Professional Documents
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way cargo traffic on the bridge, ra i birthday. At the time, only one prompted by tightening car-
t
Taylor Swift became the first and until November to fully re- Black Sea
of the two road parts of the bon-emissions requirements—
woman overall and first living build the 12-mile-long structure. CRIMEA
bridge collapsed, and alternat- has over the years generated
artist in nearly six decades to Russia’s National Antiterror- ing traffic on the second two- enthusiasm among investors
20 miles
have four albums on Billboard’s ism Committee said Kyiv used lane part resumed hours later. seeking a growth opportunity
20 km
top 10 list in a single week, two naval drones against the Khusnullin, who inspected in the wake of Tesla’s mete-
according to the magazine. B4 bridge, hitting it at around 3 the site on Monday and re- oric rise in stock value.
a.m. local time on Monday. agency Interfax Ukraine that of mass murder are necessarily ported to Putin, said the Along the way, auto execu-
World-Wide Ukrainian media, citing govern- all the details of how the at- short-lived,” said Mykhailo Pod- Please turn to page A6 tives have touted strong con-
ment sources, also reported that tack had been organized olyak, an adviser to President sumer interest in their latest
naval drones were involved. would be made public after Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. Russia says it will abandon Please turn to page A2
A Ukrainian strike disabled Artem Degtyarenko, a Ukraine’s victory. Coming in the middle of Cri- the Ukraine grain deal... A6
the only road bridge connect- spokesman for Ukraine’s SBU “Any illegal structures used mea’s tourism season, Mon- Moscow seizes Carlsberg, Tesla plans big expansion
ing Russia with the occupied intelligence service, told news to deliver Russian instruments day’s strikes inflicted yet an- Danone operations........... A6 of German factory............ B3
Crimean Peninsula, again
hitting a major symbol of
U.S. NEWS
U.S. Companies Win Global Tax Reprieve
New agreement will The Organization for Eco- taxes under the deal, but the able to exercise some leverage pany’s tax rate in every coun- centives for companies to shift
nomic Cooperation and Devel- U.S. isn’t. After negotiating over how these rules are being try and, if that isn’t 15%, investment abroad.
delay until 2026 opment, which is leading the the deal, the Biden adminis- adjusted to accommodate U.S. charge more in taxes. For ex- Monday’s second major de-
some potential tax talks, detailed the changes Mon- tration couldn’t push the considerations,” said Daniel ample, France could see that a cision affects the treatment of
day in technical guidance after changes through the Demo- Bunn, president of the Tax U.S. tech company is paying a tax credits. Under the OECD
rises under the deal negotiations among countries. cratic-controlled Congress last Foundation, a Washington 10% rate to the U.S. and re- rules, regular tax credits—
The U.S. and about 140 year. Republicans, who now group that favors lower tax quire it to pay more to France. such as the research tax
BY RICHARD RUBIN other jurisdictions agreed in lead the House, oppose the rates and a simpler system. Monday’s guidance delays that credit—are treated as tax re-
late 2021 to impose a 15% min- deal, calling it a global tax If other countries move rule until 2026 in countries ductions. So a company using
WAS H I N GT O N —U. S.- imum tax on large companies surrender. ahead and the U.S. doesn’t, where the tax rate is at least such an incentive might lower
based companies won relief in each country where they The U.S. has a 10.5% mini- the U.S. could lose $122 billion 20%. The U.S. corporate tax its rate below the 15% mini-
from two pieces of the global operate. Negotiators, including mum tax on in revenue over rate is 21%; the delay gives mum. It could thus effectively
minimum tax deal, and the Treasury Secretary Janet Yel- U.S. companies’ a decade com- Congress time to address this lose the benefit of the tax
changes will delay or reduce len, hailed the deal as a land- foreign income pared with less with other expiring tax provi- credit because it would pay
the taxes they are set to pay mark achievement in interna- that was cre- Implementation widespread im- sions in 2025. higher taxes to other coun-
to foreign countries. tional cooperation and a ated in 2017 of the global plementation, “It made sense to create a tries as a result of having a
Under the updated agree- bulwark against corporate tax and a 15% mini- according to safe harbor to give jurisdic- low U.S. tax rate.
ment negotiated by the Trea- dodging. mum tax on minimum tax the nonpartisan tions with different legislative U.S. lawmakers have ob-
sury Department, companies But implementation has large compa- Joint Commit- processes time to adapt,” said jected, arguing that the deal
will have an extra year—until been slow and messy. nies’ global
deal has been tee on Taxa- Manal Corwin, who leads the undermines Congress’ ability
2026—before foreign countries The 15% minimum tax must profits that was slow and messy. tion. OECD’s tax project. to offer tax incentives. Mon-
can start imposing new taxes be calculated consistently enacted last Part of Mon- Congressional Republicans day’s guidance doesn’t change
on any U.S. companies deemed across countries and compa- year. Neither day’s guidance oppose the global deal as a what happens to research
to pay too little tax in the U.S. nies, requiring clear defini- conforms to the addresses a giveaway of the U.S. tax base credits. But it acknowledges a
And the clean-energy tax cred- tions of income and taxes. global deal, however. So as the provision scheduled for 2025 and warn that taxes will go up need to respond to the size
its at the core of last year’s In- That has led to a series of OECD hammers out the rules, called the Undertaxed Profits on U.S. companies, with the and scale of the IRA tax cred-
flation Reduction Act will be technical rules, including the U.S. has looked for ways to Rule, or UTPR. The UTPR is a money going to foreign coun- its, which are worth hundreds
counted in a more favorable Monday’s 91-page update. make the country’s system fit way to make sure companies tries. The top Republicans on of billions of dollars and can
way than some companies had Some countries—Japan, the international framework. based in countries outside the congressional tax-writing be sold from renewable-en-
feared, offering certainty as a South Korea and members of “The U.S. hasn’t done any- deal still have to pay 15%. committees said Monday that ergy developers without tax li-
tax-credit trading market gets the European Union—are forg- thing to adopt these rules, and Under the UTPR, a foreign the UTPR remains unworkable ability to companies looking
under way. ing ahead with minimum yet it’s clear that they are still country can look at a com- and warned that it creates in- for tax breaks.
rival to Tesla’s top-selling Boosting sales of the EV company has released a series
Model Y. The Dearborn, Mich., truck has become even more of price adjustments that
car company reduced prices important as Ford aims to have effectively taken down
yet again on Mach-E in May. the cost of its vehicles be-
When introduced, the U.S. electric-vehicle sales, tween 14% and 28%, depend-
Lightning had a starting price monthly ing on the model.
tag of around $40,000. 100,000 vehicles Tesla has more wiggle
However, Ford increased room to lower prices because
the sticker price several times its operating margins are
during a period of strong de- higher than those of its rivals,
mand and to help offset 80,000 including Ford.
higher expenses related to Industrywide sales of elec-
materials and the battery in- tric vehicles in the U.S.
puts. 60,000 surged by 50% in the first half
Shares of Ford fell 5.9% to of the year, cooling from a
$14.09 on Monday, following 71% rise in the year-earlier
OFF TRACK: A freight train derailed Monday in Whitemarsh Township, Pa., spurring precau- news of the EV pickup’s price 40,000 period.
tionary evacuations. No injuries were reported, and there was no known hazard to the public. cuts. Ford’s EV sales increased
Ford Chief Executive Jim 12% in the first half of the
GEORGIA MISSOURI WYOMING Farley has expressed reti- year, but executives said the
cence about price cuts on 20,000 growth rate would have been
Court Denies Officer Arrested Woman Gored EVs, citing concern that it higher if the two plants build-
hurts resale values and the ing the Mach-E and F-150
Trump Motion Over Beating In Yellowstone brand image. Ford has been 0 Lightning weren’t temporarily
The Georgia Supreme A suburban St. Louis police A bison gored and signifi- able to raise Lightning prices June 2021 ’22 ’23 shut down for expansions.
Court denied a motion by officer charged with assault cantly injured an Arizona over the past year in part be- —Will Feuer
Donald Trump’s lawyers to and kidnapping for allegedly woman in Yellowstone Na- cause there are few EV-truck Source: Motor Intelligence contributed to this article.
essentially shut down the beating a man until his jaw tional Park.
criminal investigation into ef- broke was arrested Monday, The attack happened Mon-
forts to overturn his 2020
election defeat in the state.
St. Louis County police said.
The charges stem from a
day morning in a field near
Lake Lodge on the north side
CORRECTIONS THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
(USPS 664-880) (Eastern Edition ISSN 0099-9660)
The motion, filed last
week, argued Trump’s rights
July 4 arrest that North-
woods officer Samuel Davis
of Yellowstone Lake, park of-
ficials said.
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U.S. NEWS
variety of fonts, some available unique to Benjamin Franklin’s bered, and they were not
only to him, and intentionally money. The black pigment is a signed. With the detector
lacing the text with misspell- more vivid black than the sheet in hand, [merchants]
ings. others.” could compare it” with circu-
But scientists say Franklin Bills produced by other lating bills, he said.
took things a step further to printers included in the analy- Today, modern currency in-
stave off fraudsters. Other dis- sis used lamp-black or bone- corporates safeguards that are
tinguishing characteristics of Scientists using a variety of microscopes identified specific pigments, minerals and fibers black ink; Prussian blue, a reminiscent of the techniques
Franklin’s money—the new re- used by Benjamin Franklin that staved off counterfeit Early American paper currency. mineral-based pigment; and a Franklin pioneered.
search revealed through ad- more common type of paper The hundred-dollar bill,
vanced atomic-level imaging University of Notre Dame, led a tired, his associates carried on conservation science. strengthened with kaolinite, a which bears Franklin’s por-
methods—were more subtle. team that analyzed nearly 600 with the novel techniques lead- The researchers took sam- clay mineral. trait, is protected by a 3-D
He used a unique black ink. His paper money notes printed in ing up to the Revolutionary ples from the paper money While it is difficult to know blue security ribbon that is
paper glimmered. Blue threads America from 1709 to 1790. War, when the Continental and examined them in in- to what extent counterfeiting woven into the note. A pink
decorated the surface, and The trove belongs to the Rare Congress ordered the first na- creasingly fine detail using a occurred, it is evident that it security thread is concealed in
finer fibers were woven in. Books and Special Collections tional currency to finance the variety of microscopes, includ- was a concern. the fiber. Color-shifting nu-
Researchers detailed the in- of the Hesburgh Library at American Revolution. Their ing a high-resolution model Some bills bore the warn- merals change from copper to
novations in a paper published Notre Dame and includes legit- bills bore their names—“B. that passed beams of elec- ing “To counterfeit is Death,” green. A hologram of the Lib-
Monday in the journal Pro- imate bills produced by Frank- Franklin” or “Hall and Sellers,” trons through the samples to a reminder that making funny erty Bell and a faint water-
ceedings of the National Acad- lin and other Colonial printers for example, identifying Frank- produce images of the atomic money was a capital offense. mark tattoo the paper.
emy of Sciences. The findings as well as fakes manufactured lin, his former business part- details. And Franklin, John Adams and Even so, people still try to
describe previously unknown by counterfeiters. ner David Hall, and Hall’s sub- “We take a very, very tiny others expressed concern that get away with passing fakes.
methods Franklin developed to Franklin and his associates sequent partner, William piece of money,” Manukyan the British government was Since October, the Secret
safeguard printed money notes held lucrative government con- Sellers. said. “It is a thousand times circulating fake bills to under- Service says, counterfeiters
against counterfeiting. tracts to print the paper cur- The type of analysis tinier than a human hair. We mine the colonial economy have passed fake Benjamins
Khachatur Manukyan, re- rencies of the Pennsylvania, Manukyan’s team conducted is can image even single atoms.” and rebellion. worth more than $52 million—
search associate professor of New Jersey and Delaware colo- common in physics and chem- Researchers discovered Amid those concerns, the the largest total value of any
physics and astronomy at the nies. Later, after Franklin re- istry, he said, but is new for that the black ink used by Continental Congress recalled counterfeited U.S. bill today.
.
U.S. NEWS
Monumental Heat Wave Bakes U.S. Judge in Iowa Issues long argued that the govern-
ment should carefully weigh
the impact of export restric-
Such would be an alarming ex- the law’s immediate effective administration to consult with
ercise of judicial activism,” date had created chaos as clin- industry before imposing more
Seidlin wrote. ics scrambled to see patients restrictions.
Abortion access in Iowa has before the governor signed it. The U.S. last October im-
been in flux for weeks, thanks The state responded that posed some of the most strin-
to a series of fast-moving legal the bill was designed to protect gent curbs yet on chips and
and political developments. In the lives of unborn children chip-making equipment, re-
June, the Iowa Supreme Court and delaying enforcement quiring chip companies to seek
CAPITAL IDEA: Visitors to the World War II Memorial cooled off Monday. Temperatures deadlocked on the fate of a would lead to irreparable licenses from the Commerce
reached the 90s in Washington and much of the country is in the grip of a heat wave. 2018 law banning abortion af- harm. Department to sell some of
their most advanced products
to Chinese customers. The
WORLD NEWS
Israeli Reserves Wary of Court Plan Biden,
Netanyahu
Fighter pilots among
those considering Agree to
not serving if judicial
changes go ahead Meet Later
BY DOV LIEBER This Year
TEL AVIV— Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu BY ANDREW RESTUCCIA
is set for a second showdown AND WILLIAM MAULDIN
with a cohort of the country’s
military reservists as he WASHINGTON—President
pushes forward this week with Biden spoke with Israeli Prime
controversial legislation aimed Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
at overhauling the nation’s ju- and agreed to meet him in the
dicial system. U.S. later this year, working to
Hundreds of elite reservist ease tensions as the adminis-
air-force pilots are among tration and some Democrats
more than 1,000 reservists con- have criticized moves by Is-
sidering withholding their ser- rael’s right-wing government.
vice if the government passes The phone conversation
legislation that they consider a came ahead of a planned meet-
MATAN GOLAN/SOPA/ZUMA PRESS
WORLDWATCH
The Classic
Beauty of Pearl
and Sterling Silver
AHMED GOMAA/XINHUA/ZUMA PRESS
WORLD NEWS
IGOR TKACHENKO/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK
of a series of global shocks, in- Negotiations over a possi- joined the deal after Ukraine,
ISTANBUL—Russia said it cluding the Covid-19 pandemic ble continuation of the deal Turkey and the U.N. continued
was withdrawing from an in- and severe weather resulting took place in Istanbul on Mon- sending ships to and from
ternational agreement that al- from climate change, that day afternoon, a spokesman Odesa, ignoring the Russian
lowed Ukraine to resume pushed 122 million people into for the Ukrainian Embassy in suspension while diplomats
much of its Black Sea grain hunger between 2019 and 2022, Turkey said. raced to save the deal.
exports, raising concerns according to a report by U.N. Wheat futures rose 3.4% on U.S. Secretary of State Ant-
about a key link in the global agencies published this month. Monday, trading at $6.84 a ony Blinken said Ukraine’s
food supply chain. Ukrainian President Volod- bushel, and then fell later in partners would likely look to
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry A bulk carrier was loaded with wheat at the Black Sea port ymyr Zelensky on Monday the day. Some analysts said alternative, more expensive
Peskov told journalists on of Chornomorsk, near Odesa, Ukraine, in February. said the country was prepared Russia’s decision was seen in delivery routes.
Monday the deal had been ter- to “do everything we can” to the market as an attempt to Asked whether grain could
minated but that Russia would last year forced a halt to all 2022, permitting Ukrainian sustain the deal without Rus- boost prices. be shipped on the Black Sea in
rejoin the agreement if its de- exports from Ukraine’s main exporters to resume shipping sia’s participation by working Ukraine has exported more the absence of a deal, Blinken
mands were met, state news Black Sea ports, contributing corn, wheat, sunflower oil and with Turkey and the U.N., his than 32 million tons of food told reporters, “If Russia is
agency TASS reported. Russia to a surge in global food prices other goods from three ports spokesman said. products since shipments re- ending this initiative and
has repeatedly threatened to and raising fears that the war around the city of Odesa. The Ukrainian foreign minis- sumed last August. sending a message that grain
pull out of the agreement, de- could push millions of people Moscow’s decision to with- ter, Dmytro Kuleba, said he was The World Food Program cannot or other food products
manding that the West facili- closer to starvation. draw from the deal renews “holding urgent consultations bought more than 80% of its cannot leave Ukraine unim-
tate its food and fertilizer ex- The agreement among Rus- fears that Russia’s assault on with partners at the U.N.…on wheat this year from Ukraine peded, even if there are other
ports, which it says have been sia, Ukraine and Turkey, facili- Ukraine could again threaten next steps” following Russia’s through the Black Sea initia- options I think it would have a
hampered by sanctions. tated by the United Nations, global food security. Ukraine withdrawal from the deal. tive and has used the deal to profound chilling effect on the
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was signed in Istanbul in July is one of the world’s largest Turkish President Recep charter ships carrying grain ability to pursue them.”
