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Good afternoon. Here’s what you should know today, Aug. 9: |
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Rapid wage growth keeps pressure on U.S. inflation A ban on imports from China’s Xinjiang region hits U.S. solar shipments “Love Island” hits its stars’ parents differently |
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| Nonfarm labor productivity fell at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.6% in the second quarter from the prior quarter. PHOTO: HOUSTON COFIELD/BLOOMBERG NEWS |
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1. U.S. workers’ wages are rising briskly, contributing to four-decade high inflation. |
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Average hourly earnings grew 5.2% in July from a year earlier, and annual gains have exceeded 5% each month this year, according to the Labor Department. Employers continue to increase pay as they try to find and keep workers in a tight job market. Meanwhile, U.S. labor productivity declined for the second consecutive quarter. |
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Market Rout Sends State and City Pension Funds to Worst Year Since 2009 (Read) Investors Regaining Upper Hand Over Silicon Valley Startups (Read) |
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2. The FBI search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home could shift the political course of the 2022 midterm and 2024 presidential elections. |
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House Democrats Can Have Access to Trump Tax Returns, Appeals Court Rules (Read) Wisconsin Primary Offers Latest Test of Trump’s Push to Relitigate 2020 Election (Read) Biden Administration to End Trump-Era ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy (Read) |
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3. The Inflation Reduction Act is poised to benefit some renewable-energy players. |
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Electric-vehicle makers like Tesla stand to get billions of dollars to retool and build EV and battery factories. Green banks that funnel money into green-power projects are expected to get $27 billion, a potential boon for private-sector investors. The Senate passed the package—which would allow Medicare to negotiate the price of some prescription drugs, extend subsidies for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act and create a new 15% corporate minimum tax—on Sunday. The House is expected to vote on the measure later this week. |
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Senate’s Climate Bill Is a Win for Canada (Read) Ford’s New F-150 Lightning Truck to Get Price Hike (Read) |
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4. A new law that targets forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region is disrupting U.S. solar imports. |
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The area produces almost half the world’s supply of a crucial component in solar panels. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act went into effect at the end of June. During the past several weeks, several big Chinese solar-panel suppliers have had shipments to the U.S. detained or sent back. |
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Taiwan Starts Two-Day Defensive Drills as Tensions With China Remain High (Read) War Game Finds U.S. and Taiwan Can Defend Against a Chinese Invasion (Read) A 70-Year-Old Taiwanese Chip Wizard Is Driving China’s Tech Ambitions (Read) |
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5. A series of blasts at a Russian air force base in Crimea triggered an evacuation. |
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The Russian Ministry of Defense blamed the explosions on ammunition, not shelling, at the base, which sits in an area that Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014. The Ukrainian government had no immediate comment. Ukraine is pressing on with a counteroffensive aimed at liberating the south. |
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Russia Stops Oil Flowing Through Pipeline to Central, Eastern Europe (Read) Inside the Russian-Occupied Ukrainian City Living Under Threat of Nuclear Disaster (Read) 🎥 How Ukraine Uses U.S. Himars to Fight Russia–and Why It Wants Other Weapons (Watch) |
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