China’s internal threat

China President Xi Jinping is facing increasing difficulty as he tries to manage the sprawling bureaucracy of the world’s second-biggest economy. Officials either take orders too far, as in the case of power plant supervisors who worsened a national energy crisis, or they’re so paralyzed with fear that they fail to make decisions in major crises like unprecedented flooding or an emerging pandemic. Indeed, while Xi looks set to rule indefinitely as the nation’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, it is that very power that may constitute a threat to China’s economy. —David E. Rovella
Bloomberg is tracking the coronavirus pandemic and the progress of global vaccination efforts.

The Chinese military is using mock-ups of a U.S. aircraft carrier at a weapons-testing range in a remote western desert—target practice that it likely wants the Pentagon to see. New missiles developed by China may be able to destroy American carriers and their battle groups in the Western Pacific, a capacity that could accelerate the shifting balance of power in the region.

Shares tied to reopening trades from casinos to airlines surged in Asia on Monday after Pfizer said its Covid-19 pill could reduce hospitalizations and deaths in high-risk patients by 89%. U.S. markets later rose as cheers for House passage of President Joe Biden’s $550 billion infrastructure bill overcame worries about inflation. But the Federal Reserve warned that as prices for risky assets keep rising, they are becoming more susceptible to crashes. And a Robinhood data breach just exposed millions of customers. Here’s your markets wrap.

An investor group led in part by buyout firms Advent International and Permira Advisers agreed to take McAfee Corp. private, a deal that values the cybersecurity software maker at more than $14 billion.

The crypto-revolution has turned images of dogs into digital gold, lured talent and real dollars from Wall Street and introduced a bewildering array of jargon to mainstream finance. But now it’s outdone itself: It’s looking like crypto can show you what the stock market will do in advance.

Trying to gauge the affinity for crypto out in the world? Take Coinbase Global as an example. The main retail app for the largest U.S. crypto exchange just became No. 1 on Google Play. How popular is that? So popular that it beat out Instagram, PayPal and Snapchat.

Wall Street banks must be ready by next year to answer key questions about how exposed their firms are to volatile weather events and how vulnerable their data infrastructure is, said Michael Hsu, the acting chief of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. “Time is running out,” he said.

U.S. homeowners are taking advantage of a global housing boom by pulling equity out of their homes at the highest volume since the 2008 financial crisis. Close to one in five American homeowners say they have pulled money out of their properties in the last year. They withdrew $63 billion in the second quarter alone.

Saudi Arabia’s ban on movie theaters just ended three years ago, but the desert kingdom already has Hollywood ambitions. It’s investing $64 billion in its nascent entertainment industry as part of a broader effort to wean the economy off oil. And some big movies, and big names, are onboard.

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