WORLD NEWS
Kyiv’s Push
To Join EU
Will Be Tough
BY LAURENCE NORMAN said Fabian Zuleeg, chief execu-
tive of the European Policy
Ukraine’s bid for quick NATO Centre in Brussels. “There is no
membership faced a setback realistic plan on the table.”
last week. Its path to member- The stakes for Ukraine are
ship in the European Union huge. Failure to extend mem-
looks equally bumpy, despite bership to Ukraine—especially
encouragement from Brussels. if Kyiv remains sidelined from
BRANDI STELLERS
societal pressures and stereo- for more than 10 years in New His friend, who was post-divorce registries a divorce lawyer in London
types,” says Nicole Sodoma, a York—I was married for 12—is married for 12 years, appropriate as of yet. whose friends encouraged her
divorce lawyer who wrote the a huge success.” threw a potluck dinner “Getting together to have a party after her own
book “Please Don’t Say You’re Adamson had friends from and then the group with your friends after divorce. “It was just a huge
Sorry.” “But today people have Los Angeles fly to New York went out for a night Brandi Stellers at her divorce soiree, where finalizing a divorce pressure to be fun,” she says.
really decided to nip that soci- and they booked the hotel on the town. “It was guests threw fake rose petals in the air. and finding a way to Maja Proescholdt says her
etal shame and instead em- suite where she had stayed me and another guy feel good about clos- divorce was lengthy enough
brace being divorced as an- when she got married. and maybe 10 women and it go for drinks,” reasons Marks. ing that chapter is a beauti- that by the time the paper-
other stage of life that some The four of them burned was like being a fly on the “We just cope differently.” fully supportive thing,” she work was done, much of her
of us experience.” sage in the suite, to rid it of wall at a bachelorette party,” One can now find registry says. “I think calling it a di- grief had settled.
On Etsy and Amazon, negative vibes, filled the place he says. Marks bought his sites that help divorcées re- vorce party feels a bit tact- Her sister supplied a “Fi-
brands sell splitsville swag, in- with balloons, dined out and friend a month of Bumble Pre- stock—since only one half of less.” nally Divorced” sash and the
cluding “End of an Error” then had a sleepover. mium as a present. the couple gets the pasta Allison McWhite, a legal as- group went out dancing,
sashes, “Thank U Next” rose- Kris Marks, a mental-health Anecdotally, more women maker, the spice rack or the Le sistant, says planning her own where the club’s DJ called out,
gold foil balloons, and “I do. I facilitator in Alberta, Canada, than men hold outright di- Creuset cookware. divorce party ushered in a “Let’s have it for Maja’s di-
did. I’m done” T-shirts. On says he initially felt conflicted vorce bashes. After Olivia Dreizen Howell sense of control. “It seemed vorce party!”
Pinterest, the online platform when a friend invited him to “As a guy, we don’t call it a separated in 2019, she stayed for a long time that something “That was a top life mo-
for sharing creative ideas, celebrate a divorce. Marks was divorce party, we call it ‘Let’s in the marital residence, was happening to me, charg- ment for me,” she says.
tises it through an app. flation. She says friends are Lomio, a trade unionist with
“Some customers tell me, freezing their eggs because the Italian Union of Metal-
because of you I can eat meat they can’t afford children. workers. Hours worked have
two or three times per week,” “It feels like a perma-freeze recently been reduced by
said Pierre van Hede, who was in living standards,” she said. around 30% and wages de-
handing out groceries. Huw Pill, the Bank of Eng- creased proportionally.
Karim Bouazza, a 33-year- land’s chief economist, “Between high inflation and
old nurse who was stocking warned U.K. citizens in April rising energy costs for work-
up on half-price meat and fish that they need to accept that ers,” said Lomio, “it is difficult
for his wife and two children, An elderly woman leaves a food-distribution center at a church in Berlin. they are poorer and stop to bear all family expenses.”
.
PERSONAL JOURNAL.
© 2023 Dow Jones & Company. All Rights Reserved. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Tuesday, July 18, 2023 | A9
ON THE
CLOCK
CALLUM
BORCHERS
T
he 4 p.m. meeting is can-
celed because half the
team can’t make it. You
send an email with what
would have been the
main discussion points,
and the replies roll in through the
evening and into the next morning.
A consensus that could have been
reached before dinner now forms
the following day.
The hours that bookend the tra-
ditional close of business have be-
come a dead zone at many compa-
nies, but employees aren’t just
blowing off work to relax for the
rest of the day. Workers say the 4-6
p.m. flex time they use to take a
turn in the kids’ carpool, hit the
gym or beat traffic often requires a
third shift at night to finish the
day’s tasks. They resent it when
leaders assume they aren’t putting
in eight or more hours of work, and
they’re loath to relinquish the free-
dom to set their own schedules.
Despite the return of teeth-
grinding commutes and overpriced
lunches, lots of workers are stick-
ing with the Covid-era habit of
clocking out early and making it up
later. By 4 p.m. on weekdays, golf
courses are packed, according to a
Stanford University study, as are
many New York City restaurants.
Microsoft researchers have
documented what they call a “tri-
ple peak” phenomenon in which
Nothing Gets Done During
The New Workday ‘Dead Zone’
workers’ keyboard activity spikes
in the morning and afternoon,
then a third time around 10 p.m.
The tech giant predicts this pat-
tern is here to stay.
In a recent, one-month sample Late afternoon, when many colleagues vanish, is why so many managers dislike hybrid work
of Microsoft Teams software us-
age, the share of virtual and in-
person meetings scheduled be- Flexibility can be a trap that she considers how shifting her It Can Wait tutorials are now a centerpiece of
tween 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. was down fuels our always-on work culture, hours can affect others. She some- —Or Maybe It Can’t the firm’s professional-develop-
7% from a year earlier, despite Fong adds. Instead of powering times works at night or on week- Accommodating employees’ per- ment program. Getting employees
widespread office returns. through a late-afternoon gathering ends to make up for bolting to day- sonal appointments—happy-hour together for an end-of-the-day
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY BLAKE CALE FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, ISTOCK (2); ALBERT FONG; MERCEDES AYCINENA
Bosses can drag employees and being done for the day, he of- care many weekdays at 5:30 p.m. yoga, a teen’s tuba lesson—can be training session is seldom an op-
back to their desks, but good luck ten finds himself refreshing his At the start of any new project, she necessary to recruit and retain top tion any more, he says. They hone
keeping them there until the end mobile inbox all evening or open- does a norm-setting session to let talent, several business leaders tell new skills when they feel like it.
of a 9-to-5 workday or beyond. ing his laptop on Sunday to catch her team know there’s no pressure me. They add it sure makes get- Stephan, a father of five, holds
The 4-6 p.m. dead zone is one rea- up on messages from colleagues for them to work off hours. ting a quorum at meetings tough, himself to a hard stop at 5 p.m. He
son so many executives are cranky who work whenever. “People know that if I get back though. Others, especially child- initially worried that others would
about hybrid work. They say it’s Colette Stallbaumer, general to them at 11 at night, that doesn’t free workers, complain that their keep hustling after he called it a
the hardest time to reach people, manager of Microsoft’s Future of mean I’m expecting them to reply workdays have become longer and day, but he now realizes others are
and things would be easier if ev- Work initiative, sums it up: “How right away,” she says. less predictable since it became winding down early or right on
erybody were present and ac- do we make it so that my flexibil- widely acceptable to take time. For emergencies, he tells his
counted for in person, even ity isn’t your challenge?” breaks during normal busi- team to put #criticalnow in an
though many workers seem to be Ana Paula Calvo, an associate ness hours. email subject line. Most things can
leaving offices earlier, too. partner at McKinsey & Co., says Maria Banach, a pharma- wait until after his 5:15 a.m. work-
ceutical operations director in out the next morning, he figures.
The Price Oregon, says she sometimes At Komet U.S.A., a South Caro-
of Flexibility wants to call a huddle to han- lina-based maker of dental equip-
For managers and co- dle a problem, only to learn ment, meetings after 4 p.m. or on
workers, one person’s hi- that someone on the team has Friday afternoon are against com-
atus can be another’s gone offline for a couple of pany policy, except in special cir-
headache. hours. That might not seem cumstances. Chief Executive Mer-
“A lot of companies very long, but her co-workers cedes Aycinena introduced those
have taken a loose ap- are spread across several time calendar blocks last fall.
proach under the belief zones and their overlapping Aycinena, who has about 100
that we’re all adults, so business hours are limited. Is- employees, usually leaves the of-
everyone will be self-dis- sues can linger overnight fice at 5 p.m. to spend time with
ciplined and stay moti- when one or two people step her three children and then re-
vated at whatever time away early, Banach says, and sumes work later as needed. She
they’re working,” says Al- every day is precious. lets subordinates shift their hours,
bert Fong, vice president Albert Fong, above, says flexibility Some executives have accepted, too, and credits flexibility with
of product marketing at can be a trap that fuels our even embraced, the reality that lit- helping reduce turnover from 50%
Kanarys, a maker of di- always-on work culture. CEO tle gets done from 4-6 p.m. An- to 15% over the past year.
versity-training software. Mercedes Aycinena, left, usually thony Stephan, chief learning offi- “I hate meetings after 4,” she
“That’s just not true.” leaves the office at 5 p.m. cer of Deloitte U.S., says recorded says. “My brain is done.”
T
when Southwest Airlines melted That is because even
ravelers tired of delays, lost down late last year. a 50% jump in bus fares
luggage and long lines at the takes a $25 ticket to
airport are turning to another Another option $37.50, Pantuso says.
mode they may never have consid- Lauren Steltzer, a user-experience Recent data suggests
ered before this summer: a bus. designer from Philadelphia, planned that flying has gotten
More U.S. travelers are taking to fly home from a trip to Charlotte, cheaper. The consumer-
intercity bus trips of all kinds, from N.C., at the end of June. price index reports the
no-frills to deluxe options, data But her Frontier flight rolled back cost of airfare fell 18.9%
from national and regional bus to the gate after departing for the year over year in June.
companies show. Riding the bus is tarmac, disembarked and was even- Overall, bus travel has
often much cheaper than taking a tually canceled. grown more expensive—
flight, and allows people to evade A spokeswoman for Frontier by 1.8%—over the same
airport hassles. But trips can take says the flight was canceled due to time frame, according to
far longer than advertised and dis- bad weather. bus travel from the outset to avoid potential for lost luggage. the bus- and train-booking site
ruptions can hit buses as surely as Steltzer’s itinerary, booked with high fares and airport hassles, says Rachel Barcellona, a 26-year-old Wanderu, but there are exceptions.
they hit planes. an all-you-can-fly Ramin Shabanpour, a civil engineer- actress from New York, took high- The price for one common trip,
Flix North Amer- pass, was rebooked ing professor who studies travel end bus service The Jet to Wash- from New York to Boston, is down
ica, owner of Grey- for three days later. behavior at the University of North ington, D.C., for the first time in by 22% from last summer, averag-
hound and FlixBus, Bus ridership But she couldn’t wait Florida. June. After one trip, she says she’d ing less than $40.
says ridership jumped jumped 63% and wasn’t willing to Brandon Alexander made his first choose it over air travel. Her bus The cheap option doesn’t guaran-
63% year-over-year pay for an earlier Vonlane trip in late May. The 25- trip felt like a first-class flight, she tee smooth travel for passengers.
for the Fourth of July year-over-year flight, so she took a year-old brand strategist from At- says, but for $99. Peyton Grewell, 29, booked a 14-
weekend, and 70% Greyhound. lanta went to Nashville, Tenn., and hour Greyhound trip from Indianap-
over Memorial Day
for the Fourth of “I thought I would back. He enjoyed it enough to try it Turning a corner olis to Marietta, Ga., in late June for
weekend. Greyhound July weekend. sleep the whole again twice more. He paid $139 for The bus industry could use good about $80 a ticket. Grewell’s bus,
is the largest inter- night, but every three a one-way trip lasting four hours. news. Since 2020, between 30% after a planned stop in Nashville for
BEA OYSTER/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
city bus carrier in the hours or so we had He felt almost like he paid too and 40% of small motor coach com- a transfer, was canceled and the
U.S. By comparison, to file off,” Steltzer little for the service he was treated panies in the U.S. have vanished company could only rebook him on
air travel rose 11% for July Fourth says of the bus. The trip lasted to on board. That included extra due to fewer travelers in the pan- a bus that was scheduled to arrive
weekend and the same over Memo- more than 12 hours, and included a neck pillows, blankets, eye masks demic’s early days, according to Pe- 13 hours later. He had little money
rial Day, Transportation Security two-hour wait at a transfer point. and snacks every 20 minutes. ter Pantuso, president of the Ameri- on him and no place to sleep, so he
Administration data shows. But the ticket cost $140—less Plus, he says, door-to-door tran- can Bus Association. ordered a $250 Uber instead. Grey-
Air-travel misery sends people to than a last-minute flight. She says sit time for the 250-mile trip was Benjamin Blunt, CEO of Concord hound declined to comment.
buses, bus executives say. Alex she would make the same trip again. equivalent to hopping on an air- Coach Lines in New Hampshire, “I had like 50 pounds’ worth of
Danza, chief executive of luxury-mo- Traveling by bus isn’t only a Plan plane. The difference: no security says his company raised fares be- luggage in the middle of cornfields,”
torcoach service Vonlane in Dallas, B. More road warriors are choosing checks, waits at the gate and lower tween 10% and 15% in the past year, he says. He plans to fly next time.
.
PERSONAL JOURNAL.
PERSONAL
TECHNOLOGY
NICOLE
What Meta’s Threads Thing that’s happening. For live
sports, buzzy TV shows and cur-
rent events, search is essential.
Right now, you can only look for
NGUYEN
Needs to Beat Twitter accounts.
Bookmarks: Some posts offer
M
helpful advice. Others link to long
eta Platforms’ articles. I just want to bookmark
Twitter rival— Missing elements include a desktop app and separation from Instagram funny memes. A save-for-later
Threads—is an function, like those on Twitter and
overnight success. Instagram, would be great for
To get its 100 parking your favorites.
million-plus users Trending subjects: Twitter high-
coming back, the Instagram- lights trending topics, a controver-
linked, text-focused app needs to sial feature because such key-
replicate what made Twitter great: words have been abused by
the quirky communities and rapid- malicious users to coordinate ha-
fire, real-time updates you can’t rassment and sow disinformation.
find anywhere else. Popular conversation topics can be
For the latest Wimbledon valuable when moderated, though.
match and the “Succession” finale, When my area was hit with wild-
I remained glued to the takes on fires, I leaned heavily on Twitter’s
Twitter. In California, it was the trending-topics page for updates.
first place I checked after an
earthquake. Fan-run subcultures, For posters
such as those dedicated to Taylor Then there are those who actually
Swift or BTS, also thrive there. put stuff out there. They’re influ-
Twitter’s declining usage and encers, writers, academics, celeb-
limits on the number of posts us- rities, brands and more—power
ers can read give an opening to al- users who need power features.
ternatives like Bluesky and Mast- Instagram-Threads separation:
odon, but none are as popular as Threads is “an Instagram app,” as
Threads. stated in Apple’s App Store. The
So far, though, using Threads is two are closely linked. You can’t
like showing up at a hip party and join Threads without an Instagram
discovering there are no snacks or account. You can’t change your
music. The app will need a lot name or username on one without
more to beat Twitter. changing the other. The forced in-
tegration doesn’t work for those
A cautionary tale who have siloed Instagram for
Users are fickle, though, flocking friends and family, and Twitter for
to new social platforms then aban- professional posts. It can feel like
doning them months later once showing up to a Wednesday meet-
the novelty wears off. (Remember ing in a going-out top.
BeReal?) You also can’t delete Threads
Everyone in my network—my- without deleting your Instagram
self included—is jumping on the account. (Mosseri said the com-
‘A distant memory’
BY JOE PINSKER her $300 monthly payments Rarely do consumers get a
T
this fall. yearslong reprieve from a re-
ens of millions of fed- She has already started to curring bill. Andrew Read, a
eral student-loan bor- scale back on buying coffee, 39-year-old software engi-
rowers will soon owe but even giving it up wouldn’t neer in Oviedo, Fla., said he
monthly payments for the make enough of a difference. has lost touch with what it
first time in more than three “I wish I could look at my fi- was like to part with the
years. Some of them aren’t nances and say, ‘You are money for his student-loan
ready for it. spending like an idiot and you payments each month.
