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The Wall Street Journal - 01.09.22
The Wall Street Journal - 01.09.22
The Wall Street Journal - 01.09.22
U.S. NEWS
CAPITAL ACCOUNT | By Greg Ip
I
and said he would build the mates. “Congress does not over Obamacare, and Demo- on shared those doubts. By f Mr. Biden’s debt cancel- and repay less in anticipation
wall with money earmarked hide elephants in mouse- crats sued Mr. Trump over the last week, those doubts were lation survives constitu- of another debt cancellation.
for other purposes. Democrats holes,” Mr. Hoagland said, wall. Both parties accused a gone. Mr. Biden’s Education tional muster, it might The CBO has found that bor-
accused him of trampling on quoting a 2001 Supreme president of violating the sep- Department claimed a 2003 end up being one of the rowers who opt into IDR also
the Constitution’s separation Court decision. “This is one aration of powers. Neither case law originally targeting mili- most, if not the most, expen- borrow more and repay less—
of powers. The move big elephant. You don’t do was fully resolved before the tary borrowers allows mass sive executive actions in their loans lose 17 cents on
“clearly…violates the Con- this by executive order.” White House changed hands. cancellation. While a court peacetime history. Just how the dollar, while regular loans
gress’s exclusive power of the The framers gave Congress Though steeped in Senate expensive is unclear: Execu- earn 13 cents on the dollar. By
purse,” House Speaker Nancy authority over appropriations tradition, Mr. Biden has gone tive orders don’t have to be making IDR more generous
Pelosi (D., Calif.) said. Some as a way of checking the arguably further in asserting scored by the Congressional (as previous presidents have
Republicans warned that a fu- power of the executive. But executive discretion over fis-
Presidents have been Budget Office and the Joint done), Mr. Biden might thus
ture Democratic president as the federal government’s cal matters, such as in an encroaching on Committee on Taxation. Nor amplify future losses. Such
could use the tactic to fund role in the economy grew, in April decision expanding must they adhere to congres- behavioral changes could
his or her priorities. particular through perma- Obamacare subsidies to fami-
lawmakers’ power of sional rules requiring new push the 10-year price tag of
They were right. Last week nent programs such as Social lies. Under the law, a worker the purse for decades. spending be paid for with the total package to over $1
President Biden declared that Security, Medicare, Medicaid was entitled to subsidies if higher taxes or decreased trillion, the Penn Wharton
under a 2003 law, a national and student loans, lawmakers employer-provided health in- spending elsewhere. Budget Model estimates.
emergency—in this case increasingly surrendered dis- surance cost more than a cer- The White House, which The implications aren’t lim-
Covid-19—empowers him to cretion to the president and tain threshold, but only for challenge is possible, it is has promised a detailed esti- ited to student debt. What
cancel student debt for as his appointees over how that the employee, not his family. unclear whether a plaintiff mate in coming weeks, said constrains future presidents
many as 27 million people. money was spent. Critics called this the “family can establish “standing,” a cash from student loans will from invoking an emergency
The parallels are inexact. glitch,” yet Mr. Obama’s own necessary step for a lawsuit be about $240 billion lower to spend money or cancel
W
Congress had explicitly said hile presidents have Treasury concluded the law to proceed. over 10 years. It hasn’t yet debt? What about the roughly
no to Mr. Trump’s request, long pushed the was written that way to hold Administrations routinely priced other provisions, such $3 trillion in small-business
and the federal government boundaries of their down its cost. Mr. Biden change federal entitlements as cutting in half how much and homeowner loans guaran-
shut down for five weeks authority on national security, tossed out that interpretation with budgetary consequences, borrowers who opt for in- teed by federal agencies? Pres-
over the impasse. Mr. Biden they increasingly do so on do- and introduced his own, ex- a Biden administration offi- come-driven repayment, or idents have been encroaching
never actually asked. On the mestic policy as well. Presi- tending coverage to 200,000 cial said in an interview, cit- IDR, which caps payments as on Congress’s power of the
other hand, the money at dent Barack Obama’s Treasury more people. ing a change to drug-rebate a share of income, must pay purse for decades; Mr. Biden
stake is far larger—unprece- paid subsidies to insurance The 2020 Cares Act gave policies under Mr. Trump each month, and hastening has potentially taken that to a
dented, said Bill Hoagland, a companies for Obamacare that Mr. Trump authority to sus- projected to cost Medicare when many loans are can- new level.
U.S. WATCH
WASHINGTON, D.C. lower-tax jurisdictions. A spokesperson for Mi- glected safety and maintenance
Mr. Saylor, who recently croStrategy said the case is a while it focused on long-term
MicroStrategy Ex-CEO stepped down as the CEO of Mi- personal tax matter involving capital projects, federal trans-
Is Sued Over Taxes croStrategy, said in a statement Mr. Saylor. “The District of Co- portation officials said in a
that he moved his home to Miami lumbia’s claims against the com- highly critical report based on a
The District of Columbia attor- Beach, Fla., from Virginia a decade pany are false and we will de- review started earlier this year
ney general sued Michael Saylor, ago. “Although MicroStrategy is fend aggressively against this in response to several accidents
the founder and chairman of soft- based in Virginia, Florida is where overreach,” the spokesperson and other problems with the
ware intelligence firm MicroStrat- I live, vote, and have reported for said. system.
egy Inc., alleging he dodged more jury duty, and it is at the center —Vicky Ge Huang While The Massachusetts Bay
than $25 million in district taxes. of my personal and family life,” Transportation Authority’s capital
The lawsuit alleges that Mr. Mr. Saylor said in a statement to MASSACHUSETTS budget has quadrupled in four
Saylor has resided in the District The Wall Street Journal. years, funding cuts to the trans-
of Columbia for more than a de- The lawsuit also named Mi- Subway System portation authority’s operations
cade without paying D.C. income croStrategy as a defendant, ac- Faulted Over Safety and maintenance budget have re-
taxes. The suit says he avoided in- cusing the Northern Virginia- sulted in a reduction in hundreds
come taxes by fraudulently claim- based company of collaborating The Boston-area’s aging sub- of millions of dollars and hun-
ing to be a resident of other, with Mr. Saylor to dodge taxes. way system has for years ne- dreds of positions. The authority
is committed to working with the
FTA and has started addressing
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U.S. NEWS
Scott, president of the non- said was decades in the mak- lons on Tuesday, said Jim
profit Foundation for Opioid ing crescendoed Monday when Craig, director of health pro-
Response Efforts. flooding overwhelmed the tection for the state’s health
“Addressing the overdose city’s main water-treatment department.
crisis requires acknowledging plant, slowing water pressure Mr. Reeves, a Republican,
that you have to work on across Jackson. Residents who said authorities were prepar-
many fronts at one time,” she had complained about having ing to install a rented pump at
said. to boil tap water during previ- the main facility, the O.B. Cur-
Deaths attributed to flu, ous crises now faced a new tis Water Plant, that could
pneumonia and Alzheimer’s challenge as they waited for Salvation Army members carried cases of water to a waiting vehicle in Jackson, Miss., on Wednesday. handle more than 4 million
dropped in 2021, the data state and city officials to dis- gallons of water.
showed. For Alzheimer’s in tribute bottled water. tled water the previous day. schools moved online and busi- crisis that had loomed for Jackson Mayor Chokwe
particular, a lower death toll South Jackson had some of John Knight, who was helping nesses struggled to operate weeks once the facility’s main Antar Lumumba, a Democrat,
in 2021 reversed a high tally the region’s worst water pres- to run the site as an employee without reliable running water. pumps failed. said at a press conference
in 2020, when deaths from sure because it is the farthest of the Strong Arms of Jackson On Tuesday, President Bi- The crisis exacerbated long- Tuesday that some residents
the disease rose 18% from the part of the city from the main nonprofit, wasn’t expecting den approved the governor’s standing tensions between the had seen their water pressure
year before. plant. Residents there who more cases until later that af- request for an emergency dec- city’s Democratic-led govern- come back and that water lev-
“The truly vulnerable were pulled into the water distribu- ternoon. He said bottles were laration, deploying federal re- ment and the state’s mostly els were beginning to lift in
left in drastic situations,” tion center at Sykes Commu- out of stock at most stores in sources to Mississippi’s largest Republican leaders who have the city’s tanks. He estimated
said Beth Kallmyer, vice pres- nity Center Wednesday morn- the area. city. Gov. Tate Reeves said it clashed over how to run the that water-infrastructure re-
ident of care and support for ing left empty-handed. Much of the city came to a could take three or four city’s infrastructure, policing pairs could cost more than $1
the Alzheimer’s Association. The site had run out of bot- halt this week as the public months to repair the plant, a and other services. billion.
.
U.S. NEWS
Obstruction Allegation
Lifts Stakes for Trump
cans for the state’s top offices. Abrams underperforming Mr. tion for the state’s only U.S. in this outcome, Alaskans know
Georgia has been an elec- Warnock with Black voters, House seat, frustrating the ef- I’m the last one who’ll ever re-
tion battleground in recent the core of the Democratic forts of Republican former treat. Instead, I’m going to re-
MEGAN VARNER/REUTERS
years, shifting toward the electorate in Georgia. Gov. Sarah Palin to mount a load,” Ms. Palin said in a state-
Democrats after decades of Teresa Tomlinson, the Dem- political comeback. ment. She made it clear she
Republican dominance. Demo- ocratic former mayor of Co- Ms. Palin, who was endorsed was ready for a rematch this
crats notched back-to-back lumbus, said Ms. Abrams is a by former President Donald fall, when the candidates will
victories here in the 2020 strong candidate with state Trump, and Ms. Peltola, a for- compete in the general election
presidential race, when Presi- and national celebrity. But she mer state legislator, were com- for the full two-year House
dent Biden narrowly defeated Democrat Stacey Abrams is behind in polls to GOP Gov. Brian said that her task this fall to peting to fill the seat previously term starting next January. But
former President Donald Kemp. In the Senate race, the Democratic incumbent is ahead. beat an incumbent is inher- held by longtime Republican she also blamed the state’s new
Trump, and in January 2021 ently harder than Mr. War- Rep. Don Young, who died in ranked-choice voting system
Senate runoff elections, when back and Heisman Trophy tively rare. The 2014 and 2018 nock’s to retain his seat. March and whose term expires for her defeat, deriding it as
victories by Raphael Warnock winner. FiveThirtyEight, which cycles each saw only a half- “I don’t know that that is a in January. Another candidate, convoluted and confusing.
and Jon Ossoff gave Demo- aggregates polls, showed Mr. dozen states pick one party testament to the strength of Republican Nick Begich III, fin- Under ranked-choice voting,
crats control of the Senate. Kemp leading his race by 5.1 for governor and the other for Kemp as it is the weakness of ished third. All three are on the if no candidate wins 50% of the
Now, both parties are pour- points on average and Mr. Senate, according to the Uni- Walker,” Ms. Tomlinson said. ballot again this November to first-choice votes, the weakest
ing tens of millions of dollars Warnock ahead by 1.7 points versity of Virginia’s Center for Matt Towery, an indepen- run for the next term. candidate is eliminated and the
into contests for governor and as of Wednesday afternoon. Politics. dent pollster and former Re- “We built a great deal of second-choice votes on those
senator, the state’s most high- Operatives in both parties Republican strategists publican lawmaker in Georgia, momentum in a short time,” ballots are then distributed to
profile races this year, in a say incumbency is helping credit Mr. Kemp with uniting said that polls today point to a Ms. Peltola said. “I plan to the remaining candidates.
test of whether the trend to- Messrs. Warnock and Kemp, the GOP behind him after a split ticket but that the races continue introducing myself to Headed into Wednesday’s re-
ward Democrats will continue. with both candidates having primary campaign against are effectively a tossup. He Alaskans and working to earn lease of the results, Ms. Peltola
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp accomplishments to tout. former Sen. David Perdue. said the key difference be- their trust.” was first, with about 40%, and
is narrowly ahead of former “These are going to be very Meanwhile, Mr. Walker has tween the races was likely Ms. Peltola, a Yup’ik Es- Ms. Palin was second, with
state legislator Stacey Abrams tight margins. We know that faced scrutiny of his record as heavy television advertising kimo, will be the first woman about 31%. Mr. Begich, who re-
in a rematch of their 2018 con- even if you look at the most a businessman and questions spending by Mr. Warnock to represent Alaska in the ceived about 28% of first-
test, and Mr. Warnock has a critical polling, we are talking about his family life, includ- compared with Ms. Abrams. House and the first Native choice votes, was eliminated,
slight lead in his effort to help about a matter of inches,” Ms. ing allegations that he threat- Mr. Warnock already spent Alaskan in Congress. and his voters’ second choices
Democrats keep their Senate Abrams told reporters Friday ened his ex-wife, which he $17.5 million on television ads House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were redistributed.
majority by fending off a chal- during a campaign stop in Co- hasn’t denied but has said he as of last week, according to (D., Calif.) congratulated Ms. With all first- and second-
lenge from Republican Her- lumbus. sought forgiveness for amid ad-tracker AdImpact. Ms. Peltola, calling her a “strong, choice votes counted, Ms. Pel-
schel Walker, the former Uni- Nationally, split tickets in mental-health struggles. Mr. Abrams has spent $8.3 million pioneering voice for Alaska.” tola had 51.5% of the vote,
versity of Georgia running midterm elections are rela- Walker has been outspent in her race. Officials said Wednesday ahead of Ms. Palin’s 48.5%.
To Close 10
new loan and the expansion of
a credit line.
The new arrangement will
150 Stores 8
60
reduce the debt exposure of
the JPMorgan credit line by
more than half while Bed Bath
& Beyond retains access to
Continued from Page One about $800 million in borrow-
6 40
as interim chief executive. ing capacity. The company
Bed Bath & Beyond’s stock said it ended the latest quar-
was off 21% in Wednesday 4 ter with about $200 million in
trading, as the plan to sell cash and investments. A
20
shares could dilute the hold- spokeswoman for JPMorgan
ings of existing shareholders. 2 declined to comment.
The stock, a favorite among Compounding matters is a
meme investors, lost more than glut of inventory that is be-
0 0
half its value over the past two deviling a number of retailers.
weeks. As of Wednesday, the FY2011 ’15 ’20 ’22 2013 ’15 2022 Walmart Inc., Target and
company’s market value was Note: Fiscal year ends late Feb./early March other chains are turning to dis-
about $750 million. At its peak Sources: S&P Capital IQ (revenue); FactSet (shares price) counts to move inventory such
in June 2012, it had a valuation as home goods and make room
of more than $17.3 billion, ac- ernize the stores and capital- pany’s stock, which had been for holiday items, meaning com-
cording to FactSet data. ize on the rise of e-commerce. rallying in previous weeks, slid petition is heavy for the bed-
The retailer said it would Mark Tritton, a former Tar- after individuals followed Mr. ding, small kitchen appliances
lay off about 20% of its corpo- get Corp. executive, joined the Cohen in selling shares. and other items that Bed Bath &
rate and supply-chain staffers company in 2019 and sought to The business update came Beyond sells. Ms. Gove said the
and that it eliminated its oper- turn around the retailer by just days after the end of the company is aiming to be “the
ating- and stores-chief posi- pushing deeper into private-la- company’s latest quarter, category retailer of choice” in
tions. It will close about 150 of bel brands, among other initia- which showed the issues fac- the home and baby market.
the roughly 770 Bed Bath & tives. Those brands weren’t ing the retail chain. Compara- The company said it would
Beyond stores, including about well-received by shoppers and ble sales—reflecting sales at discontinue three of its nine
50 to 60 in the first wave, fi- were hindered by pandemic-re- stores open at least a year— house brands and refocus
nance chief Gustavo Arnal said lated supply-chain constraints. fell 26% in the quarter ended more of its inventory on more
during a conference call. Bed Bath & Beyond’s board Aug. 27. The company’s opera- established brands such as
Founded more than 50 ousted Mr. Tritton in June and tions burned through about Calphalon, Cuisinart and Oxo.
years ago, the Union, N.J., installed Ms. Gove, a retail-re- $325 million of its cash re- Bed Bath & Beyond said it
company had several decades structuring consultant, as in- serves during the period. would host a supplier event
of rapid growth as it became terim CEO. The company is While the company plans to early this fall to boost the rela-
known for its big-box stores working to find a permanent release its second-quarter re- tionships it has with vendors.
stockpiled with merchandise CEO and said Wednesday that port on Sept. 29, preliminary Some of Bed Bath & Be-
and its coupons. In recent the search process is continuing. results show the money it is yond’s suppliers have started
years, it wrestled with falling The retailer received an- bringing in the door is leaving negotiating terms to get paid
sales and shifting strategies. other blow in August when quickly. And the new financing faster after they struggled to
In 2019, activist investors billionaire activist Ryan Cohen provides only a short runway secure insurance against their
ousted the chain’s founders sold his 10% stake in the com- for the turnaround, analysts merchandise sent to the re-
and revamped the board, say- pany, about six months after said. The more than $500 mil- tailer, according to people with
ing its leaders failed to mod- acquiring his shares. The com- lion infusion, led by JPMorgan knowledge of the matter.
.
U.S. NEWS
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WORLD NEWS
Ukraine Advances, but at a Cost EU Moves
To Curb
Soldiers taking part in
southern campaign say
Russians are putting
Visas for
up stiff resistance Russians
BY MATTHEW LUXMOORE BY LAURENCE NORMAN
and mortars. “They have a lot ing in Ukraine,” Mr. Borrell said
of equipment but few men.” in Prague after a two-day meet-
Interviews with eight sol- ing of foreign ministers. “Mem-
diers who took part in fight- ber states considered that…it
ing—and were being treated cannot be business as usual.”
for injuries at a hospital behind Under the 2007 visa-facili-
the front lines—offered the tation agreement, the cost of
most detailed on-the-ground Ivan, a 32-year-old private who has suffered three concussions, said his unit’s task was simple: ‘Go in, f— them up, retake what’s ours.’ getting a visa to enter the EU’s
picture yet from an offensive border-free Schengen zone
that Ukraine hopes will help it seized a village from the Rus- the 30-year-old soldier, Petro, was slashed, as were the num-
seize the initiative in the con- sians in the early hours of said of the days that preceded ber of documents required and
flict and show its Western fighting. U.N. Team Arrives Russian forces have occu- the offensive as he struggled the processing time to issue
backers, and its own people, But that same day, Monday, At Nuclear Plant pied the plant, Europe’s largest, to speak under the influence the permits.
that its military can take on he wound up in hospital with a and stationed military equip- of heavy anesthesia. “We all When the agreement is sus-
Moscow’s army and win. concussion after a teammate ment there since the early hope the war ends as soon as pended, the cost of a visa will
Ukrainian officials are say- fired a rocket launcher a few KYIV, Ukraine—United Na- stages of the war. Ukrainian possible.” more than double from about
ing little publicly about the of- steps from where he stood. tions inspectors arrived in the workers continue to operate it, The doctor said he spends $35, and member states would
fensive, citing the need for se- “The guys are in a fighting Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia effectively at gunpoint, accord- some nights on a small couch be able to require a number of
crecy in military operations. mood,” said Ivan, a former on Wednesday ahead of an in- ing to Ukrainian officials. in his office after more than additional documents, which
The Pentagon’s assessment, construction worker from spection of the nearby Rus- The plant has suffered half his staff stopped coming would extend the process. Visas
given at a briefing by its southwest Ukraine. “They’re sian-occupied nuclear-power heavy shelling that has dam- to work following a Russian are handled at the national
spokesman on Wednesday, ap- moving forward.” plant, pledging to establish a aged its laboratory and chemi- rocket attack in August. He level within the EU. Some mem-
peared to support the soldiers’ Russian troops are better- permanent mission at the cal facilities, and nearby fires said he felt on the verge of a ber states are likely to make
cautious optimism. equipped but are fleeing their southern Ukrainian facility amid temporarily disconnected it breakdown as he has dealt the paperwork so cumbersome
“We are aware of Ukrainian positions, he said, leaving fears that fighting in the area from the country’s power grid. with more soldiers than at any as to effectively bar Russians
military operations that have dead comrades behind and could lead to a nuclear disaster. Kyiv and Moscow have blamed time since the first weeks of from getting a visa from those
made some forward movement, booby-trapping their bodies. “The main work begins to- each other for the strikes. the war. countries, diplomats said.
and in some cases in the Kher- Ivan showed footage he said morrow,” said Rafael Grossi, the Mr. Grossi said the IAEA Faced with the influx, doc- Mr. Borrell said he expects
son region we are aware in was sent to him by comrades director general of the U.N.’s In- team would be at the plant for tors are fighting to save the the number of new visas
some cases of Russian units fall- on the front line, appearing to ternational Atomic Energy a few days. Russia’s permanent lives of those in critical condi- handed out by member states
ing back,” Air Force Brig. Gen. show dead Russian soldiers on Agency, who is leading the mis- representative to the U.N. agen- tion before sending them on to to be “substantially reduced.”
