Mortgage rates rose above 4% for the first time since 2019, compounding soaring housing costs for would-be homeowners. National realtor data shows that rents in popular tourist markets are outpacing workers’ wages, prompting a growing number of employers to build or buy apartments to rent to their employees. Employers who provide housing range from ski resorts in Colorado to the Dollywood theme park in Tennesse.

Moderna will join Pfizer in seeking U.S. appoval for a second booster shot, similarly stemming from data collected in the U.S. and Israel on the impacts of the omicron variant. In Hong Kong, the death rate is surpassing most of the world’s worst pandemic peaks at almost 300 deaths per day. The rate is overwhelming crematoriums and coffin-makers, who say they cannot keep up with the sudden spike.

Amazon has closed an $8.5 billion deal to buy MGM following nearly a year of regulatory hurdles. While Amazon Prime subscribers will likely be able to see the full MGM catalog, experts say the mergers will ultimately push prices higher for consumers while narrowing their choices. Betting that a growing streaming market could dampen profits, movie theater chain AMC announced it will diversify its business with a newly purchased stake in a mining company.

The Western U.S. is in for worsening drought this spring, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s seasonal outlook. While central and eastern states should be mostly spared from significant flooding, the agency said spring is likely to be hotter and drier. Dry conditions will be particularly tough on California, which faces a third year of water restrictions in its second acute drought in less than a decade.

Finland was crowned the happiest country in the world for the fifth consecutive year, scoring significantly ahead of other countries in the World Happiness Report 2022 ranking. Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland and the Netherlands rounded out the top five in the report, while the U.S. moved up three places from 2021 to take 16th.

CONTENT FACTS.

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President Joe Biden’s nominee for the top bank regulator at the Federal Reserve withdrew Tuesday after facing harsh criticism for arguing bank regulators should pay more attention to the financial risks associated with climate change. Sarah Bloom Raskin’s withdrawal comes one day after an influential Democratic senator and Republicans said they would not back her, with President Biden saying Raskin was subject to “baseless attacks from the industry and conservative groups.”

Americans increased their retail spending in February by 0.3%, a slower increase than in January. When excluding gas stations purchases, sales fell 0.2% in February. Economists attribute the booming labor market to consumers’ increased spending power. High inflation is costing the typical U.S. household an additional $296 per month, according to a new analysis by Moody's Analytics.

The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates Wednesday to combat the worst inflation in more than 40 years, marking the first rate increase since 2018. The increase comes as inflationary pressures officials assumed would lessen on their own have instead lingered , with some getting worse. U.S. stock futures gained ahead of the expected interest-rate increase.

Pfizer asked U.S. health regulators to authorize a second booster dose of their COVID-19 vaccine for people 65 and older, an effort to bolster waning immunity that occurs several months after the first booster. The request is based on recent data in Israel during the omicron variant outbreak that showed those who got a fourth vaccine dose were half as likely to become infected and four times less likely to get severely sick from the coronavirus when compared to those with only three shots.

The Senate unanimously passed legislation Tuesday that would make daylight saving time permanent across the U.S. starting in 2023, ending the twice-annual changing of clocks in an effort to promote brighter afternoons and increased economic activity. Many sleep experts say daylight saving time can disrupt our circadian rhythms, making us less alert and prone to illness. The Sunshine Protection Act needs approval from the House and the signature of President Biden to become law.

CONTENT FACTS.

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Tesla raised its prices on its electric vehicles for the second time in less than a week, pushed higher by inflation on raw materials and logistics due to the conflict in Ukraine. Russian troops continued to bombard the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Tuesday, where European Union leaders traveled to offer assistance. Experts say inflation will likely go even higher , raising the stakes for the Federal Reserve in its plans to raise rates this week.

Phased retirement programs are growing in popularity as executives grow more comfortable with flexible work arrangements and companies struggle to retain key workers amid a higher-than-expected rate of retirements. Human resource managers say the method is a way to “slow the brain drain” and manage shortages efficiently. Other employers continue to find new perks to attract top talent, such as egg freezing and other fertility benefits.