The payment and interest can cut back in all these “It’s like a whole new bill
pause put extra cash into places, and then you’ll be able popping up,” Read said of
people’s pockets, but they to pay your student loans,’” the $171 he estimates he
tended to spend it rather she said. “But I’m not.” will start paying in the fall.
than save it, according to re- Apparel, entertainment “It’s one thing skipping a
cent research. Some borrow- and travel are the top payment for a few months,
ers are now con- but it’s another
cerned about being thing three years
able to cover their later. It’s like a dis-
student-loan bills tant memory.”
this fall. Many of Read said he is
those who feel fi- financially ready for
nancially ready the payments to
have started dial- resume, but not all
ing back their borrowers will be.
spending on coffee, One in five is at
clothing and other higher risk, relative
everyday pur- to other borrow-
chases. ers, of struggling
The typical to make their
monthly loan pay- monthly payments
ment will be be- after the restart,
tween $210 and according to a re-
$314, Wells Fargo port from the Con-
estimated using sumer Financial
data collected in Protection Bureau.
2019. This amount Some borrow-
is equivalent to a ers took the pay-
pay cut of about 4% to 5% off Stacey Banks, 29, has ment pause as an opportu-
U.S. median household in- already started adjusting nity to save the extra money
come before taxes, according her spending. or use it to pay down other
to the Wells Fargo analysis. debts.
Some 37 million borrowers spending categories where But the more common re-
saved about $195 billion from student-loan borrowers are sponse was to spend it, ac-
the pause on payments as of more likely than the typical cording to a working paper
April 2022, the Federal Re- American consumer to say from researchers at the Uni-
serve Bank of New York esti- they have postponed pur- versity of Chicago.
mated. The return of loan chases lately, according to a
payments will take more of a March survey from UBS In- Financial dilemma
bite out of many borrowers’ vestment Bank. Kate Vaccaro expects to pay
budgets than a single year of Stacey Banks has already about $200 a month on her
dramatic rises in inflation did. started adjusting her spend- federal loans this fall. That
From December 2021 to De- ing in advance of resuming will revive a question she
cember 2022, the income of a her loan payments, which used to struggle with before
typical U.S. household de- will be $552 a month. At the the payment pause, about
creased on average by 1% grocery store, she is now whether to put in more than
when adjusting for inflation, opting for store-brand eggs her required payment each
according to estimates from and shying away from cereal month to get rid of her debt
the economists Thomas that rose in price to $7.99. more quickly.
Blanchet, Emmanuel Saez “No more Talenti for me,” “Anything you’re about to
and Gabriel Zucman. Banks, a 29-year-old who spend, it’s like a guilt of,
works at a financial-services ‘Should I be spending this
Spending agita company, said of a high-end somewhere else?’” said Vac-
Erica Baker, a 26-year-old gelato brand that she re- caro, a 28-year-old human-
STACEY BANKS
ARTS IN REVIEW
B
lur has had long MUSIC REVIEW | MARK RICHARDSON Darren” are whimsical and weary
“The Magic Whip,” hit No. 24, of risk is in short supply, Blur sentiment—one the following the power of a well-
which happens to be the same compensates with ace songwriting track, “St. Charles Square,” up- crafted song above all.
rank as the lowest charting of the and impressive economy. The ends completely. It is the album’s While it’s hard not to miss
eight studio LPs by Gorillaz, the opening “The Ballad” has a lovely only out-and-out rocker—a fairly the dazzling cockiness of
project Mr. Albarn oversees along- piano line and a tempo that suits mellow one by the band’s stan- Blur at its turn-of-the-mil-
side visual artist Jamie Hewlett. its title, and the song itself is in dards—and it has an appealing lennium peak, the band’s
And several of the latter outfit’s part about growing older and ad- punch, with a nicely jagged guitar commitment to craft this
records have hit the Top 5. The justing one’s expectations. Mr. Al- refrain by Mr. Coxon. “Every gen- far into its existence is its
ninth Blur album, “The Ballad of barn sings of what happens when eration has its gilded poseurs,” a jealous hater. Now, it comes own marker of confidence.
Darren” (Parlophone/Warner), out “the ballad comes for you,” using Mr. Albarn sings, in a line that across as funny and knowing, from
Friday, arrives just five months af- the quieter and more reflective would have hit very differently if an artist long past needing to care Mr. Richardson is the Journal’s
ter the most recent Gorillaz LP, form as a metaphor for death, but he’d delivered it in 1995. Then, it what anyone else thinks. rock and pop music critic. Follow
“Cracker Island,” offering an in- doing so with a wink. might have been a sarcastic jab at Many lyrics on “The Ballad of him on Twitter @MarkRichardson.
SPORTS
JASON GAY Defending Tour champion Jonas
Vingegaard, left, holds a 10-second
This Tour de France Is a Great One lead over Tadej Pogacar, right.
Argentines in Miami
Cheer Messi’s Arrival
BY ROSHAN FERNANDEZ Bureau. And they are stoked about
his first season with Inter Miami,
LIONEL MESSI wasn’t always re- where he was unveiled on Sunday
vered as a hero in Miami. and will debut on July 21, donning
In 2016, Argentina had just lost the No. 10 jersey last worn by his
its second consecutive Copa Amer- former Argentine teammate Gon-
ica final to Chile, a game in which zalo Higuaín.
CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK
July21
Argentine legend Di- to follow, explains Local Argentines could hardly Messi to feel like he’s at a steak- an unprecedented move. The goal,
ego Maradona was Eduardo Elena, a Uni- process the good news when it house in Argentina. Graziano’s res- the Argentine soccer federation’s
raised. Honoring versity of Miami pro- emerged in early June that Messi taurants import their wood for chief commercial and marketing of-
Messi was important, fessor specializing in had signed with Inter Miami. grilling—quebracho—and their ficer Leandro Petersen told The
too. Lionel Messi is set to Argentine history. In “It was something unbelievable, meats from Argentina. They have a Athletic, is to identify talented
Now, customers 2001, Argentina faced and to be honest with you, I did not distinct flavoring that can’t be rep- players with Argentine roots who
no longer laugh at
make his debut for an increased debt believe that news was true,” Anibal licated without importing, he says. now live in the U.S.
Messi like they used Inter Miami in a burden, increased Costanso, the founder of Buenos Ai- Graziano, Pasquariello and Alva- “We’ll continue to track those
to, Alvarez says. With Leagues Cup match. levels of unemploy- res Bakery and Pasqueriello’s fa- rez would all want Messi to try players who leave Argentina at a
the superstar’s an- ment and poverty. ther, said in an interview translated their Milanesa, a popular, homey young age,” he said. “If not, they’ll
nouncement that he For some who had from Spanish. dish in Argentina which is breaded end up representing another coun-
signed with Major the resources to To welcome him, Pasquariello meat. Milanesa a la napolitana is try.”
League Soccer’s Inter Miami, their leave, the result was emigration to ordered custom-made pink T-shirts said to be Messi’s favorite food. The night Messi won the World
sentiment is the complete opposite. places like Miami. with Buenos Aires Bakery’s logo on “The satisfaction for me would Cup in December, many Argentines
After Messi won the 2022 World “They were immigrating from the front and Messi’s name on the be amazing if he chose to walk into in Miami rushed to Collins Avenue,
Cup, they’re “super proud and Argentina like crazy,” says Gabriela back. They have pictures of Messi our store,” Costanso said. “We once the heart of Little Buenos Ai-
happy that he’s going to be here Costanso Pasqueriello of Buenos Ai- with trophies from the World Cup would be very honored.” res. They cried, hugged, sang and
with us in Miami.” res Bakery in Miami. “I was like ‘I and the Copa America (which Ar- Today, Miami’s Argentine popu- danced. They banged drums,
“We love him,” Alvarez, co- feel like I’m in Argentina, don’t gentina finally won in 2021). lation is more spread out than it climbed onto light posts and roofs,
founder of Fiorito, says now. “He you?’ There’s just so many Argen- There’s also a photo showing the used to be. The neighborhood paraded around with flags, and
really represents who we are, and tines here.” bakery’s founder, Costanso—who dubbed “Little Buenos Aires” in called relatives in their home coun-
we feel like we gotta support him, Now, for entirely different rea- has been to eight or nine World North Beach, which boomed around try who were celebrating too.
no matter what.” sons, Messi—who has vacationed in Cups—meeting a young Messi be- 2001, only houses a handful of Ar- Collins Avenue, a major through-
Today, Miami’s Argentine com- the city before—moved to Miami as fore a game in Venezuela. gentine businesses now. way, had to be shut down. “Crazy,”
munity feels that same excitement. well. And he’s finding some of the Buenos Aires Bakery has no The community is still strong, Alvarez said. “The closest thing to
Greater Miami is home to one of same qualities that have long doubt that Messi will visit their though. Some returned to Argen- what we feel back home.”
the largest populations of Argen- drawn people from Argentina to the store at some point. Last year, they tina when the economy improved, Now, the man who made that
tines in the U.S.: over 52,000 live in city. In Miami, you can get by catered facturas—traditional Ar- but many have stayed. celebration happen is coming to
the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pom- speaking Spanish if you prefer. Ar- gentine pastries—for the country’s “Who doesn’t want to come join them. “For us in Miami, it’s
pano Beach metro area, according gentines say the lifestyle is familiar national team. Costanso says he has from Argentina to Miami? Every- great,” Graziano said. “We’re ex-
to 2021 data from the U.S. Census to their home country. And its loca- one waiting for Messi, too. body does,” Pasquariello said. “I pecting him.”
.
OPINION
‘No Labels’ Equals Trump? BOOKSHELF | By Kyle Harper
It’s probably
not a good
sign when a
succeeds in getting more
votes than other Democrats.
It isn’t Mr. Biden’s fault that
cratic voters in April found
that fewer than half (47%)
want Mr. Biden to run again
Labels leaders also talked up
their new policy booklet,
“Common Sense.” Named af-
The Warrior
political party
tells voters
that it will
stand down if
the only ones willing to take
him on are gadflies such as
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and
Marianne Williamson. If
in 2024. But 81% of these
same Democrats say they will
vote for him if he becomes
their party’s nominee.
ter the fiery Thomas Paine
pamphlet that helped ignite
the Revolutionary War, “Com-
mon Sense” is about what you
King
MAIN
it looks likely heavyweight Democratic gov- Insurance policies are a would expect from those sell-
STREET
to make a dif- ernors such as Gavin Newsom hard sell here. Nonetheless, ing an insurance policy.
Theoderic the Great
By William
ference in the and Gretchen Whitmer don’t No Labels tried on Monday In other words, there’s By Hans-Ulrich Wiemer
McGurn
outcome of an get in, that’s on them. with its town hall featuring something for everyone. Ex- (Yale, 635 pages, $45)
I
election. But In presidential races, third not only former politicians cept the passion of Paine’s
that’s what No Labels found- parties typically represent like Mr. Lieberman but also original. Oh, for one sentence f there was a Roman version of “1066 and All That,”
ing chairman Joe Lieberman some overriding principle, like this: “But where says the satirical romp through English history, the year 476
did this weekend on ABC’s such as libertarianism or some is the King of America? would surely be one of those suspiciously bold lines in our
“This Week.” Mr. Lieberman, green ideology, that support- A third party calling I’ll tell you Friend, he reigns collective historical imagination. It was then that Romulus
the Democratic former sena- ers believe is insufficiently above, and doth not make Augustulus, the last Roman emperor, was deposed in the west.
tor and vice presidential can- represented. In 1992 H. Ross itself an ‘insurance havoc of mankind like the On one side of his 10-month reign lay Antiquity. On the other,
didate, spoke on the eve of a Perot ran on a populist plat- policy’ won’t exactly Royal Brute of Britain.” the Middle Ages.
town hall meeting at St. form of economic nationalism By contrast, the new “Com- Where does that leave Theoderic the Great, the Ostrogothic
Anselm’s College in New and received almost 19% of stir voter passions. mon Sense” hails “the pas- king who reigned in Italy from 493 until his death in 526?
Hampshire—a popular venue the total vote. But when a sage of historic bipartisan Under the rule of this Gothic-speaking warrior, the Colosseum
in an early primary state. third party’s defining issue is legislation like the 2021 Infra- still rang with the roar of spectators, crisp mountain water still
“We’re not in this to be that is it too good for the incumbent West Virginia Sen. structure Investment and streamed through the aqueducts, and giants of Latin literature,
spoilers,” Mr. Lieberman matchup produced by the Joe Manchin—a Democrat at Jobs Act” as an example of like Cassiodorus and Boethius, still served in the senate.
said. “If the polling next year other two parties’ voters—in odds with the leftward lurch what can be accomplished. Hans-Ulrich Wiemer’s
shows, after the two parties this case, Trump vs. Biden— of his party. Mr. Manchin is Still, with all its outward “Theoderic the Great: King of
have chosen their nominees, it can look like virtue signal- often thought the ideal candi- obstacles and inward contra- Goths, Ruler of Romans” is a
that in fact we will help ing. date for the top of a No La- dictions, the No Labels move- monumental exploration of
elect one or another candi- No Labels points to polls bels presidential ticket. ment has achieved one signif- the life and times of this re-
date, we’re not going to get showing Americans also pre- But Mr. Manchin also em- icant victory. Ironically, it’s a markable leader. It is the most
involved.” fer a different choice. The bodies the No Labels di- highly partisan one. The new important treatment of its
It’s an odd statement of problem is that what many of lemma. Although he has been party is loathed by all the subject since Wilhelm Ensslin’s
purpose. Then again, this is a these people really don’t like a thorn in the side of his Never Trumpers—from Lin- 1947 biography, and since Mr.
party that believes that the is the other party’s candidate. party, among his own West coln Project co-founder Rick Wiemer’s book (here in John
way to inspire voters is to call For example, a Republican Virginia voters he is known as Wilson to former Obama Noël Dillon’s fluid English
itself an “insurance policy.” primary voter may prefer Ron the man who caved when he strategist David Axelrod. They translation) surpasses its
The No Labels argument is DeSantis or Nikki Haley over was most needed. His vote see a third-party challenge predecessor in breadth and
that America deserves a bet- Mr. Trump. But what that last year saved President Bi- taking more votes away from sophistication, the author can
ter choice than Donald Trump voter may really object to is den’s $700 billion Inflation Mr. Biden than Mr. Trump. claim the laurel of having
or Joe Biden. the possibility that putting Reduction Act and hurt him They’re probably right. written the best profile of
But what does that mean? Mr. Trump on the ticket may with his state’s voters. Mr. But it’s a free country. If Theoderic we have.
Mr. Trump is polling at 53.8% help re-elect President Biden Manchin, whose current term No Labels wants to put for- The story of Theoderic is epic and improbable. He was
in the Real Clear Politics aver- to a second term. Such a ends in 2024, is also trailing ward a candidate despite the born in 453 or 454 in the ever-contested Danubian border-
age. If he secures the GOP voter is almost certain to pull in the polls against his likely odds, it is free to do so. The lands, probably in what is now the east of Austria, to an elite
nomination, it will be because the lever for Mr. Trump in a Republican opponent for re- real lesson here is that par- Gothic warrior and a mother of obscure background. The
Republican voters chose him. general election. election, former West Virginia ties don’t get to choose the Gothic tribe to which Theoderic belonged had just emerged,
Ditto for Mr. Biden. He’ll The same is true of Demo- Gov. Jim Justice. other party’s candidate. following the recent death of Attila, from a long spell of
be his party’s nominee if he crats. An AP poll of Demo- In New Hampshire the No Write to mcgurn@wsj.com domination by the Huns. In 461, the boy Theoderic was
shipped to Constantinople as insurance for a treaty. He spent
almost a decade, his formative youth, in the great metropolitan
Gender Ideology Isn’t Kids’ Stuff capital, along with stability in the post-Roman west. By means
of strategic treaties and an astonishing network of marriage
alliances among the Vandals, Visigoths, Franks, Burgundians
By Erica Komisar what their children are being stressful in an environment puberty blockers include and others, Theoderic emerged as the most powerful ruler
A
taught, or told they have no that idealizes being “queer.” mood disorders, brain swell- west of Constantinople. Thanks to opportunistic expansion, he
campaign is under way right to opt out if they are in- Preadolescent children are ing, seizures and cognitive came to control wide swathes of the Balkans, much of southern
to introduce schoolchil- formed. Parents around the only beginning to discover impairment. Gaul and (nominally) the Iberian Peninsula. In the early sixth
dren to the latest ideas country have filed lawsuits al- who they are. All children The Florida Legislature century, it would not have been obvious that the Frankish
about sexual orientation and leging that school officials (adults too) have both mascu- last year passed the Parental kingdom would prove more enduring and consequential.