Patrick Ryder told reporters. the outskirts of a village he sion. The 14-person team is ex- cies in Vienna said Russia sup- better-equipped hospitals af- Russian Deputy Foreign
said was seized by Ukrainian pected to attempt to cross front ports the IAEA’s plan for a per- ter they are stable. Minister Alexander Grushko
forces on Tuesday. lines to enter the plant Thursday. manent presence at the facility. The head of the intensive- said Moscow could take either
Russians are fleeing Ivan said Ukrainian forces Asked whether inspectors The IAEA’s mission, which care unit said that on Monday symmetric or asymmetric
The soldiers and medics at had thrust toward Kherson, would be able to speak freely will assess damage, check he took in a 27-year-old soldier measures in response, which
a hospital in southern Ukraine the regional capital, and were with workers at the plant, Mr. safety and security systems with a broken leg, concussion, he said would come as a sur-
agreed to speak on condition trying to clear villages along Grossi said: “We are a team of and evaluate staff conditions, torn lung and a ruptured liver, prise to Brussels.
that their identities and loca- the way. very experienced people. We is its most important since stomach, colon and bowel. “If in Brussels they decided
tion wouldn’t be revealed. Russian military bloggers will have a pretty good idea of Chernobyl in 1986. “Head, chest, limbs, stom- to shoot themselves in the
All took part in the offen- who are close to the country’s what is going on.” —Joe Parkinson ach, concussions, they come foot another time, that’s their
sive that began on Monday Defense Ministry have noted with all kinds of injuries,” he choice,” he told Russian state
with the aim of seizing the ini- another Ukrainian advance, said. “The effect of an explo-
tiative in the war. across the Inhulets River to ber of wounded, then, hon- injured when his tank was hit sion damages everything.”
The attacks on Monday at the northeast of Kherson. estly, I felt sorry for them and on Tuesday, his chest heaving But among the injured, the
several points along the front The Russian Defense Minis- I started wondering if this was as surgeons performed a tra- doctor said he was most
Many are ‘traveling
lines came after weeks of soft- try has described Ukraine’s of- worth doing at such a cost,” cheotomy in a bid to restore struck by their desire to con- for leisure and
ening up Russian forces with fensive as a failure. the doctor said. “I don’t know. his breathing. tinue fighting as soon as they
long-range rocket attacks. “We’re advancing in some There’s no right answer here.” are physically able.
shopping as if no
Ukraine’s long-awaited areas and being battered in Ukrainian officials and mili- Ivan, the 32-year-old pri- war was raging.’
thrust in the south is advanc- others,” said Pavlo, a 22-year- tary analysts have said Ukrai- Driven to fight vate, said his concussion on
ing into territory that the Rus- old soldier who was concussed nian losses, even if the offen- One Ukrainian soldier lay in Monday was his third since he
sians occupied in the early in a battle on Tuesday and says sive is successful, could be his bed clutching the Russian was mobilized at the start of
days of their invasion, said he now hears a sound akin to a high as they are assaulting an bullet that had just been Russia’s invasion, and it was news agency RIA Novosti.
soldiers who took part in broken television in his head. entrenched enemy with signif- plucked from his body after only because his commander U.S. visas are already diffi-
fighting. But it’s a hard slog The head of the intensive- icant firepower that can traveling through his left ordered him evacuated that he cult for Russians to obtain af-
against a well-equipped en- care unit where some of the quickly chew up troops. shoulder and exiting through ended up at the hospital. ter Washington earlier this
emy, they said. soldiers were being treated At the intensive-care unit, his pelvis. He was shot as he “I want to get back to our year stopped issuing them to
Ivan, a 32-year-old private, said the military warned him six servicemen in comas occu- lay on the ground seeking guys,” he said, playing down nondiplomatic applicants in-
said his unit’s task was simple: of the offensive a week in ad- pied beds in two adjoining cover from a Russian attack in his injuries despite struggling side Russia. The State Depart-
“Go in, f— them up, retake vance, spurring hopes of im- wards separated by a thin wall. a village. to hear. “I wanted to return ment said it did so because
what’s ours.” minent victories. In one, doctors were fight- “We had a feeling that we’d the moment I left.” Moscow in April forbade the
He said the offensive “But when they started ing to save the life of a 47- be going into battle, that we —Michael R. Gordon U.S. Embassy there from em-
started well for his unit, which bringing in such a large num- year-old armor crewman badly were planning something big,” contributed to this article. ploying foreign nationals.
The U.S. still accepts applica-
tions for nonimmigrant visas
Gorbachev Leaves Behind a Divisive Legacy in Putin’s Russia from Russians “at any U.S. em-
bassy or consulate where they
can obtain an appointment,” ac-
BY EVAN GERSHKOVICH lems that had come to the fore.” cording to information on the
His spokesman, Dmitry Pes- State Department website. “We
In 1998, as Russia was suf- kov, had harsher words. regret that the actions of the
fering from the financial hard- “Gorbachev sincerely wanted Russian government have made
ships that came with its rocky to believe that the Cold War it impossible for our office to
transition to a market economy would end, and that it would continue offering nondiplomatic
after the collapse of the Soviet usher in a period of eternal ro- visa services in Russia,” it says.
Union, the last Soviet leader mance between a new Soviet The EU also will look at
Mikhail Gorbachev starred in a Union and the world, the West,” how to reduce the stock of
Pizza Hut commercial. he said. “The honeymoon didn’t millions of EU visas already
In the ad, an elder Russian work out and the bloodlust of handed out to Russian citi-
complains that Mr. Gorba- our opponents has shown itself.” zens, Mr. Borrell said. Earlier
chev’s reforms helped unleash Mr. Gorbachev was carefully in August, Estonia became the
chaos and political instability, critical of Mr. Putin late in life. “I first country to block entry of
CARSTEN REHDER/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK
while a younger Russian re- respect him as a political leader Russians who held valid visas.
sponds that they gave Russia and a person, but I believe his Mr. Borrell said there was
freedom and new opportuni- current policies are an obstacle agreement that Russia’s EU
ties. The ad concludes that ev- to progress,” Mr. Gorbachev neighbors, Finland, Poland, Lith-
eryone can at least agree that wrote in Time magazine in 2016. uania, Latvia and Estonia, can
pizza brings people together. Much of Mr. Putin’s politics take special measures to reduce
But on Wednesday, a day have done away with what Mr. the number of people crossing
after Mr. Gorbachev’s death in Gorbachev helped foster. He has the border. The EU also will ban
Moscow at 91, political ana- brought independent media to the issuance of visas for Russian
lysts, opposition politicians heel and squeezed out political passport holders who live in oc-
and the former Soviet leader’s Mikhail Gorbachev, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a news conference in Germany, in 2004. opposition, said Russian politi- cupied Ukrainian territory.
close friends said that in Rus- cal analysts and Kremlin critics, The push for a blanket ban
sia the debate has a clear win- tuted, known as “perestroika” 1990s transition to a market to Mr. Putin, the dissolution while seeking to restore Russia’s on Russian civilians has sparked
ner—and that President Vladi- and “glasnost”—restructuring economy and for the loss of the was a tragedy because it left geopolitical greatness and sell- a debate in the bloc. It has be-
mir Putin’s government and openness—eventually spun country’s superpower position. millions of Russians separated ing his enduring rule as a posi- come a proxy for clashing per-
embodies the winning side. out of his control. The empire’s Mr. Gorbachev tried unsuc- by new national borders. It was tive guarantee of stability over spectives on whether Russian
“Vladimir Putin is building a republics demanded indepen- cessfully to return to politics in caused partly because a weak a chaotic post-Soviet period. President Vladimir Putin and
different world,” Alexei dence, while Russians pushed 1996, picking up just 0.5% of the Mr. Gorbachev was fooled by a Mr. Gorbachev didn’t always his close circle are responsible
Venediktov, a Russian radio for political freedoms. Six years presidential vote. Last year, deceitful West, he said. disagree with Mr. Putin, and in for the war or whether it has
journalist and a close friend of later, the Soviet Union split more than 70% of Russians said Mr. Putin, in official condo- 2014 welcomed the annexation become a conflict of all Rus-
Mr. Gorbachev, said in a phone into 15 separate countries. their country moved in a nega- lences to Mr. Gorbachev’s fam- of Crimea from Ukraine. He sians against Ukraine. Germany,
interview. “In Putin’s world, Mr. Gorbachev was feted by tive direction during his rule, ily on Wednesday, said the So- also warned against the expan- France, Hungary, Spain are
there is no room for competi- the West for helping bring according to a state-run pollster. viet leader “led our country sion of the North Atlantic among those opposing a blanket
tiveness, no room for freedom.” about the end of the Cold War. Mr. Putin, who came to through a period of difficult, Treaty Organization. ban, and Mr. Borrell said there
As the Soviet Union’s eighth But at home, many soon soured power two years after Mr. Gor- dramatic change and substan- Mr. Gorbachev never spoke was agreement among foreign
leader, Mr. Gorbachev, who rose on the former leader, who bachev’s Pizza Hut ad appear- tial challenges,” said the mes- out publicly against the ministers that Russian visa ap-
to power in 1985, sought to re- stepped aside after the Soviet ance, famously called the col- sage published on the Kremlin’s Ukraine war, but according to plications would be treated on a
form its government to help Union’s dissolution. They lapse of the Soviet Union “the website. “He profoundly under- Mr. Venediktov his friend case-by-case basis, and that the
jump-start a sputtering econ- blamed him for the poverty greatest geopolitical catastro- stood that reforms were essen- said: “And whose life became EU wants to keep contact with
omy. But the policies he insti- that abounded during the phe of the century.” According tial and tried to solve the prob- better because of this?” Russian civil society.
.
WORLD NEWS
ANP/ZUMA PRESS
tistics agency said Wednesday. necks for energy and other
That is the highest rate since commodities. Still, officials at
records began in early 1997. the bank recently have signaled
Inflation in the 19-nation eu- that they are willing to act
rozone has surpassed U.S. lev- forcefully to prevent high infla-
els in recent weeks as Russia’s tion rates from becoming en- Rising prices of items such as food have hit households hard throughout Europe. Shoppers browse a market in the Netherlands.
actions curtailed Europe’s en- trenched, including by consid-
ergy supplies and drove up ering a 0.75-percentage-point point to between 2.25% and rope’s households and busi- Southern Europe. Eurozone CPI, monthly
prices. The U.S. recorded an in- interest-rate increase at their 2.5% at its July meeting. nesses because the region im- The ECB faces unique chal-
flation rate of 8.5% in July, policy meeting on Sept. 8. Rising borrowing costs ports most of its energy, in lenges because the prospect of 10%
down from 9.1% in June. It That could help to shore up likely will increase the risk of a contrast with the U.S., which is rate rises has led to larger in- August
hasn’t yet published inflation the value of the euro, which slide into recession, with the one of the world’s biggest en- creases in Italian bond yields 9.1%
data for August. has slid below parity with the eurozone economy already ergy producers. than those of their German 8
Of concern for the ECB, the U.S. dollar in recent weeks, Several ECB officials have counterparts.
core rate of inflation—which driving up the cost of Europe’s signaled recently that concerns Adding to the uncertainty,
excludes volatile items such as imports and fanning inflation about high inflation trump Italians are set to vote in na-
energy and food—increased to further.
Bank officials have concerns about growth. “We tional elections in September, 6
4.3% in August from 4% in Investors are almost fully signaled that they should not delay further rate and opinion polls suggest that
July. That suggests high infla- pricing in a 0.75-percentage- hikes for fear of a possible re- the far-right, populist Brothers
tion rates could linger even if point ECB rate increase at the
are willing to act cession,” Joachim Nagel, presi- of Italy party could emerge as 4
energy and food prices stabi- Sept. 8 meeting and total rate forcefully. dent of Germany’s Bundesbank, the strongest force.
lize. The ECB aims to keep in- increases of 1.6 percentage said Tuesday. The ECB sought to address
flation at 2% over the medium points through the end of the The ECB previously moved that problem in July, by unveil- 2
term. year, according to ING Bank. more cautiously than the Fed ing a plan to buy the debt of
Eurozone inflation is likely The ECB in July increased its slowing as households’ spend- to combat high inflation, re- Europe’s most vulnerable econ-
to rise toward 10% in the com- key rate by 0.5 percentage ing power is reduced by a com- flecting the region’s weaker omies to curb unwarranted in-
ing months, some analysts say, point to zero, lagging behind bination of sharply higher en- economic recovery during the creases in borrowing costs in 0
as some government energy the Federal Reserve, which ergy prices and still-modest pandemic and concerns about parts of the bloc. ECB officials Sept. 2021 ’22
and public-transport subsidies raised the target range for its wage increases. High energy how higher borrowing costs hope it will calm markets with-
expire, especially in Germany, policy rate by 0.75 percentage prices act like a tax on Eu- will affect weaker economies in out needing to be used. Source: Eurostat
nations race to fill gas-storage sentiment are about to face a plan and commit to finalizing
facilities to prevent a shortage major stress test as the Nord its implementation, people fa-
in the midst of winter. Short- Stream pipeline gets shut for miliar with the matter said.
ages would trigger rationing, maintenance today for three The expected announce-
likely kneecapping industry days, and there is growing ment opens a new front in the
and tipping the continent’s al- concern that another reduc- West’s so far largely unsuc-
ready struggling economy into tion in supply or a complete cessful efforts to squeeze Rus- The West has largely failed to curb Russian energy revenue. Above, a tanker in Russia’s Nakhodka Bay.
a recession. cutoff in flows may follow at sia’s energy revenue as the
Moscow has already throt- the end of the week,” analysts war in Ukraine shows no signs Fund, and insure over 90% of major Russian export, people rise to roughly $140 a barrel.
tled back deliveries over the at ING Bank wrote in a report of abating. Still, officials are global shipping traffic, accord- familiar with the plan said. The EU’s sanctions on insur-
Nord Stream pipeline—which to clients on Wednesday. grappling with several com- ing to Bruegel, a think tank. Treasury Secretary Janet ance and financial services for
links Russia’s prolific Siberian Gas prices in Europe, which plex questions about how the “Our goal here is to create a Yellen started pushing the Russian oil are set to go into
gas fields with Germany under have traded at records in re- price cap would work. permission structure that al- price-cap idea this spring effect on Dec. 5. Under the
the Baltic Sea—to just 20% of cent weeks, fell on Wednesday, Oil and gas remain a huge lows Russian oil to flow but amid concern that a European price-cap plan, the EU insur-
its maximum capacity, citing with futures for gas at a trad- source of revenue for Russia’s reduces their revenues,” Dep- Union plan, approved in June, ance ban would be reversed,
technical issues with its tur- ing hub in the Netherlands, war machine, making up uty Treasury Secretary Wally to ban the import and insur- allowing Western companies to
bines. the benchmark in northwest around half of the country’s Adeyemo said in an interview ance of most Russian oil could continue providing financial
European officials have dis- Europe, dropping more than budget revenue. Western offi- on Wednesday. cause prices to rise rapidly. services for shipment and sales
missed these explanations and 5%. cials have been working for Among the key details still She warned that the EU plan of Russian oil outside the U.S.
have called the gas cuts an First opened in 2011, the months to find a way to re- under discussion is the price could push inflation higher and Europe at the set price.
economic attack in retaliation 760-mile-long Nord Stream duce those financial inflows at which the cap would be set. and send the global economy Still, important differences
for supporting Ukraine in the pipeline has been an impor- while keeping enough Russian Officials are trying to find a into recession, all while ensur- persist within the G-7 over the
war. tant source of gas for Ger- oil on global markets to pre- balance between limiting Rus- ing the Kremlin could make up proposal.
On Wednesday, the Krem- many, Europe’s largest econ- vent a fresh jump in already sian revenue and maintaining for lower volumes of oil sales Meanwhile, support from
lin-controlled gas giant Gaz- omy. Before the war, Russia high energy prices. an incentive for Russia to sell through higher prices. outside the G-7 is uncertain.
prom PJSC said it had com- covered over half of Germany’s Under the plan officials have its oil. Oil traded in New York European officials are Officials and analysts see little
pletely halted the Nord Stream gas imports, but supply cuts been discussing this summer, at around $90 a barrel on doubtful the plan would have chance of persuading China to
pipeline as “scheduled preven- via Nord Stream affect other the G-7 nations would bar fi- Wednesday. Russian crude is a major impact on prices. Se- abide by the plan. India,
tive work begins at the gas- European customers because nancing and insuring Russian oil selling at a discount of more nior U.S. Treasury officials be- whose purchases of Russian
compressor unit.” The pipeline Germany exports some of the shipments unless the oil is sold than $20 a barrel below global lieve markets underestimate oil, have soared from next to
is due to come back online gas. There are other gas pipe- below a set price. The countries benchmarks, analysts said. the impact the EU ban could nothing before the war to as
early Saturday. lines to Europe from Russia, make up just over 30% of the The price-cap plan would have on the global price of oil, much as 1 million barrels a
European officials and some but Russia has also throttled world economy, according to also apply to petroleum prod- with internal estimates show- day, also seems unlikely to
analysts, however, have ques- flows through these. the International Monetary ucts, such as fuel oil, another ing the price of crude could sign on.
on Chinese factory activity been drained from Gulf Coast should begin to show results,”
Crude Price have sparked concerns about
the world’s second-biggest
caverns in which the U.S. gov-
ernment keeps its emergency
Evercore’s Mr. Richardson
said.
economy losing some of its supplies. The government’s oil His firm forecasts spending
Extends
PATRICK T. FALLON/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
appetite for oil. stash ended last week at its by exploration and production
“Energy traders anticipate lowest level since late 1984, companies in North America
a brutal period for global EIA data show. will increase 33% this year
Decline growth,” said Edward Moya,
senior market analyst at trad-
The government’s market
support is set to end next
over last. While a big chunk
of that will cover companies’
ing firm Oanda. “China fac- month, adding another vari- own rising costs for labor,
Continued from Page One tory activity remains de- able to traders’ calculus. materials and equipment,
Consumption is declining pressed and another eurozone Other unknowns looming greater spending suggests
in the U.S. and Europe, where record-high inflation reading over the oil markets include that production is climbing
high prices have limited de- has raised the prospects of the possibility of renewed nu- from its pandemic slump.
mand and central banks are much more aggressive Euro- clear talks with Iran, which U.S. oil output remains
raising interest rates to fight pean Central Bank tightening would be undertaken by U.S. more than a million barrels a
inflation, potentially at the that could trigger a severe re- officials with the aim of day lower than it was before
expense of slowing economic cession.” bringing Iran’s shunned bar- the pandemic crushed de-
growth. Similar worries have In the U.S., government rels back onto the market. mand. Yet output has been in-
buffeted stocks. All three ma- data released Wednesday With prices high, fuel consumption has fallen in the U.S. and Europe. Meanwhile, momentum has creasing. Domestic oil produc-
jor indexes on Wednesday showed waning demand for been building among mem- tion rose in June to the
posted their fourth straight petroleum products, such as what is typical for this time of Reserve, which the Biden ad- bers of the Saudi-led Organi- highest level since April 2020,
session of declines to close gasoline, but also crude in- year, the U.S. Energy Informa- ministration initiated to help zation of the Petroleum Ex- when the economy was locked
August down at least 4%. ventories that fell last week tion Administration said. keep domestic fuel prices in porting Countries to trim oil down and producers were lay-
Traders are also eyeing by more than analysts ex- The amount of oil available check following the Russian output in order to elevate ing down drilling rigs and
China, where Covid-19 flare- pected. to refiners would be a lot less invasion of Ukraine. prices. shutting in wells, the EIA said
ups have prompted lockdowns Commercial crude stock- if not for the continuing with- Since the Russian attack in “The one bright spot for Wednesday.
in Shenzhen, Guangzhou and piles shrank by 3.3 million drawals from the govern- late February, about 130 mil- global supply is the U.S. —Will Horner
Dalian. Underwhelming data barrels to about 6% below ment’s Strategic Petroleum lion barrels of crude have where industry activity contributed to this article.