Following the two-year mark of the pandemic, education professionals say most of their fears about the impact on children at home have come true . Vulnerable and marginalized students were the most affected by disruptions in student learning and toxic environments at home, while preliminary data show that high school dropout rates trended up.

California has begun the process of building a new state agency that will be responsible for regulating Big Tech’s compliance with its consumer privacy law. A first of its kind, the agency must be built with no precedent and could serve as a model for other states that, frustrated with inaction in Congress, are enacting their own privacy laws.

Revenue from digital entertainment such as streaming ballooned last year to more than three times that of the global box office, according to a new report by the Motion Picture Association. The theatrical and digital markets for entertainment were roughly similar in size before the pandemic, but streaming subscriptions increased 14% last year.

CONTENT FACTS.

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The Biden administration will extend mask requirements for travelers on airplanes, trains and transit hubs through April 18 as the CDC works to revise public transportation mask policies. The likelihood that the requirement will be scrapped has grown in recent weeks as more states, including those led by Democrat governors, relax their own indoor mask mandates.

The 2020 census missed about 750,000 people. While the margin itself isn’t statistically significant, many groups were miscounted at significant rates, with 5% of Hispanic people, 3.3% of Black people and 5.6% of American Indians and Alaska Natives being missed. On the other hand, whites were overcounted by 1.6% and Asians overcounted by 2.6%.

Prices rose 7.9% year over year in February, the largest increase in 40 years. Inflation rose 0.8% since January, a dire sign as the report does not reflect the current strain on energy markets. Monthly rents surged by 20% across the U.S. in the past year, pricing some renters out of their homes. Goldman Sachs warned the probability of the U.S. facing a recession in the next year could be as high as 35% as the bank cut growth forecasts.

The House stripped $15.6 billion of coronavirus relief funding from the government spending bill that cleared the chamber Wednesday. The White House warned that testing capacity and the supply of monoclonal antibody treatments and antiviral pills will decline in months if that funding does not pass the Senate. Two years into the pandemic, new research suggests that the actual death toll is three times higher than the official tally, potentially topping 18 million deaths worldwide.

Major League Baseball’s player association struck a labor deal with team owners, ending the second-longest work stoppage in league history after 99 days. No games will be missed as originally feared despite missing two deadlines for the deal, and players will receive their full salaries for the season.

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Surging gasoline prices are complicating the worker shortage, disrupting carpools and even prompting some employees to quit in search of a job closer to home. U.S. gas prices reached an all-time high last week but edged lower over the weekend to $4.325 per gallon. Some employers say they lost more employees compared to the pandemic, complicating efforts to regain their standing as supply chain backlogs improve.

Apple supplier Foxconn is halting operations in Shenzhen, China, as the government imposes fresh lockdowns to battle surging coronavirus cases. The fast-spreading “stealth omicron” variant is fueling the country’s biggest outbreak since the start of the pandemic in China’s southern technology hub, threatening negative economic consequences worldwide.

The shift to remote work continues to muddy womens’ prospects in the workplace. While more flexible work opportunities could help recover the number of women who left the workforce in the pandemic, more economists agree that workers who are strictly remote risk isolating themselves from promotions and networking opportunities.

More city leaders are taking action to address the homeless encampments that became more common in urban areas during the pandemic. Liberal cities in particular took a softer stance on tents in public spaces, but residents are calling on leaders to address a situation that they say has spiraled out of control. Cities such as Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles plan to permanently remove or ban camping in certain locations, while others are presenting new solutions to voters.

The Paralympic Winter Games came to a close on Sunday night against the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, prompting a closing ceremony focused on peace and unity. Ukrainian Paralympians amassed 28 medals, including 10 gold, managing to push through the fear with the sympathy and respect of many onlookers.

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U.S. inflation is expected to have climbed to another four-decade high in February, with surging energy costs related to Russia’s invasion in Ukraine driving prices even higher. Western sanctions are pushing Russia’s economy into deeper stagnation despite the fact that it is “geared for conflict,” experts say. A restaurant owner in the Russian city of St. Petersburg said she expects produce prices to rise 10%-50%.