“gender identity.” Pupils in withheld vital information line and feminine parts of Rights in Education Act, If there is a weakness in this book, it is in trying to explain
New Jersey are expected to about their own children from their personalities, which which requires that class- the mystery of how Theoderic’s achievement unraveled so
understand the differences them. they should be free to explore room discussion of sexual quickly and completely. Mr. Wiemer offers a good account of
between these concepts by Children develop at their in play. If a girl doesn’t like matters be “age-appropriate” the tumultuous final years, including the eternal stain of
fifth grade. An official of the own pace. Many aren’t psy- wearing dresses and a boy en- and prohibits it altogether Boethius’s execution under Theoderic’s orders. But there is too
National Education Associa- chologically or emotionally joys playing with dolls, it’s before fourth grade. It’s a little on the aftermath of Theoderic’s reign. A succession crisis,
tion, the largest U.S. teachers ready to discuss or think cruel and destructive to lead good first step. Society needs then reconquest by Justinian, followed by the devastating
union, recommends asking them to believe they’re actu- to respect the role of parents arrival of the bubonic plague (which Mr. Wiemer under-
preschoolers their “preferred ally members of the opposite and empower them to make estimates), brought the Ostrogothic experiment to an inglo-
pronouns.” The NEA’s Les- Psychologically and sex. decisions that are best for rious end. The material traces of Gothic presence are famously
bian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgen- emotionally, most The harm to children is their families. For too long few in the archaeological record of Italy. The thorough demise
der, Queer+ Caucus has a physical as well as psycholog- we have put the needs of and relative invisibility of the Goths contrasts with the
reading list for elementary- aren’t ready for it. ical. Medical societies and adults over children when it Lombards, who arrived a generation later. They wrested much
school children that includes some schools promote off-la- comes to child care, educa- of the Italian peninsula by force from the Romans and ruled for
titles such as “My Princess bel puberty blockers and life- tion and safety—and now sex- two centuries—without a leader half as grand as Theoderic.
Boy” and “Jacob’s New about their “identity.” I have altering surgeries for children ual ideology. By some shadowy process, Theoderic’s memory was pre-
Dress.” seen many young adolescents and adolescents diagnosed served, or distorted, in the legends of Dietrich of Bern. Later
It’s important that children overwhelmed by the need to with “gender dysphoria.” Se- Ms. Komisar is a psychoan- still, his legacy acted as a cipher for modern ideas about
learn to accept differences; know “who and what I am” in attle schools teach fourth- alyst and author of “Being German identity. But in Mr. Wiemer’s sober biography, we are
but indoctrinating them or a heated and socially pres- graders that “some people de- There: Why Prioritizing Moth- afforded the chance to see a man and a moment that do not
promoting an agenda is an- sured environment. I have cide, with the help of their erhood in the First Three easily conform to simple conceptions of Antiquity or the
other matter. Parents, many even had teen patients tell me doctor, to take medicine or Years Matters” and “Chicken Middle Ages.
of whom find such ideas ob- that “identifying as heteronor- hormones to change puberty Little The Sky Isn’t Falling:
jectionable or exotic, are of- mative”—yes, they’ve been on purpose to better match Raising Resilient Adolescents Mr. Harper is a professor at the University of Oklahoma and
ten kept in the dark about trained to talk that way—is their gender.” Side effects of in the New Age of Anxiety.” a member of the Fractal Faculty at the Santa Fe Institute.
.
OPINION
REVIEW & OUTLOOK LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Kerry Tilts at Chinese Coal Plants Out From the Morass of Racial Preferences
C
hina said Monday that its economy gigawatts, or about 68% of the world’s total coal It is unwise to hire an unqualified quire hard data and proof that we
nearly stalled to a 0.8% growth rate in capacity under development. person for a job (“Racial Preferences had tried a variety of interventions
Bred 50 Years of ‘Mismatch’” by over the course of several months.
the second quarter, but never fear, John As of April China also had 180 new coal
Heather Mac Donald, op-ed, July 11). Months, in the life of a high-school
Kerry is here. The U.S. climate mines or mine expansions Admitting someone to Harvard based student, are in short supply; any de-
envoy is in Beijing this week to The U.S. climate envoy proposed, permitted or under on race, not preparedness, is equally lay in providing services would cer-
tell Chinese officials that they pleads with Beijing to construction, the nonprofit foolish. It sets the student up for fail- tainly have a negative effect on a stu-
need to follow America in put- reported. These would pro- ure (when he or she might do well at dent’s academic success.
ting their economy further at hurt its economy. duce some 657 million metric other universities) and harms the To me, it was tantamount to telling
risk by moving away from fos- tonnes per year upon comple- qualified students who are excluded a nearsighted child that too many
sil fuels at a rapid pace. tion and could release as because of race by denying them the children of her racial background
Mr. Kerry said last week that he’ll discuss much as eight million tonnes of methane emis- opportunity to excel. Racial discrimi- were already wearing glasses, so she
cuts to methane emissions and coal, among sions a year. nation is a lose-lose proposition. couldn’t have a pair.
other items. Somehow we doubt his Chinese Some of China’s coal plants serve as back-up BILL DUNKELBERG ANDREA CEONZO
Cape Coral, Fla. Highland, N.Y.
counterparts will take Mr. Kerry’s advice, capacity for renewable energy. But the energy
though they might do their diplomatic best to think tank Ember noted in May that coal still John Aaron was educated at One outcome of the decision to
humor him. That’s how they’ve strung the accounted for 61% of China’s electricity genera- Southwestern Oklahoma State Univer- ban racial preferences in college ad-
world along on climate for years. tion last year. That’s down from 78% in 2000— sity, which is less selective than Har- missions will be a much-needed re-
China signed the 2015 Paris climate accord, but China’s “total power sector emissions were vard but offers a perfectly respect- duction in stress for many high-
but that deal gave Beijing a pass to increase its five times higher than in 2000 . . . due to rising able education. Mr. Aaron, the SOSU school students. As a parent of two
emissions until 2030. And that’s exactly what coal generation to meet soaring power de- graduate, was instrumental in saving children with different ethnic back-
it’s doing. According to the Climate Action mand,” Ember reported. both the Apollo 12 and 13 missions. grounds, I was struck by how they
Tracker, which monitors national progress un- All of this suggests the Communist Party Fortunately, NASA, unlike many felt about revealing this information.
der the Paris agreement, “China’s emissions un- won’t make climate concessions at the expense major corporations, didn’t succumb My child of Indian ethnicity was
to snobbish sensibilities in its hiring stressed about having her odds of ad-
der current policies remain sky high with no of economic growth, and you don’t have to take
practices. Many of our brightest and mission reduced if she revealed her
sign of substantial emission reductions before our word for it. In a January 2022 speech, Presi- best, of every skin tone, are educated ethnicity. My child of Hispanic ethnic-
the 2030 peaking timeline.” dent Xi Jinping said carbon goals shouldn’t outside elite colleges. ity was stressed about the moral im-
The Climate Action Tracker says that be- come at the expense of the “normal life” of Chi- JULIA LUTCH plications of receiving an unfair ad-
tween 2015 and 2022 China’s greenhouse gas nese people or energy or food security, accord- Davis, Calif. vantage by revealing his ethnicity.
emissions increased nearly 12%, while U.S. ing to a Reuters article citing the state-run Xin- BRIAN SUCKOW
emissions declined some 5%. China’s methane hua news service. When I was a high-school special- Palo Alto, Calif.
emissions rose about 3% from 2015 to 2021, the Carbon-neutrality goals “can’t be detached education teacher, the upstate New
latest year with good data, while the U.S. cut from reality,” Mr. Xi reiterated in March, ac- York school district in which I Racial preferences, in college ad-
them by 5%. cording to a South China Morning Post article worked was cited for having too high missions or government contracting,
Mr. Kerry will have an uphill climb on Chi- citing the state-run People’s Daily. “We can’t a percentage of black students classi- has been a loser in state referendums
fied as needing special-education ser- and in opinion polls among all races
nese coal in particular. The Climate Action toss away what’s feeding us now while what will
vices. I’ll never forget the dumb- and ethnic groups because the pro-
Tracker says China’s “coal production reached feed us next is still not in our pocket.” founded expressions on the faces of grams don’t require the beneficiaries
record levels in 2022 for the second year run- The post-Covid economic boom that China my fellow teachers as we were in- to have suffered harm but do require
ning,” and “coal is set to remain the backbone” expected isn’t happening. And data earlier this formed by administrators that we the displaced, almost always inno-
of China’s energy system. No kidding: Between year revealed that one in five Chinese youth are had to bring that number down. cent, to bear the program’s costs.
2020 and 2022, China added some 113 giga- jobless. Mr. Kerry can tilt at climate targets all Any future requests for classifica- PROF. DOUGLAS COATE
watts of new coal-fired power plants, according he wants, but Beijing isn’t going to risk the po- tion would be handled differently, Rutgers University–Newark
to S&P Global Commodity Insights. The entire litical upheaval of mass unemployment to meet and our recommendations would re- Newark, N.J.
world managed to retire some 187 gigawatts of emissions targets while raging wildfires in
coal plants between 2017 and 2022. North America offset any CO2 reductions.
As of January China had some 306 coal-fired The risk for U.S. interests is that the Biden
power stations proposed, permitted or under Administration will make consequential conces- When You Come to America, What’s in a Name?
construction, according to Global Energy Moni- sions on technology export controls, arms to Maggie Hroncich delightfully artic- and language. I left Croatia 45 years
tor, a nonprofit that tracks worldwide coal-fired Taiwan or something else of strategic impor- ulates the dilemma of those whose ago, and I am American because I
power projects of 30 megawatts or more. When tance in exchange for climate promises Beijing last names don’t line themselves up love this country and signed the
finished those plants would generate some 366 has no intention of keeping. in familiar Anglo-Saxon spelling for- Pledge of Allegiance when I was natu-
mations (“I Don’t Know How to Say ralized. Still, I proudly followed Croa-
My Own Last Name,” op-ed, July 13). tia’s metamorphosis into a demo-
The Biden Accounting Jobs Boom In my immigrant grandparents’ gen-
eration, the solution was more direct,
cratic state, its political ups and
downs and its soccer successes. Doing
F
or all of you recent graduates, we have tants had to spend time getting up to speed on if self-denying: “Americanize” it. so, I didn’t destroy “the patchwork
two words: tax accounting. We were Kempinsky became Kaye, Shlomowitz quilt that is America.”
the changes, filing tax returns for the most part
metamorphosed into Sims. Prescott, RAOUL M. FISCHER
looking into the June jobs report and, wasn’t more onerous. Then came the Biden Ad- née Preschutto. Surfside, Fla.
what do you know, tax preparation and account- ministration. I’m glad Ms. Hroncich’s family
ing rank among the fastest growing fields in the The March 2021 American Rescue Plan Act in- didn’t choose that route to accep- Ms. Hroncich’s op-ed resonates
Biden economy. cluded new or enhanced tax credits for health in- tance, validating her point that “any- with me. Within the collage of ethnic-
Hiring in finance, information and many pro- surance, children, dependent care, paid leave and one can become as thoroughly Ameri- ities I possess, one is Portuguese. My
fessional services has slowed in recent months, employee retention. Most but not all have ex- can as anybody else,” without great-grandfather’s surname was Al-
but the accounting, tax prep, bookkeeping and pired. The Inflation Reduction Act has also added sacrificing your own heritage. ves. (I am told it is pronounced Al-
payroll job category keeps growing at a solid a panoply of green-energy tax credits with com- I realize not everyone can reap the vesh.) He migrated from the Azores.
clip. The field has added 30,800 jobs this year, plicated eligibility rules and “bonuses” tied to benefit I did of having Mel Brooks Once he came to America and
and its 2.7% growth rate since January exceeds union labor and a project’s location. turn your name into an intergalactic started a family, he changed the name
blessing. “May the Hroncich be with to Alvarez because he thought Alves
that for professional business services (0.9%) And don’t forget the law’s new 15% minimum
you” probably wouldn’t work as well. sounded too Spanish. Huh!
and even leisure and hospitality (1%). tax on corporate book income with exemptions ALAN M. SCHWARTZ His children split on its pronuncia-
By the time President Biden entered office, for green energy and other politically favored in- Teaneck, N.J. tion: One faction pronouncing it AL-
the jobs lost at the start of the pandemic in ac- vestments. Meantime, the club of rich nations va-rez; the other al-VA-rez. I couldn’t
counting, tax and payroll services had recovered. known as the Organization for Economic Coop- The sad part to Ms. Hroncich’s shake off a funny feeling hearing two
Since January 2021 the field has added 138,400 eration and Development is preparing a global story is how some immigrants sup- great-uncles pronounce their last
jobs, compared to about 30,100 during the first corporate minimum tax for multinationals, and press their own identity. It seems name differently. My grandmother
two and a half years of the Trump Administra- the Biden Administration is planning to hire tens that later generations of her family was spared the conundrum; she mar-
tion. The Biden Presidency is springtime for of thousands of Internal Revenue Service agents let go of the history and memories ried a Thompson.
green eye-shades. to audit more taxpayers. from Croatia, depriving their children JIM THOMPSON
The GOP’s 2017 reform simplified the individ- All of this means more billable hours for ac- of knowledge of their former culture Oakland, Calif.
ual and corporate tax codes by eliminating many countants. They may have the closest thing to
credits and itemized deductions such as for mov- a recession-proof job in this current era of pro-
ing expenses and alimony. Even while accoun- gressive government. U.S. Disadvantage in International Shipping
A reader attributes the dearth of tries levy no income taxes on the
U.S.-flag vessels in the international owners of vessels under their flags
Tin-Foil Logic for Tin-Mill Tariffs trades to the Jones Act (Letters, July unless they are domestically owned.
L
11), a statute that, however effective Owners of U.S.-flag vessels don’t
ike subsidies for a favored business, tar- Exports of canned goods would decline while it may or may not be in its aim of compete on a level playing field. That
iffs on a product invariably lead to politi- imports would increase. An April study by Trade promoting U.S.-flag domestic ship- is why there are so few of them in
cal demands for more. The Trump steel Partnership Worldwide estimated that new du- ping, applies not at all to interna- the international trades.
tariffs have cost thousands of tional shipping. The lack of U.S.-flag ROBERT L. POSTER
ties would cost up to 39,780
Will Gina Raimondo vessels in international trade has a New York
jobs, yet Ohio steel manufac- downstream jobs while poten- few causes. First is our legal system,
turer Cleveland-Cliffs and the punish all Americans to tially creating a mere 66 new which makes liability for injury to
United Steelworkers (USW) ones in tin-mill production. mariners more expensive in court, What Took Them So Long?
are now demanding additional help Sherrod Brown? That means the tariffs could and results in a greatly increased cost
tariffs on tin-mill products. kill 600 jobs for each one they As a lawyer who worked on fraud
of insurance of U.S. flag vessels.
cases for over four decades, I can as-
Better stock up on canned soup create. Second is the unionization of all
sure you that securing documentary
before prices soar. Tariffs would also inflate canned-goods who work on U.S. vessels, which
evidence to prove financial wrongdo-
Cleveland-Cliffs and the USW in January peti- prices. An analysis by the Juday Group esti- causes the wage scale of their officers
ing is relatively easy: The proof is in
tioned the Commerce Department and the U.S. mated that canned-food prices would increase and crews to be a multiple of that of
the bank records. In the case of Hunter
International Trade Commission (ITC) to impose by 19% to 30%. Canned vegetable prices in the their competitors. Third is our tax
Biden (“Hunter’s Prosecutor Keeps
system, which requires ship operators
duties between 13.5% and 294.3% on imported U.S. have risen by nearly 30% since the start of Dodging,” Review & Outlook, July 11),
controlled by U.S. citizens to pay
tin-mill steel from eight countries. They claim the pandemic owing to higher energy and tin- taxes on all profits, wherever earned,
the fraud and tax-evasion investigation
foreign manufacturers are “dumping” steel used mill steel prices. Doesn’t the President purport should have taken six months to a
whether or not brought back to the
in canned goods on the U.S. market at less than to care about “food security”? year. That it took five years tells me
U.S.—a requirement almost unique to
the “fair value” price. Oh, and the tariffs would alienate such allies that, indeed, “something is rotten in
the U.S. Most countries don’t tax
the state of Denmark.”