.
goolie” most Saturdays for Mr. available on streaming another. Many live-tweet the
Old-School Koz’s routine. “It just tran-
scends what it is, and becomes
through two TV-over-internet
bundles, Frndly TV and Philo,
show on Saturday nights using
the “svenpals” hashtag.
hip,” he said. but many “Svengoolie” fans Ms. Rhodes, the Dallas ra-
‘Svengoolie’ The show’s audience has
nearly doubled since 2018, ac-
still use old-fashioned meth-
ods to watch the show on
dio worker, frequently tweets
about her love of the show,
Rhodes, a 37-year-old who That plan never came to staying in Vancouver, where Ms. Rhodes said “Svengoo-
works in broadcast radio in fruition, but “It gave execu- Svengoolie, portrayed by Rich Koz, comments and tells corny jokes. she was filming Netflix Inc.’s lie” reminds her of local pro-
Dallas and discovered the tives at Fox the idea for the “Virgin River,” in which she gramming she used to watch
show in 2017 while staying current hit show ‘The Masked McKairnes, a former CBS exec- sion of Jerry G. Bishop, who plays the town’s mayor. She as a child. “It’s comfort food
with family. Ms. Rhodes has Stinger,’ ” Mr. Koz joked. He utive who is now a lecturer at originally hosted it between stumbled on the show one Sat- for the mind,” she said.
missed only three episodes was promptly pelted with a Middle Tennessee State Uni- 1970 and 1973. For decades, urday evening after filming. Daniel Stempien, a 41-year-
since, she said. flurry of rubber chickens. Fox, versity. the show was available only in “I was so taken with him,” old Chicago-area native, said
When a joke lands particu- home of the “Masked Singer” “Increasing? Rarer still,” the local Chicago market, Ms. O’Toole said of Mr. Koz. his father introduced him to
larly poorly, Mr. Koz gets singing competition, is part of Mr. McKairnes said. where it is taped. “He was so charming and the show when it was just a
pelted with rubber chickens by Fox Corp., which shares com- The show recently got the That changed in 2011, when funny.” The two now occasion- local phenomenon. He has
the few people on set—a mon ownership with Wall ultimate hallmark of success: a “Svengoolie” moved to MeTV, ally correspond on Twitter. watched ever since, and says
vaudeville-inspired slapdown Street Journal parent News spinoff. “Sventoonie,” which is a Chicago-based over-the-air Another celebrity is ru- “Svengoolie” served as an in-
that can happen every few Corp. hosted by a hand puppet look- network that broadcasts na- mored to be a fan of the show: spiration for his career: He
minutes. Mr. Koz is used to it The ratings performance of ing very much like the original tionwide and is available on Lady Gaga, who a couple of makes sets for haunted
at this point: He’s been host- “Svengoolie” makes it a rarity character, began airing di- some cable and satellite pack- years ago posted a photo of houses, TV shows and conven-
ing the show since 1979. in an era of rapid TV-viewer- rectly after “Svengoolie” ear- ages. The network started air- herself on Twitter in which tions, where he occasionally
“These movies are so ship erosion caused by cord- lier this year. The puppet ing the show in prime time on she wears a hoodie that ap- runs into Mr. Koz. He said he
campy, and he’s got such a cutting and a growing number makes jokes about clips of Saturdays, which coincided pears to feature the “Svengoo- tried to get his own son to
great sense of humor,” said of alternatives, from streaming films even farther down the B- with a spike in viewership. lie” signature rubber chickens. watch the show—unsuccess-
Joe Mantegna, an actor whose services to TikTok. movie scale. Mr. Koz isn’t in- MeTV, which is known for Representatives for Ms. Gaga fully.
credits include “The Godfather “It’s both rare and unex- volved in that program. playing reruns of older TV didn’t respond to requests for “He doesn’t like lame, dad
Part III” and the CBS TV series pected to see a [traditional] Mr. Koz didn’t invent “Sven- shows such as “The Andy Grif- comment. jokes,” Mr. Stempien said of
“Criminal Minds.” Mr. Man- TV show’s ratings remain goolie.” He resurrected the fith Show” and “The Three Social media is helping fans his 12-year-old son. “He
tegna said he watches “Sven- steady” in this age, said Jim show in 1979 with the permis- Stooges,” has recently become connect with Mr. Koz and one doesn’t even laugh at mine.”
.
PERSONAL JOURNAL.
© 2022 Dow Jones & Company. All Rights Reserved. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Thursday, September 1, 2022 | A9
D
Airlines say outliers like $39.95 price,” says David Scotland, the service on U.S. airlines this year. flight out and the $39.95 for Delta
for Wi-Fi on cross-country flights, airline’s manager of in-flight con- Delta, Alaska and United Air- on the return. She added a note
elta Air Lines has which costs only $10 less lines all switched from to her expense report given the
been touting speedy than most airlines’ dynamic pricing based glaring discrepancy in prices.
50% $5
$5 Wi-Fi for months. monthly domestic Wi-Fi on route, flight length Betsy Mulé, a 27-year-old
So McKenzie Ross was passes, will eventually go and other factors to a early-stage venture-capital inves-
flabbergasted when away. Delta, which ex- flat fee on some or all tor from Boston, paid two differ-
she logged into the pects the majority of the domestic flights. Delta ent prices for Delta Wi-Fi on the
airline’s system on a flight from planes in its domestic Jump in Wi-Fi Cheapest fee on charges $5, Alaska $8 same cross-country trip for a
Boston to Seattle in May. The fleet to have $5 Wi-Fi by usage on Alaska some Delta flights and United $10, and less travel conference in August.
price to connect: $39.95. year’s end, says Ms. Air after $8 charge vs. $39.95 on for those who belong to She snagged Delta’s new $5
“I thought I had made some Ross’s flight was on a started in April other of its trips United’s frequent-flier flat rate on the flight from Boston
mistake and that that was the plane equipped with an program or have its to Las Vegas but was charged
monthly subscription fee,” the 37- older system that has dy- credit card. United is the $29.95 on the return flight from
year-old marketing vice president namic pricing set by the only airline with a new Las Vegas to New York. The inter-
from Tacoma, Wash., says. provider. Delta sees fast Wi-Fi as nectivity and entertainment. flat rate to offer it on all domestic net providers were different.
Airlines are finally introducing so important, it added a “faster Airlines’ end goal is to “har- flights, regardless of provider. Ms. Mulé ticked off some of
cheaper, faster Wi-Fi, a rare bright Wi-Fi” label to flight search results. monize” the systems and prices, (JetBlue Airways has always of- the other prices she’s paid for Wi-
spot in air travel this year. If this Alaska Airlines announced a says Daniel Welch, co-founder and fered free high-speed Wi-Fi.) Fi on airlines this summer: $8,
is news to you, it’s hardly surpris- flat $8 rate on planes equipped in-flight connectivity specialist at American Airlines is testing 20 $11, $13, $20.
ing: The mix of prices and connec- with satellite Wi-Fi service in Valour Consultancy, a U.K.-based or 30 free minutes of its satellite “It’s just been totally all over the
tion speeds is still messy as air- April and expects most of its market-research firm. Wi-Fi where available if you place both on price and service,”
lines upgrade internet connectivity planes to have it by early 2023. It “The passenger can’t be ex- watch an ad. Otherwise, its prices she says. “The thing is, you just
plane by plane. That’s why you still has variable pricing on about pected to understand why they’re remain dynamic. And Southwest have no idea until you get there.”
simple letters: STOP. (Lowercase is in just a few weeks, hold down on most desperately wish would come
How to Dig Out From fine, too.) The business should auto-
matically stop sending you mes-
sages. You can also try “UNSUB-
the text thread and select “Mark as
Unread.” Or swipe to the right on
the chain itself and tap the mes-
to iPhones? A setting that allows
the system to auto-delete mes-
sages containing one-time codes
N
o, those three people didn’t with filters and other tools to the Reminders app. tone you’d like to change. Tap Edit,
walk into a bar. Instead, they give priority to the notes we ac- then tap Text Tone to select the
were congregating in my tually want. Filter it all sound that’s most fitting for that
Messages app—along with texts Apple’s coming iOS 16 and Both iOS and Android have started person. For anyone you dread hear-
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ELENA SCOTTI/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, ISTOCK; SHUTTERSTOCK
about appointments, 20%-off sales, other recent iOS and Android adding email-like filter or file op- ing from, might I suggest the Sus-
two-factor codes and the where- updates give us some control tions to their built-in messaging pense tone?
abouts of my FedEx packages. over the growing chaos. We’re apps. The steps can vary across An-
Somewhere along the way, texting going to need more. On an iPhone, in the Messages droid devices, but the following
became the new email. Why? Be- app, tap the Filters button. You can worked on a Google Pixel 6 running
cause the last time email was truly ‘STOP’ the texts now see your messages filtered Android 12: Open a chat with a con-
fun was back in a 1998 rom-com. Whether from my sprinkler-system into a few different categories: tact of your choice, and tap the
Flooded with impersonal emails, our guy or CVS, most messages I get Known Senders, Unknown Senders, three dots at the top right corner of
email inboxes have become a chore. from businesses are helpful. Unread Messages. This is a good your screen. Tap Details then Notifi-
(But please subscribe to my weekly “We don’t want these messages way to separate out messages cations and Sound, then select the
newsletter!) to turn into stuff you ignore,” EZ from people in your address sound you want.
Messaging—whether via tradi- Texting co-founder and chief mar- book versus those from busi- All these tools help, but they also
tional SMS texting or apps such as keting officer Punit Shah told me. ness or just spam. remind me that it all starts and
WhatsApp or Signal—makes com- His company advises clients, rang- Google does far better than ends with us. We decide who we
municating faster, more efficient ing from retailers to universities, to Mark as important Apple here. The latest Messages give our phone numbers to. If we
and fun. Over 80% of people in the focus their texts on timely and I never would have forgotten to re- app for Android (in the U.S. and In- learned anything about email, it’s
U.S. read their texts within 15 min- pressing matters, like appointments, spond to my dear friend’s coffee dia) has a conversation view. It that maybe we shouldn’t have given
utes of receiving them. At least, payment reminders and delivery text had I been able to mark the uses on-device machine learning to out our personal addresses like Hal-
that’s according to a January survey updates. message as important and come sort messages from companies—in- loween candy.
commissioned by EZ Texting, an on- What these businesses really back to it later—or at least that’s cluding two-factor authentication Either way, I’m really looking for-
line platform that provides texting don’t want is for you to use your what I’m telling her. codes—into Business, and mes- ward to “You’ve Got Texts,” a series
tools for companies. secret superpower: unsubscribe. If Starting soon, iPhone users will sages from people in your address about a dog groomer who falls in love
Messaging apps are no longer a you no longer want to get texts be able to do just that in Apple’s book into Personal. with a hair stylist via appointment-re-
place just for close friends and fam- from a business, respond with four Messages app. In iOS 16, expected The Android feature that I minder messages. Netflix, text me.
.
PERSONAL JOURNAL.
stayed at the bedside throughout
ON THE
CLOCK
CALLUM
BORCHERS
Workers Who Never Left Feel the pandemic. Mr. Street, for in-
stance, says he took short-term as-
signments in one Covid hot spot
T
after another, even though his wife
Having been in both camps they She adds workers who believe I told him he’s gone soft. first returners would have signaled
say the business world is celebrating their in-person contributions are “Oh, my gosh, I know!” he said. a preference for in-person work.
people who return to their desks but not sufficiently rewarded may quit “My old drilling instructor would Still, Ms. McCulloch hopes com-
largely taking for granted those who or “quiet quit,” staying in a job but is the labor shortage,” says Bart be killing me right now.” panies like hers will remember the
never left. “I do get upset” about the doing only the bare minimum. Valdez, who leads Cincinnati-based He says he’s been careful not to harder-to-measure contributions of
imbalance, Mx. Lindsay says. Keeping everyone satisfied is es- Ingenovis Health, a medical staff- overlook his in-person stalwarts people who returned to the office
Resentments could fester as pecially difficult since many work- ing firm. “The second thing we while showering perks on those early. While those who worked
companies toast (often literally, with ers feel empowered to resist office talk about is: What are you doing who are only now coming back— from home longer posted big pro-
boozy reunions) another round of callbacks and expect new perks in to get your employees to stay en- and part-time in many cases. ductivity numbers, free of commute
office returns this month. Comcast, exchange for showing up. Those gaged, stay working and at the of- Ingenovis recently rolled out gym times and distracting conversa-
Apple and Peloton are among firms who’ve long been working in person fice? It’s really a challenge.” memberships and career develop- tions, she and her office colleagues
pushing to significantly boost head can hardly be blamed for resenting This from a Navy veteran who ment services for its medical were mentoring interns and build-
counts in offices after Labor Day. the incentives—why weren’t they was a stickler for office attendance workers but, alas, no tacos. ing camaraderie over coffee.
“Tension is a real risk with this offered sooner?—even though the before the pandemic, insisting that One of the company’s traveling She’s not looking for a feast in
group,” says Kristie Rogers, an as- benefits are available to all. his 1,500 employees with desk jobs nurses, Grover Street, told me her honor, but “I think you have to
sociate professor of management “I sit on several CEO councils, show up like his company’s 10,000 healthcare professionals are split look at productivity in a different
at Marquette University. “If we’re and the No. 1 thing we talk about front-line medical workers. He was a within their own ranks. Some way,” she says.
M
background. The client de- two younger children.
ost Americans don’t cided that volunteering to She took on the responsi-
have a retirement do work for which she used bilities but it left little time
plan, even the ones to get paid wasn’t fulfilling. for her other interests. She
who max out their 401(k)s. Instead, she volunteered at later negotiated a caretaking
Building a nest egg is es- a hospital, exercising her schedule around her classes
sential, but that alone isn’t more spiritual side. and found a better balance.
the same thing as mapping Ms. Collamer’s husband, “Don’t let other people’s
out what to pursue in your Joel Collamer, 66, a former needs override yours,” said
post-career decades. information-technology con- Ms. Smith.
New retirees who neglect sultant, enrolled in classes to
to plan can flounder without become a master naturalist. Fight boredom
the structure of their careers. He now volunteers giving While people gain time and
It takes about two years tours at the local wildlife pre- freedom in retirement, they
to settle into retirement, re- serve and writes articles may lose routine, identity and
search suggests.
The anxiety
around this life
transition has led
some to turn to
retirement
coaches to help
them adjust to
the shifting
schedules and
priorities. Such
coaches typically
charge between
$150 and $300
hourly.
“People spend
more time plan-
ning a two-week
vacation than a
lifetime of retire-
ment. You need a
thoughtful plan,”
said Jaye Smith,
a retirement
coach and co-
founder of Reboot Partners. about nature for a commu- mental stimulus, said Robert
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY GUILLEM CASASUS AND RICARDO REY FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
ARTS IN REVIEW
9/11 TRIBUTE MUSEUM (2)
T
Zero and a menu from the Win-
New York dows on the World Restaurant,
he 9/11 Tribute Museum found in a nearby street—to chart
in Lower Manhattan both the horror of the day and the
closed on Aug. 17, just journey of recovery and recon- Last Friday, Ms. Adams-Webb
short of the 21st anni- struction that continues. was overseeing Tribute’s closure
versary of the 2001 ter- It also served as a massive with Mr. Bitwinski. Wires dangled
rorist attacks. New York therapy program for the 9/11 com- from the walls where video and
has lost a unique testimonial to munity. According to Tribute CEO interactive screens once hung. All
the darkest day in its modern his- Jennifer Adams-Webb, one mother but one of the display cases were
tory. The community of survivors, of a dead firefighter said that vis- empty. It held a lump of scorched
first responders, family members iting every Monday and talking and melted metal along with a
and witnesses that built it is los- about her son sustained her. torn and dirty firefighter’s jacket.
ing its second home. The museum’s 953 volunteer Jonathan Ielpi of FDNY Squad
The Tribute Museum has no guides were family members, sur- 288 was a 29-year-old father of
connection with the vast official vivors, rescue workers and Lower two who disappeared when the
statement that is the National Manhattan residents. Their testi- Towers collapsed. His retired fire-
September 11 Memorial & Mu- mony retained the rawness of fighter father, Lee, carried Jona-
The interior of the recently shuttered 9/11 Tribute Museum, above and top
seum. “Tribute,” as its close-knit what Ms. Adams-Webb calls “per- than’s remains from Ground Zero
team calls it, was founded by the son-to-person history”: an inti- in December 2001. His jacket,
September 11th Families’ Associa- mate and human counterpoint to demic, Tribute averaged 300,000 without a doubt, one of the most whose front was still buttoned
tion. Developing naturally from the official site up the street. The visitors per year; in 2021 it had culturally significant. but whose back was torn from
unnatural grief, it opened in Sep- guides included a woman who just 26,000. The museum had no Most of Tribute’s collection, in- shoulder to waist when it was
tember 2006 in the Liberty Deli, jumped into the river to escape endowment; it relied mainly on ad- cluding a steel girder from one of found, is going to a firehouse on
opposite the World Trade Center the rolling dust cloud after the mission income, and it had last the Towers, has gone to the State Long Island, along with the lump
site and next to the FDNY’s En- collapse of One World Trade Cen- been in the black in 2016. So in Museum in Albany. Last week of metal.
gine 10 and Ladder 10 Firehouse. ter, and a ferryboat captain who March, Ms. Adams-Webb an- Tribute board member Peter Bit- Tribute was a genuine expres-
In 2017, it moved a few minutes’ sailed back and forth, carrying nounced that, unable to cover its winski, who was at his desk on the sion of New York’s living history,
walk south to larger premises at New Yorkers to safety on the New $2.5 million operating budget and 69th floor of the North Tower born from the loss and the defiant
92 Greenwich St. Jersey side of the Hudson River. unsuccessful in its appeals to New when the first plane struck 24 pride of the ordinary people whose
Tribute was a compact, power- Over the first 13 years of its ex- York state officials and founda- floors above, delivered the last of lives, like so many on that terrible
ful and highly personal reckoning istence, the museum received tions, the museum would close 4,000 visitor response cards to the day, were changed in extraordinary
with the worst assault on Ameri- more than five million visitors— without help—help that it never New York City Municipal Archives. and lasting ways. Now it is gone.
can soil since Pearl Harbor. A la- nearly half tourists from 141 coun- found. It wasn’t the only nonprofit The FBI is taking the 16-panel me-
bor of love, it collected over 2,500 tries—and its guides gave more to take a financial hit during the morial wall that names every one Mr. Green is a Journal contributor
pieces of memorabilia—from fam- than 500,000 tours. pandemic, or the only one forced of the 2,753 victims of the attacks and a columnist for the Washing-
ily photographs to an airplane Then Covid-19 struck. Pre-pan- to shutter as a result. But it is, in New York. ton Examiner.
MUSIC REVIEW Vesna Duo: it invites the listener to re-examine make nearly as much sound as an
Liana Pailodze and hear the “Rite” anew. (Product orchestra nor to execute every one
A Duo Harron
and Ksenija
information, along with a YouTube
video of them performing it, can be
of the complicated rhythms that
were once judged all but unplayable.
Komljenović found on their website, Yet there are many compensa-
Distills vesnaduo.com.)
