Executive Leadership Briefing

Companies announcing plans to eliminate planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions have so far not managed to meet the most basic criteria for a robust net-zero goal, a new analysis found. The study looked at pledges by 702 companies on the Forbes Global 2,000 list and noted the increase in government spending. In an effort to cut its carbon footprint, UPS is testing a battery-powered cycle to deliver packages in some of the most congested cities. More consumers are also turning to e-bikes amid rising national gas prices.

Toyota pushed back against critics who say it has been slow to embrace battery electric vehicles, arguing consumer choice dictates its pace of electrification. Toyota said hybrids are still needed in a market where infrastructure is largely not ready to support a fast move to EVs. The overall EV adoption varies between markets – China and Europe dominate the share of EV sales with adoption running much slower elsewhere. Still, forecasts project EVs to take the road faster than previously thought due in part to more aggressive goals for cutting greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector.

The number and rate of U.S. abortions increased 8% between 2017 and 2020 after a long decline, new figures show. The number follows a draft opinion that suggested the Supreme Court could be poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide. Some experts noted the numbers may be inflated due to the pandemic, which may have limited access to contraception or discouraged women from undertaking healthcare visits involved in a pregnancy.

As cryptocurrency enters the mainstream, reminders of its novelty continue to pop up – most recently, some are wondering what will happen to their digital assets in the event of an untimely death. There is currently no way to establish a way to ensure crypto is passed on to the next of kin. A Bank of America survey found that 91% of people said they expect to buy crypto in the next six months, despite how far crypto units have fallen as inflation and recession fears grip the market

New York’s top court ruled that Happy the elephant may be intelligent and deserving of compassion, but she cannot be considered a person being illegally confined to the Bronx Zoo. The closely watched case tested the boundaries of applying human rights to animals and critics warned a win could have opened the door to more legal actions on behalf of animals, including pets and farm animals. The ruling ended what appeared to be the first case of its kind in the English-speaking world to reach so high a court.

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Retailers and manufacturers of body armor are reporting increased sales due in part to customers seeking added protection following the recent mass shootings. These businesses believe their customers are looking for more protection in a world that has felt increasingly unsafe, but data also shows more mass shooters turning to body armor to make their attacks more deadly. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul received criticism for signing a bill that she says bans the sale of body armor, but a loophole in the legislation does not restrict the hard-plated body armor worn by the Buffalo gunman. Non-law enforcement professionals, including transit workers and photojournalists, are asking for carve-out laws that allow them to purchase ballistics protection for use on the job.

Lawmakers, including the Biden administration, are increasingly accusing big companies of seizing on inflation to jack up prices more than necessary. Critics of those companies say “greedflation” has persisted as more consumers lose any benchmark they had for what prices should be. Some economists debunking the claim point to economic indicators – while inflation remained high, the stock market plummeted and earnings have largely disappointed investors. Skyrocketing food prices are beginning to impact Americans’ eating and grocery habits, meanwhile food manufacturers continue to “shrinkflate” – putting fewer chips or cereal in the bags and boxes we buy.

Thousands of flights are being canceled or delayed and airline ticket prices are surging – rising 38% in May compared to a year earlier – prompting an increase in complaints from customers. With a commoditized product like an airline ticket, making fliers happy does little for retention while making them angry also does little to lose them. Despite the jump in angry customers, investors are celebrating the results that they hope will recoup two years of lost profits due to the pandemic.

The Food and Drug Administration granted clearance to new software that enables Apple Watch-based tracking of Parkinson’s disease symptoms and to a new Apple software update that will feature improved sleep monitoring and enhanced heartbeat tracking. The move underscores Apple’s commitment to expanding the health and fitness uses as well as the broader trend among tech companies hoping to establish their credentials in health care. With these developments, experts warn that data collected from wearable devices like FitBits and Apple Watches have no special legal protections under HIPAA.

One-third of Americans reported feeling left behind as everyone they know moves past the coronavirus pandemic despite a rise in cases and hospitalizations. While 31% of respondents said they believe the pandemic is over, nearly half say they have returned to their normal, pre-COVID routines. International travelers boarding flights to the U.S. will no longer need to show proof of a negative coronavirus test. The move follows the Biden administration dropping its federal mask requirement on public transportation in April.