This is nonsense, and they know it. U.S. can as Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, U.K., Tai- their citizens on unrepatriated funds,
SCOTT HOYNE
manufacturers rely on imported tin-mill for wan and South Korea, all countries targeted by and the flags-of-convenience coun-
Long Grove, Ill.
62% of their supply owing to a lack of domestic the tariff petition. They might retaliate with tar-
alternatives. Cleveland-Cliffs and U.S. Steel are iffs on U.S. exports. The tin-mill tariffs would
the only two significant domestic manufactur- make it harder for the Administration to rally a No to Academic Groupthink
ers, but they can’t produce the high-grade tin- free-world coalition to confront China over its Once again Ruth Wisse distin-
Pepper ...
mill that can and food manufacturers require trade policies. guishes herself with incisive prose And Salt
these days. “Tariffs on ally countries would be out of while clarifying insidious “corruption”
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Rather than invest in specialized tin-mill, U.S. step with the Administration’s efforts to rebuild in even the most esteemed elements
steel manufacturers such as Cleveland-Cliffs have and enhance relationships with these nations of the academy (“Harvard’s Stages of
prioritized making steel with higher margins. As and work on areas of mutual importance,” Vir- Grief Over Affirmative Action,” op-ed,
July 7). I admire her courage in dar-
a result, domestic tin-mill production capacity is ginia Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine wrote
ing to challenge her colleagues’ wide-
expected to be about 45% lower by the end of this to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on July spread presumptions of moral superi-
year than in 2017, the year before the Trump Ad- 6. The Administration’s decision on the tariffs ority, also known as groupthink.
ministration’s steel tariffs took effect. is due by Aug. 16. JOHN REDMOND
Tin-mill accounts for 2% of Cleveland-Cliffs’s Forty-four Members of Congress from both Greensboro, N.C.
steel sales volume. Were the Administration to parties are urging the Administration to reject
slap steep tariffs on imports, domestic produc- the tariffs. But Cleveland-Cliffs and the USW
Letters intended for publication should
tion wouldn’t come close to meeting demand. have in their corner Ohio Democratic Sen. be emailed to wsj.ltrs@wsj.com. Please
Prices would invariably rise, which would in- Sherrod Brown, who faces what could be a include your city, state and telephone
crease Cleveland-Cliffs’s margins. But higher tough re-election race next year. Will the Ad- number. All letters are subject to
prices would make U.S. can and food manufac- ministration punish Americans to help one editing, and unpublished letters cannot
be acknowledged.
turers less competitive. company and one Senator? “I just wear ruffage. I don’t eat it.”
.
OPINION
A
Madrid identify as a gender other than their time in office, 2011-18, Madrid had to
specter is haunting Eu- sex on their say-so alone. implement punishing Keynesian fiscal
rope, but for a change it The uproar is overdone. In a co- policies to comply with EU rules after
isn’t communism. In- alition government with the Popular the sovereign-debt crisis. Popular
stead the Continent is Party, the logic of democracy dic- Party supporters especially bristled
experiencing a tentative tates that only those matters where at the tax increases. This became the
revival of conservatism. Spain, a broader consensus exists will see heyday of a centrist party called Cui-
which goes to the polls on July 23, changes. Gay marriage will stay le- dadanos—“citizens”—that favored a
could be the next country to do gal, while gender self-identifica- more free-market approach.
that most unusual of things these tion—where the socialist govern- The media obsession with Vox
days: Elect a mainstream party of ment has marched well past the has obscured the Popular Party’s
the center-right. mainstream—may go. success in re-absorbing many voters
I
taining a touching faith in some the last half-century, the business tion to conservatives seeking ways ministration to claim success. We
t might be the single biggest critical role played by politicians in cycle has been driven primarily by a to respond to fanciful claims being have yet to see the full effect of the
irony of democratic politics that the business cycle, you might pon- combination of global economic con- made now for “Bidenomics.” Federal Reserve rate increases of
the short-run performance of a der why, in the past 50 years, we ditions, internal and external supply The absurdity of ascribing short- the past 18 months. It’s possible
nation’s economy is the most reli- have had periods of growth, stagna- and demand shocks, and, most im- term economic performance to a that, for the first time ever, such a
able determinant of an incumbent tion, inflation and disinflation—and portantly, monetary policy. president’s policies has been on full sharp tightening of monetary policy
party’s electoral fortunes, even as everything in between—under ad- display under this incumbent. won’t produce much higher unem-
the actual policies pursued by that ministrations and congresses vari- A disastrous initial period of rap- ployment and weaker growth. Possi-
party typically have only the most ously committed to fiscal expansion Don’t ask if the economy’s idly accelerating post-pandemic in- ble but unlikely. More likely is that
tangential effects on the cyclical be- and fiscal restraint, regulatory ac- flation and stagnating growth re- the economy is still adjusting to the
havior of the economy in the years tivism and regulatory retrenchment, stronger than it was four sulted in a first half of 2022 that strange conditions of the post-pan-
it holds office. free trade and trade restrictions. years ago. Will it be stronger recorded some of the worst combi- demic world and will revert to nor-
Politics, like much of journalism Conservatives especially should nations of economic data in decades. mal behavior in the next year.
these days, is about mendacious be skeptical of the idea that the in 2033 than it is today? The economy shrank in the first two But the more important point is
simplification and tendentious exag- color of an administration’s politics quarters of 2022 and at midyear that, as with almost all other presi-
geration. So we must expect a presi- drives immediate returns—not just consumer prices were rising at a dential economics, the real effect
dent to claim vindication for his pol- because such claims are at ideologi- Wise politicians would seek to do rate of more than 9%. That’s stagfla- isn’t on short-term demand manage-
icies when things go right just as we cal odds with belief in the central at the margins whatever can be tion we haven’t seen since the ment, but on the structural condi-
must expect his opponents to claim role of the market in economic out- done to meet the immediate needs 1980s. tion of the economy.
vindication when things go wrong. comes, but also because, inconve- of the economy while focusing most A year later, the picture is very Here, the legacy of Bidenomics is
And voters—or at least the dimin- niently, each of the past five reces- of their energy on structural chal- different. The economy is generating much clearer: surging public debt,
ishing number of those who change sions in the U.S. has occurred under lenges, setting the broad fiscal and solid, on-trend growth and continu- feeble productivity growth, a degra-
their minds every four years—gen- a Republican president. regulatory conditions that will sup- ing employment gains, but inflation dation of the nation’s energy capac-
erally accept the paradigm. This isn’t to say, of course, that port sustainable growth in the long has dropped, depending on your ity, and a return to industrial policy
But this shouldn’t blind us to the government policy is irrelevant to run. preferred data, to somewhere be- based on the fantasy proposition
fact that it is absurd to think that economic performance. In the short Like my colleagues on these tween 3% and 4%. Even better, the that government can pick winners.
an economy that generates $25 tril- term it can have marginal effects on pages and most of our readers, I U.S. is outperforming almost all the Bidenomics should be judged, not
lion of activity every year works demand, especially at turning points suspect, I strongly support a struc- world’s major economies. Growth is on the inflation and unemployment
like a hypersensitive machine, the in the cycle—fiscal support in reces- tural approach that reflects and stronger here and inflation is lower rate in a year’s time, but on the
controls of which merely have to be sions can be particularly helpful. builds on the unrivaled success of than in the eurozone, the U.K., economy’s potential in a decade.
I
I’ve heard of parents at elite pri- race-based approach that liberals are Organizing American society tion is focusing on math, science
n the wake of the Supreme vate high schools using genetic loath to admit: Immigration and around merit, rather than historic and innovation.
Court’s decision striking down testing services hoping to identify medical school policies should be al- grievances, has produced tremen- Liberals insist on equality of out-
affirmative action in college ad- any ethnic heritage that would tered to reduce the number of In- dous wealth and progress, made comes, not equality of opportunity,
missions, liberals have vowed to boost their children’s college appli- dian-American physicians, and selec- America the destination for striv- and find patterns of racism every-
find workarounds. Conservatives cations and of young professionals tive colleges, which generally already ers from around the world, and where. While liberals try to increase
must continue to make the case for falsely identifying as bisexual for a require higher test scores for Asian- served as the best antidote to in- the number of minority students
merit as the logical organizing prin- career boost. American applicants, should raise herited advantage. Immigrants re- enrolled in selective colleges by un-
ciple for America. Racial and gender quotas result standards even higher so that Asian- lentlessly chasing the American dermining merit-based measures,
The elevation of victimhood in liberals’ willful hypocrisy and American and Jewish students aren’t conservatives should fight to in-
over achievement has led many to convoluted rationalizations when overrepresented on campus. When crease the number of qualified mi-
misrepresent their racial and gen- they are confronted with the reality asked about apparent dampened ide- The court’s decision nority applicants by giving parents
der identities in pursuit of advan- that aptitudes, interests and effort ological diversity among its student the power to choose the best K-12
tages in professional and academic aren’t always evenly distributed population, a Harvard administrator gives conservatives an educational options for their chil-
positions. Students at selective among their superficial and shifting admitted to me in 2004 that evan- opportunity to reaffirm dren. The quality of an American
colleges are identifying as non-het- politicized racial categories. Liber- gelical parents were less likely to child’s education is too often corre-
erosexual at rates several times als have translated their calls for send their kids there and claimed their commitment to merit. lated with his neighborhood and
higher than historic or national av- increased diversity into demands that was good for both the kids and family wealth. Giving all children
erages, though University of Lon- that colleges admit and employers the school. access to high-quality math, science
don political scientist Eric Kauf- hire black and Hispanic applicants Privileging minority status in ad- Dream know that their children can and humanities instruction is hard
mann noted that there hasn’t been in proportion to their group’s share missions and hiring decisions inevi- achieve unparalleled success with- work and will involve taking on
a corresponding increase in sexual of the U.S. population. tably brings about a hierarchy of out regard to ethnicity or family teachers unions, but this will do
competing victimhoods. Liberals history. Many immigrant parents more to boost America’s economy,
have moved beyond debating which and other Horatio Alger-type suc- improve minority outcomes, and
minority groups deserve preferential cesses gratefully remind their chil- narrow inequality than tinkering
PUBLISHED SINCE 1889 BY DOW JONES & COMPANY treatment. They now create distinc- dren that their success could hap- with admissions policies at a few
Rupert Murdoch Robert Thomson tions within groups. Activists com- pen only in America. colleges.
Executive Chairman, News Corp Chief Executive Officer, News Corp plain that recent black immigrants, America must not discard this America’s history of treating
Emma Tucker Almar Latour their children, and children of bira- advantage in the face of intensified people differently based on race is
Editor in Chief Chief Executive Officer and Publisher
cial couples are less deserving of international competition. Ironi- a grievous sin. Conservatives must
Liz Harris, Managing Editor DOW JONES MANAGEMENT: preferential treatment than descen- cally, China embraced merit in be relentless in stamping it out and
Charles Forelle, Deputy Editor in Chief Daniel Bernard, Chief Experience Officer; dants of American slaves. place of ideological correctness to preventing its resurrection. The
Elena Cherney, News; Chip Cummins, Newswires; Mae M. Cheng, SVP, Barron’s Group; David Cho,
Andrew Dowell, Asia; Brent Jones, Culture, Barron’s Editor in Chief; Jason P. Conti, General
This unseemly debate raises un- unleash and transform its economy American ideal of a colorblind, up-
Training & Outreach; Alex Martin, Print & Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer; Dianne DeSevo, answerable questions: How should at the end of the 20th century. wardly mobile society, where suc-
Writing; Michael W. Miller, Features & Weekend; Chief People Officer; Frank Filippo, EVP, Business we quantify and compare the an- Deng Xiaoping realized what Amer- cess is available without favor to all
Emma Moody, Standards; Prabha Natarajan, Information & Services, Operations; cestral loss of Holocaust survivors ica’s liberals don’t: “When every- who harness their talents and work
Professional Products; Philana Patterson, Audio; Elizabeth O’Melia, Chief Financial Officer; to victims of American slavery to thing has to be done by the book, tirelessly, is best achieved by re-
Matthew Rose, Enterprise; Michael Siconolfi, Josh Stinchcomb, EVP & Chief Revenue Officer,
Investigations; Amanda Wills, Video WSJ | Barron’s Group; Sherry Weiss, Chief
those who suffered from European when thinking turns rigid and blind warding merit.
Marketing Officer colonization? The more important faith is the fashion, it is impossible
Paul A. Gigot
Editor of the Editorial Page question liberals should be con- for a party or a nation to make Mr. Jindal was governor of Loui-
EDITORIAL AND CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS:
Gerard Baker, Editor at Large
1211 Avenue of the Americas
sidering: How long should we dis- progress.” While American elites siana, 2008-16, and a candidate for
New York, N.Y., 10036 advantage those who didn’t com- rewrite school curricula to empha- the 2016 Republican presidential
Telephone 1-800-DOWJONES mit these evils and reward those size systemic racism, victimhood nomination.
.
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© 2023 Dow Jones & Company. All Rights Reserved. * * * * * THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Tuesday, July 18, 2023 | B1
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Cited Drop
Sheds Drill Rigs 300
Public
Private 1.0
Forecasts In Profit as
At Breakneck Clip 0.5
0
It Cut Staff
BY MARI NOVIK
AND BENOÎT MORENNE
according to David Deckelbaum,
an analyst at investment bank
250
–0.5
Benefits
TD Cowen.
The shale patch is shedding The slowdown augurs tepid BY CAITLIN OSTROFF
rigs at the fastest pace since U.S. crude-production growth 200 –1.0 AND PATRICIA KOWSMANN
the height of the Covid-19 pan- for the rest of the year, analysts 2010 ’15 ’20 ’24
demic despite healthy oil said. Even though larger public Binance slashed its em-
prices. companies mostly aren’t shed- Crude-oil futures prices* ployee benefits last month in
Behind the drop in rigs is a ding oil rigs, they aren’t grow- the wake of falling profit, a
tale of the haves and the have- ing rapidly either, as they ad- 150 $120 a barrel sign of the financial strain hit-
nots. Private companies, which here to investors’ desire for ting the crypto giant.
added rigs at a breakneck pace capital restraint. The Energy The company told employ-
as the pandemic abated, have Information Administration ex- ees that it would stop offering
100
drilled up many of their best pects domestic growth output certain benefits, effective June
remaining wells, forcing them to increase by fewer than 100 19, including mobile-phone re-
to decelerate. 300,000 barrels a day in 2024 imbursement, fitness reim-
Meanwhile, their larger, pub- from this year. 80 bursement and work-from-
lic brethren aren’t tweaking Taylor Sell, chief executive home expenses, among other
their drilling programs as they of Element Petroleum, said the items, according to former
50
sit on larger inventories of pre- company’s break-even—or the employees and an internal
mium, undrilled wells. price needed to fund drilling 60 message from Binance viewed
The number of rigs drilling without a loss—had increased by The Wall Street Journal.
for oil and gas has dropped to by between $5 and $10 to reach “Considering the current
about 670 from around 800 at between $55 and $60 a barrel, 0 40 market environment and regu-
the beginning of the year, with in part because the cost of ma- latory climate that has unfor-
2021 ’22 ’23 2021 ’22 ’23
private drillers accounting for terials such as steel pipes re- tunately led to a decline in
roughly 70% of the decrease, Please turn to page B2 *Front-month contract Sources: Enverus (rigs); Energy Department (production); FactSet (prices) profit, we have to be more
prudent with our spending,”
the message read. It added
that more cost-cutting could
communications companies. about liabilities related to the struggling, while leaving some
AT&T’s stock fell 6.7% on cables and the potential impact investors frustrated.
Monday to $13.53 a share, its on companies’ bottom lines. Carvana is controlled by Er-
lowest close since February Some firms have downgraded nie Garcia II, the father of
1993. Shares have declined 13% their ratings on some telecom Carvana Chief Executive Ernie
since the investigation pub- stocks. Garcia III. The elder Garcia
lished July 9 revealed how tele- “It’s really the fear of the owns DriveTime Automotive
com companies like AT&T have unknown,” said Frank Louthan Group, where Carvana began
left behind more than 2,000 old IV, a managing director and spinning off in 2015.
lead-encased cables across the telecommunications-services More than two decades ago,
U.S., relics of the old Bell Sys- Please turn to page B2 Please turn to page B4 Carvana grew around humorous ads and by dispensing cars from glass vending machines.
.