The Vesna Duo—named for a
tions. Despite some six decades of
familiarity with the “Rite,” I found
Stravinsky Slavic goddess of youth and spring-
time—consists of the pianist Liana
fresh details as I listened again and
again. The very absence of elabora-
Pailodze Harron and the percussion- tion lets one appreciate some essen-
BY TIM PAGE ist Ksenija Komljenović, from the Re- tials of the music more directly. And
T
publics of Georgia and Serbia re- its skeletal form is clear and unclut-
he transformation of an estab- spectively. Now based mostly in the tered; sometimes it seemed as
lished classic can be a risky en- U.S., the two had planned to present though the Vesna Duo were offering
deavor, and the effort doesn’t a concert together at Carnegie Hall a magnificently intricate X-ray. We
always pay off. Who wants to see a right before the Covid-19 virus shut hear the score not above an orches-
great, stark black-and-white film— down New York and then much of tral bedding but against a back-
“The Best Years of Our Lives,” say, or the world. ground of looming silence.
the early works of Ingmar Berg- Ms. Komljenović made the ar- Central to the success of this ef-
man—that has been colorized by a rangement. She had played in a Bel- fort is the choice of instruments.
computer program? grade Philharmonic performance of The timbres of piano and marimba
Latter-day rearrangements of “Rite” many years earlier and had al- are very different, yet the combina-
classical music are more likely to be ways wanted to explore the music tion is richly sensual. In addition,
successful. The music of J.S. Bach further. “I was not sure whether I both are percussion instruments of a
can be conjured on the synthesizer, was capable of producing anything sort, yet have the capability of enor-
scat-sung by a vocal group, and even worthy,” she wrote in notes for the mous dynamic range, loud to soft,
played in arrangements for jazz trio recording. “The only thing I was cer- from one chord to the next. So while
or saxophone quartet. The composer sound of his music that any altera- and then first played privately in a tain of was that I loved this music there is a tender, caressing quality to
himself had happily recast his violin tions will leave a mark. The fourth of version for piano, four hands (the dearly and that I had plenty of time much of the playing, that does not
concertos for the keyboard and recy- Webern’s “Five Pieces for Orchestra” second pianist was Claude De- on my hands. Several months, preclude some spectacular climaxes.
cled choruses into sinfonias. He (Op. 10), for example, lasts only 30 bussy!), for most listeners it is hard emails, phone calls, recordings, and Purists need not worry: Stravin-
seemed more interested in the mel- seconds, yet it is scored for nine di- to imagine it any other way than in travels-to-rehearse later, our version sky’s original “Rite” is not going any-
ody and structures of his pieces verse instruments, would be affected the brilliantly colored rendition for of the ‘Rite of Spring’ for marimba where and will be played wherever a
than in the actual sound of the par- by the change of a single note, and large orchestra (up to 100 players or and piano was born on stage—fully virtuoso orchestra can be found. Still,
ticular instruments on which they would be utterly incomprehensible more) that shook the world after its memorized and blister-causing for as a fresh perspective on a master-
were played. played only on the piano. Paris premiere in 1913. both of us.” piece, the Vesna Duo’s performance
Such reconfiguration doesn’t al- The seismic modernist Igor Stra- And yet my favorite new record- Most of Stravinsky’s orchestral is smashingly effective.
ways work. Chopin’s music sounds vinsky would seem an insuperable ing of this long hot summer may be “touches” are eliminated, of course.
best on the piano for which it was challenge to any would-be tran- the Vesna Duo’s new transcription of The eerie, bird-like cry that begins Mr. Page is a professor emeritus of
written; after-the-fact orchestrations scriber, particularly his most cele- “The Rite of Spring,” played on noth- the piece, originally scored for the musicology at the University of
ANTEK OLESIK
seem grafted on. A different prob- brated work, a 35-minute ballet ing more than piano and marimba. If bassoon high above the top of its Southern California. He won the Pu-
lem arises with the Viennese com- known in English as “The Rite of it may be described as a microcosm usual register, is here, coaxed tenta- litzer Prize for criticism in 1997 and
poser Anton Webern, who was so Spring.” Although it was created on of Stravinsky’s piece, it is such a tively from the marimba Moreover, is the author or editor of more than
acutely concerned with the precise the piano, augmented to two pianos thoughtful and unusual reading that there is no way for two players to 20 books.
.
SPORTS
There’s Still
‘No End’
For Serena
At Open
FROM TOP: NORM HALL/GETTY IMAGES; MICHAEL CATERINA/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE/ASSOCIATED PRESS
BY JIM CHAIRUSMI
AND JOSHUA ROBINSON
I
“There’s still a little left in me. team, in what I’m sure will be a team’s 3-9 record in 2007. during which he became the win-
We’ll see,” Williams said in an on- t’s tough for any coach to take hostile environment in Columbus, Notre Dame’s fan base may be ningest coach in school history.
court interview after the match. over the football program at Ohio,” Freeman told reporters this expecting a win on Saturday, but News of Kelly’s defection—and his
After losing in the first round at Notre Dame, arguably the week. “Any competitor wants this.” few others are. Even though Free- new $95 million 10-year contract—
Wimbledon and stumbling through most scrutinized in the na- Freeman is not new to Notre man’s squad is ranked No. 5, the leaked while he was on the road re-
the hard court calendar, Williams tion. It’s even harder for a Dame—he was the team’s defensive Buckeyes are currently a 17-point cruiting for Notre Dame. While the
had no regrets about coming back man who has never been a head coordinator in 2021 and coached favorite, according to Caesars coach was hurrying back to campus
to play this season after a year coach and is just two seasons re- the team in last season’s bowl Sportsbook. Being an underdog may on the university’s private jet late
away from the court. All she moved from being a coordinator in game—but he is still getting used to have some advantages for Freeman, that night, Kelly told his team, “my
wanted, as she closed in on her 41st a second-tier conference. the outsized expectations that come however. love for you is limitless” via text
birthday on Sept. 26, was one last Marcus Freeman has an even big- with coaching a team fans still ex- “You kind of can play a little and asked them to meet early the
run, however brief, at the major ger problem than his forebears in pect to win championships, even free,” Weis said. But while the situ- next morning. Their goodbye lasted
that started it all. his full-season debut as Notre though they haven’t won a national ation may neutralize the disap- all of 10 minutes.
Williams won’t have much time Dame’s head coach on Saturday. He title in decades. pointment of Notre Dame fans in The team was in emotional tur-
to rest. On Thursday night, she is has to launch his career with the “It’s America’s school because so the event of a loss, a win would im- moil when Freeman, then the defen-
set to team up with her sister, Ve- Fighting Irish on the road many people around the country mediately cause expectations to sive coordinator, was named as
nus, for an opening-round doubles against No. 2 Ohio State at “The follow it,” said Baer, now a defen- skyrocket. head coach on Dec. 3. But on paper
match against the Czech duo of Lu- Horseshoe,” the Buckeyes’ infamous sive coordinator at Montana. “It’s “If you win, all of the Notre it was still the No. 5 team in the
cie Hradecka and Linda Noskova. stadium. one of the toughest jobs there is.” Dame people are going to be abso- country bound for a New Year’s Day
Ohio State is the highest-ranked Weis, who was fired after com- lutely lunatic, they’re gonna be go- bowl game.
opponent that a Notre Dame head piling a 35-27 record as Notre ing crazy,” Weis said. “And all of Notre Dame coaches have a long
COREY SIPKIN/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
coach has ever faced in the first Dame’s head coach from 2005 to the anti-fans are going to be miser- history of success in their first sea-
game of his first full season, since 2009, knows how true that is. Weis able.” son openers—something Freeman
the Associated Press launched its said the pressure of the job isn’t Ohio State’s advantage might has yet to experience. The univer-
preseason poll in 1950. On top of just who is rooting for you, but also have been more pronounced had sity’s previous 29 coaches have
that, the Buckeyes are both Free- who is rooting against you. Notre Dame’s coaching transition amassed a 26-3 record in such
man’s alma mater and his former At Notre Dame, “You have your followed the usual patterns. South games dating back to 1894, accord-
employer; he was a linebacker there fans and then you have your anti- Bend, Ind., is a place where coaches ing to Stats LLC. The last time a
from 2004 to 2008 before becom- fans,” Weis said. “In most places usually leave because they’ve re- new leader lost his opener came in
ing a graduate assistant in 2010. you have your fans and the rest of tired or been fired for failing to 1986, when a coach named Lou
“I don’t know if there could be the people don’t care what you do. meet the lofty expectations. Most of Holtz lost to No. 3 Michigan, 24-23.
any more pressure,” said Kent Baer, That’s not there.” the time, the team they leave be- Holtz’s tenure in South Bend
Notre Dame’s former defensive co- Weis said that he received multi- hind is not doing too hot. turned out all right despite the loss:
ordinator, who served as an interim ple death threats during his time at That wasn’t the case in 2021, When he retired from Notre Dame,
head coach between Tyrone Will- Notre Dame—one of which came when coach Brian Kelly made the he did so as the first coach with 100
Williams advances to the third round. ingham and Charlie Weis in 2004. from “some 16-year-old kid from In- stunning choice to leave for Louisi- career wins since Knute Rockne.
OPINION
Speaking of ‘Semi-Fascism’ BOOKSHELF | By Dominic Green
Joe Biden,
former peace-
elections are indeed important
because the first two years of
make about their future are
increasingly stark.
Trump administration intro-
duced “one-in, two-out”
Anglo-German
Encounters
maker, has Mr. Biden’s presidency have The historians who told Mr. streamlining, where for every
become more become consequential. Biden in March 2021 to “go rule added, two had to be re-
than a little Inflation is the No. 1 issue big” like Franklin Roosevelt pealed. The Biden government
obsessed re- on voters’ minds now. But in knew what they wanted—a rescinded that initiative.
cently with 2020 the top issue was the U.S. economy actively directed Despite the pain of higher
WONDER
something Covid-19 pandemic. Whichever by government rather than costs for gasoline, home heat-
LAND
c a l l e d candidate won would be re- shaped by private economic ing fuels and indeed a historic
Coffee With Hitler
By Daniel
“MAGA.” sponsible for reviving post- choices. energy-related crisis in Eu- By Charles Spicer
Henninger
“MAGA Re- pandemic America by ad- For the Biden White House, rope over Russia’s invasion of (Pegasus, 392 pages, $29.95)
T
publicans” is dressing the multiple addressing the country’s im- Ukraine, the administration
a phrase the president invokes disruptions to the country’s mediate post-pandemic prob- has implemented policies to he spy novels of Alan Furst are set in the late 1930s and
constantly. economic and social life. lems—high inflation, labor- eliminate the U.S. fossil-fuel early 1940s. Their protagonists are usually oddballs and
He has chosen Indepen- Mr. Biden ran and won as a market distortions, supply- industry by banning pipeline loners hoping either to forestall the catastrophe of a
dence National Historical Park moderate. His presidency’s chain impediments—is a construction and shutting in second European war or to survive it. Their covers typically
in Philadelphia to give a policies have not been moder- secondary concern, at best. production leases. feature an anonymous man in a hat and overcoat walking
much-hyped speech Thursday ate. The Democratic Party’s The scale of Mr. Biden’s alone through a monochrome city to a secret assignation.
on MAGA and the “continued two leading moderates are use of executive orders is un- We know that Hitler will invade Poland and then Russia,
battle for the soul of the na- Sens. Joe Manchin and The two parties are precedented, making the issue dooming his mission and the lives of millions. Yet the alter-
tion.” At a Democratic rally Kyrsten Sinema, who spent of semi-authoritarianism at native past lingers on the page and in the imagination. Could it
last week he went deep into most of the past two years far apart on policy least a talking point. The po- have been different?
his MAGA well, likening it to opposing Mr. Biden’s policy substance, making litical left of its nature recog- Charles Spicer’s “Coffee With Hitler” has the cover and
“semi-fascism.” goals, which quickly became nizes no limits on public characters of an Alan Furst novel, but it is a true story of
One has to admit that contiguous with the party voter choices stark. power. But other than world double-dealers and shifting shades of gray. The book follows
“MAGA” sounds weirdly sin- progressives Mr. Biden ran wars, it isn’t clear the Ameri- three principal figures. Philip Conwell-Evans was a tailor’s son
ister, like the old political against—Sens. Bernie Sanders can people consider relentless and socialist intellectual from Wales. Ernest Tennant was a
joke about a candidate who and Elizabeth Warren. Instead, they are implement- benevolent statism to be in- butterfly-collecting Old Etonian from a “fantastically wealthy”
railed that his opponent’s Let’s get in the semi-spirit ing policies on an array of side this country’s traditions, Scottish family with ties to the chemicals industry and the City
sister was a “known thes- of this semi-moment by sug- longer-term goals, such as as Mr. Biden now enthusiasti- of London. Grahame Christie was a World War I fighter ace and
pian.” Mr. Biden surely gesting that the Biden-Sand- healthcare, climate, education cally believes. a former attaché at the British embassies in Berlin and Wash-
knows (or maybe he doesn’t ers-Warren Democrats now and financial regulation. Congressional Republicans ington. Between 1935 and the outbreak of war in September
know) that MAGA stands for stand for semi-socialism. And The new legislation will let are losing ground in polls 1939, these “well-intentioned obscure middle-aged” Britons be-
Make America Great Again. that their method for putting Medicare introduce price con- partly because of abortion but friended the senior Nazi leadership and lobbied their own gov-
What’s not to like about that, much of their policy objec- trols on pharmaceuticals. The largely because the party out ernment in an effort to avoid
other than the guy who’s tives in place is semi-authori- bill spends $369 billion to of power has no public self- another global conflagration.
making money selling red tarianism, which its propo- achieve far-in-the-future cli- definition. Newt Gingrich, The vehicle for their unoffi-
MAGA hats? nents simply call “bypassing mate goals, primarily with tax along with the visionary Re- cial diplomacy was an organi-
Labor Day weekend marks Congress.” That would be the credits for electric vehicles publican Rep. Dick Armey, zation called the Anglo-German
the push toward the midterm legislative branch that is the and federal subsidies for re- overcame that minority sub- Fellowship. Founded in early
elections. Meanwhile, the Bi- product of millions of individ- newables. Some $80 billion stance problem before the 1935 to make trade, not war,
den Justice Department is ual votes. for IRS enforcement will tar- 1994 midterms by issuing the between Europe’s two largest
keeping the news stocked The Supreme Court’s recent get the small and medium-size Contract With America. economies, the AGF was com-
with pieces of the FBI’s raid message in West Virginia v. businesses attempting to re- But an unexpected oppor- posed of English and German
on Mar-a-Lago. Coincidence? I EPA was that “bypassing Con- cover from the pandemic’s tunity has emerged. Mr. Bi- royalty, titans of industry,
think not! gress” can be, at the least, un- government-ordered disloca- den, by blurting out un- members of the armed services
We’re in an election cycle, constitutional. tions. As justification for Mr. scripted what he and many and both houses of Parliament,
so on cue the Democrats roll Another word in our poli- Biden’s massive student-loan progressive Democrats be- and a sizable smattering of
out the Donald J. Trump tics that is supposed to invoke forgiveness order, the admin- lieve—that much of the coun- fascists. Hindsight has judged the
monolith to frighten the pop- abhorrence is “polarization,” istration cited the fig leaf of a try is now semi-fascist—has AGF harshly, and Conwell-Evans in
ulation. Mr. Trump himself as if it were only the result of Covid “emergency,” though in opened a door to debating particular as a fellow traveler, even
never looks a gift horse in the bloody-minded politicians. But fact this policy goal predates whether his presidency is a traitor. Mr. Spicer, a first-time historian, uses new sources to
mouth. the policy initiatives of the Bi- the pandemic. semi-socialist. And whether show that, though the trio was guilty of “naivety and gullibility,”
Politicians go negative be- den presidency prove the two To reduce the suppressive that’s where America wants to they performed a vital service as intelligence agents.
cause negative works. The pity parties are far apart, and that effects of regulatory excess on go. In 1935, Hitler was two years into his chancellorship. He
here is that this November’s the choices voters need to private economic activity, the Write henninger@wsj.com. had launched a domestic war against his political enemies
and Germany’s Jews. He had massacred the leadership of the
SA militia to establish the supremacy of the SS and declared
Be Skeptical of the Democratic Comeback himself Führer. He had broken the Treaty of Versailles by
building the Luftwaffe, bringing in conscription and creating
the Wehrmacht. He promised to expand Germany’s borders,
By Karl Rove those figures will markedly saying a loan is a debt to be banning abortions without ex- make the country the master of Europe, and wage global war
D
improve over the next 10 paid back, not a burden to be ceptions have a problem with on Jews and Bolsheviks. Yet he also insisted that his territorial
emocrats are increas- weeks. shifted to all taxpayers. swing voters, but so do the goals were limited and that he wanted peace with Britain. If
ingly confident, even Then there’s inflation: The abortion decision also many Democrats who support Britain accommodated him, he said, it could keep its empire.
euphoric, about the Prices were up 8.5% year-over- may not do as much for Demo- unlimited abortions at any The British response has made “appeasement” a dirty word,
midterms. President Biden’s year in July, a 0.6-point de- cratic fortunes as the party point in a pregnancy. and for good reason. Mr. Spicer argues that whereas appease-
approval numbers are rising! crease from June but still seems to think it will. It’s true The GOP faces other chal- ment was “reactive and passive,” the effort to “charm, culti-
He signed the Inflation Reduc- much higher than the 1.4% that since Dobbs, there’s been lenges too, starting with the vate and connect” with the Nazi regime was “proactive and
tion Act! Gasoline prices are year-over-year rate in January a sharp rise in the number of fact that since Aug. 8, the na- dynamic.” None of his trio was a fascist or an ideological anti-
falling! The Dobbs decision 2021, when Mr. Biden took of- Democrats who consider abor- tional political focus has been Semite. Before 1933, Christie saw that Hitler was as much a
mobilized women to defend fice. Average gasoline prices tion a “very important” issue, on the Mar-a-Lago search for product of German revanchism as its cause, and Tennant
abortion! Canceling student for all formulations were which could mean higher turn- classified documents. This is called anti-Semitism “disgusting,” the “main obstacle to
debt guarantees massive turn- $4.09 Wednesday, while they out for the party. Yet abortion shifting the midterms from better Anglo-German relations.”
out of young Democrats! Dem- were $2.42 in January last remains less important to the being a referendum on Mr. Bi- Through the AGF’s German sibling, the Deutsch-Englische
ocrats will gain Senate seats, year. whole voting population than den’s failures to a comparison Gesellschaft, the trio met “ardent senior Nazis” but also
and Speaker Nancy Pelosi may the economy, crime, immigra- between Mr. Biden and Mr. Anglophiles, pacifists, diplomats and industrialists who dis-
hold the House! tion, education and other is- Trump, which diminishes the trusted Hitler’s plans for autarky (economic self-sufficiency)
Maybe. Or maybe not. A few developments sues that aren’t going well for Republican advantage. An Aug. and also believed he could be managed. Whether shooting at
To me the trumpeting from Democrats. In an Aug. 14 Pew 10 Politico/Morning Consult stately homes in England with Hitler’s ambassador Joachim
Democrats and their media al- have broken in their poll, abortion was only the Poll found independents ap- Ribbentrop, or taking coffee and cake with the Führer in
lies appears premature. This favor, but they still eighth-most-cited “very im- proved of the search by 47% to Berlin, they hoped to “civilize” the Nazis by building personal
extraordinary comeback sce- portant” issue. 33%. Those are voters Republi- trust and mutual respect: a premise for negotiations and the
nario seems to ignore underly- face huge challenges. Democrats also attribute can candidates must win to concessions that might integrate Nazi Germany into the
ing realities and assume their Aug. 23 New York con- maximize GOP midterm victo- European order, albeit at the expense of other nations.
things that aren’t true. gressional special election vic- ries. To do that they need to
Start with Mr. Biden’s job The Inflation Reduction tory to Dobbs. It may have change the subject from Mar-
approval. It was 42.4% in the Act’s passage and inflation’s helped them win by 2.2%, or a-Lago to a clear explanation British attempts to ‘civilize’ the Nazis in
FiveThirtyEight.com average recent modest slowing may re- 2,858 votes, in a district Mr. of what they will do if elected. the leadup to war failed, but the relationships
on Wednesday. That’s an im- assure voters, but likely only Biden carried by 1.5%. But the We’ll see more twists and
provement, but is it enough? Democratic true believers can contest was held the same day turns before November. Mid- forged would yield vital intelligence.
