Bloomberg Businessweek-Asia Edition May 16, 2022

● This week, the US will cross the grim milestone of 1m official deaths from Covid-19. Globally, after more than 520 million cases, almost 6.3 million have died. So far, countries have given 11.8 billion vaccine doses. ● TerraUSD, or UST, a popular crypto stablecoin supposedly pegged to a value of $1, suddenly tumbled in price on May 11, going as low as 30¢. The coin is designed to use software and incentives for traders to maintain a steady price, but that failed amid a broad decline in digital asset prices. Traders are anxiously watching for ripple effects across crypto markets. ▷ 19 ● Russia’s ambassador to Poland, Sergei Andreyev, was pelted with red paint on May 9 at a cemetery in Warsaw, where he’d come to lay a wreath to World War…

President Joe Biden wants to make it easier for Russian scientists, engineers, and technology professionals to move to the US by temporarily suspending the need for a sponsoring employer. It’s a welcome move, and long overdue. By streamlining the system to accelerate an already damaging rate of departures from Russia, the administration will erode President Vladimir Putin’s ability to sustain his invasion of Ukraine and his repressive machinery at home, undermine crucial Kremlin propaganda, and boost the US economy—which has gained in the past from such efforts. Russia has experienced multiple emigration waves over the past century or so, including the 1990s, when about 2.5 million left amid an economic collapse. Putin’s arrival initially promised increased prosperity, but departures have gone up again since 2012, when he returned for a third term,…

▶ The European Commission reveals its spring economic forecast on May 16. With rates and the cost of living rising, economies are struggling to meet their growth targets. ▶ G-7 finance ministers and central bank governors meet in Bonn and Königswinter, Germany, May 18-20. Inflation and anemic economic growth will be their top talking points. ▶ May 18 will be a big day for retail earnings, with Lowe’s, Macy’s, Target, and TJX reporting. High energy costs and lean inventory from supply chain issues have likely hurt sales. ▶ US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will travel to Berlin and Paris May 14-16, seeking to maintain political and military support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion. ▶ President Joe Biden begins a four-day visit to Japan and South Korea on May 20. China…

Anyone checking their investment accounts at the moment will presumably recoil in shock—and then think about putting more money to work. After all, history reveals periods of intense Wall Street fear are ultimately good buying opportunities, a pattern that’s duly nurtured a generation of investors primed to “buy the dip” during major equity and credit market routs. One of the most memorable, short-lived dips in asset prices was the pandemic low of early 2020, and that’s a good starting point for investors trying to make sense of what ails markets today. The culprit stirring up market volatility and punishing asset prices isn’t hard to spot. A soothing tide of fiscal and monetary stimulus that started in 2020 is now retreating as central banks try to counteract the highest pace of inflation in…

Not that long ago, corporate executives had a single thing to worry about: profit. It was the raison d’etre, and it largely determined a company’s stock price, its ability to pay out dividends, and its longevity as a going concern. The public lionized old-school business leaders such as General Electric Co.’s Jack Welch not because of their winning personalities or social media savvy, but because they could reliably deliver growing profits year after year. No longer. For today’s chief executive officers, the traditional financial metrics such as earnings and return on investment are being eclipsed in the boardroom and society by the demand to satisfy constituencies or take a stand on issues like abortion, global warming, and racial and gender equity. There’s long been that pressure from Democrats and liberals. But…

Since January, Jen Coleman has kicked her videoconferencing habit, flying from her home in London, first to Miami and later to Melbourne, to see clients in person—and win a renewed contract for her company. “I’ve spent two years on Zoom,” says Coleman, 33, who helps the Australian phone company Optus manage its relationship with Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo. “It’s just not the same.” Coleman’s experience is just one small piece of evidence pointing to a rebound in business travel. Airlines’ early fears that videoconference applications such as Zoom, Teams, and Skype might keep lucrative business travelers home permanently are subsiding as governments ease border restrictions and executives rediscover the commercial value of human contact. Data from four top companies that manage corporate travel show that two years after Covid-19 pushed…