INDEX TO PEOPLE
A Garcia, Ernie III.........................B1 Rothman, Andy......................B12
Altman, Sam..............................A4 H Russo, Todd...............................B11
Antonelli, Michael................B11 Hoopes, Celia............................B11 S
B I Schulman, Brett....................B12
Angelo Mozilo, second from right, testifies at a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing in 2008.
Bankman-Fried, Sam...........B1 Iyer, Ravi........................................A4 Sell, Taylor.....................................B1
Seng, Ong Beng....................A16
C
Clarkson, Beezer.....................A2
Crovitz, L. Gordon..................A4
L
Lenz, Michael.............................B3
Louthan, Frank IV...................B1
Smith, Brad.................................A4
Surman, Mark...........................A4
Mortgage “It was hard to be taken se-
riously as an Italian-Ameri-
can,” Mozilo said in the video
D
Deckelbaum, David................B1
M
Mui, Rocky....................................B1
V
Van Dijk, Bob.............................B3 Tycoon interview. “You always had
the issue of mafia come up.
How can an Italian rise to this
W
Dietrich, John.............................B3
Dimon, Jamie..........................B12
F-G
Musk, Elon............................A4,B1
P
Pitkethly, Graeme..................A8
Wen, Kenny.................................B3
Whitaker, Jarrod.....................B3
Dies at 84 level, legally? So I had to work
a little harder.”
Mozilo took pride in finding
Wood, Cathie..............................B1
ways to make mortgages to
Pruett, Steven...........................B2
Farley, Jim....................................A2 Continued from page B1 deserving borrowers who
Foran, Brian..............................B12 R Z accused him of fraud, saying might not get a loan else-
Garcia, Ernie II...........................B1 Richardson, Stephen..........B11 Zhao, Changpeng....................B1 he had offered rosy assess- where, including minority and
ments of Countrywide while working-class families. For ex-
dumping nearly $140 million ample, for borrowers who
Shale Patch
Sheds Rigs For a Company
At Fast Clip This Old, We Move
Continued from page B1
Pretty Fast.
mains high, at roughly 40%
more than 18 months ago, he
said.
Element last December
dropped its only active rig as
the company sought to save its
best wells for more auspicious
times or for a potential buyer,
Sell said. “We are not drilling
NICK OXFORD/REUTERS
BUSINESS NEWS
Don’t miss a
appears to be reaching the end erates the popular messaging and U.S. businesses as the firm
of Beijing’s more than two- app WeChat. has come under increasing
year-long regulatory clamp- Recently, SoftBank exited pressure from officials in
down. much of its onetime more than Washington over its China
The European investment
company has ridden Tencent’s
stocks through ups and downs
30% stake in Alibaba after business.
many of its investments in Prosus has additional rea-
startups went sour during a sons to stick with Tencent and
pare its stake slowly.
smart move.
Market capitalization The investment company is
majority-owned by Naspers, a
$1.2 trillion Share-buyback
plan announced firm based in Cape Town, Open an 9-MONTH CD
South Africa, that focuses on
consumer internet businesses account today at
5.05 %
1.0
Naspers such as e-commerce, online synchronybank.com/wj
payments and food delivery. APY*
Prosus
Prosus and its parent count
0.8 Tencent on dividends from the Tencent
stake. It isn’t easy for Prosus to
find an investment opportunity No minimum balance
0.6
as good as Tencent, said Kenny
Wen, an analyst at asset man-
0.4 ager KGI Asia in Hong Kong.
“Without the profit contribu-
tion from Tencent, its bottom
*ANNUAL PERCENTAGE YIELD (APY): APY is accurate as of 6/29/23. APY is subject
0.2 line looks disappointing,” Wen to change at any time without notice. Offer applies to personal accounts only. Fees
said. may reduce earnings. For CD accounts, a penalty may be imposed for early
In June 2022, Prosus said it withdrawals. After maturity, if your CD rolls over, you will earn the offered rate of
0 would slowly sell its Tencent interest in effect at that time. Visit synchronybank.com for current rates, terms and
shares to fund buybacks of its account requirements.
2020 ’21 ’22 ’23
and Naspers’s shares, scrapping © 2023 Synchrony Bank
Source: FactSet a promise that it wouldn’t sell
.
money and has been spending In a statement, NBCUniver- Street Journal previously re- $1.50 to $15.49 a month.
more on live sports and origi- sal said the price increase will ported. Walt Disney also raised
nal content. allow it to continue to invest Peacock has also spent prices on its Disney+ and Hulu
The service, which has in strong programming and more on original shows and platforms last year. Disney+
about 22 million subscribers, remain competitive in the has found some success with with ads costs $7.99 a month,
had a $704 million loss before marketplace. It is the first the detective series “Poker ,while an ad-free version in-
interest, taxes, depreciation price increase since Peacock Face,” which received four creased $3 to $10.99 a month.
and amortization in the first launched in 2020. Emmy nominations this Hulu’s ad-free service raised
quarter. Peacock has bet heavily on month, including a best ac- its price $2 to $14.99 a month
A scene from Peacock’s ‘Bel-Air.’ The price increase is the NBCUniversal parent Com- expensive sports to differenti- tress nod for star Natasha Ly- and the version with ads went
first since NBCUniversal launched Peacock in 2020. cast has said it expects Pea- ate itself from other stream- onne. up $1 to $7.99 a month.
The Marketplace
Duckling, out of bankruptcy leged improper self-dealing. cash from Silicon Valley, it year, when Carvana bought
and rebuilt it as a network of Garcia II swapped the Ugly turned to DriveTime and the used-car auction company Ad-
To advertise: 800-366-3975 or WSJ.com/classifieds subprime used-car dealer- Duckling name for DriveTime, senior Garcia. esa. Lenders balked at the $3
ships. The company charged and by 2005, the company re- Carvana said in the summer billion the company wanted to
high interest rates to buyers ported profit of $83 million. of 2016 that it raised $160 mil- borrow to fund the purchase.
CAREERS with bad credit and was quick Son Ernie III joined the lion in a fundraising led by an Carvana turned to Apollo
to repossess cars from delin- family business as a teenage unidentified institutional in- Global Management, a savvy
quent borrowers. intern before attending Stan- vestor. A filing later disclosed Wall Street lender that bought
The business had several ford University, where he met that Garcia II contributed $100 hundreds of millions of high-
similarities to Carvana. Both several future Carvana co- million to the round. yield bonds on what it thought
worldchemicalforum.com
.
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MARKETS DIGEST
EQUITIES
Dow Jones Industrial Average S&P 500 Index Nasdaq Composite Index
Last Year ago Last Year ago Last Year ago
34585.35 s 76.32, or 0.22% Trailing P/E ratio 22.83 18.28 4522.79 s 17.37, or 0.39% Trailing P/E ratio * 19.98 20.57 14244.95 s 131.25, or 0.93% Trailing P/E ratio *† 31.67 24.68
High, low, open and close for each P/E estimate * 18.64 16.30 High, low, open and close for each P/E estimate * 20.37 16.43 High, low, open and close for each P/E estimate *† 29.32 20.97
trading day of the past three months. Dividend yield 2.06 2.25 trading day of the past three months. Dividend yield * 1.55 1.68 trading day of the past three months. Dividend yield *† 0.71 0.91
All-time high 36799.65, 01/04/22 All-time high 4796.56, 01/03/22 All-time high: 16057.44, 11/19/21
COMMODITIES wsj.com/market-data/commodities
Metal & Petroleum Futures Dec 834.25 851.00 815.75 820.00 –13.50 52,131 Dec 1.1790 1.1844 1.1778 1.1817 .0026 369 Mini S&P Midcap 400 (CME)-$100 x index
Cattle-Feeder (CME)-50,000 lbs.; cents per lb. Australian Dollar (CME)-AUD 100,000; $ per AUD Sept 2690.70 2716.10 2681.80 2709.90 18.20 38,584
Contract Open
Aug 246.175 249.950 245.300 249.250 2.600 21,680 July .6817 .6840 .6789 .6813 –.0027 285 Dec 2725.10 18.30 n.a.
Open High hi lo Low Settle Chg interest
Sept 248.500 252.025 248.050 251.425 2.200 14,309 Sept .6851 .6854 .6801 .6837 –.0018 148,514 Mini Nasdaq 100 (CME)-$20 x index
Copper-High (CMX)-25,000 lbs.; $ per lb. Cattle-Live (CME)-40,000 lbs.; cents per lb. Mexican Peso (CME)-MXN 500,000; $ per MXN
July 3.8880 3.8880 3.8135 3.8320 –0.0900 1,617 Sept 15690.00 15882.75 s 15661.50 15840.75 146.50 251,724
Aug 180.550 181.600 s 179.700 180.125 –.050 73,243 July .05931 –.00035 8 Dec 15886.25 16078.25 s 15862.00 16037.75 146.50 6,789
Sept 3.9270 3.9270 3.8115 3.8440 –0.0890 119,263
Oct 182.500 183.350 181.675 182.250 –.375 133,247 Sept .05896 .05914 s .05846 .05895 –.00002 238,733
Gold (CMX)-100 troy oz.; $ per troy oz. Mini Russell 2000 (CME)-$50 x index
Hogs-Lean (CME)-40,000 lbs.; cents per lb. Euro (CME)-€125,000; $ per € Sept 1943.10 1973.20 1938.00 1965.30 21.10 526,669
July 1954.00 1956.50 1946.60 1952.40 –7.70 58 102.425 102.500 102.325 102.350 .375 9,560
July July 1.1232 1.1248 s 1.1204 1.1225 –.0010 532
Aug 1958.60 1963.60 1949.00 1956.40 –8.00 240,346 Dec 1957.40 1992.00 1957.40 1984.70 21.00 1,920
Oct 84.225 84.600 81.475 82.325 –1.275 72,754 Sept 1.1266 1.1285 s 1.1239 1.1278 .0009 756,555
Sept 1968.80 1972.90 1959.10 1966.00 –8.00 557 Lumber (CME)-27,500 bd. ft., $ per 1,000 bd. ft. March'24 2002.90 20.60 3
Oct 1977.20 1982.50 1968.50 1975.50 –7.90 19,234 Sept 580.50 590.00 579.50 585.00 5.50 4,463 Index Futures Mini Russell 1000 (CME)-$50 x index
Dec 1998.20 2002.10 1987.90 1995.10 –7.90 218,713 Nov 584.00 595.50 584.00 591.00 7.00 1,309 Sept 2494.00 2505.40 s 2487.80 2499.80 12.00 8,026
Feb'24 2015.30 2022.00 2008.50 2015.50 –7.80 10,607 Milk (CME)-200,000 lbs., cents per lb. Mini DJ Industrial Average (CBT)-$5 x index U.S. Dollar Index (ICE-US)-$1,000 x index
Palladium (NYM) - 50 troy oz.; $ per troy oz. July 13.80 13.85 13.80 13.83 .01 7,358 Sept 34647 34850 34580 34763 85 97,283 Sept 99.67 99.87 99.45 99.53 –.08 37,511
July 1276.20 18.40 5 Aug 15.05 15.45 15.04 15.31 .22 7,350 Dec 34955 35157 34899 35079 90 301
Dec 99.31 99.45 99.22 99.24 –.08 479
Sept 1268.50 1298.50 1248.00 1281.10 14.70 14,851 Cocoa (ICE-US)-10 metric tons; $ per ton. Mini S&P 500 (CME)-$50 x index
Platinum (NYM)-50 troy oz.; $ per troy oz. Sept 4536.00 4565.75 s 4528.00 4553.75 17.00 2,241,106
Sept 3,351 3,374 3,323 3,359 7 153,405
July 965.20 966.30 965.00 977.80 3.80 25 Dec 4582.75 4615.50 s 4577.50 4603.25 17.00 15,139 Source: FactSet
Dec 3,346 3,373 3,323 3,359 14 109,535
Oct 982.30 991.30 973.00 987.50 3.20 63,691 Coffee (ICE-US)-37,500 lbs.; cents per lb.
Silver (CMX)-5,000 troy oz.; $ per troy oz. July 158.05 158.05 155.50 154.75 –7.20 72
July
Sept
24.920
25.155
24.920
25.155
24.840
24.815
24.844 –0.170
25.018 –0.176
200
121,842
Sept 160.05 161.45 155.10
Sugar-World (ICE-US)-112,000 lbs.; cents per lb.
155.80 –5.00 91,530 Bonds | wsj.com/market-data/bonds/benchmarks
Crude Oil, Light Sweet (NYM)-1,000 bbls.; $ per bbl. Oct 24.36 24.39 23.64 23.80 –.52 378,770
Aug 75.02 76.09 73.84 74.15 –1.27 138,498 March'24 24.49 24.50 23.79 23.95 –.51 218,112 Tracking Bond Benchmarks
Sept 74.88 76.00 73.78 74.08 –1.24 364,200 Sugar-Domestic (ICE-US)-112,000 lbs.; cents per lb.
Oct 74.65 75.76 73.60 73.89 –1.16 213,578 Sept 38.94 … 818 Return on investment and spreads over Treasurys and/or yields paid to investors compared with 52-week
Dec 74.05 75.12 73.12 73.41 –1.01 229,434 Cotton (ICE-US)-50,000 lbs.; cents per lb. highs and lows for different types of bonds
June'24 71.80 72.78 71.15 71.44 –0.72 122,552 Oct 82.27 83.29 82.27 83.49 .83 81 Total Total
Dec 69.78 70.60 69.25 69.55 –0.50 124,235 Dec 81.22 82.55 81.01 82.13 .91 122,276 return YTD total Yield (%) return YTD total Yield (%)
NY Harbor ULSD (NYM)-42,000 gal.; $ per gal. Orange Juice (ICE-US)-15,000 lbs.; cents per lb. close return (%) Index Latest Low High close return (%) Index Latest Low High
Aug 2.5825 2.6227 2.5488 2.5642 –.0337 50,332 Sept 272.50 275.40 272.50 273.90 1.40 7,637
Nov 264.00 264.15 263.40 264.45 1.15 912 Broad Market Bloomberg Fixed Income Indices Mortgage-Backed Bloomberg Fixed Income Indices
Sept 2.5758 2.6127 2.5454 2.5584 –.0310 73,374
Gasoline-NY RBOB (NYM)-42,000 gal.; $ per gal. 2.4 1983.09 2.4 Mortgage-Backed 4.760 3.300 5.380
Interest Rate Futures 1998.24 U.S. Aggregate 4.760 3.370 5.210
Aug 2.6287 2.6629 2.6045 2.6317 –.0120 70,944
Sept 2.5683 2.6025 2.5464 2.5714 –.0111 104,434 U.S. Corporate Indexes Bloomberg Fixed Income Indices 1955.86 2.6 Ginnie Mae (GNMA) 4.820 3.320 5.370
Ultra Treasury Bonds (CBT) - $100,000; pts 32nds of 100%
Natural Gas (NYM)-10,000 MMBtu.; $ per MMBtu. Sept 134-140 135-160 133-300 134-210 2.0 1,512,978 1166.71 2.3 Fannie mae (FNMA) 4.750 3.300 5.390
Aug 2.548 2.580 2.484 2.512 –.027 108,685
2969.95 3.4 U.S. Corporate 5.440 4.280 6.130
Dec 137-070 136-040 136-200 2.0 14
Sept 2.541 2.569 2.477 2.504 –.026 319,272 Treasury Bonds (CBT)-$100,000; pts 32nds of 100% 2864.35 2.8 Intermediate 5.420 4.050 6.050 1787.21 2.3 Freddie Mac (FHLMC) 4.800 3.300 5.370
Oct 2.648 2.669 2.581 2.606 –.025 108,352 Sept 126-080 127-040 126-010 126-180 4.0 1,245,209
Nov 3.089 3.108 3.021 3.028 –.047 95,275 3970.12 4.6 Long term 5.480 4.690 6.370 570.75 2.6 Muni Master 3.271 2.419 3.936
Dec 126-210 127-090 126-090 126-260 4.0 281
Jan'24 3.739 3.765 3.682 3.685 –.054 82,733 2.2
Treasury Notes (CBT)-$100,000; pts 32nds of 100% 576.54 3.3 Double-A-rated 4.800 3.630 5.320 406.98 7-12 year 2.929 2.325 3.794
March 3.405 3.419 3.337 3.338 –.059 72,576 Sept 112-140 112-295 112-130 112-230 5.0 4,750,981
Dec 113-065 113-175 113-015 113-115 5.5 5,444 790.95 3.8 Triple-B-rated 5.710 4.620 6.440 459.41 3.8 12-22 year 3.620 2.991 4.428
Agriculture Futures 5 Yr. Treasury Notes (CBT)-$100,000; pts 32nds of 100% High Yield Bonds ICE BofA 433.71 5.2 22-plus year 4.276 3.700 5.131
Corn (CBT)-5,000 bu.; cents per bu. Sept 107-152 107-252 107-147 107-220 3.7 5,297,877
Dec 108-107 108-127 108-047 108-100 4.0 89 493.20 6.4 High Yield Constrained 8.400 7.409 9.623 Global Government J.P. Morgan†
Sept 512.00 519.75 496.25 499.25 –7.25 415,066
Dec 519.25 526.50 503.25 506.00 –7.75 564,960 2 Yr. Treasury Notes (CBT)-$200,000; pts 32nds of 100% 530.18 1.6 Global Government 3.130 2.010 3.250
Sept 101-271 101-313 101-271 101-298 1.0 3,680,565
468.38 11.4 Triple-C-rated 13.620 12.836 16.916
Oats (CBT)-5,000 bu.; cents per bu.