President Trump’s average at look at a massive spending as two high-profile Democratic terms historically benefit the
this same point in 2018 was package and think it will lower primaries in a district with party that doesn’t hold the
40.3%. Republicans lost 42 prices. Swing voters may rea- 18,544 more enrolled Demo- White House, but the political Through these amateurs’ efforts, Sir John Simon, the
House seats that November. sonably conclude the law is a crats than Republicans. That environment that several British foreign secretary, accompanied by Anthony Eden, met
Does a roughly 2-point differ- gigantic mess of liberal spe- probably resulted in higher months ago was significantly Hitler in 1935. A year later, former prime minister David Lloyd
ence between Mr. Biden’s ap- cial-interest spending that Democratic than Republican favorable to Republicans has George embarrassed himself by visiting Hitler and praising
proval now and Mr. Trump’s won’t lower the cost of gro- turnout, given that the GOP become somewhat less so. him. Meanwhile, the AGF became highly fashionable in
then mean Democrats can turn ceries or gas. Team Biden is didn’t have prominent primary Still, it’s hardly ideal for Dem- London, with dozens of its members attending the Berlin
defeat into a historic victory? also really overselling the act; battles in that district. ocrats. If Republicans make Olympics in 1936. Most of the AGF’s members, Mr. Spicer
And it isn’t only the top- that tactic tends to backfire. Americans also remain con- the midterms a referendum on writes, were “culturally Germanophile rather than explicitly
line number that matters. In As for student-debt cancel- flicted on abortion. A July 24 Mr. Biden, they’ll do well, but Hitlerite.” Yet the AGF’s predecessor, the Anglo-German Club,
NBC’s Aug. 16 poll the presi- lation, this giveaway’s cost— CNN/SSRS poll found 63% dis- they have to finesse the docu- had folded because it had Jewish members, and the AGF’s
dent’s overall approval num- estimated from $500 billion to approved of overturning Roe ments controversy. first secretary was pro-Nazi. Mr. Spicer is unable to confirm
bers broke down as 42% ap- above $1 trillion—may cause v. Wade, while a June 14 Asso- the sources of its initial funding, though he cites MI5 reports
prove, 55% disapprove. But if many Americans to conclude ciated Press poll found that Mr. Rove helped organize that the AGF had “sponsorship from the German authorities
you look deeper, 44% of re- it’s unfair and a political pay- 65% say abortion should be il- the political-action committee and prominent National Socialists.”
spondents strongly disapprove off to voters the White House legal in the second trimester American Crossroads and is Whatever the AGF’s lower echelons and members thought
of Mr. Biden, while only 18% thinks won’t turn out for Dem- and 80% think it should be il- author of “The Triumph of about its goals, it was being used as a front for intelligence
strongly approve. That’s not ocrats otherwise. Some stu- legal in the third trimester. William McKinley” (Simon & gathering. Christie, a character from a John Buchan novel,
good and it’s unlikely that dent borrowers are already Republicans who argue for Schuster, 2015). was already a “self-employed independent intelligence
agent.” Tennant shared the AGF’s honorary secretaryship
with one Capt. Melville Hawes, the former naval attaché at
Democrats Are the Party of the Overclass Britain’s embassy in Berlin. Christie and Conwell-Evans
reported to Robert Vansittart, the permanent undersecretary
at the Foreign Office who controlled access to the intelligence
By Batya Ungar-Sargon with that. But they’re doing it add insult to injury, they label while waiters and nurses services and vehemently opposed appeasement. The Soviets
P
under a false pretense, cast- you racist if you object. braved the plague and then even inserted an agent, a young Cambridge graduate named
resident Biden’s student- ing it as a moral battle for the The green agenda fits the were forced to take the vaccine Kim Philby, into the AGF’s office.
loan forgiveness plan indigent. pattern too. Progressives zip so the wealthy would feel com- Britain’s security services had “failed in their attempts to
will mostly benefit the It isn’t the only example. around in Teslas, a symbol of fortable being waited on. cultivate reliable sources” in the Nazi regime, so contacts like
elites. The majority of those Consider the push for open both affluence and virtue, Student-loan forgiveness Christie’s friendship with his fellow pilot Hermann Goering
loans are held by college grad- borders. Progressives cast it while union members in the isn’t an aberration. It’s the were “intelligence gold.” The value of such ties rose further
uates, who on average make energy sector lose their jobs. apotheosis of today’s progres- as it became clear that the Nazis couldn’t be “civilized.”
$1 million more in their lives Progressives push to release sivism, which is devoted to By 1938, the AGF leadership was linking British intelligence
than people who don’t have a From student loans to mentally ill drug addicts into transferring wealth upward. with anti-Hitler factions in Germany.
degree. How did progres- working-class communities When you point this out, Mr. Spicer suggests that his new view of the AGF raises
sives—who claim to care Covid restrictions, the where they prey on vulnera- Democrats typically ask: “the fundamental question” of whether there were “alter-
about the poor and working left seeks to make the ble people of color—while What about Republicans natives to Chamberlain’s appeasement of Germany other
class, about fairness and eq- they themselves live in nice handouts to the rich? What than total war.” Probably not, in hindsight. Still, like the
uity—end up pushing a bailout wealthy wealthier. neighborhoods with astro- about the Trump tax cuts? recent rehabilitations of Neville Chamberlain and his ministers,
for the wealthy at working nomical rents, polishing their They have a point about the “Coffee With Hitler” illuminates the dilemmas of appease-
people’s expense? halos. other side, but it’s not much ment on the terms of the 1930s. We prefer to forget that the
Well, consider who pro- in moral terms, as a way of Covid lockdowns worked of a defense. British acclaimed Chamberlain as a peacemaker when he
gressives are—the whitest helping needy and oppressed this way, too. Home values sky- returned from Munich in September 1938. As in an Alan Furst
and most highly educated foreigners. In truth, open bor- rocketed and privately edu- Ms. Ungar-Sargon is dep- novel, no one knew for certain what would happen next.
members of the Democratic ders benefit consumers at the cated children leapt ahead of uty opinion editor of News-
coalition. They’re advancing expense of Americans who their Zooming public-school week and author of “Bad Mr. Green is a Journal contributor and the author, most
their own economic interests, work in industries undercut counterparts. Affluent office News: How Woke Media Is recently, of “The Religious Revolution: The Birth of Modern
and there’s nothing wrong by importing new laborers. To employees worked at home Undermining Democracy.” Spirituality, 1848-1898.”
.
OPINION
REVIEW & OUTLOOK LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
O
ne reason Democrats are thrilled to be in the global shipping business and not I have a reason to distrust teachers Mr. DeAngelis rightly questions the
keep Donald Trump at political center travel to Chinese ports. unions (“Charlie Crist Goes All In for wisdom, after Covid, of politicians
Teachers Unions” by Corey DeAngelis, embracing the teachers unions and
stage is because they know they can Some Foremost ships were built in China
op-ed, Aug. 29). When I was a rookie opposing school choice. But parents’
count on him to continue his over the years, but we’re told teacher in the Atlanta Public Schools anger at the unions and their allies is
revenge campaign against fel- He smears Elaine Chao the company currently has no system, a union representative visited about much more than school shut-
low Republicans. Even by that because her family is such contracts. The company me on my first day. I taught in an “at downs and lack of choice. Parents are
all-too familiar standard of does have contracts for ships will” state, but here the union rep awakening to a fundamental disagree-
behavior, the former Presi- ethnic Chinese. made in Japan. Angela Chao had a foothold in the school system. ment over the purpose of education.
dent’s smears against his for- was also on the board of the She reminded me that I was in the On one side are those who believe
mer Transportation Secretary Bank of China, a commercial minority (white and Jewish) and that schooling is an extension of par-
Elaine Chao are especially ugly. bank, not the central bank. But countless Amer- needed union protection in case enting. Parents want their children to
Mr. Trump has been pursuing a vendetta ican firms have done business with Chinese “something happens” that could end develop virtuous character and acquire
against Mitch McConnell since the Senate GOP companies since the country opened up in the my new career. I thanked her for her the skills and knowledge to earn a de-
visit but told her I was fine. cent living and be good citizens.
leader denounced the former President’s role 1980s and there was hope for its economic and
By the end of that day, my depart- Teachers properly act as parents’
in the events of Jan. 6. Mr. Trump calls him “a political reform. ment chair asked me into her class- agents to achieve these ends, bolster-
broken down hack politician,” despite Mr. Those hopes have been undone by President room. She told me a student had ing that which is taught in the home.
McConnell’s role in keeping a Supreme Court Xi Jinping and his Politburo. But doing business come forward to accuse me of saying On the other side are those who be-
seat open in 2016 for Mr. Trump to run on. The with China remains legal, as Mr. Trump under- that there were no black people in lieve a class of experts know better
Court issue was crucial to Mr. Trump’s victory, scored when he struck his “phase one” trade the Bible—something I would neither than parents do about the values that
and Mr. McConnell was indispensable in getting deal with Mr. Xi in 2019. Is Mr. Trump now teach nor believe. I asked which stu- should be instilled in their children.
his judicial nominees through the Senate. claiming that any American who does business dent from which period had accused Teachers are thus expected to en-
i i i in China is a traitor or in bed with the Commu- me, but received no answers. lighten children, often against the sup-
Mr. McConnell is wise to ignore Mr. Trump’s nist Party? It’s hard to believe Mr. Trump would I returned to my classroom, and posedly benighted values of their par-
attacks. But that may be why Mr. Trump has re- make these accusations if Ms. Chao wasn’t eth- there was that same union represen- ents. If schools need to keep parents in
tative, waiting to remind me that the dark about what’s being taught, or
cently dragged in Ms. Chao, who is Mr. McCon- nic Chinese. “things can happen.” I refused to join how their children are using different
nell’s wife. On Aug. 20 in a post on Truth Social, If he believes what he says, then why did Mr. the union and replied that I had an at- names and pronouns, so be it.
his social-media site, Mr. Trump said Mr. Trump invite Ms. Chao to join his cabinet? The torney roommate who would happily Parents overwhelmingly take the
McConnell “should spend more time (and Foremost Group’s commercial history and busi- represent me if “something happens.” first view and are dismayed to learn
money!) helping [Republicans] get elected, and ness with China were all known at the time. Mr. I tell this story to remind Florida how many school officials take the
less time helping his crazy wife and family get Trump also praised Ms. Chao for doing “an in- voters how teachers unions behave second. Now, they’re flexing their
rich on China!” credible job” as late in his term as July 2020. In and urge them not to vote for anyone muscles at school-board meetings
The money line is itself rich since Mr. Trump April 2020 he said she was doing a “fantastic who would have an American Federa- and the ballot box. Politicians side
spends almost none of his own campaign stash job.” Ms. Chao’s real offense, apart from being tion of Teachers vice president as his against parents at their own peril.
helping other Republicans. But the political-ac- married to Mr. McConnell, is that she resigned running mate. JASON BEDRICK
TONI C. BROWN Heritage Foundation
tion committee affiliated with Mr. McConnell from the cabinet after the Jan. 6 riot. Mr. Trump
Marietta, Ga. Phoenix
is spending tens of millions to elect candidates can’t abide that stand on principle.
Mr. Trump endorsed and who have been strug- Democrats in Congress tried to dig up dirt
gling in the polls. on Ms. Chao and her family, but they came up
On Aug. 24 Mr. Trump escalated with a empty. They triggered a Department of Trans-
statement that “The Democrats have Mitch portation Inspector General probe into several
Students Should Ask More From Their Colleges
McConnell and his lovely wife, Elaine ‘Coco’ charges of misconduct. But in March 2021, after Allysia Finley notes that students specific major, how much will it cost
Chao, over a barrel. He and she will never be Ms. Chao had left office, the IG report con- graduate with “too much debt and too me and will it teach me how to think?
prosecuted, as per the last paragraphs of this cluded: “This report does not make any conclu- few skills that employers want” (“Stu- SARAH MONTALBANO
story.” He then linked to a story in The Federal- sion regarding the compliance of the Secretary dent-Loan Forgiveness Is Really a Bail- Bozeman, Mont.
ist, an online publication, that was full of guilt or any other Federal employee with any ethical out for Woke Higher Ed,” Life Science, Ms. Montalbano was a Robert L.
Aug. 29). Going to college is usually Bartley Fellow at the Journal.
by innuendo. principle or rule.” It closed the probe after it
motivated by promises of higher earn-
Ms. Chao came to the U.S. as a child from found no prosecutorial interest by the Biden ing potential. Yet if we look at the his- A major goal of many public poli-
Taiwan, not China. You may have heard there’s Justice Department. torical purpose of the university as cies promoted by the Democratic
a difference. She’s one of six daughters of James i i i providing liberal-arts training in rhet- Party, and to a lesser extent, the Re-
S.C. Chao, who founded the Foremost Group, a Beyond the unfairness to Ms. Chao, all of this oric and critical thinking, the modern publican Party, has been to achieve a
U.S. shipping company based in New York. It’s relates to Mr. Trump’s role in the GOP. Instead university has failed to provide even a more equitable distribution of income
an immigrant success story. Ms. Chao’s sister of focusing on President Biden, Mr. Trump cares nickel in return on investment. and wealth. Yet the loan-forgiveness
Angela is now CEO, but Elaine is neither an em- above all about settling scores with members The pervasive concern that col- program is likely to worsen inequal-
ployee nor an owner. of his own party. His politics is always about leges should teach practical skills has ity. According to the Penn Wharton
The company specializes in bulk-commodity himself, not a larger cause. His vendettas have allowed woke ideology to infect the model, only 11.63% of the benefits of
liberal-arts disciplines while STEM the program accrue to the first, or
ships that carry grain and other freight. Fore- already hurt Republican prospects in 2022 by
remains, for the most part, grounded bottom, income quintile, while 27.6%
most Group ships travel often to Chinese ports blackballing good candidates and letting Demo- in reality. Instead of asking if they of the benefits accrue to the fourth.
because much of the world’s commodity trade crats divert attention from Mr. Biden’s failures. should go to college at all, students EM. PROF. RICHARD F. BIEKER
goes to and from China. The destinations are No wonder Democrats are thrilled to have Mr. should ask a tripartite question: Delaware State University
set by the owner of the commodities. You can’t Trump around. Should I go to a specific school for a Dover, Del.
I
t was bound to happen. After skating Yet a wobbling grid and soaring prices are “The Comey-Clinton Document State Hillary Clinton in 2016 for mis-
through the summer without rolling black- no longer only a #Californiaproblem. Texas— Standard” (Review & Outlook, Aug. handling classified documents estab-
29) wasn’t a standard at all. It was lishes a standard that should work
outs, Californians on Wednesday were told the land of fossil fuel abundance—last month
merely what was politically expedient here to benefit former President
to raise their thermostats to also urged energy conserva- at the time. Donald Trump. In other words, she
78 degrees and avoid charging The state says don’t tion, prompting some manu- HOWARD HOLT got away with it, now Mr. Trump
electric vehicles during peak charge the EVs we’ll facturers to scale back opera- San Antonio, Texas should also get a pass. On the con-
hours as a heat wave grips the tions. Residential retail prices trary, an indictment then was appro-
state. Good thing new gas- soon force you to buy. in Texas’s deregulated market There is a reason that no standard priate, and that it didn’t happen
powered cars won’t be banned have increased 70% in the exists for U.S. presidents: Who knows should be no obstacle to a wholly ap-
until 2035. past year. what documents other presidents took propriate indictment now.
Heat waves aren’t unusual, and not long ago It doesn’t take an electrical engineer to un- home after their time in office? Their DONALD NAWI
California and other states were able to manage derstand the problem. More subsidized renew- homes have never been searched, and Scarsdale, N.Y.
through them without having to resort to emer- able energy has been pouring onto the grid, that is as it should still be.
HARRY RUFFALO
gency measures. No more. Californians last which has been making it harder for baseload
summer were repeatedly asked to conserve fossil fuel and nuclear plants to make money.
West Palm Beach, Fla. President Biden Is No FDR
power to prevent blackouts. The state has also California’s last nuclear plant is set to retire in Your editorial argues that the fail-
And Liz Cheney Is No Uniter
extended the life of several gas-fired power 2025, but Mr. Newsom is begging the Biden Ad- ure to indict former Secretary of In “Liz Cheney for Attorney Gen-
plants that were set to close, but this hasn’t ministration for money to keep it afloat. eral” (op-ed, Aug. 24), Peter Shinkle
been enough. Meantime, the state Air Resources Board last argues that President Biden can pro-
So the state has been procuring power at ex- week issued aggressive EV mandates that will Israel Has Crucial Lessons mote national unity by putting Rep.
orbitant prices to keep the lights on. Califor- ban the sale of new-gas powered cars by 2035. Cheney in his cabinet. This is even
nia’s residential electricity prices surged by 25% EVs will stress the grid even more. A 2020
About Water as a Resource less plausible than the many earlier
in June over the prior year—about twice as study estimated that the charging infrastruc- “Droughts Take Widening Toll on rumors that Mr. Biden hopes to claim
World’s Largest Economies” (Page FDR’s mantle.
much as they have increased nationwide. Many ture for each EV will cost $5,100. Better hold on
One, Aug. 22) highlights the effect of Granted, some Republican leaders
Californians have seen their electricity bills to that gas guzzler if you want to drive to the droughts around the world. It is time were enraged by Franklin Roosevelt’s
shoot up by hundreds of dollars a month. beach to escape the heat. to change our view of water from that appointments of Republicans Henry
of an overabundant cheap resource to Stimson and Frank Knox. But FDR’s
a commodity that needs to be pro- achievement was to see that uniting
Biden Misidentifies the Crime Culprit duced and recycled. internationalists from both sides of
P
When I was growing up in Israel, the aisle could achieve goals that nei-
resident Biden is stumping for Demo- ments were heresy in the Democratic Party. water shortages were a significant, ther party could on its own. That de-
crats in Pennsylvania this week, and law Police are quitting in droves nationwide, and ever-present issue, and there was pended, however, on admitting that
and order was his theme Tuesday in fewer cops now contend with more crime. Penn- even talk of regional wars over water the vast majority of both parties, in-
Wilkes-Barre. He was joined sylvania law-enforcement resources. Today, Israel recycles about cluding isolationists, were patriots
President Biden does 90% of its wastewater (as do some who sincerely wanted what was best
by Rep. Matt Cartwright, who agencies had more than 1,200
other countries in the Middle East), for the country. Ms. Cheney’s speeches
is in a tight race to keep his political damage control police vacancies in March, ac- and desalination is widespread. More excoriating millions of Republican vot-
House seat, and gubernatorial cording to the public-media than 50% of the water Israel consumes ers are the opposite of this strategy.
candidate Josh Shapiro. Dem- amid urban disorder. organization WHYY. Cops is artificially produced, it exports wa- STEPHEN MAURER
ocrats are worried about pub- don’t want to work where they ter to Jordan, and has become a world University of California at Berkeley
lic anxiety over rising crime, lack political support. leader in water-efficient irrigation.
and they should be. The problem is that Mr. Biden didn’t offer PROF. S. ABRAHAM RAVID
Statewide, murders and non-negligent man- any serious ideas to improve law enforcement. Yeshiva University Pepper ...
slaughters increased 46% last year compared to Instead he attacked the gun lobby, mass shoot- New York
And Salt
2019, according to Pennsylvania’s Uniform ers, and Republicans for not condemning the
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Crime Reporting System. Pittsburgh recorded Jan. 6 riot on Capitol Hill. “Let me say this to
53 homicides last year, a 43% increase over my MAGA Republican friends in Congress,” he The Science of Life and Death
2019. Nonfatal shootings there were up 25% in said. “Don’t tell me you support law enforce- Dr. Michael Stanley’s op-ed “‘Brain
2021 compared to two years prior. ment if you won’t condemn what happened on Death’ Marks the True End of a Per-
Earlier this year Pew reported that only the 6th. . . . Whose side are you on? Look, you’re son’s Life” (Aug. 23) seems much less
44% of Philadelphia residents said they felt either on the side of a mob or on the side of the controversial than arguments defin-
ing the beginning of life, especially
safe in their neighborhood at night, while 65% police.”
with the irreconcilable differences in
said they’d heard gunshots near their homes But big-city residents are worried far more a post-Roe v. Wade world. Obviously,
in the past year. Some 362 people have been about the gangs on their street, and illegal guns science is not the problem.
slain in the City of Brotherly Love so far this in the hands of criminals. Mr. Biden would have DON RODRIGUES
year, compared to 226 in the first eight done better to save his ire for progressive prose- Mansfield, Texas
months of 2019. cutors like Philadelphia District Attorney Larry
Mr. Biden was at pains Tuesday to neutralize Krasner, who brags about how few criminals
Letters intended for publication should
the perception that Democrats want to defund he’s put behind bars. The disorder will continue be emailed to wsj.ltrs@wsj.com. Please
the police. “When it comes to public safety in this until state and local governments are willing to include your city, state and telephone
nation, the answer is not defund the police. It’s prosecute and incarcerate lawbreakers. number. All letters are subject to
fund the police. Fund the police.” That’s a wel- Mr. Biden’s speech was an exercise in damage editing, and unpublished letters cannot “Never burn your bridges
be acknowledged.
come line, but remember that in 2020 such senti- control, not crime control. or delete your data base.”
.
OPINION
T
hree of the largest invest-
ment shops in the U.S.—
seen this sort of corporate entangle-
ment since Teddy Roosevelt and Wil-
liam Howard Taft busted the original
Permit?
BlackRock, Vanguard and trusts a century ago.