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The Senate struck a bipartisan deal on a narrow set of gun safety measures with sufficient support to move through the chamber. The deal – which would mark the most significant action on gun laws in nearly 30 years – could lead to more spending on mental health care and increased school security. The outline falls short of the sprawling reforms President Joe Biden, gun control activists and a majority of Democrats have long championed. Rallies across the U.S. this weekend brought out large crowds demanding an overhaul of the current gun-control legislation.

Idaho police arrested 31 people over the weekend who are believed to be affiliated with the white nationalist group Patriot Front, after they were seen gathering near a Pride parade with gear that led law enforcement to suspect they had intentions to riot. The event prompted concerns surrounding other local Pride events, which have long been picketed by counter-protesters but historically haven’t been a major focus for armed extremist groups. While 2022 marks the return of many in-person Pride celebrations following the COVID-19 pandemic, it also brings a record number of anti-transgender bills and increased political focus on LGBTQ issues.

Google placed an engineer on paid leave after dismissing his claims that its artificial intelligence is sentient, surfacing another issue with the company’s most advanced technology. Google said its systems did not have consciousness – a topic widely debated among AI researchers. Google announced its software called LaMDA last year, which it hopes will improve its conversational AI assistants and make for more natural conversation.

U.S. lawmakers are taking up a measure that would toughen the oversight of international shipping companies in an attempt to rein in inflation. The bill would add new regulatory constraints to shipping operations and limit the ability of ocean carriers to levy fees that shipping customers say are driving up costs. DHL’s freight unit warned that port congestion will ease next year, but not enough to restore the global chain to its pre-pandemic state.

Sunday marked 50 years since the Watergate scandal, when a break-in to the Democratic National Committee headquarters led to an investigation that revealed information incriminating former President Richard Nixon. The aftermath changed the political landscape, leading to a fissure in Americans’ trust in government. A recent study found that public trust in the U.S. government is near historic lows, spawning from a decline that began around the time of Watergate.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell over 600 points Thursday in advance of inflation data Friday morning that revealed inflation accelerated further in May, with prices rising 8.6% from a year ago. The Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index accelerated to 1% mostly due to sky-high fuel and food prices. The average price in the U.S. for gasoline is wavering near $5 a gallon as fuel costs are rippling through almost every corner of business and are beginning to alter consumer behavior.

President Joe Biden arrived in Los Angeles to host nearly two dozen leaders from Latin America for the Summit of the Americas with the hopes to use new economic and migration announcements to show cohesion in an often divided region. Latin American leaders criticized Biden over his exclusion of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua from the summit, underscoring the challenges he faces to reassert leadership. The Biden administration hopes its announcement of the “Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity” framework will act as common ground among the divided countries.

The White House outlined the early stages of its plan to make COVID-19 vaccines available to roughly 18 million children younger than 5 this month. The vaccinations could begin as soon as June 21 with manufacturers Moderna and Pfizer offering 10 million initial doses. Pfizer recently reported that its three-dose coronavirus vaccine for children 6 months to 5 years old was 80% effective against omicron. Officials said they are continuing to struggle to come up with enough funding to be able to buy new versions of vaccines needed for later this year even as the White House announced $10 billion towards fall vaccine purchases.

Meta Platform’s Facebook is re-examining its pledge to pay for news, causing some news organizations to prepare for a potential revenue shortfall of tens of millions of dollars. The company has paid average annual fees of more than $15 million as part of a broader Facebook News deal. The decision comes after Meta flopped once again in a test of how to detect obviously violent hate speech in advertisements submitted to the platform. A Global Witness investigation concluded Facebook is extremely poor at detecting hate speech in the main language of Ethiopia, following suit of previous investigations in Myanmar.

The bipartisan House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack held its first prime-time hearing Thursday and detailed findings of the investigation including new video from closed-door depositions. Revelations included testimony from Trump White House officials who said the former president did not want the attack to stop, testimony of some of Trump’s closest allies saying they never believed the election was stolen and U.S. Capitol Police officer testimony. The committee is scheduled to reconvene on June 13 to continue laying out the findings of the 11-month investigation.