Sept 403.75 414.00 401.00 406.50 2.00 1,304 Dec 102-156 102-161 102-150 102-166 1.0 213 3320.57 6.7 High Yield 100 7.819 6.786 8.753 770.11 0.8 Canada 3.540 2.720 3.780
Dec 418.75 428.00 416.25 421.25 2.00 2,428 30 Day Federal Funds (CBT)-$5,000,000; 100 - daily avg.
July 94.8875 94.8875 94.8825 94.8825 –.0025 329,687 428.16 5.5 Global High Yield Constrained 8.530 7.593 9.945 339.85 2.0 EMU§ 3.265 1.594 3.490
Soybeans (CBT)-5,000 bu.; cents per bu.
Aug 94.6950 94.6950 94.6850 94.6850 –.0050 370,075 628.73 1.4 France 3.140 1.410 3.310
Aug 1490.75 1497.00 1477.75 1484.00 3.75 65,323 323.71 4.8 Europe High Yield Constrained 7.380 5.952 8.508
Nov 1385.00 1388.75 1369.00 1378.00 7.25 308,739
Three-Month SOFR (CME)-$1,000,000; 100 - daily avg.
April 94.9525 94.9550 94.9525 94.9525 ... 45,236 U.S Agency Bloomberg Fixed Income Indices 448.62 1.2 Germany 2.550 0.770 2.760
Soybean Meal (CBT)-100 tons; $ per ton.
Dec 94.6650 94.7150 94.6650 94.6950 .0150 1,305,760
Aug 426.60 435.00 424.90 434.40 10.60 66,587 1726.27 2.1 U.S Agency 4.830 3.060 5.080 282.96 1.9 Japan 0.850 0.570 1.060
Dec 405.00 410.10 401.40 409.40 8.40 194,600
Soybean Oil (CBT)-60,000 lbs.; cents per lb. Currency Futures 1526.03 1.9 10-20 years 4.840 3.020 5.100 485.65 1.3 Netherlands 2.810 1.080 3.000
Aug 65.05 66.39 64.30 64.76 –.29 67,422 Japanese Yen (CME)-¥12,500,000; $ per 100¥ 3335.81 4.5 20-plus years 4.650 3.600 5.240 749.27 -4.3 U.K. 4.540 2.100 4.700
Dec 60.97 61.94 59.90 60.34 –.42 189,414 July .7204 .7247 .7174 .7193 –.0012 3,284
Rough Rice (CBT)-2,000 cwt.; $ per cwt. Sept .7281 .7319 .7244 .7283 .0008 231,157 2618.04 3.3 Yankee 5.230 3.970 5.840 806.15 4.9 Emerging Markets ** 7.541 7.084 9.159
Sept 15.45 15.56 15.00 15.37 –.12 7,352 Canadian Dollar (CME)-CAD 100,000; $ per CAD
July .7566 .7598 .7558 .7586 .0015 548 *Constrained indexes limit individual issuer concentrations to 2%; the High Yield 100 are the 100 largest bonds † In local currency § Euro-zone bonds
Nov 15.53 15.59 15.32 15.44 –.09 1,027
Sept .7568 .7604 .7563 .7592 .0015 142,218 ** EMBI Global Index Sources: ICE Data Services; Bloomberg Fixed Income Indices; J.P.Morgan
Wheat (CBT)-5,000 bu.; cents per bu. British Pound (CME)-£62,500; $ per £
Sept 666.00 689.25 651.00 653.75 –7.75 150,834 July 1.3097 1.3109 1.3053 1.3088 –.0015 1,349
Dec 687.50 708.25
Wheat (KC)-5,000 bu.; cents per bu.
671.00 673.75 –7.00 87,474 Sept 1.3098 1.3112
Swiss Franc (CME)-CHF 125,000; $ per CHF
1.3054 1.3085 –.0021 241,997 Global Government Bonds: Mapping Yields
Sept 829.00 847.50 811.00 815.25 –13.75 76,778 Sept 1.1678 1.1735 1.1664 1.1706 .0026 41,304 Yields and spreads over or under U.S. Treasurys on benchmark two-year and 10-year government bonds in
selected other countries; arrows indicate whether the yield rose(s) or fell (t) in the latest session
Country/ Spread Under/Over U.S. Treasurys, in basis points
Cash Prices | wsj.com/market-data/commodities Monday, July 17, 2023 Coupon (%) Maturity, in years Latest(l)-1 0 1 2 3
Yield (%)
4 5 Previous Month ago Year ago Latest Prev Year ago
These prices reflect buying and selling of a variety of actual or “physical” commodities in the marketplace— 4.625 U.S. 2 4.732 t l 4.749 4.720 3.135
separate from the futures price on an exchange, which reflects what the commodity might be worth in future 3.375 10 3.796 t l 3.818 3.768 2.929
months. 3.250 Australia 2 4.083 s l 4.078 4.206 2.591 -64.2 -66.9 -53.8
Monday Monday Monday 4.500 10 3.991 t l 4.002 4.036 3.424 19.1 17.0 50.5
Iron Ore, 62% Fe CFR China-s n.a. Wheat,Spring14%-pro Mnpls-u 10.4825
Energy Shredded Scrap, US Midwest-s,m n.a. Wheat,No.2 soft red,St.Louis-u 6.3075 0.000 France 2 3.392 t l 3.398 3.246 0.387 -133.4 -134.9 -274.2
Coal,C.Aplc.,12500Btu,1.2SO2-r,w 62.000 Steel, HRC USA, FOB Midwest Mill-s n.a. Wheat - Hard - KC (USDA) $ per bu-u 8.7025 3.000 10 3.016 t l 3.037 2.974 1.738 -78.4 -79.5 -118.1
Coal,PwdrRvrBsn,8800Btu,0.8SO2-r,w 14.300 Battery/EV metals Wheat,No.1soft white,Portld,OR-u 7.0750
2.800 Germany 2 3.200 t l 3.209 3.117 0.459 -152.5 -153.8 -267.0
Metals BMI Lithium Carbonate, EXW China, =99.2%-v,w 42600 Food
BMI Lithium Hydroxide, EXW China, =56.5% -v,w 40875 2.600 10 2.483 t l 2.513 2.475 1.133 -131.7 -132.0 -178.6
Gold, per troy oz BMI Cobalt sulphate, EXW China, >20.5% -v,m 5520 Beef,carcass equiv. index
3.400 Italy 2 3.838 t l 3.841 3.638 1.257 -88.8 -90.5 -187.1
Engelhard industrial 1949.00 BMI Nickel Sulphate, EXW China, >22%-v,m 4554 choice 1-3,600-900 lbs.-u 287.00
Handy & Harman base 1949.60 BMIFlakeGraphite,FOBChina,-100Mesh,94-95%-v,m 640 select 1-3,600-900 lbs.-u 257.62 4.350 10 4.168 t l 4.171 4.030 3.260 36.9 33.9 34.1
Handy & Harman fabricated 2164.06 Broilers, National comp wtd. avg.-u,w 1.2197
Fibers and Textiles 0.005 Japan 2 -0.035 l -0.035 -0.065 -0.065 -476.1 -478.2 -319.4
LBMA Gold Price AM *1956.50 Butter,AA Chicago-d 2.5600
LBMA Gold Price PM *1953.70 Cheddar cheese,bbl,Chicago-d 140.75 0.400 10 0.480 l 0.480 0.404 0.235 -332.0 -335.2 -268.4
Burlap,10-oz,40-inch NY yd-n,w 0.7300
Cheddar cheese,blk,Chicago-d 149.50
Krugerrand,wholesale-e 2031.12 Cotton,1 1/16 std lw-mdMphs-u 0.8049 0.000 Spain 2 3.512 s l 3.496 3.348 0.855 -121.3 -125.1 -227.3
Maple Leaf-e 2050.65 Milk,Nonfat dry,Chicago lb.-d 111.50
Cotlook 'A' Index-t *91.90 Coffee,Brazilian,Comp-y 1.6018 3.550 10 3.526 t l 3.526 3.381 2.281 -27.4 -30.6 -63.8
American Eagle-e 2050.65 Hides,hvy native steers piece fob-u n.a. Coffee,Colombian, NY-y 1.9168 0.625 5.161 t
Mexican peso-e 2362.73 Wool,64s,staple,Terr del-u,w n.a. U.K. 2 l 5.202 4.938 1.907 43.6 45.5 -122.1
Eggs,large white,Chicago-u 1.1150
Austria crown-e 1917.33 4.250 10 4.434 t 4.450 4.413 2.091 61.8 -82.8
Grains and Feeds Flour,hard winter KC-p 21.40 l 63.4
Austria phil-e 2050.65
Hams,17-20 lbs,Mid-US fob-u 1.09
Silver, troy oz. Barley,top-quality Mnpls-u n.a. Hogs,Iowa-So. Minnesota-u 98.46
Source: Tullett Prebon, Tradeweb ICE U.S. Treasury Close
Engelhard industrial 24.7500 Bran,wheat middlings, KC-u,w 143 Pork bellies,12-14 lb MidUS-u n.a.
Handy & Harman base
Handy & Harman fabricated
24.8670
31.0840
Corn,No. 2 yellow,Cent IL-bp,u 5.3600 Pork loins,13-19 lb MidUS-u 1.3367 Corporate Debt
Corn gluten feed,Midwest-u,w 158.6 Steers,Tex.-Okla. Choice-u n.a.
LBMA spot price *£18.8900 Corn gluten meal,Midwest-u,w 527.9
Prices of firms' bonds reflect factors including investors' economic, sectoral and company-specific
Steers,feeder,Okla. City-u,w 274.38
(U.S.$ equivalent) *24.7700 Cottonseed meal-u,w 353 expectations
22161 Fats and Oils
Coins,wholesale $1,000 face-a Hominy feed,Cent IL-u,w 182 Investment-grade spreads that tightened the most…
Other metals Meat-bonemeal,50% pro Mnpls-u,w 438 Degummed corn oil, crude wtd. avg.-u,w n.a. Spread*, in basis points
LBMA Platinum Price PM *977.0 Oats,No.2 milling,Mnpls-u 4.1650 Grease,choice white,Chicago-h 0.6000 Issuer Symbol Coupon (%) Yield (%) Maturity Current One-day change Last week
Platinum,Engelhard industrial 975.0 Rice, Long Grain Milled, No. 2 AR-u,w 37.25 Lard,Chicago-u n.a.
Palladium,Engelhard industrial 1283.0 Sorghum,(Milo) No.2 Gulf-u n.a. Soybean oil,crude;Centl IL-u,w 0.6990 –62
Coca–Cola KO 3.450 4.42 March 25, ’30 60 63
Aluminum, LME, $ per metric ton *2225.0 SoybeanMeal,Cent IL,rail,ton48%-u,w 435.80 Tallow,bleach;Chicago-h 0.6500
Copper,Comex spot 3.8320 Soybeans,No.1 yllw IL-bp,u 15.0200 Tallow,edible,Chicago-u n.a. 4.150 7.95 Aug. 8, ’25 318 –11
KeyCorp KEY 335
Barclays BACR 4.375 5.83 Jan. 12, ’26 148 –10 n.a.
KEY TO CODES: A=ask; B=bid; BP=country elevator bids to producers; C=corrected; D=CME; E=Manfra,Tordella & Brookes; H=American Commodities Brokerage Co;
K=bi-weekly; M=monthly; N=nominal; n.a.=not quoted or not available; P=Sosland Publishing; R=SNL Energy; S=Platts-TSI; T=Cotlook Limited; U=USDA; V=Benchmark
Mineral Intelligence; W=weekly; Y=International Coffee Organization; Z=not quoted. *Data as of 7/14 Toronto–Dominion Bank TD 4.108 5.29 June 8, ’27 127 –8 n.a.
Source: Dow Jones Market Data
National Australia Bank NAB 4.900 4.91 June 13, ’28 88 –7 101
Borrowing Benchmarks | wsj.com/market-data/bonds/benchmarks HSBC Holdings HSBC 4.300 5.60 March 8, ’26 125 –4 100
Money Rates July 17, 2023 Verizon Communications VZ 2.625 5.03 Aug. 15, ’26 70 –4 n.a.
John Deere Capital … 4.750 4.70 June 8, ’26 35 –3 30
Key annual interest rates paid to borrow or lend money in U.S. and international markets. Rates below are a
guide to general levels but don’t always represent actual transactions.
…And spreads that widened the most
Week —52-WEEK— Week —52-WEEK—
Inflation Latest ago High Low Latest ago High Low 15
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial SUMIBK 5.464 5.49 Jan. 13, ’26 115 n.a.
June index Chg From (%)
level May '23 June '22 Japan 1.475 1.475 1.475 1.475 Federal funds 11
Altria MO 5.375 5.81 Jan. 31, ’44 170 170
Policy Rates Effective rate 5.0900 5.0900 5.1000 1.5900
U.S. consumer price index Morgan Stanley MS 3.625 5.27 Jan. 20, ’27 125 10 117
Euro zone 4.00 4.00 4.00 0.00 High 5.4000 5.4000 5.4000 1.7000
All items 305.109 0.32 3.0 5.0600 5.0600 5.0800 1.5500
Switzerland 2.25 2.25 2.25 0.25 Low 9
Core 308.910 0.26 4.8 JPMorgan Chase JPM 4.125 5.26 Dec. 15, ’26 91 76
Britain 5.00 5.00 5.00 1.25 Bid 5.0800 5.0700 5.0800 1.5800
Australia 4.10 4.10 4.10 1.35 Offer 5.1000 5.0900 5.1200 1.6000 9
International rates Verizon Communications VZ 4.862 5.77 Aug. 21, ’46 165 148
Overnight repurchase Treasury bill auction 8
Week 52-Week PacifiCorp BRKHEC 6.250 6.08 Oct. 15, ’37 228 212
Latest High Low
U.S. 5.11 5.11 5.14 1.52 4 weeks 5.210 5.150 5.840 1.980
ago
13 weeks 5.250 5.250 5.300 2.470 BHP Billiton Finance BHP 4.875 4.98 Feb. 27, ’26 65 6 58
Prime rates U.S. government rates 26 weeks 5.250 5.270 5.290 2.850
Caterpillar Financial Services … 4.350 4.79 May 15, ’26 45 6 43
U.S. 8.25 8.25 8.25 4.75 Discount
Canada 6.95 6.95 6.95 3.70 5.25 5.25 5.25 1.75
Secondary market
Fannie Mae High-yield issues with the biggest price increases…
30-year mortgage yields Bond Price as % of face value
Key Interest Rates 30 days 6.192 6.617 6.812 4.321 Issuer Symbol Coupon (%) Yield (%) Maturity Current One-day change Last week
Data are annualized on a 360-day basis. Treasury yields are per annum, 60 days 6.193 6.643 6.988 4.390 0.53
Ford Motor Credit … 4.134 6.10 Aug. 4, ’25 96.280 94.398
on actively traded noninflation and inflation-indexed issues that are Other short-term rates 0.42
adjusted to constant maturities. Data are from weekly Federal Reserve Hughes Satellite Systems … 6.625 11.13 Aug. 1, ’26 88.668 87.780
Week 52-Week
release H.15. Latest high low Intesa Sanpaolo ISPIM 5.017 7.59 June 26, ’24 97.713 0.36 97.050
ago
Week Ended 52-Week Week Ended 52-Week
Jul 14 Jul 7 High Low Jul 14 Jul 7 High Low Rockies Express Pipeline ROCKIE 6.875 7.73 April 15, ’40 92.000 0.25 90.311
Call money
6-month 5.53 5.53 5.53 2.88
Federal funds (effective) 1-year 5.36 5.42 5.42 3.01
7.00 7.00 7.00 3.50 0.25
Teva Pharmaceutical Finance Netherlands … 3.150 6.58 Oct. 1, ’26 90.250 88.625
5.08 5.08 5.08 1.58 2-year 4.76 4.95 4.95 2.94 Commercial paper (AA financial) 0.12
Commercial paper 3-year 4.40 4.62 4.62 2.91 Transocean RIG 6.800 10.05 March 15, ’38 75.327 73.625
5-year 4.11 4.29 4.32 2.80 90 days 5.22 5.29 5.32 2.29
Nonfinancial 7-year 4.01 4.15 4.23 2.78 Telecom Italia TITIM 5.303 7.17 May 30, ’24 98.450 0.10 97.031
1-month 5.14 5.11 5.14 1.80 10-year 3.89 3.98 4.12 2.72
Secured Overnight Financing Rate
2-month 5.17 n.a. 5.21 1.99
4.16 5.05 5.06 5.09 1.52 4.000 5.89 Nov. 15, ’23 99.390 0.06
3-month n.a. n.a. 5.20 2.35
20-year 4.19 4.44 3.19 Ball BALL 99.300
Financial Value 52-Week
Treasury yields (secondary market) Latest Traded High Low …And with the biggest price decreases
1-month 5.15 5.12 5.15 1.89
2-month 5.25 5.22 5.26 2.48 1-month 5.18 5.13 5.62 1.74
3-month 5.25 5.22 5.25 2.25 DTCC GCF Repo Index –1.50
3-month 5.24 5.27 5.27 2.45 Ford Motor F 4.750 6.64 Jan. 15, ’43 79.500 76.250
6-month 5.26 5.27 5.27 2.78 Treasury 5.103 14.276 5.195 1.530
Discount window primary credit –0.73
TIPS MBS 5.144 85.850 5.199 1.563 Teva Pharmaceutical Finance … 6.150 7.35 Feb. 1, ’36 90.270 n.a.