State Street—have long The Big Three’s present relation- By Mario Loyola
T
used their dominance in ship explains why none of them de-
passive-investment funds to force fect from the ESG game. They can’t, he U.S. has one of the devel-
corporations to comply with their because they’re not independent ac- oped world’s most costly,
preferred set of environmental, so- tors. The few other genuinely inde- time-consuming and unpre-
cial and governance policies. Their pendent actors in the system—such dictable systems for authorizing big
reign, however, may be nearing its as Fidelity—are privately held and infrastructure projects. In the Infla-
rightful end, as America’s law enforc- controlled by families wealthy tion Reduction Act, Sens. Joe Man-
ers are waking up to the threats the enough to prioritize luxury beliefs chin and Chuck Schumer agreed to
Big Three pose to investors and the over productivity. Similarly, owner- address this problem by streamlin-
economy. ship and control explains why no ing federal permits for energy in-
In an Aug. 4 letter to BlackRock other major player in the American frastructure in September. But if
CEO Larry Fink, 19 state attorneys financial-services industry defects the drafts circulating on Capitol
general questioned how the com- and challenges the investing giants. Hill are any indication, it’ll be too
DAVID KLEIN
pany’s ESG advocacy squares with its State Street qualifies as one of the 15 little too late to lower energy
fiduciary duties to investors. The at- largest banks in the U.S. The Big prices or save President Biden’s
torneys general specifically raised Three collectively hold controlling promise of clean electricity by
whether BlackRock’s “coordinated shares of 13 of the 14 others—with 2035.
conduct with other financial institu- passive investments, the Big Three ine a more circular arrangement. their directly controlled ownership One idea is to codify in law Pres-
tions”—i.e., the two other investing collectively hold the largest voting But the rest of the Big Three come shares ranging from about 17% to ident Trump’s One Federal Decision
giants—to demonetize the oil-and- blocs for nearly the entire S&P 500. close. Vanguard is the largest owner 25%, and their indirectly controlled policy, which among other things
gas industry raises potential anti- Among them, they control a predom- of BlackRock and State Street, in ownership shares ranging from about sought to establish a two-year time
trust issues. inant share of the exchange-traded each case followed by BlackRock. 24% to 45%. The only exception is the limit for permit decisions. It’s a
fund, or ETF, market, and of most Taken together, the Big Three di- Canadian-owned TD Group. good policy (which I helped imple-
participants in nearly every other rectly own about 19% of BlackRock No substantive competition exists ment), but even before Mr. Biden
BlackRock, Vanguard and market. Two of the three (BlackRock and 22% of State Street. The compa- within the ESG paradigm because un- rescinded it, recalcitrant agencies
and State Street) are publicly traded nies also own controlling shares of der the noses of our antitrust regula- had found a loophole. They’d delay
State Street effectively companies, and so their officers dis- many of the other institutional stock- tors the Big Three have acquired acceptance of the initial permit ap-
control each other—and close under oath in regular federal holders holding the Big Three’s shared control over one another and plication, stopping the clock before
filings their institutional sharehold- shares. After including those hold- almost every potential competitor. it could start.
their market competitors. ers. In this paperwork, they regularly ings, the Big Three cumulatively con- That’s not a situation that can be fixed
tell us not only what they own, but trol—if indirectly—no less than about with probing letters or industry-spe-
who owns them. 32% of BlackRock’s equity and 42% of cific litigation alone. We’re now facing Biden’s plans for a green
The attorneys general are digging The answer reads like a punch State Street’s. the original problem that Congress
into an important matter, but there is line: The Big Three own each other There are good reasons to worry wrote American antitrust laws to ad- transition are sure to face
a much more worrying question they and themselves. about the downstream effects of the dress—coordinated ownership of ev- a wall of local opposition,
must explore: Why are the Big Three Start with Vanguard, the pri- same set of players owning all the erything by concentrated cliques pur-
pursuing these policies in lockstep? vately held company of the group. competing companies in other indus- suing their own priorities at the litigation and obstruction.
Why have no institutions in the finan- Though 100% of Vanguard’s equity is tries. Many in the academy have en- expense of the common good.
cial-services industry except one—the held by its own managed funds, its couraged prosecuting these compa- That demands the targeting and
recently launched Strive Asset Man- investors hardly control them. The nies under Section 7 of the Clayton eventual dissolution of the Big Three. Moreover, the Trump reforms
agement—opted to place the investor company’s directors are also the Act—an antitrust statute, enacted in The 19 state attorneys general are were marginal improvements to a
first, by giving priority to profit over trustees of its funds, tasked with ap- 1914, that bars any stock acquisitions doing necessary work, but they must flawed system that only Congress
social issues? The seeming answer pointing its managers. Those man- or ownership that “may substantially aim higher—for the head. can fix. Because courts routinely
raises concerns far beyond the Big agers are the only “owners” with lessen competition.” Those concerns vacate permits over minor omis-
Three’s anti-oil-and-gas collusion. votes on the membership of Van- should be even stronger when the Mr. Morenoff is executive director sions in an environmental-impact
Through their management of guard’s board. It’s difficult to imag- players in question not only own but of the American Civil Rights Project. statement, agencies spend years
and millions of dollars trying to
study every possible alternative and
Gorbachev’s Undoing Was His Devotion to Soviet Ideas impact. The system gives inordinate
influence to small pockets of local
opposition by allowing them to sue
By David Satter elections to bodies where deputies As millions changed their attitude in Crimea and his closest associates over trivial omissions and makes it
M
could express opposing views toward communism, Gorbachev took staged a coup to preserve the Soviet nearly impossible to prioritize proj-
ikhail Gorbachev’s goal, ac- openly. steps to create a power base for Union in its existing form. Yeltsin or- ects of national importance.
cording to his associates, The result of this change was that himself independent of the party. In ganized the resistance. Three days That includes Mr. Biden’s prom-
was “socialism with a human long-concealed social problems be- March 1990, the Congress of People’s later the coup collapsed. When Gor- ise of clean electricity by 2035,
face.” The belief that communism gan to be discussed. More impor- Deputies, the parliament Gorba- bachev returned to Moscow from which would require a staggering
was reformable was what led him to tant, newspapers and television pub- chev’s reforms had created, voted to captivity, he had already been amount of permitting for new infra-
risk introducing fundamental lished facts about the mass murders elect him the Soviet Union’s first eclipsed politically by Yeltsin. On structure: scores of nuclear plants,
change. Soviet citizens were allowed during the Stalin period, including president. Despite the forces he had Dec. 25, the Soviet Union ceased its hundreds or even thousands of util-
to speak and demonstrate without victims’ names and the sites of mass unleashed, Gorbachev remained loyal existence and Gorbachev, its first and ity-scale solar plants, tens of thou-
fear of arrest, to open businesses graves. to socialism and the Soviet Union. only president, was forced to resign. sands of windmills, hundreds of
and to travel abroad. Gorbachev put He also didn’t risk a popular election In the years that followed, Gor- thousands of transmission-line-
an end to the Cold War, renounced for the post of president. This put bachev continued to be honored in miles, according to estimates by in-
the Marxist idea of class struggle as He was unable to preserve him at a serious disadvantage in the West for ending the Cold War dustry experts such as the Electric
the driving force of history, and re- dealing with Boris Yeltsin who in and for his contributions to free- Power Research Institute.
fused to intervene to save commu- the Soviet ideological June 1991 was directly elected presi- dom. He was much less popular in Mr. Biden will be lucky to get a
nist regimes in Eastern Europe. structure, but it wasn’t dent of the Russian Republic, for- his own country. In 1996 he ran for small fraction of that permitted.
In the end, Gorbachev couldn’t merly only an administrative unit of president of Russia and received Even with the Inflation Reduction
save his own power or create de- from lack of trying. the Soviet Union. less than 1% of the vote. During the Act’s addition of nearly $1 billion
mocracy. He defeated totalitarianism The Soviet Union needed to create campaign he attracted a huge audi- to hire more permitting staff,
but didn’t destroy it. He clung to so- fully democratic institutions and ence at Novosibirsk State University agencies will be overwhelmed by
cialist beliefs and fought to preserve The publication of truthful infor- prepare for a peaceful breakup on but the students had come to see a the tsunami of new permit appli-
the Soviet Union’s ideological struc- mation led to a nationwide crisis of the basis of law. But in part because historical figure, not a future leader. cations headed their way. Con-
ture. When he was removed on Dec. faith. “Our generation was brought of Gorbachev’s determination to pre- One said, “He didn’t use the chance gress needs to enact sweeping re-
25, 1991, and the Soviet flag was up under socialism and without be- serve the essential Soviet structure, he had.” forms:
lowered over the Kremlin for the last lief in God,” a 33-year-old mother of the level of confrontation in society Gorbachev made a profound con- • Make the timing predictable.
time, the moral and legal vacuum he three wrote to Pravda on Jan. 18, steadily rose. tribution by accepting that the So- Agency officials drag their feet ev-
left behind spawned a criminal oli- 1988. “As a result of glasnost, the In 1991 Gorbachev aligned himself viet Union had to change. His failure ery step of the way, leaving devel-
garchic regime in Russia that used idea of socialism has been discred- with the army, police and KGB and to fight for a full transition to de- opers in limbo and driving up proj-
terror to stay in power and launched ited. I cannot speak for everyone but sent troops into Lithuania to sup- mocracy, however, left Russia to ects’ costs. If developers had more
a full-scale war against Ukraine. my faith has been shaken.” press the independence movement. carry out the transition from state control over project timetables, it’d
In 1985, when Gorbachev became The Soviet Union gave the out- On Jan. 13, soldiers opened fire on a ownership to capitalism without the save a lot of capital and time. In-
general secretary of the Communist ward impression of being mono- crowd at the television tower in Vil- rule of law. The consequence was stead of allowing only officials to
Party, the Soviet Union was at the lithic, but its stability actually de- nius, killing 14. A week later, bandit capitalism, terror and dictato- assemble environmental docu-
height of its power. But it faced pended on three factors: the 500,000 people gathered in Moscow rial rule in a new form. ments, developers should be al-
problems with economic growth and successful suppression of national- to protest the killings. lowed to prepare the materials for
military technology. In 1982 Israeli ism, the passivity of the working Gorbachev prepared to sign a Mr. Satter is a former Moscow agency certification. If agencies
pilots flying U.S. jets destroyed 81 class, and the unity of the party. All union treaty decentralizing the So- correspondent and the author, take too long issuing a permit or
Syrian-piloted Soviet MiG-21 and these were guaranteed by the ideol- viet Union but preserving it as a among other books, of “Age of Delir- denial, developers should be given
MiG-23 jets over Lebanon’s Bekaa ogy, which was beginning to collapse state. On Aug. 19, 1991, however, he ium: the Decline and Fall of the So- provisional permits to start con-
Valley without losing a single plane. under glasnost. was isolated in his vacation residence viet Union.” struction subject to monitoring and
On March 23, 1983, President Ronald mitigation.
Reagan announced the Strategic De- • Create a unified process. Every
fense Initiative program, which
would make it possible for the U.S.
to intercept Soviet missiles in space.
Midway to Heaven in Concourse C major infrastructure project re-
quires permits from a half dozen
federal agencies all using different,
In response to these perils, Gor- By Bob Greene The chapel was in Concourse C. It hear standard airport announce- uncoordinated processes. There
bachev initiated measures to in- took me a few minutes to figure out it ments from the boarding level be- should be a uniform, centralized
I
crease productivity. These included Chicago wasn’t on the main floor, but down a neath us. process that gives priority to proj-
a campaign to tighten workplace dis- ’d heard the announcements hun- short hall and up an elevator. One At one point Mr. Pearson referred ects of national importance.
cipline and an antialcohol campaign. dreds of times in Chicago air- level above the boarding gates, I obliquely to the sadness, violence, • Reduce litigation risk. Impor-
Both were ineffective. Gorbachev ports: “In 15 minutes a nonde- found the chapel door, a few yards discord and divisiveness that have tant projects are held up by law-
tried next to decentralize the econ- moninational worship service will from a Chicago Police Department become a constant part of the na- suits over minor omissions in envi-
omy. This was resisted by Commu- begin in the airport’s chapel. . . . Ev- substation office. tion’s life. He said his wish wasn’t a ronmental studies. Tightening the
nist Party officials. To overcome this eryone is welcome.” I’d never taken In the chapel, a pastor was intro- matter of politics: “Lord, I’m not ask- statute of limitations isn’t enough.
resistance, Gorbachev agreed to lib- the disembodied voice up on the of- ducing himself and his wife as Dave ing you to take sides. I’m asking you Agencies should be held to a sub-
eralization. The regime freed hun- fer; airports aren’t places to tarry. But and Evelyn Pearson. He wore a lami- to take over.” stantial-compliance standard, so
dreds of political prisoners and be- in this summer of cancellations and nated green security badge. At Mid- that if reports are mostly right, a
gan to allow the release of truthful long delays, on a recent Sunday at way, some 20 million travelers a year project can still go forward. Con-
information. This was glasnost. The Midway International Airport I heard pass through the concourses. On this Five people attended the gress should tighten the rules on
regime also instituted competitive the voice and decided to drop in. Sunday there were five of us in the standing so that activists can’t hold
seats of the chapel. service at the Chicago up safe infrastructure over minor
It was a rather spartan setting, airport’s chapel the day issues.
with more the feel of a conference If the climate crisis really is
PUBLISHED SINCE 1889 BY DOW JONES & COMPANY room than a church. Mr. Pearson I decided to drop in. “code red for humanity” as Mr. Bi-
Rupert Murdoch Robert Thomson stood at a lectern with a 1980s-style den claims, Congress needs to take
Executive Chairman, News Corp Chief Executive Officer, News Corp boom box behind it, in case any of permitting reform seriously. Other-
Matt Murray Almar Latour the volunteer clergy who rotate in He had promised to keep the ser- wise, the U.S. won’t meet his clean-
Editor in Chief Chief Executive Officer and Publisher
and out of the chapel chose to in- vice to 30 minutes, and he did. We re- energy goals. Federal red tape is
Karen Miller Pensiero, Managing Editor DOW JONES MANAGEMENT: clude music in their services. turned to the jammed, noisy main depriving American communities of
Jason Anders, Deputy Editor in Chief Daniel Bernard, Chief Experience Officer; Mr. Pearson welcomed us and as- terminal to make our ways to our re- the modern infrastructure they
Neal Lipschutz, Deputy Editor in Chief Mae M. Cheng, SVP, Barron’s Group; David Cho,
Barron’s Editor in Chief; Jason P. Conti, General
sured us that he wouldn’t take of- spective gates. At a bar and grill need and deserve. Congress should
Thorold Barker, Europe; Elena Cherney, Coverage; fense if anyone had to get up and named for the late Chicago Cubs stop tinkering at the margins and
Andrew Dowell, Asia; Brent Jones, Culture, Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer; Dianne DeSevo,
Training & Outreach; Alex Martin, Print & Chief People Officer; Frank Filippo, EVP, Business leave to make a flight. He said the broadcaster Harry Caray, 53 diners fix this problem.
Writing; Michael W. Miller, Features & Weekend; Information & Services, Operations; Robert Hayes, chapel was intended as a place of filled the seats. Ten times as many as
Emma Moody, Standards; Shazna Nessa, Visuals; Chief Business Officer, New Ventures; comfort, and asked if anyone present had been up in the chapel, but the Mr. Loyola teaches environmen-
Matthew Rose, Enterprise; Michael Siconolfi, Elizabeth O’Melia, Chief Financial Officer;
Josh Stinchcomb, EVP & Chief Revenue Officer,
had family members for whom they bar was more prominent and visible, tal law at Florida International
Investigations
WSJ | Barron’s Group; Jennifer Thurman, Chief wished him, and us, to say prayers. and there was a ballgame on each of University and is a senior fellow at
Paul A. Gigot Communications Officer Two did. the 18 flat-screen television sets. the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
Editor of the Editorial Page The pastor led the group in the He was associate director for regu-
Gerard Baker, Editor at Large EDITORIAL AND CORPORATE
HEADQUARTERS:
Lord’s Prayer and the 23rd Psalm. Mr. Greene’s books include “Once latory reform at the White House
1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y., 10036 The acoustics weren’t perfect; as Mr. Upon a Town: The Miracle of the Council on Environmental Quality,
Telephone 1-800-DOWJONES Pearson recited the prayers, we could North Platte Canteen.” 2017-2019.
.
WORLD NEWS
GETTY IMAGES
within China also spells trouble on solid footing,” Barclays ered two key interest rates in
for multinationals such as Ap- economists Yingke Zhou and mid-August, and the State
Chinese factory activity ple Inc. and Starbucks Corp., Jian Chang wrote in a note to Council, China’s cabinet, an-
shrank and home sales tumbled which count on China’s appetite clients after Wednesday’s data nounced a $146 billion stimulus
in August, as the world’s sec- for a range of goods from raw were released. package to shore up growth. A severe heat wave has sparked a power crunch in China. Above,
ond-largest economy struggled materials to smartphones and The power crunch brought Still, many economists expect a boat sails in the Yangtze River in Wuhan, Hubei province.
to shake off the impact from coffee for profit growth. on by the heat wave depressed business investment and con-
Covid-19 flare-ups, its worst China showed signs of a na- factory activity and forced sumer spending to remain de- target of about 5.5%, set ear- sluggishness there doesn’t
heat wave in six decades and a scent recovery in June, after global manufacturers including pressed, as China’s stimulus is lier this year. bode well for the economy,
deepening real-estate downturn. pandemic restrictions were Foxconn Technology Group largely focused around infra- China’s statistics bureau economists from ANZ said.
As the heat wave led to lifted in the financial hub of and car makers Toyota Motor structure spending and the also said on Wednesday that The bank cut China’s full-year
electricity shortages and pro- Shanghai, but that recovery Corp. and Volkswagen AG to country remains reluctant to China’s nonmanufacturing GDP growth to 3% from 4% af-
duction disruptions, manufac- has lost steam in the months temporarily halt production. budge from its zero-Covid pol- purchasing managers index ter Wednesday’s data release,
turing activity shrank for a since. A resurgence of Separately, new data re- icy, which has amplified uncer- fell to 52.6 in August from citing weakening demand at
second consecutive month, Covid-19 cases in the past leased Wednesday showed the tainties for companies and hurt 53.8 in July. The spread of the home and abroad.