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The U.S. is expected to have another summer of extreme heat, hurricanes, droughts and wildfires. The warmer season comes with inherent natural variability that experts say compounds on larger trends related to climate change. The higher temperatures forecasted will likely put stress on the ability to produce hydroelectric power, leading to power cuts in many towns. Power demand in Texas is set to break an all-time record this week, testing the resilience of the grid after a days-long blackout during a deep freeze in 2021.

A growing number of organizations have begun to accept payments in cryptocurrencies, including PayPal, Starbucks, ATandT and Microsoft, and the crypto market is expected to grow from $1.6 billion in 2021 to $2.2 billion by 2026. As digital assets gain mainstream acceptance, lawmakers have proposed stricter regulations in the effort of helping consumers make informed decisions and creating regulatory clarity for agencies. The Federal Trade Commission revealed that crypto scams have cost people more than $1 billion since the start of 2021.

The Interior Department will phase out sales of plastic water bottles and other single-use products at national parks and on other public lands over the next decade, essentially reversing a 2017 Trump administration policy. Environmental groups hailed the Biden administration’s announcement following the push for addressing the plastic pollution crisis. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are expected to announce further initiatives at the Summit of the Americas aimed at tackling climate change and boosting clean energy.

Airlines are being forced to cancel flights heading into the summer travel season as many companies contend with staffing shortages, specifically among pilots. Southwest Airlines cut nearly 20,000 flights and Delta said it was canceling 100 daily flights from July to August. The shortage is exacerbated in airports in small cities, where some regional airlines have been forced to end service completely. Regional airlines operate more than 40% of U.S. passenger flights and feed traffic into hubs like Chicago, Atlanta and Dallas.

Economists are predicting the highest rate of employment in 15 years for high school and college students looking for summer work. Teen employment, which plummeted in the summer of 2020 as the pandemic shuttered businesses, is seeing a rebound fueled by looser restrictions and the labor crunch, which has prompted more businesses to turn to younger workers to fill jobs.

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The U.S. Dollar Index has risen roughly 13% over the past year, defying strong inflation to reach levels not seen since the early 2000s. The strong dollar is a benefit for consumers but harder on companies that rely on foreign sales. Microsoft – a global provider that gets most of its profit from abroad – cut its sales and earnings guidance, citing the U.S. dollar’s gains in foreign-exchange markets. Salesforce referenced similar concerns when it cut its annual sales outlook as did some drug companies that sell medicine and medical products in international markets.

Over 82 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines distributed across the U.S. have gone to waste since the start of the pandemic, underscoring concerns surrounding the efficacy of the vaccine rollout. CVS and Walmart were together responsible for more than 25% of the doses that went to waste and Oklahoma and Alaska each threw away more than a quarter of their doses. The overall amount of waste is in line with the World Health Organization estimates for large vaccination campaigns but public health experts remain alarmed at numbers that show less than half of fully vaccinated Americans have a booster shot.

Securitization packages of buy-now-pay-later loans from provider Affirm are falling in price after rising rates and the cost of living crisis cast a shadow over the sector. The stock slid further this week after Apple said it would enter the BNPL market, allowing iPhone users in the U.S. to make installment payments for purchases. Nearly half of Americans have used a BNPL service in the last year and 70% of those consumers admit to spending more than if they had to pay for everything upfront.

Grocery bills have swelled as food prices see an increase of almost 11% compared to last year – more than overall inflation – but the cost of meat, specifically beef and pork, has soared beyond both measures. Tyson Foods, America’s largest meat producer, attributed the company’s price hikes to higher demand as well as increased labor and fuel costs combined with the rise in price of grains fed to farmed animals. The rising costs are prompting consumers to look for alternative protein sources in chicken and plant-based meat substitutes.

Restaurant technology is rapidly redefining consumers’ concept of normal, from QR codes to ordering kiosks being some of the innovations streamlining the experience. Grab-and-go consumers are more likely to believe technology is a core positive element, even to the point of eliminating waitstaff, whereas just 29% of dine-in consumers think the same. Taco Bell opened its new digital drive-thru restaurant, which uses technology to speed up service with the goal of creating a two-minute or less drive-thru experience.