Rising gas prices are driving more conspiracy theories about electric vehicles. Theorists contend in Facebook and Twitter posts that President Joe Biden’s administration is intentionally driving up the price of gas to get more Americans to purchase an electric car. Even so, pent-up demand and record-low vehicle inventory levels are expected to push up electric vehicle prices and force many consumers to wait months or even years before receiving an EV.

As American companies approach the two-year anniversary of the shift to remote work, employees are reflecting on the ways in which the office environment did and did not work for them. Many say they felt like they spent their careers in spaces built for somebody else, from the temperature of the office to a “good old boy” office culture. A new Pew survey found that feeling “disrespected at work” was a major reason for 35% of respondents who left their jobs in 2021, while the most common reason for leaving was low pay.

A new survey of local election officials found that 1 in 5 local election administrators say they are likely to leave their jobs before the 2024 presidential election. They say daily harassment and death threats in a polarized voting environment has made the profession unsustainable, prompting many to call for more funding to address cyber and physical security.

The same climate trends in the Western U.S. that lead to massive wildfires in recent years are complicating efforts to prevent them. More erratic weather has removed some of the opportunity to use snowfall to safely burn off debris before the summer, complicating the job of exhausted firefighters. Those operations are a part of the Biden administration’s $50 billion plan to reduce the density of western forests and prevent wildfires.

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Investment banks are lowering their forecasts for global growth and raising expectations for consumer prices, making talk of potential stagflation more mainstream. U.S. and U.K. decisions on Tuesday to ban Russian energy imports sent oil prices surging, compounding already-rising commodity prices due to uncertainty in the region.

The global food crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is worsening as more countries move to keep vital food supplies within their borders. Indonesia tightened curbs on palm oil exports Wednesday, contributing to price hikes as the world struggles to recover from the economic fallout of the pandemic and reduced wheat supply due to droughts. Russia and Ukraine account for a quarter of the global grain trade, and Russia is also a key supplier of the world’s fertilizers.

Producers of basic necessities must face tough decisions over whether to join other multinational companies that faced pressure to close their operations in Russia. McDonald’s, Starbucks, Coke and Pepsi have joined the exodus of companies suspending their business in protest of Russia’s invasion, but the makers of supplies such as diapers and soap say they feel compelled to continue to provide necessities. Procter and Gamble and Unilever said this week they will end any new capital investments in Russia and are no longer advertising in the country.

House lawmakers released a $1.5 trillion government package early Wednesday to fund the federal government for the 2022 fiscal year and send further military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. The bipartisan package, expected to be passed by the House Wednesday and voted on by the Senate within the week, includes the biggest increase to nondefense discretionary spending in four years and a total of $13.6 billion to boost assistance to Ukraine.

Florida’s state lawmakers on Tuesday passed the controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill, sending the legislation to the governor’s desk for approval despite outcry from LGBTQ advocates that the bill is discriminatory. The Walt Disney Company has faced backlash for funding legislators who sponsored the bill, prompting the company’s CEO to send a memo promising “unwavering support” for the company’s LGBTQ+ community.

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Shell announced it will stop buying Russian oil and gas and will shut down its services and operations within the country as corporations face continued pressure to sever ties over the invasion of Ukraine. Shell’s CEO apologized for purchasing Russian crude oil last week and pledged to donate the profits from the remaining supply to relief efforts for Ukraine. The U.S. is expected to announce a ban on imports of Russian oil, a move that will likely push energy prices higher.

Minneapolis teachers and support personnel will begin striking Tuesday after the teachers’ union and district failed to reach an agreement for a new contract, with unresolved issues including providing mental health services, reducing class sizes and increasing pay. Neighboring St. Paul Public Schools averted a strike Monday after reaching a tentative agreement.

Florida’s surgeon general recommended against “healthy” children getting coronavirus vaccines, citing rare cases of myocarditis among young men and boys post-mRNA vaccination despite lower hospitalization rates for vaccinated children. Florida is the first state to break with the Centers for Disease Control’s vaccine recommendation for children.

President Joe Biden will sign an executive order outlining the government’s strategy for cryptocurrency. The White House will also look to address the threat of ransomware and other cybercrime in the industry. Cryptocurrency could see a regulatory shift following a series of reports from federal agencies examining the legal and economic impact of digital assets.

