stocks he predicted a year ago is underway, and that the Fed can’t stop it.

Jeremy Grantham Photographer: Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images

But traders are betting Covid-19’s grip on the global economy is loosening even as omicron reignites supply-chain chaos. Stocks seen as winners in an economic reopening are approaching pre-pandemic levels, commodities have rallied and German bund yields have turned positive as central banks pare pandemic bailouts. Be that as it may, the broader market is heading south, with the Nasdaq 100 Index formally entering correction territory. Here’s your markets wrap.

The 50 Republican members of the U.S. Senate, in blocking a law that would make it easier for Americans to vote, accused Democrats of seeking to gain power by enabling more citizens to exercise that right. Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, both Democrats, sided with Republicans in killing a final effort to pass the bill, a result seen by proponents as a grim turning point for the 246-year-old country. With no evidence of significant voter fraud to justify new laws in 19 Republican-controlled states that restrict voting access, the GOP said states should retain power to dictate how and where people vote. Democrats contend the new restrictions are designed to depress turnout, especially by non-White Americans who have been historically discriminated against at the polls.

Thailand will resume a quarantine-free visa program for vaccinated visitors starting next month, as the tourism-reliant nation shifts its focus to economic recovery following an ease in new Covid-19 infections. One vaccine to prevent all coronaviruses is within reach, according to Lisa Jarvis, so that’s where resources should go. She writes in Bloomberg Opinion that a universal approach is the best way to maintain protection against future Covid-19 variants. A pan-coronavirus shot would be capable of quashing all comers. Here’s the latest on the pandemic.

Tourists on a near-empty Patong Beach in Phuket, Thailand, last July. Photographer: Andre Malerba/Bloomberg

New York City and Chicago are among the most vulnerable housing markets in the U.S. Though housing continues to be red-hot across the country, with record deals, rebounding sales and bidding wars aplenty, those two markets represent areas where housing is unaffordable for average workers, foreclosures are more common and more homeowners are underwater on their mortgages.

Farm equipment giant John Deere boasted record profits in 2021 as the pandemic made consumers more reliant than ever on a functioning agricultural sector. But now the company, fresh off losing a fight with unionized workers, has another big problem: angry farmers.  

American Express is adding new art to its high-end Platinum card just months after revamping its rewards. Customers with the $695-a-year card are now able to select designs by artists Kehinde Wiley or Julie Mehretu.  

American Express Platinum Source: American Express Co.

• The U.K. is two months away from a brutal cost-of-living crisis.
• Bank of Russia seeks to outlaw mining and trading of crypto.
• Netflix plunges after a disappointing forecast for new users.
• Rush of immigrants to slow Bank of Canada rate hikes, CIBC says.
• Elon Musk’s brain implant company is inching toward human trials
• Peloton plummets on report production was paused on slow demand.
• Sorry, but that daily glass of wine is actually bad for you.

Anguilla is a place made more special by being difficult to reach. For wealthy travelers, that made it all the more appealing during the first years of the pandemic. In August 2020, the island reopened its borders with a unique “bubble” concept designed to insulate travelers and locals from transmission risk. It worked, and from April to December 2020, Anguilla didn’t record a single case of Covid-19. Now the beautiful Caribbean island is looking to parlay its pandemic success into longer-term tourism riches.

Anguilla isn’t that easy to get to, which is part of its charm.

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