China’s National Bureau of month has triggered fresh property market is still trying consumer confidence. coronavirus and bad weather The country’s strategy of
Statistics said Wednesday. lockdowns in Chinese cities. to find a bottom, with home Chinese leaders have sig- held back growth in both ser- resorting to sudden lockdowns
Home sales also continued to The official manufacturing sales tumbling for the 14th naled they are prepared for vices and construction activity to contain Covid-19 continues
slide, despite efforts by the purchasing managers index consecutive month. lower growth this year. At a in August, it added. to hinder growth.
government to lower purchase edged up to 49.4 in August Sales at the country’s top key political meeting in July, The services sector repre-
barriers and help developers from 49 in July, China’s Na- 100 property developers fell Chinese policy makers effec- sented 53% of China’s gross Heard on the Street: China’s
complete projects, according tional Bureau of Statistics said more than 30% from the same tively abandoned a growth domestic product in 2021, and economy plumbs depths... B12
TECHNOLOGY: SEATGEEK RAISES $238 MILLION PRIVATELY AFTER CANCELING SPAC DEAL B4
DJ TRANS g 1.04%
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
25
July 2022
7.0%
Dollar for
est period of sales growth
since going public, the Snap-
chat parent is emerging as one
Shift workers such as as-
semblers and hotel maids are
also getting more flexibility to
20
20
Ad Spots
of the starkest examples of a set their own hours as the 15
tech company shifting from pandemic and the historically 15 BY SUZANNE VRANICA
overdrive into reverse. After tight labor market change the 10
having grown its head count economy. Part-timers who Netflix Inc. is looking to
prefer full time 10
by around 65% since the end Manufacturers, hotels, charge brands premium prices
of 2020, it hit pause in late warehouses and restaurants 5 3.9M to advertise on its coming ad-
5
May as business conditions are allowing new hires to work supported platform, according
deteriorated. Within weeks, just a few days a week, take to some ad buyers, a sign the
0 0
management determined that on four-hour shifts or even streaming giant is expecting
wasn’t enough, culminating in choose new hours daily using 2020 ’21 ’22 2020 ’21 ’22 strong interest.
plans to tell around 1,200 of phone apps, according to the *Seasonally adjusted Executives from Netflix and
its 6,400 employees that they companies, job boards and Sources: Labor Department via St. Louis Fed (preferences of part-time workers); ZipRecruiter (postings with flexibilty) Microsoft Corp., which is sup-
are losing their jobs. economists. plying the technology to facili-
“We must reduce our cost The U.S. job market has re- companies including Ford Mo- 29% of job listings offered ing different hours. tate the placement of video
structure to avoid incurring mained strong with few signs tor Co., Walmart Inc. and flexibility. One recent posting “Those on-site workers ads on Netflix, met with some
significant ongoing losses,” it is weakening as the Federal Robinhood Markets Inc. for a home health aide in Bos- need to be doing their jobs ei- ad buyers last week, some of
Chief Executive Evan Spiegel Reserve raises interest rates to Over the past 12 months, ton advertised weekly pay- ther in person or on-site,” said the buyers said. Netflix is
said in a memo to staff. curb inflation. The unemploy- 11% of postings for in-person checks and custom schedules: Sinem Buber, the lead econo- seeking to charge advertisers
Across tech, companies are ment rate was 3.5% in July— jobs offered flexible hours, ac- “Choose your own hours!” mist for ZipRecruiter. “They roughly $65 for reaching 1,000
abandoning projects they no matching a 50-year low— cording to the online job Professors at the University are looking for the flexibility viewers, a measure known as
longer consider critical to ease meaning that many people board ZipRecruiter. The flexi- of Chicago estimated in 2020 we have as well.” CPM, or cost per thousand,
Please turn to page B2 have more leverage when it ble openings typically peak in that 37% of jobs can be done While the percentage of the buyers said.
comes to getting jobs than be- the run-up to the Christmas fully remotely. In-person such postings has declined in That is substantially higher
Heard on the Street: Job cuts fore, despite an increase in season as retailers and ware- workers can’t work from recent months, Ms. Buber said than most other streaming
are the easy part................... B12 layoff announcements from houses staff up. In October, home, but they can start work- Please turn to page B6 Please turn to page B2
BY LESLIE SCISM Captain Kirk in the “Star Trek” to find new doctors, regulators Medicare Advantage
franchise. say. The celebrity pitchmen enrollment as a share of
If it’s football season, you The federal Centers for haven’t been accused of violat- eligible Medicare beneficiaries
can count on seeing Joe Na- Medicare and Medicaid Ser- ing any rules.
50%
math on television, along with vices toughened its oversight The aggressive sales efforts
William Shatner and Jimmie after receiving 41,136 con- by marketers are the result of
“J J” Walker. They are the sumer-marketing complaints billions invested by private- 40
most prominent pitchmen for last year, up 165% from 2020. equity firms, financial-services
what has become an annual Brokerages, agents and other companies and stock-market
fall selling frenzy for Medicare marketing businesses tried to investors into virtual call cen- 30
Advantage policies. convince Medicare recipients ters, internet-based lead-origi-
After a surge in consumer to switch plans, with promises nation firms and other mar- 20
complaints, and stiffer govern- of perks in their new plans keting businesses over the
FOOD HEARD ON ment rules, the sales pitches such as home-delivered meals, past several years.
will likely be tamer this year. rides to doctors’ appointments The investors all focused on 10
Walmart and ranchers THE STREET
If there is confusion, “We’ll and cash. the annual sign-up period for
team up on a beef- U.S. funds take change things so it satisfies In some cases, beneficiaries Medicare Advantage plans, 0
processing plant in a gamble on European everybody and eliminates the would effectively pay for the which are an alternative to the
2013 ’15 ’17 ’19 ’21
Nebraska. B3 soccer. B12 confusion,” said Mr. Shatner, perks with more-limited pro- traditional fee-for-service
best known for his role as vider networks, forcing them Please turn to page B10 Source: Kaiser Family Foundation
.
A H P
Air France-KLM...........B3 HP..............................B12 Pacific Investment
Amazon.com ............... B6 Management...........B11
I
Anderson Global.........B6 Panasonic....................B3
International Pfizer...........................A1
Apple.........................A16
Consolidated Airlines
B Group.........................B3 R
Bank of America ITA Airways................B3 Robinhood Markets....B1
........................... B10,B11 J S
Barclays.....................B10
JPMorgan Chase Sixth Street Partners A4
Bed Bath & Beyond....A1
......................A4,B10,B11 Snap.....................B1,B12
Best Buy ................... B12
L Starbucks ............ A1,A16
BioNTech.....................A1
Sustainable Beef........B3
C Lone Star Funds ....... B10
T
Certares Management M
Toyota Motor.......A16,B3
.....................................B3 Meta Platforms..........B6
Chewy..........................B1 V
Microsoft.....................B1
Citigroup..............B6,B11 Virgin Atlantic Airways
Moderna......................A1
D Morgan Stanley........B10
.....................................B3
Volkswagen...............A16
NETFLIX
Dell Technologies......B12 MSC Mediterranean
Delta Air Lines ........... B3 Shipping....................B3 W
Deutsche Lufthansa...B3 N Walgreens Boots For years, brands had bemoaned not being able to appear on big streaming services such as Netflix. Netflix’s ‘The Umbrella Academy.’
F-G Netflix.........................B1
Alliance.....................B6
Walmart......................B1
Foxconn Technology
Group ...................... A16
Gap .............................. B6
Nord Stream...............A7
O
Walt Disney................B1
Wellington Management
Netflix to that no brand advertises too
much on the service and peo-
ple end up seeing the same ad
For years, brands had be-
moaned not being able to ap-
pear on the biggest streaming
to introduce its ad-supported
platform in select markets
during the final quarter of the
Gazprom......................A7 Ozone Networks.......B11 .....................................B4
Aim High too often, some of the buyers
said.
“We are still in the early
services such as Netflix, where
consumers—especially youn-
ger people—were increasingly
year.
Netflix wants brands to
commit to a year-long upfront
INDEX TO PEOPLE For Ads days of deciding how to launch
a lower-priced, ad-supported
migrating as interest in tradi-
tional TV waned. More
ad buy—much the way tradi-
tional TV networks have oper-
tier,” Netflix said. “No deci- streaming services are start- ated for decades—by late Sep-
A Groetzinger, Jack........B4 Schake, Kristina..........B2 sions have been made.” ing to embrace ads: Warner tember, the buyers said.
Arnal, Gustavo............A4 H Schultz, Howard.........A8 Continued from page B1 The ad buyers said they Bros. Discovery Inc.’s HBO Max Ad buyers said Netflix is of-
B Smith, Ryan................B4 platforms, the buyers said. were surprised Netflix would is offering a plan with com- fering advertisers the ability
Henry, John.................B4
Spiegel, Evan .............. B1 Netflix has been racing to seek such a steep price for ads mercials, and Walt Disney to target specific sets of users,
Briggs, David...............B3 Hollis, Jack..................B3
T get a lower-price, ad-supported on an untested platform. How- Co.’s Disney+ is launching an but said it is less granular
Buber, Sinem .............. B1 K tier off the ground as it looks ever, they said, it isn’t unusual ad-supported version of its than what they have grown ac-
Tritton, Mark..............A4
C Kassan, Lauren...........B6 for new ways to generate reve- for new entrants in the service this year. customed to with online ads.
V nue and attract more cost-con- streaming space to seek high Initially, Netflix plans to sell The options Netflix is offering
Chapek, Bob................B1 Krosby, Quincy............B1
Chastain, Nathaniel..B11 Venkatakrishnan, scious users. Since announcing prices and then later negotiate 15- and 30-second ads that include targeting people that
M
Cho, Jen.......................B6
Natarajan..................A1 its openness to advertising in them lower. would appear before and dur- are watching Netflix’s top 10
McNair, Cliff................B4 W April—a significant change for Since last week’s meetings ing some programs, ad buyers shows in the U.S.; allowing
Cohen, Ryan................A4
N White, Mike................B2
a company that has long sold with ad buyers, Netflix has said. The company is looking brands to target people that
G itself as a commercial-free ha- appointed two new people to to keep the ad load to four are watching a specific genre
Naylor, Peter...............B2 Wilke, Bob...................B4
Gelman, Audrey..........B6 ven—Netflix has made multiple lead its ad effort: Jeremi Gor- minutes of ads for every hour of show such as comedy or
Gorman, Jeremi..........B2 O-S Y moves, including choosing Mi- man and Peter Naylor, both of programming—less than drama; or the ability to target
Gove, Sue....................A1 Osvaldik, Peter ........... B4 Young, Katie ............... A8 crosoft to help launch the ser- of whom previously worked some of the other streaming ads to a specific country, they
vice and hiring two Snap Inc. at Snap Inc. and whose ap- services and much less than said.
executives to lead its advertis- pointments were announced traditional TV, the ad buyers Advertisers and ad buyers
products.
The upheaval in the digital-
ad business that generates the
Snap executives initially
aimed to handle the Apple
changes by working directly
Program In exploring the member-
ship program, Disney has
studied Amazon’s program as
bulk of Snap sales has been with advertisers to find a way well as Apple One, which bun-
particularly pronounced. Last to track how their ads per- Continued from page B1 dles cloud storage, AppleTV+
year Apple Inc. introduced pri- formed. That proved cumber- miliar with the discussions and Apple Arcade, among
vacy changes that make it some, a person familiar with said. other services, for a starting
harder for platforms to track Snap’s effort said, and the so- “Technology is giving us price of $14.95 a month, some
the performance of the ads cial-media company now is new ways to customize and of the people familiar with
they sell. Then Russia’s inva- moving to work with third- personalize the consumer ex- the discussions said.
sion of Ukraine in February, party data-services providers perience so that we are deliv- Disney has discussed add-
rising inflation and a broader to allow advertisers to deter- ering entertainment, experi- ing perks to the membership
economic slowdown caused mine the reach of their ads. ences and products that are Streaming and parks could be included. A Disney store at Orlando. program from third parties,
some ad buyers to pull back Snap has faced dark days most relevant to each of our such as discounts to tickets
on spending. before. Four years ago, the guests,” said Kristina Schake, well as clothing and toys. customers’ preferences, some for Disney shows on Broad-
The slowdown in ad reve- Snapchat app faced a user re- senior executive vice presi- Mr. Chapek in May high- of the people said. way, said one of the people
nue for Snap was swift and volt over a rushed redesign dent and chief communica- lighted Disney’s “unique syn- For example, a fan of Star familiar with the discussions.
steep, the company has sig- and other problems. The com- tions officer at Disney, in a ergy machine, or franchise Wars rides at its theme park —Robbie Whelan
naled. As recently as the first pany had three straight quar- statement. “A membership flywheel” on a call with Wall would get recommended re- contributed to this article.
quarter, revenue growth was ters of flat or fewer users in program is just one of the ex- Street analysts, saying the
38% year-over-year. It is now 2018 and at least half a dozen citing ideas that is being ex- company was different from
down to around 8%, the com- executives left. It regained its plored.” competitors because it could
pany said Wednesday. momentum and saw strong Disney already has a spe- reach people in many differ-
Meta last month posted its growth during the pandemic, cial program for superfans, ent ways.
first decline in revenue and is- propelling shares to an all- the D23 Official Fan Club, Membership programs
sued a muted outlook on digi- time high last September, be- which costs $99.99 to $129.99 have gained popularity among
tal advertising trends and fore its business prospects a year and comes with access retailers from Amazon.com
competition from TikTok. worsened. to exclusive events and mer- Inc. to Walmart Inc. to Star-
Around the same time, Google The company is aiming to chandise. That program of- bucks Corp. because they
parent Alphabet Inc. reported cut around $500 million from fered members a discounted help companies better under-
the slowest quarterly sales its annual costs and estimates three-year subscription to stand customers’ purchasing
growth in two years. it will incur one-time expenses Disney+ in 2019. A new mem- habits, while offering dis-
Streaming giant Netflix Inc. of between $110 million and bership program would be counts or perks that encour-
poached Snap’s chief business $175 million to lay off staff, different in that it would be age them to remain loyal.
officer, Jeremi Gorman, and wind down projects and ad- targeted at more casual Dis- Streaming video services
another advertising executive dress other issues. It is aban- ney fans and customers. can be sweeteners in those
is leaving to kick-start Net- doning an effort to break into As an early step to better programs. Walmart said this
flix’s plan to add an ad-backed the market for multiplayer in- link Disney products and ser- month it will add free Para-
tier option to its offerings. The app games and closing stand- vices, Disney is working to mount+ to its $98-a-year Wal-
executive departures “could alone platforms, Zenly, a social enable subscribers to its Dis- mart+ membership program,
prolong Snap’s ad growth map app, and Voisey, an app ney+ streaming service to buy and Amazon offers Prime
challenges and increase execu- that connects singers and merchandise such as T-shirts, Video through its program.
tion risk,” Citi analyst Ronald
Josey said in a note.
songwriters.
Snap shares closed up
themed accessories and chil-
dren’s costumes associated
Competition in streaming
video has intensified and all
SAVE
UP TO $600
All those factors have 8.69% in Wednesday trading. with some of its shows by the major players are explor-
spelled months of tumult for —Jessica Toonkel scanning a QR code on the ing various avenues to boost on Models
Snap. In October, the company contributed to this article. service that links to the Shop growth, from selling ads to
Disney website, people famil- raising prices to new distribu-
Snap's employee count Quarterly revenue, change iar with the plan said. tion partnerships.
from previous year One example that execu- In the three-month period
Approximately tives have discussed as a pos- ended July 2, Disney+ gained
6,000 120%
6,400 sible merchandise tie-in is of- 14.4 million new subscribers,
fering an exclusive toy bringing its total to 152.1 mil-
5,000 100 version of a “darksaber”—a lion. But the company
weapon from the Star Wars- brought down its forecast,
themed series “The Mandalo- saying it expected to have 215 As low as $54 per month*
4,000 80 rian”—for sale only to Dis- million to 245 million sub-
ney+ subscribers, a person scribers by September 2024,
familiar with the plans said. partially due to losing the
3,000 60 The company expects to in- right to air popular Indian
troduce the retail feature on cricket competitions.
Disney+ as soon as this year. A membership program
2,000 40 Disney has a range of prod- could help Disney learn more
ucts and services based on its about its customers’ behavior
Free Shipping & 30 Day Risk Free Trial
vast stable of entertainment by collecting data about
1,000 20
BUSINESS NEWS
Walmart, Ranchers
Team Up on Beef
BY PATRICK THOMAS Lehr, a Walmart senior vice
president. He said many U.S.
Walmart Inc. is pushing grocers struggled to secure
deeper into the beef business, meat in 2020 after Covid-19
taking a stake in a planned Ne- cases among plant workers cut
braska processing plant to into production and raised
help stock its meat sections fears of shortages. Walmart
and increase processing capac- will buy most of the beef pro-
ity in the beef industry. duced by Sustainable Beef’s fa-
The retailer said Wednes- cility, which will go to stores in
day that it acquired a minority the central U.S., said Mr. Lehr.
stake in Sustainable Beef LLC Sustainable Beef was
as part of Walmart’s push to founded by a group of cattle
develop a network of meat- ranchers who have said their
processing plants providing processing plant will boost
ADI WEDA/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK
Angus beef products for its competition—and livestock
stores. The deal also provides prices—in one of the country’s
Walmart and its customers top beef-producing regions by
better visibility into the food giving local producers another
supply, the company said. place to sell their cattle.
Financial terms of Wal- Ranchers, upset by years of
mart’s investment weren’t dis- low cattle prices despite the
closed. Walmart said it would rise of wholesale beef prices
have a seat on Sustainable over the course of the pan- The car maker laid out plans to spend $5.6 billion on battery capacity. Electric vehicles now make up less than 1% of its sales.
Beef’s board. demic, have pushed along with
The airline formerly known as Alitalia is being privatized by the Italian government.
TECHNOLOGY WSJ.com/Tech
the brand. We just do not want with goods including video- cording artists collect. The
to be associated with that type games, merchandise related to battle over streaming-royalty
of marketing,” said Bob Wilke, crypto and “other trendy payouts heated up as financial
president of HobbyTown Un- items,” among other moves, to players such as Blackstone Inc.
limited Inc. He said HobbyTown broaden RadioShack’s appeal. and KKR & Co. bet billions of
had operated RadioShack Ex- “While some dealers have dollars on song catalogs—as-
press locations in more than 80 expressed reservations with sets now seen as both increas-
of its 110 stores, which are lo- our current marketing strat- ingly valuable due to the
cally owned by franchisees. The electronics retailer’s Twitter feed has lately been filled with porn memes and crypto-related posts. egy, we have already seen tre- growth of online streaming
But RadioShack’s vulgar mendous recognition of the and untethered to broader
posts on Twitter, which are goes back decades. projecting potential, and those twice between 2015 and 2017. rejuvenated brand, as many market fluctuations.
designed to drum up attention “It was a really wonderful of bricks-and-mortar market- RadioShack’s brand in the current and future customers Mechanical licenses date to
for a new cryptocurrency ex- company at one time,” said ers, such as consistency, reli- U.S., Canada, India, Australia, are eager to experience the the early 20th century. In 1909,
change platform and other ef- Cliff McNair, who has offered ability and in-person relation- Europe and China was sold in next generation of Ra- Congress decided music pub-
forts to revive the brand, RadioShack products at a fur- ships with customers. 2020 for an undisclosed price dioShack,” REV said in an lishers had a monopoly on
aren’t the first frustration for niture, home appliance and RadioShack was founded in to Retail Ecommerce Ventures, emailed statement to The Wall player-piano rolls, then a pop-
some of the dealers. electronics store called Best 1921 and went on to become a a company that had previously Street Journal. ular recording medium, and
The split over marketing Brands Plus in Maryville, Mo. household name as a seller of acquired the intellectual prop- A representative for REV passed a law requiring them to
comes after years of owner- “It was like a big family to the computers, electronics and erty assets of brands including said this summer it has license their copyrights, with
ship changes and bankruptcies people who were really in- components before it was hurt retailer Dressbarn, home décor around 400 dealer locations. the government setting the
for the electronics chain. It volved in it. It just was sad to by competitors such as Best and accessories retailer Pier 1 More than a dozen locations rate. Record labels, which con-
has become tough to get Ra- see what happened.” Buy Co. and Amazon.com Inc. Imports and sporting-goods listed on its website have trol masters, or the sound re-
dioShack-branded inventory in The situation now repre- It promised an improved store seller Modell’s. closed, however, and dozens cordings of songs, aren’t sub-
stock in recent years, some sents a clash between certain experience in a well-received RadioShack at that time more are in HobbyTown ject to such compulsory
dealers say, undermining an priorities of the digital era, in- 2014 Super Bowl ad but fal- was operating as an online re- stores, the retail chain that licensing and negotiate with
association that in some cases cluding getting attention and tered, filing for bankruptcy tailer, but its goods were still said it was cutting ties. the services in the free market.
ADVERTISEMENT
9-10%
tives, said an employee who a range of $5.4 billion to $5.6
was laid off this week. Other billion. On a conference call,
T-Mobile workers were post- CEO Mike Sievert has overseen changes since a takeover of Sprint. Chief Financial Officer Peter
ANNUAL RETURNS
THEMARKETPLACE ing about losing their jobs on Osvaldik cited “more network
9-YEAR AVG.: 9.47% internet forums. nated or whether more cuts workers after it closed its savings driven by accelerated
ADVERTISE TODAY A spokeswoman for T-Mo- were coming. She said the takeover of Sprint Corp. in site decommissioning.”
MONTHLY DIVIDENDS
FIRST LIEN MORTGAGES (800) 366-3975 bile said the moves were part company would offer new po- April 2020, following a battle The company has been
InvestWithLYNK.com For more information visit: of continuing organizational sitions to many of the laid-off with federal and state authori- switching Sprint customers
wsj.com/classifieds shifts during the past few workers and was still hiring ties. It ended 2021 with about over to T-Mobile’s network
(410) 258-3903 © 2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. months. She declined to say for other roles. 75,000 workers, according to a and shutting down an older 3G
*Past performance not an indicator of future results.
Visit website for details & disclosures. All Rights Reserved. how many roles were elimi- T-Mobile had about 80,000 regulatory filing. network.
.
TECHNOLOGY
Nvidia Forecasts
A Sales Hit From
U.S. Licensing Rule
BY ASA FITCH with other products and may
seek licenses from the govern-
Nvidia Corp. could lose as ment if the replacements
much as $400 million in quar- weren’t sufficient, it said.