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Seven states will hold primaries on Tuesday with voters in two of America’s most famously progressive cities considering turning right. In Los Angeles and San Francisco, homelessness continues to rise, housing has become less affordable and high gas prices continue to hurt consumers, boosting the popularity of some unlikely Republican front-runners. This year’s sixth round of primary elections will feature no major Senate battles but will determine who may end up representing Americans in California, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota after redistricting scrambled political boundaries.

A pair of U.S. senators plan to introduce the most comprehensive cryptocurrency legislation to date with the hopes to establish a concrete federal regulatory structure for digital assets. The bill comes as a new report found cryptocurrency scammers stole over $1 billion from 46,000 people since the start of 2021, with median individual losses totaling $2,600. The Responsible Financial Innovation Act aims to define the vast number of digital assets available to consumers but is said to be a starting point for a dialogue on the topic in Washington.

Pfizer said it would spend an additional $120 million to expand manufacturing of its COVID-19 antiviral treatment Paxlovid, with demand ramping up as infections rise. The expansion will create 250 new jobs in Kalamazoo, Mich., at Pfizer’s largest plant. The news comes after the White House announced it is doubling the number of locations where the drug is available nationally to increase drug availability. Many COVID-19 shot manufacturers are shifting their pandemic strategy, with Johnson and Johnson terminating its vaccine supply deal with contract manufacturer Emergent BioSolutions. Additionally, the Food and Drug Administration’s independent experts will review the safety and effectiveness of Novavax’s coronavirus vaccine Tuesday.

Stock futures fell Tuesday after Target warned that its current quarter’s profits would drop as it needs to cancel orders or offer discounts to remove unwanted goods, stoking fears of a potential recession. Many big retailers benefited during the pandemic as stimulus checks rippled through shoppers’ savings accounts, but now, many stores are grappling with a shift in buying behavior. McKinsey research suggests retailers like Target, Walmart and Best Buy are using their excess store space as a competitive advantage to fulfill e-commerce orders, allowing retailers to ship from locations closer to customers.

The challenges of remote work are getting harder to ignore as a growing number of corporate executives push for an end to the work-from-home revolution. The convenience that many workers have become accustomed to and demand is being tempered by the limits of virtual collaboration, with one study of Microsoft workers concluding that business units became “less interconnected” over time. Another study found remote workers put in longer hours but were less productive overall. Most workers have returned to the office, but the demand for new office spaces in major cities like San Francisco and New York remains at just 66% of the pre-pandemic average.

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President Joe Biden is expected to announce a 24-month tariff exemption on Monday for solar panels made in four Southeast Asian nations. The decision comes in the wake of the Commerce Department’s investigation into whether Chinese solar producers are illegally circumventing solar tariffs through Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia. The Biden administration recently announced it will cut the amount it charges companies to build wind and solar projects on federal lands in half. Recent reports have indicated that it is now cheaper to switch from coal to renewable energy, compared to switching from coal to gas.

The first weekend of June brought 10 mass shootings, killing at least 12 people and injuring 38 more. In South Carolina and Texas, shots were fired at a high school graduation party while in Kentucky, funeral goers were hit outside a church. The weekend's events deepened the trauma from recent massacres in Buffalo and Uvalde, with gun advocates pushing the U.S. government to take stronger measures to curb gun violence. Roughly 70% of Americans believe enacting new gun control laws is a priority over protecting ownership rights, with 72% saying gun violence is important in determining their votes for the upcoming midterms.

Mixed economic data has continued to influence the U.S. dollar, stalling an economic rally that has rippled through businesses and financial markets. American consumers are still spending money at a rapid pace with employers adding jobs, but wage growth and growth in the U.S. housing and service sectors have slowed. Fears about America falling into a recession are dominating political conversations ahead of midterm elections, with a recent poll suggesting Americans are deeply pessimistic about the U.S. economy. Even children and teenagers have voiced concerns surrounding the cost-of-living crisis.

