Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day

The Group of Seven summit wrapped up with the final communique committing 1 billion more doses of vaccines for poor countries, backing the U.S.-led calls for a probe of the pandemic's origins and pressing China on human rights. But a closer look at the vaccine goal shows the bloc has pledged only 613 million new doses, including some funded partly by previously announced aid. The final document also failed to finalize a timeline to ditch gasoline-powered cars, after an earlier proposal to make zero-emission vehicles the majority of new passenger auto sales by 2030. Overall, Biden notched the summit as a win, with other G-7 leaders visibly relieved to have a return to a more predictable and traditional U.S. administration. France’s Emmanuel Macron welcomed him back to the “club.”

Asian stocks look set for a muted start to the week as investors prepare for a key Federal Reserve meeting. Futures were little changed in Japan. Trading volumes are expected to be light with a number of holidays in the region including in Australia, China and Hong Kong. U.S. futures were steady after stocks staged a late rally Friday, closing at another record after a choppy day of trading. Ten-year Treasury yields inched up to around 1.45% after hitting three-month lows on Thursday, but still notched their biggest weekly slide since December

Putting the Chip Shortage in Context

While the chip shortage is no doubt tied to economic shocks related to COVID-19, it has revealed vulnerabilities that long pre-date the pandemic. We recently explored how government and industry are adjusting, and where to look for innovation as the semiconductor status quo is re-written.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12-year run as prime minister ended as Israel‘s parliament voted 60 to 59, with one abstention, to replace him with Jewish nationalist Naftali Bennett. For the indicted Netanyahu, the vote marks a brutal fall from power that leaves him even more legally imperiled. He’s at trial on corruption charges, which he denies. Out of office, he no longer has the option of seeking to pass legislation shielding a sitting leader from prosecution.

Bitcoin is on the move again, this time jumping above $39,000 Sunday afternoon in New York after Elon Musk said Tesla would resume transactions using the cryptocurrency when it's greener. In a tweet, he mentioned a threshold of “confirmation of reasonable (~50%) clean energy usage by miners with positive future trend.” Musk also reiterated the electric-car maker had sold about 10% of its Bitcoin holdings to demonstrate the tokens liquidity.

Apple plans to drop its mask requirement for vaccinated customers at many U.S. stores beginning next week, sources say. Retail workers will still need to wear masks, and they‘ve been told they won’t have to ask customers for vaccine verification. The requirement for face coverings will also be dropped at some of Apples corporate offices in the U.S., according to a memo.