* The expedition cost includes transportation by Boeing 757 jet and other conveyance, as noted in the itinerary. Airfare to Seattle, Washington and return from Washington, D.C. is not included in the expedition cost.
Please note: This trip will be operated by National Geographic Expeditions, on lights operated by Icelandair. Please visit natgeoexpeditions.com/privatejetterms to see the Operator-Participant Contract and Terms
and Conditions for this trip. NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPEDITIONS and the Yellow Border are trademarks of The National Geographic Society and used with permission. © 2022 Dow Jones & Co., Inc. All rights reserved. 6DJ6870
.
BUSINESS NEWS
MARKETS DIGEST
EQUITIES
Dow Jones Industrial Average S&P 500 Index Nasdaq Composite Index
Last Year ago Last Year ago Last Year ago
31510.43 t 280.44, or 0.88% Trailing P/E ratio 18.55 24.00 3955.00 t 31.16, or 0.78% Trailing P/E ratio * 22.84 31.26 11816.20 t 66.93, or 0.56% Trailing P/E ratio *† 26.75 36.10
High, low, open and close for each P/E estimate * 17.79 19.26 High, low, open and close for each P/E estimate * 18.37 22.26 High, low, open and close for each P/E estimate *† 24.25 29.27
trading day of the past three months. Dividend yield 2.23 1.80 trading day of the past three months. Dividend yield * 1.54 1.31 trading day of the past three months. Dividend yield *† 0.82 0.66
All-time high 36799.65, 01/04/22 All-time high 4796.56, 01/03/22 All-time high: 16057.44, 11/19/21
Close Open
t
Federal-funds 2.00% Los Angeles, CA 877-707-1995 12 WSJ Dollar Index Switzerland franc 1.0244 .9762 7.0
s China yuan .1451 6.8904 8.4
target rate 2.25 Turkey lira .0550 18.1977 36.6
Colorado Federal Savings Bank 3.10% Hong Kong dollar .1274 7.8493 0.7
1.50 0 Ukraine hryvnia .0271 36.8500 34.7
One year ago India rupee .01258 79.504 6.7
t
1.00 First Internet Bank of Indiana –12 Japan yen .007197 138.95 20.7 Middle East/Africa
0.75
Indianapolis, IN 888-873-3424 Yen Kazakhstan tenge .002114 472.96 8.7 Bahrain dinar 2.6527 .3770 0.01
s
0.50 TAB Bank 3.25% 0.00 –24 Macau pataca .1236 8.0910 0.7 Egypt pound .0520 19.2393 22.5
Malaysia ringgit .2234 4.4755 7.4 Israel shekel .3004 3.3292 7.1
Ogden, UT 800-355-3063 1 3 6 1 2 3 5 7 10 20 30 2021 2022
0.00 New Zealand dollar .6121 1.6337 11.7 Kuwait dinar 3.2444 .3082 1.9
CFG Community Bank 3.40% month(s) years
S ON D J F M AM J J A Pakistan rupee .00457 218.725 24.1 Oman sul rial 2.5972 .3850 0.01
Baltimore, MD 888-205-8388 maturity Philippines peso .0178 56.220 10.2 Qatar rial .2720 3.676 0.9
2021 2022
Sources: Tradeweb ICE U.S. Treasury Close; Tullett Prebon; Dow Jones Market Data Singapore dollar .7159 1.3969 3.6 Saudi Arabia riyal .2660 3.7591 0.1
Yield/Rate (%) 52-Week Range (%) 3-yr chg South Korea won .0007453 1341.75 12.9 South Africa rand .0584 17.1217 7.4
Interest rate Last (l)Week ago Low 0 2 4 6 8 High (pct pts)
Corporate Borrowing Rates and Yields Sri Lanka rupee .0027779 359.99 77.4
Close Net Chg % Chg YTD%Chg
Federal-funds rate target 2.25-2.50 2.25-2.50 0.00 l 2.50 0.25 Taiwan dollar .03289 30.404 9.7
Yield (%) 52-Week Total Return (%) Thailand baht .02737 36.540 10.0 WSJ Dollar Index 100.23 –0.04–0.04 11.92
Prime rate* 5.50 5.50 3.25 l 5.50 0.25 Bond total return index Close Last Week ago High Low 52-wk 3-yr
Libor, 3-month 3.10 3.01 0.11 l 3.10 0.96 Sources: Tullett Prebon, Dow Jones Market Data
U.S. Treasury, Bloomberg 2150.420 3.420 3.350 3.550 0.860 –10.799 –2.246
Money market, annual yield 0.15 0.16 0.07 l 0.16 -0.57
Five-year CD, annual yield 1.88 1.88 0.41 l 1.88 0.14 U.S. Treasury Long, Bloomberg 3454.690 3.480 3.500 3.630 1.720 –22.635 –6.756 Commodities
30-year mortgage, fixed† 6.03 5.92 3.04 l 6.11 2.35 Aggregate, Bloomberg 2001.890 3.950 3.870 4.140 1.400 –11.515 –1.995 Wednesday 52-Week YTD
Pricing trends on someClose
raw materials, or commodities
Net chg % Chg High Low % Chg % chg
15-year mortgage, fixed† 5.23 5.13 2.32 l 5.39 2.02 Fixed-Rate MBS, Bloomberg 1997.820 3.900 3.860 4.240 1.670 –9.742 –1.975
Jumbo mortgages, $647,200-plus† 6.05 5.95 3.06 l 6.11 1.50 DJ Commodity 1073.30 -11.17 -1.03 1264.48 888.27 20.35 13.43
High Yield 100, ICE BofA 3091.450 n.a. 7.478 8.427 3.272 –10.710 –0.181 Refinitiv/CC CRB Index 290.41 -3.17 -1.08 329.59 217.91 33.23 24.97
Five-year adj mortgage (ARM)† 4.49 4.38 2.82 l 4.49 0.30
Muni Master, ICE BofA 554.429 3.057 2.918 3.191 0.800 –7.911 –0.697 Crude oil, $ per barrel 89.55 -2.09 -2.28 123.70 65.57 30.56 19.07
New-car loan, 48-month 5.10 5.10 3.41 l 5.10 0.46
Bankrate.com rates based on survey of over 4,800 online banks. *Base rate posted by 70% of the nation's largest EMBI Global, J.P. Morgan n.a. n.a. 7.394 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. Natural gas, $/MMBtu 9.127 0.085 0.94 9.680 3.561 97.77 144.69
banks.† Excludes closing costs.
Sources: FactSet; Dow Jones Market Data; Bankrate.com Sources: J.P. Morgan; Bloomberg Fixed Income Indices; ICE Data Services
Gold, $ per troy oz. 1712.80 -10.40 -0.60 2040.10 1699.50 -5.53 -6.28
.
COMMODITIES wsj.com/market-data/commodities
Currency Futures
Agriculture Futures
Japanese Yen (CME)-¥12,500,000; $ per 100¥
Bonds | wsj.com/market-data/bonds/benchmarks
Corn (CBT)-5,000 bu.; cents per bu. Sept .7217 .7242 .7209 .7218 –.0003 239,705
Sept
Dec
680.75
677.50
683.00
680.50
664.25
661.00
673.75
670.50
–6.00 17,063
–6.75 753,420
Dec .7282 .7307 .7270 .7284 –.0004 4,778 Tracking Bond Benchmarks
Canadian Dollar (CME)-CAD 100,000; $ per CAD
Oats (CBT)-5,000 bu.; cents per bu. Sept .7636 .7653 .7608 .7619 –.0011 143,761
Return on investment and spreads over Treasurys and/or yields paid to investors compared with 52-week
Sept 402.50 404.25 402.50 404.75 2.25 8 Dec .7636 .7651 .7608 .7618 –.0011 13,229 highs and lows for different types of bonds
Dec 398.00 398.00 388.00 395.75 –2.25 2,769 British Pound (CME)-£62,500; $ per £ Total Total
Soybeans (CBT)-5,000 bu.; cents per bu. Sept 1.1657 t 1.1601
1.1696 1.1618 –.0043 252,115 return YTD total return YTD total
Yield (%) Yield (%)
Sept 1514.75 1524.50 1493.25 1507.50 –5.50 1,071 Dec 1.1679 t 1.1622
1.1716 1.1637 –.0044 9,100 close return (%) Index Latest Low High close return (%) Index Latest Low High
Nov 1432.00 1442.50 1416.00 1422.50 –10.00 318,298 Swiss Franc (CME)-CHF 125,000; $ per CHF
Soybean Meal (CBT)-100 tons; $ per ton. Sept 1.0277 1.0296 1.0211 1.0257 –.0029 46,168 Broad Market Bloomberg Fixed Income Indices Mortgage-Backed Bloomberg Fixed Income Indices
Sept 462.40 465.20 455.00 458.90 –3.50 2,570 Dec 1.0367 1.0376 1.0293 1.0338 –.0030 831
Dec 424.00 424.70 414.50 415.10 –9.40 196,557 Australian Dollar (CME)-AUD 100,000; $ per AUD 2001.89 -10.8 U.S. Aggregate 3.950 1.400 4.140 1997.82 -9.1 Mortgage-Backed 3.900 1.670 4.240
Soybean Oil (CBT)-60,000 lbs.; cents per lb. Sept .6856 .6905 .6836 .6848 –.0009 166,826 1968.62 -7.9 Ginnie Mae (GNMA) 3.920 1.700 4.250
Sept 71.01 72.92 70.76 72.74 1.95 2,270 Dec .6867 .6914 .6844 .6857 –.0009 2,279
U.S. Corporate Indexes Bloomberg Fixed Income Indices
Dec 66.51 67.62 65.89 67.48 1.13 145,301 Mexican Peso (CME)-MXN 500,000; $ per MXN 2922.97 -14.2 U.S. Corporate 4.830 1.960 4.990 1175.28 -9.2 Fannie mae (FNMA) 3.900 1.660 4.240
Rough Rice (CBT)-2,000 cwt.; $ per cwt. Sept .04943 .04962 .04922 .04946 .00004 205,967
Sept 17.50 17.59 17.44 17.51 .07 581 Dec .04873 .04875 .04837 .04859 .00005 856 2804.07 -8.7 Intermediate 4.640 1.340 4.820 1801.18 -9.6 Freddie Mac (FHLMC) 3.890 1.660 4.240
Nov 17.72 17.96 17.72 17.84 .05 8,131 Euro (CME)-€125,000; $ per €
Wheat (CBT)-5,000 bu.; cents per bu. Sept 1.0029 1.0091 .9983 1.0056 .0023 688,688 3946.91 -22.7 Long term 5.170 2.900 5.310 554.43 -7.9 Muni Master 3.057 0.800 3.191
794.75 812.25 788.75 809.00 10.75 2,119 Dec 1.0095 1.0154 1.0047 1.0120 .0022 13,470 -7.2
Sept 576.11 -14.6 Double-A-rated 4.180 1.710 4.370 394.60 7-12 year 2.878 0.796 3.237
Dec 820.00 839.25 806.25 831.50 11.25 169,195
Wheat (KC)-5,000 bu.; cents per bu. Index Futures 769.89 -14.8 Triple-B-rated 5.160 2.170 5.320 441.16 -10.3 12-22 year 3.583 1.146 3.753
Sept 908.75 921.25 894.25 924.25 15.50 797
Mini DJ Industrial Average (CBT)-$5 x index High Yield Bonds ICE BofA 415.68 -14.4 22-plus year 4.213 1.620 4.342
Dec 897.00 915.75 885.00 912.50 14.75 93,184 31792 32002 31501 31532 –243 76,434
Sept
Cattle-Feeder (CME)-50,000 lbs.; cents per lb. Dec 31876 32089 31589 31627 –243 973 464.29 -11.0 High Yield Constrained n.a. 3.830 8.931 Global Government J.P. Morgan†
Sept 182.775 183.000 182.075 182.450 .275 6,546 Mini S&P 500 (CME)-$50 x index
Oct 183.875 184.100 182.800 183.475 .200 17,854 Sept 3987.25 4018.25 3953.00 3956.50 –31.00 2,228,841 438.17 -13.0 Triple-C-rated n.a. 6.950 15.197 541.09 -9.8 Global Government 2.490 0.790 2.560
Cattle-Live (CME)-40,000 lbs.; cents per lb. Dec 4002.75 4035.00 3970.00 3973.25 –31.25 88,871
3091.45 -11.0 High Yield 100 n.a. 3.272 8.427 765.97 -8.7 Canada 3.170 1.280 3.500
Aug 144.500 145.000 s 141.550 141.550 –.950 48 Mini S&P Midcap 400 (CME)-$100 x index
Oct 143.750 143.875 142.275 142.575 –1.250 116,068 Sept 2447.20 2466.10 2426.40 2430.30 –17.20 50,236 403.69 -12.3 Global High Yield Constrained n.a. 4.019 9.062 n.a. n.a. EMU§ n.a. n.a. n.a.
Hogs-Lean (CME)-40,000 lbs.; cents per lb. Dec 2458.00 2472.70 2437.60 2439.40 –18.30 7
Oct 93.175 93.375 91.000 91.525 –2.075 78,955 Mini Nasdaq 100 (CME)-$20 x index 307.41 -11.9 Europe High Yield Constrained 6.917 2.304 7.457 661.50 -13.0 France 2.130 0.150 2.330
Dec 85.000 85.225 83.650 83.875 –1.625 70,965 Sept 12366.00 12513.00 12276.25 12285.25 –73.50 257,799
Lumber (CME)-110,000 bd. ft., $ per 1,000 bd. ft. Dec 12431.00 12584.00 12352.75 12359.50 –73.25 5,637
U.S Agency Bloomberg Fixed Income Indices 474.98 -11.5 Germany 1.480 -0.370 1.740
Sept 500.20 516.50 500.20 509.00 4.20 549 Mini Russell 2000 (CME)-$50 x index 1714.75 -6.5 U.S Agency 3.670 0.700 3.670 286.73 -2.7 Japan 0.640 0.290 0.710
Nov 474.00 487.40 469.20 483.60 6.90 1,699 Sept 1856.20 1872.10 1841.10 1844.60 –11.70 517,544
Milk (CME)-200,000 lbs., cents per lb. Dec 1860.00 1878.10 1848.30 1851.20 –11.90 6,690 1511.89 -5.5 10-20 years 3.640 0.590 3.640 513.07 -13.9 Netherlands 1.830 -0.200 2.030
Sept 19.79 19.91 19.59 19.63 –.16 5,162 Mini Russell 1000 (CME)-$50 x index
Oct 20.10 20.10 19.84 19.89 –.21 5,534 Sept 2203.60 2210.00 2177.20 2178.10 –17.20 13,445 3445.25 -17.8 20-plus years 4.070 1.950 4.190 838.78 -19.2 U.K. 3.000 0.720 3.000
Cocoa (ICE-US)-10 metric tons; $ per ton. U.S. Dollar Index (ICE-US)-$1,000 x index -11.0
Sept 108.73 109.17 108.34 108.67 –.08 58,358
2564.60 Yankee 4.510 1.570 4.610 n.a. n.a. Emerging Markets ** n.a. n.a. n.a.
Sept 2,427 5 1,750
Dec 2,409 2,436 2,390 2,413 5 146,099 Dec 108.40 108.88 108.06 108.40 –.07 1,759 *Constrained indexes limit individual issuer concentrations to 2%; the High Yield 100 are the 100 largest bonds † In local currency § Euro-zone bonds
Coffee (ICE-US)-37,500 lbs.; cents per lb. ** EMBI Global Index Sources: ICE Data Services; Bloomberg Fixed Income Indices; J.P.Morgan
Sept 240.75 240.75 239.65 239.10 –.05 354 Source: FactSet
care Advantage were acquired according to letters from the lead-generation business of and “I’m happy to send that
or went public in pricey deals standards-setting group to Benefytt Technologies Inc., message.” Now in his second
in recent years. In 2020, bro- congressional leaders in May. which is owned by funds affili- year of ads, Mr. Shatner said
kers GoHealth and SelectQuote Vicki DuFrene, who directs ated with private-equity firm he isn’t aware of any con-
Inc. raised more than $1.2 bil- a health-insurance information Madison Dearborn Partners. sumer complaints about them,
lion between them in initial program for seniors in Louisi- In a current version of his and his understanding is that
public offerings. Financial-ser- ana, said people sometimes commercial, Mr. Namath says everything in his script has
vices company Primerica Inc. don’t learn that their longtime “Get what you deserve,” in- been “scrutinized by lawyers
last year added sales fire- doctors are outside their new cluding prescriptions, dental and officials, every word. You
power in a deal with Medicare plan’s network until arriving coverage and “the benefit that can’t change one word in the
Advantage-focused e-Tele- for an appointment. adds money back to your So- delivery.”
quote valued at $515 million. Some insurance agents cial Security check.” The 800 Mr. Walker, who starred in
Shares of GoHealth and Se- themselves have concerns number directs callers to the TV’s “Good Times” in the
lectQuote are down more than about the frenzied activity. Medicare Coverage Helpline. 1970s, couldn’t be reached to
90% since the IPOs. Misty Mullus, who sold Medi- Now, the ad repeats five comment. The Department of Agriculture has put off publishing export sales.
MARKETS
If It’sWorth Knowing,
nonfungible tokens, will test mation. He also was charged NYCDL said that if prosecu-
whether fraud theories used to with money laundering. tors win, the case against Mr.
police capital markets can apply A spokesman for prosecutors Chastain could allow a range of
Snap’s Big Snip Will Only Go So Far And with no clear signs yet of a
strong public backstop for the
property market either, the econ-
omy seems likely to get worse be-
The problem for Snap Inc. is paring down investments in more three quarters before growth its second-quarter call in July— fore it gets better—again.
that laying off a fifth of its work- speculative areas such as games picked back up and did no lasting and reiterated in its updated in- —Nathaniel Taplin
force might turn out to be the and some of its augmented reality damage. Google’s parent company, vestor presentation on Wednes-
easy part. and other hardware projects such Alphabet, has averaged 30% year- day—that such advertising “is the China’s official purchasing
The parent company of the as a flying drone called Pixy. The over-year revenue growth over the easiest/fastest for clients to dial managers index,
Snapchat social-media app contin- moves are expected to reduce past eight quarters despite having back for short term cost savings.” employment subindexes
ues to be roiled by a sharp down- Snap’s annual costs by about $500 grown its top line 12-fold since By contrast, Google’s search ad
55
turn in online advertising. In a fil- million and help keep the com- 2009. business has turned out to be a
ing Wednesday morning, the pany’s adjusted earnings before in- But Snap isn’t Google. Even by relatively steady port in the online
company said that third-quarter terest, taxes, depreciation and 2009, the search titan had come to advertising storm. Snap does have EXPANDING
revenue as of Aug. 29 was up just amortization positive. Snap’s share dominate the online advertising some things going for it—mainly, a 50
8% year over year. Barring an un- price—which had plunged 79% space with annual revenue more passionate user base growing at a
foreseen turnaround in September, since the first of the year ahead of than five times that of Yahoo—its better rate than even its larger so-
that would be Snap’s lowest Wednesday’s news—jumped 8.7% closest competitor at the time. cial-media peers. Snap has added 45
growth rate on record—a hum- in Wednesday trading. Snap remains a small fish in a big 28 million to its average daily user
bling comedown for a company It might give Snap some com- pond, lagging behind Twitter and count since the first of the year CONTRACTING
that has averaged year-over-year fort to know that others of its in- far behind Facebook-parent Meta compared with the 23 million 40
revenue growth of 66% in its quar- ternet peers have been here be- Platforms in annual revenue for Twitter has added in that time,
terly reports since going public in fore—some even earlier in their social networks. The global down- even with all the hype about Elon Manufacturing
early 2017. life cycles. Google had been public turn in online advertising has af- Musk’s on-again, off-again acquisi- Services
35
Snap wisely isn’t counting on an less than five years before the re- fected them all—and Google as tion deal.
immediate turnaround in global cession caused by the global finan- well. But Snap is particularly vul- But taking significant costs out
economic trends. The company an- cial crisis pushed its revenue nerable given its focus on direct- is one thing; Snap’s biggest chal- 30
nounced several actions aimed at growth into single-digit territory response advertising, which ac- lenge remains how to become as
2013 ’16 ’19 ’22
reducing its costs. Aside from the for the first time ever in the first counts for a significant majority of indispensable to advertisers as it
workforce reduction, this includes quarter of 2009. That slump lasted its revenue. The company said in is to its users. —Dan Gallagher Source: CEIC