Bloomberg Businessweek

● Globally, more than 526 million people have been infected by the coronavirus, and about 6.3m people have died. North Korea has disclosed about 1.5 million suspected Covid-19 infections, which it calls “fever cases.” The reclusive country, where much of the population is malnourished and all are unvaccinated, faces an unprecedented health crisis. ● “White supremacy is a poison. And it’s been allowed to fester and grow right in front of our eyes.” ● President Joe Biden called on Americans to reject the extremist racist ideology that inspired a shooter to murder 10 people on May 14 in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo. He and Jill Biden visited the scene of the rampage on May 17. ● The Russian invasion of Ukraine is entering its fourth month. ▶ Russia is getting closer to…

To soaring prices, plummeting stocks, and disrupted supply chains, add another worry for US consumers: an alarming shortage of baby formula. Beyond the panic for parents, the crisis is an object lesson in how decades of protectionism can culminate in disaster. Reports of empty shelves, rationed supplies, and online scams have proliferated in recent weeks. An analysis by Datasembly Inc. found that the out-of-stock rate for infant formula surged to 43% nationwide in May, up from 11% in November. In some cities the rate exceeds 50%. Experts warn it could be months before supplies are back to normal. Two basic problems underlie the shortage, one new and one years in the making. The first was a contamination scare. In February, Abbott Laboratories—maker of Similac formula—shut a plant in Michigan when federal regulators…

▶ London’s Elizabeth Line opens on May 24 for public rail traffic after 15 years of construction. One of the UK’s most ambitious projects, it will serve about 200 million people annually. ▶ In a sign of defiance against Moscow’s aggressive rhetoric, NATO will conduct its Parliamentary Assembly Spring Session on May 27 in Lithuania, on the border with Russia. ▶ Alibaba reports its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings on May 26. Beijing’s sweeping crackdown on the tech sector has forced the country’s internet giants to freeze growth plans. ▶ The Senate Banking Committee holds its annual hearing with the heads of the largest US banks on May 25. Topics include market turmoil and returning to work. ▶ Twitter holds its annual general meeting on May 25, an event that promises to be tumultuous with Elon…

When a respiratory virus sweeps away almost 15 million lives in two years, as Covid-19 has, according to a May 5 World Health Organization estimate that includes indirect deaths, it’s a savage hit to humanity. A single microbe has destabilized health-care systems, unbalanced economies, and confounded government leaders worldwide. It’s a humbling moment for Homo sapiens, accustomed as we are to doling out crushing blows to other life forms rather than having them rock our own. Why have we stumbled so spectacularly? The short answer is that we’ve rarely been adept at dealing with contagions on a massive scale. If you look at the history of infectious disease outbreaks, across millenniums and technological eras, societies have reacted in similarly self-defeating ways. We’re cognitively wired to react to risks we can see and feel…

Chelsea FC’s new owner-in-waiting, Todd Boehly, an American financial and media executive, had to charm sporting and political power brokers earlier this year to triumph in one of the most fiercely contested takeovers in the history of football. Pressure on Chelsea’s Russian oligarch owner, billionaire Roman Abramovich, to sell the team to comply with sanctions stemming from the Ukraine invasion suddenly fulfilled the American’s yearslong dream to own the club. Now comes the real challenge: winning trophies without breaking the bank. Boehly’s acquisition still must overcome last-minute haggling between Abramovich and the UK government over terms that the sale proceeds go to a charity. If it goes through, when the next English Premier League season begins in August, American money will be backing more than half of the 20 competing teams. US…

Ernie Garcia III wants to do for used cars what Jeff Bezos did for books, but disrupting the sale of 5,000-pound SUVs is proving far more challenging than peddling paperbacks. Carvana Co., the internet-based used-car dealer Garcia founded in 2012, has become a poster child for pandemic highfliers whose stocks have plunged back to earth. Over the past nine months, Carvana has seen 92% of its market value vanish, taking with it the majority of a fortune amassed by Garcia and his father, a major shareholder. Now the company is pivoting from its growth-at-all-costs strategy toward a more cost-focused approach to restore investor confidence and regain its operational footing. “Markets are reacting right now in a way that seems to be very fearful about the future,” says Garcia, who’s chief executive…