The latest COVID-19 wave in the U.S has shifted west, with mountain and coastal states surpassing the Northeast to have the nation’s highest rate of known cases per 100,000 people. Federal data suggests the rate of breakthrough COVID infections in April was worse in boosted Americans than unboosted, underscoring the growing complexity of measuring vaccine effectiveness. Rising cases prompted Alameda County, Calif., to reinstate a mask mandate in most indoor spaces despite many arguing against restrictive measures. Over 82.1 million federal COVID vaccine doses were discarded from December 2020 through May 2022, alarming public health experts at a time when less than half of fully vaccinated Americans have a booster shot

The Commerce Department will announce plans for a new strategy aimed at boosting international tourism by streamlining the entry process and promoting more diverse destinations. The "National Travel and Tourism Strategy" said its goal is 90 million international visitors who will spend $279 billion annually by 2027. As more Americans take to the skies, airfares at the three largest domestic carriers increased nearly 50% for the week ending May 23 compared to a year ago.

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The U.S. economy added 390,000 jobs in May, beating expectations amid fear of an economic slowdown. The report suggests employers had success filling open positions in the month, but economists warned overall job growth is expected to slow. While the labor force participation rate inches higher, small businesses are bearing the brunt of hiring difficulties – more than half of U.S. small-business owners said they had open positions they could not fill in May.

California’s first-in-the-nation reparations task force is calling for reparations for centuries of mistreatment of Black residents and urged the creation of a special office charged with providing a pathway for financial restitution. The task force interim report – which extensively chronicles centuries of racial oppression – comes as more social justice organizations press the White House to form a federal commission to study and develop reparations proposals.

Apple agreed to make work schedules at its retail stores more flexible as part of a push to improve conditions in the face of unionization efforts. Apple has made several changes in recent months to placate workers, including doubling paid sick days and upping minimum pay. While union membership remains at a multi-decade low, the majority of workers across the U.S. say they support increased unionization in their own workplaces.

Kohl’s Corp. received takeover bids from a private-equity firm and retail holding company following its announcement the store was exploring strategic options. Kohl’s also said it is planning for smaller stores as dozens of existing store leases are set to expire. The move mirrors that of other large franchises – Macy’s said at the beginning of the month it is expanding standalone stores in a way that would change how customers think of the retail chain. Analysts largely attribute department stores’ struggles to the cultural shift favoring online shopping and smaller-format stores.

Square is working with Apple to enable Tap to Pay on iPhones using technology that will give sellers more flexibility at checkout. Square said its efforts reflect its commitments to lowering the barrier to entry for new entrepreneurs, however, the company received criticism Wednesday after it suffered a two-hour outage, prompting merchants to lose out on business during peak hours. Square’s parent Block is leading the trend among fintech companies by monetizing its existing users rather than continually adding new users.

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Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg announced she will leave the social media company after 14 years, leaving behind an advertising legacy that has come to define much of the digital ad ecosystem. While Sandberg was responsible for building Facebook into a corporate giant based on personalized ads, she has also become a polarizing figure over business decisions that helped propagate misinformation and hate speech. As Facebook – now called Meta – aspires to connect users in the metaverse, some experts say that digital advertising could again be on the brink of a revolution.

U.S. lawmakers are proposing smaller, more targeted pieces of gun legislation in response to rising gun violence this year, focusing on age limits and red flag laws that have a higher chance of clearing their chambers. Four people were killed in a mass shooting at a medical building in Tulsa on Wednesday, marking the 233rd mass shooting of 2022.

More than one-third of Americans earning at least $250,000 annually said in a survey they are living paycheck to paycheck, dedicating most of their salaries to mortgages or other housing expenses that skyrocketed during the pandemic. The survey distinguishes living paycheck to paycheck from true financial hardship, defined by a struggle or inability to pay household expenses. The jobs market remained hot in April, driving up wages but also contributing to rising inflation, while unemployment claims in the last week edged lower.

Regulators are warning that outages could grow more common this summer as the nation’s power grid faces heat waves and other extreme weather. New Mexico’s attorney general is heeding regional utility warnings for “worst case scenarios,” while officials in North Dakota and Arkansas are preparing for rolling blackouts and other emergency energy conservation measures. Many of the nation's grid operators are not taking climate change into account in their planning, even as extreme weather becomes more frequent and more severe.

The U.S. Department of Education will forgive $5.8 billion of student loans for those who attended the Corinthian Colleges chain, marking the largest single discharge of student loans in U.S. history. The for-profit schools were found to have deceived students about their job placement rates and students' ability to transfer credits. The announcement comes as the Biden administration reportedly mulls a larger forgiveness plan that would cancel $10,000 in student debt per borrower.

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