5.25 5.25 5.25 1.75
5-year 1.94 2.08 2.08 0.14 Notes on data: Dish DBS … 7.750 27.67 July 1, ’26 61.500 –0.63 62.500
Treasury yields at constant 7-year 1.76 1.87 1.87 0.18
maturities U.S. prime rate is the base rate on corporate
10-year 1.64 1.72 1.72 0.24
loans posted by at least 70% of the 10 largest Venture Global Calcasieu Pass VENTGL 4.125 6.55 Aug. 15, ’31 85.000 –0.63 85.317
1-month 5.36 5.30 5.81 1.79 20-year 1.64 1.67 1.70 0.53 U.S. banks, and is effective May 4, 2023. Other
3-month 5.48 5.45 5.52 2.31 Long-term avg 1.77 1.77 1.94 0.87 prime rates aren’t directly comparable; lending
CSC Holdings CSCHLD 5.250 16.47 June 1, ’24 91.250 –0.50 92.000
practices vary widely by location; Discount rate
Notes on data: is effective May 4, 2023. Secured Overnight
Federal-funds rate is an average for the seven days ended Wednesday, weighted according to rates Financing Rate is as of July 14, 2023. DTCC GCF Occidental Petroleum OXY 6.200 6.21 March 15, ’40 99.918 –0.33 97.534
on broker trades; Commercial paper rates are discounted offer rates interpolated from sales by Repo Index is Depository Trust & Clearing
discounted averages of dealer bid rates on nationally traded certificates of deposit; Discount window Corp.'s weighted average for overnight trades in Bausch Health BHCCN 11.000 19.11 Sept. 30, ’28 73.938 –0.31 72.223
primary credit rate is charged for discounts made and advances extended under the Federal applicable CUSIPs. Value traded is in billions of
Reserve's primary credit discount window program; rate is average for seven days ended Wednesday; U.S. dollars. Federal-funds rates are Tullett Intelsat Jackson Holdings INTEL 6.500 7.68 March 15, ’30 93.918 –0.28 92.482
Inflation-indexed long-term TIPS average is indexed and is based on the unweighted average bid Prebon rates as of 5:30 p.m. ET.
yields for all TIPS with remaining terms to maturity of 10 years or more; Sources: Federal Reserve; Bureau of Labor *Estimated spread over 2-year, 3-year, 5-year, 10-year or 30-year hot-run Treasury; 100 basis points=one percentage pt.; change in spread shown is for Z-spread.
Sources: Federal Reserve; for additional information on these rate data and their derivation, Statistics; DTCC; FactSet; Note: Data are for the most active issue of bonds with maturities of two years or more
please see, https://www.federalreserve.gov/datadownload/Build.aspx?rel=H15 Tullett Prebon Information, Ltd. Source: MarketAxess
.
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MARKETS
EnCap
Flatrock
Stocks Rise Before Earnings Week
Sells Its Weak Chinese
growth data bruise
lenders aren’t expected to
show such strong results,
banks of all stripes helped
Index performance on Monday
1.2%
further.
Michael Antonelli, market
strategist at Baird, said he
Citigroup
3.0
JPMorgan Chase
Comparisons between Cava and the fast-casual dining juggernaut look stretched aside from a hot IPO 2.5
Wells Fargo
Since it went public a month But, just like the investors looking grow even faster, noting in a secu- Cava’s growth hasn’t been com- 2.0
ago, there have been several men- for “the next Apple,” they need to rities filing that it anticipates hav- pletely organic. In 2018, it bought
tions of the Mediterranean-food appreciate the slim chances of his- ing more than 1,000 U.S. locations Zoës Kitchen, a publicly listed 1.5
purveyor Cava as “the next Chi- tory repeating. by 2032, a 16% rate of compound fast-casual chain in the same Med-
potle”—high praise indeed in the At any given time, there are a annual growth—not dissimilar to iterranean category, for $300 mil- 1.0
fast-casual restaurant category. In- handful of innovative, fast-grow- Chipotle’s as a younger public lion. It converted 151 of them to
vestors need to be realistic. ing restaurant concepts. But most company, Schulman noted. Cava outlets, accounting for more
The similarities are striking: new restaurant concepts stall be- The most bullish characteristic than half of its current restaurant 0.5
Both chains doubled on the days fore they can get the access to of a novel restaurant concept is count. Opening new restaurants
of their initial public offerings, public markets that Cava did. And what the industry calls a lot of consumes a lot more of manage- 0
with Cava fetching the same $22 a there are reasons not to chase the “white space”—unfilled demand ment’s time and energy and re- 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q
share that Chipotle did back in story now that it went public, too. for a desirable type of food. That quires more significant investment 2022 '23
2006. Like Chipotle, Cava sits a The main one is price: While might well exist for Cava if copy- than acquiring existing ones. Source: the companies
half step above fast food, allowing Chipotle attracted a few skeptics cats don’t emerge, but there have Keeping executives motivated
it to charge more for custom 17 years ago, its market value af- been many new culinary ventures matters and, in a category as
meals using quality ingredients,
but without expensive table ser-
vice. Once a subsidiary of
ter its initial surge was $1.43 bil-
lion; it was profitable and had
more than 450 restaurants. Cava
that remained niche players.
Can harissa, falafel and tahini
conquer Americans’ palates the
tough as restaurants, the sort of
growth and buzz Cava has gener-
ated is no accident. Buying Zoës
Big Banks’
McDonald’s, Chipotle made early
investors a fortune.
Cava Chief Executive Brett
has 263 restaurants, isn’t yet prof-
itable and had a market value of
$5.4 billion at Friday’s close.
way familiar burritos did in Chi-
potle’s case? As evidence that it
can, Schulman cites a number of
Kitchen certainly was a master-
stroke. Even so, that deal should
give Cava investors pause. Why
Results Had
Schulman said he thought his
company could follow in its foot-
steps, becoming “the next large-
One could argue that an inves-
tor who paid even that higher
multiple for Chipotle back then
Cava’s locations—Fayetteville,
Ark.; Pensacola, Fla.; and Lancas-
ter, Pa.—that aren’t in cosmopoli-
are they paying about 16 times as
much per restaurant as public in-
vestors did five years ago for a
Bad News
scale cultural cuisine category.”
The chain has a great origin story,
and it struck the right tone in its
would have done well given the
growth it delivered with 3,187 res-
taurants at year-end, good for
tan coastal cities. And restaurant-
level economics are good: Cava
had an average unit volume of
similar restaurant concept? Zoës
had issues, but Cava’s valuation is
literally an order of magnitude
For Smaller
pitch to investors. Cava touted a
“scalable data driven growth en-
gine,” lending itself a tech aura.
compound annual growth of 11.8%.
It opened almost as many in 2022
as Cava has. Cava thinks it can
around $2.5 million recently, com-
pared with $2.8 million for cate-
gory-leading Chipotle.
higher. The chain needs to sell a
lot of falafel to justify these num-
bers. —Spencer Jakab
Lenders
A surge of profits at some of the
nation’s largest banks might make
China’s economic output in the they were in the first quarter. That
second quarter was up 6.3% from was a slower pace of increase than
a year earlier—impressive, if not from the fourth quarter to the first.
for the fact that last spring Shang- However, base interest rates set by
hai was locked down and a good the Federal Reserve didn’t rise as
chunk of the economy had ground much during the second quarter—
to a halt. China will still probably so the pace of deposit-rate in-
achieve its growth target of creases accelerated relative to the
around 5% for 2023, but the pros- increase in the average federal-
pects beyond that are cloudy. Most China’s economy still has pockets of strength, including electric vehicles, clean power and batteries. funds rate.
worrying is the continued weak- No banks are safe from the pres-
ness in private investment and and e-commerce. The computer The export numbers for EVs are batteries, followed by stronger sure, it appears. In response to a
consumption. and electronics industry employed astonishing and, along with mar- growth in the mid-to-late 2020s as question on Friday from analysts
But that weakness obscures around twice as many people as ket share gains in Russia, appear these new sectors grow to scale. about customer demands for higher
some pockets of strength, includ- the auto industry did in May, ac- to be pulling up big parts of The extent of structural damage rates, JPMorgan Chief Executive Ja-
ing electric vehicles, clean power cording to CEIC. The internet-plat- China’s auto supply chain with in the meantime will be signifi- mie Dimon warned everyone to an-
and batteries, which are all indus- form economy accounts for about them. June exports of motor vehi- cantly influenced by the aggres- ticipate more on this front. “There
trial policy favorites. In the first one-quarter of urban jobs, accord- cles and vehicle parts were up siveness of Beijing’s fiscal and is very little pricing power in most
half, fixed-asset investment in ing to Andy Rothman of Matthews 40% from a year earlier. Exports monetary support. So far, the sig- of our business, and betas are going
electrical machinery and equip- Asia. Computer and phone exports of lithium-ion batteries were up nals aren’t particularly encourag- to go up,” he said, with “beta” re-
ment was up 39% from a year ear- came to more than $24 billion in 42% in May. ing. But it would still be unwise to ferring to how much of an increase
lier; in autos, it was up 20%. And May, far exceeding the combined One possible scenario is a pe- write off China over the medium in base interest rates banks pass
overall private-sector manufactur- $14 billion for lithium-ion batter- riod of subpar growth and high term—even with all its structural, along to customers. Brian Foran, an
ing investment was up 8.6% in the ies, electric vehicles and solar youth unemployment as the econ- demographic and political head- analyst at Autonomous Research,
first five months, easily outpacing cells. omy slowly heals from the wounds winds—as long as it keeps domi- wrote in a Friday note that this
overall factory investment. But given how quickly those lat- to the property, software and gen- nating a few of the key industries outlook coming from the biggest
For now, these new industries ter industries are growing, that eral services sectors and as the la- that will shape the global economy bank in the country was “a definite
are small compared with recent could start to change in a few bor force reorients itself toward in the years to come. curb your enthusiasm moment.”
leaders such as phones, computers years —if China can keep its lead. new job engines like autos and —Nathaniel Taplin On top of that, there continued
to be a shift out of banks’ “golden”
deposits, which are those that col-
lect no interest at all. Excluding JP-
Morgan, whose numbers were
Companies Brace for Terrible, No- Good Earnings skewed by taking on First Republic
Bank’s customers, overall deposits
at the reporting banks on Friday
were down 1% quarter over quarter
When companies were raising year earlier, economists’ estimates S&P 500 quarterly earnings per goods-oriented companies, this is by period end. Noninterest-bearing
prices faster than their costs were suggest. Global nominal GDP has share, change from a year earlier difficult because customers are deposits were down over 7% at
going up, it was called greedfla- been growing too. So S&P 500 sales moderating purchases. Also, with those same banks.
100%
tion. But with profit margins col- are lagging behind the economy. supply chains steadier, competition For banks such as JPMorgan,
lapsing, it is beginning to look as Some of this is an energy story— is heating up. Take the case of the Citigroup and Wells Fargo, these
though businesses are having a fuel prices are down a lot from last 80 makers of branded consumer sta- deposit trends have a number of
sudden fit of generosity. year and that is hitting energy com- ples, which did well early in the offsets. Wells Fargo, for example,
Companies are starting to report panies. But excluding energy compa- 60 pandemic not just because flush- still has nearly 30% of its deposits
their second-quarter results, and nies, S&P 500 revenues are expected feeling customers were gravitating in noninterest-bearing accounts,
from the looks of it, this earnings to show an increase of 2.8%. Exclud- 40 toward their higher-priced goods, which include things such as con-
season will be bad. Analyst esti- ing energy items, growth in nominal but because private-label makers’ sumers’ checking accounts. The big
mates point to earnings per share at GDP would be stronger too. The 20 supply-chain problems were more banks also do more of the kinds of
companies in the S&P 500 falling by problem remains that the stock mar- intense. Now private-label offerings lending that offset those funding
8.1% from a year earlier, according ket is focusing more on companies are easier to find, and consumers cost increases, namely credit cards,
0
to Refinitiv. It probably won’t end that produce and sell goods than the are coming back to them. whose interest rates float higher.
up that bad because estimates are service economy is. Not only have That companies would like to But many regional banks, or
almost always too pessimistic by the consumers been redirecting more of -20 raise prices faster than costs those more reliant on faster-moving
time earnings season gets under their spending to services, but goods 2021 '22 '23 shouldn’t be surprising. After all, commercial deposits, might not
way, but a decline seems likely. And inflation aside from energy items Note: Second quarter 2023 reflects analyst estimates back in the 18th century, the econo- have had the same lines of defense.
don’t forget that earnings per share cooled sharply. As of May, Com- Source: Refinitiv mist Adam Smith laid out how eco- At trust bank State Street, nonin-
is typically flattered by the retiring merce Department figures show nomic actors behave in their own terest-bearing deposits fell more
of shares through buybacks and the nominal U.S. consumer spending on of companies struggled to hire self-interest. The other thing Smith than 20% at the end of the second
like. Analysts estimate S&P 500 net goods excluding energy items was workers after the pandemic hit, and said was that competition acted as a quarter from the end of the first.
income fell 11.4%. Revenues are esti- on pace to be up 4% versus a year while the payroll reduction helped regulator of self-interest, with the Those deposits fell only about 7% at
mated to have fallen by 0.9%. This earlier, while nominal spending on on profit margins, these employers interplay of the two acting as an in- Wells Fargo.
points to a decline in profit margins. services excluding energy services couldn’t stay short-staffed forever. visible hand guiding the economy. When regional banks such as
Before getting to that, let’s reflect was on pace to be up about 8%. Some might be hoarding labor be- So maybe what we’re seeing now is PNC Financial Services, Western
on how bad the revenue figure is. One of companies’ first instincts cause many of the workers you fire that competition for customers and Alliance, Citizens Financial, M&T
The economy is growing slowly, when faced with flagging sales is to today would have ample opportuni- labor is regulating away a portion of Bank, U.S. Bancorp and Zions Ban-
but it is growing, and while inflation reduce costs—especially labor costs. ties to find work elsewhere. Worse, companies’ hefty profit margins. corp start reporting this week,
is cooling, it remains high. U.S. nom- To some extent, companies have they are often in competition for Of course, they would still love to these will be key risks to watch for.
inal gross domestic product—GDP been trying to do this, as evidenced workers with services providers, raise prices and reduce labor costs. If State Street is any indication, in-
not adjusted for inflation—looks as by all the layoffs targeting tech and which is putting pressure on wages. But all businesses have a plan until vestors may react harshly to any
though it was around 5% higher in white-collar jobs. But in a tight labor Another instinct is to raise prices the invisible hand punches them in disappointments on deposits.
the second quarter than it was a market that poses a challenge. A lot to keep up with rising costs. But for the mouth. —Justin Lahart —Telis Demos