The CDC warned Americans should avoid travel to Hong Kong, New Zealand and Thailand amid a rise in COVID-19 cases in those countries. Virus hospitalizations hit a record of 750 in New Zealand as the country saw another record of nearly 24,000 daily cases, while Mainland China logged its highest number of daily new symptomatic infections in two years despite its “zero tolerance” approach to the pandemic.

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U.S. and European allies are considering banning Russian oil and gas imports, garnering support from U.S. officials despite inflation concerns. The U.S. House is exploring legislative options to isolate Russia, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday. U.S. equity futures fell nearly 300 points as gas prices climbed over $4 a gallon, approaching a record set in 2008.

A group of truck drivers encircled Washington, D.C., via the beltway Sunday to protest COVID-19 mandates, deliberately moving slowly to impact traffic. The Capitol Police Board issued an emergency declaration warning that highways, bridges and roadways could be shuttered as the protest could last several days. An organizer said that the group plans to take up two lanes in its Monday loop as an “escalation.”

The Internal Revenue Service plans to hire 10,000 employees to address its backlog of 24 million tax returns, the majority of which linger from the 2020 tax season. Despite a projected 14% increase in the IRS workforce, the backlog will likely remain unresolved until the end of 2022.

President Joe Biden reiterated his position Friday that most Americans can safely remove masks and return to work as hospitalizations rates fell by 77% and three-quarters of American adults are now fully vaccinated. The Biden administration announced last week that federal agencies will “lead by example” with most federal employees set to return to the office in April.

Airbnb rentals have emerged as an unlikely tool to financially support Ukrainian families as the housing rental site waived fees on properties in the country. Between March 2-3, guests from around the world booked more than 61,000 nights in Ukraine, with more than half of those bookings made by Americans. Airbnb itself also offered short-term housing for free to up to 100,000 people fleeing Ukraine.

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U.S. job growth accelerated in February as unemployment reached 3.8% and payrolls grew by 678,000, defeating estimates despite the economy being challenged by inflation and geopolitical strife. The jobs report comes on the heels of the Labor Department reporting a drop in unemployment claims in February and reveals the labor market is inching closer to pre-pandemic levels.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned lawmakers that interest rate hikes are on the way, citing a strengthening labor market and rising inflation. Powell noted that it was too soon to predict how the Russian invasion of Ukraine will influence the U.S. economy although economists have said Americans are likely to see price hikes for some products. Despite Powell’s uncertainty, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester argued the invasion has increased the need for monetary-policy tightening moves.

Twitter announced it will reopen offices on March 15, although employees will still be allowed to work remotely if they choose. Twitter’s reopening is the latest in a series of tech companies’ requests for workers to return to the office. Workers at the beginning of their career have expressed concern about upward mobility in the remote work era, although some studies have found remote work can lead to “more in-depth” conversations among employees.

Producers of at-home tests reported an increase in consumer willingness to test for a wide array of conditions at home following the COVID-19 pandemic. Test manufacturers said they are developing tests for a number of medical conditions ranging from the flu to strep in an attempt to attract consumers focused on monitoring their health. The CEO of Cue Health Ayub Khattak said the shift in how consumers view at-home medical testing is one of the enduring changes brought on by the pandemic.

New York Times tech workers certified a unionization vote Thursday, creating one of the largest tech unions in the U.S. Union representatives said they plan to begin contract negotiations with a focus on pay and diversity and equity. While a spokesman for the publication said they look forward to negotiations, the vote followed complaints from the U.S. National Labor Relations Board that the Times engaged in unfair labor practices related to the unionization push.

Amid the crisis in Ukraine, Turbine Labs will provide pro bono daily media and influencer intelligence briefings for journalists reporting on the ground. We are extending that offer to our https://turbinelabs.com/future-of-work-briefing/ (Daily Executive Briefing) customers as a courtesy to keep you informed and updated on the shifting landscape. Sign up https://share.hsforms.com/1sRcM6kyHT16hloaXTpJlLQ2bl4b (here).

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