The Dirty Duo: America And China

Plus: Microsoft makes the big time, joins Big Tech in EU’s antitrust crosshairs. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

July 18, 2023

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TOGETHER WITH

Good morning.

How’s this for a uniquely 21st-century screw-up?

Millions of US military emails containing sensitive information have accidentally been sent to an internet domain controlled by the government of Mali. Why? A simple typo. All US military email addresses end in ‘.MIL’, while Mali’s domain uses ‘.ML’. We hope the national security apparatus already knows the golden rule of office life: always, always double-check your cc’s.

Morning Brief

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US-China climate talks seem lukewarm.

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Welcome to the Big Tech antitrust club, Microsoft.

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Everyone’s riding the bus.

International

Mr. Kerry Goes to Beijing Amid China’s Hotter Climate, Cooler Economy

It’s too hot for a cold war.

US climate envoy John Kerry traveled to Beijing this week to convince the Chinese government that massive changes are needed on both sides to ensure the planet doesn’t become an even hotter, more flood-wrecked version of its current self.

Best Frenemies

The US and China are responsible for almost half of all polluting emissions in the world, yet China is No. 1 by a substantial margin. But can these two occasionally bitter rivals who wrestle on everything from trade to military advancement to basic human rights see eye-to-eye on reversing climate change?

China has endured an extraordinary heatwave this summer, with temperatures consistently pushing above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. On Sunday, the temperature in the village of Sanbao hit 126 degrees, the highest ever recorded in the country’s history. The US has suffered a similar fate, with more than 70 million people in the South and Southwest facing extreme heat. In Arizona, some have even been treated for second-degree burns just from walking on the sidewalk. And for an added extreme-climate twist: both countries have experienced debilitating floods that killed some residents and displaced thousands more.

The US and China each have robust goals for reducing emissions but achieving them is another story:

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While some experts agree the US can meet its goal of cutting emissions by at least 50% below 2005 levels by the end of this decade, independent researcher Rhodium Group begs to differ. The firm reported that the US is on track to reduce emissions by only 24% to 35% by 2030, and it’s likely not going to meet its goal by 2035 either.

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China aims to become carbon-neutral by 2060, but rapid coal expansion flies in the face of that. In 2022, China permitted the construction of the equivalent of two coal-fired power plants per week, The Wall Street Journal reported, a point which garnered a very diplomatic statement from Kerry to Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua: “China has been doing an incredible job of building out renewables. But on the other hand, we see new coal coming online, which undoes the benefit of that.”

Smooth Talk ‘Em, John: Kerry’s job is to charm China into working on climate issues while avoiding the charge that the US wants to oust it from being a top economic and military superpower.

In her recent visit to Beijing, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the US isn’t pursuing a “winner-take-all” fight with China, echoing similar comments from Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. Those words don’t necessarily track with the Biden administration’s attempt to keep advanced AI semiconductor chips from Chinese companies. But considering that China’s recent disappointing economic growth data was due in no small part to weaker Western consumption, further cooperation can only help the Earth as well as its two largest economies.

– Griffin Kelly

Tech

EU Commission Turns Antitrust Eye on Microsoft Teams

Microsoft may have jumped out of the Activision Blizzard frying pan right into the Teams fire.

The Financial Times reported on Monday that the European Commission is lining up an antitrust investigation into Microsoft’s Teams workplace messaging platform. Beginning as early as next week, the probe would be the first time the EU has investigated Bill Gates’ baby in 15 years, and suggests Microsoft is finally being drawn into the regulatory black hole of Big Tech.

The Ominous Knock Brush

Microsoft was last hauled before the European Commission in 2008, when computers using Windows software came with the Internet Explorer (now ‘Edge’) browser automatically installed. Since then, Microsoft has largely managed to avoid the white-hot regulatory gaze that has been fixed on the FAANG companies, but lately the company has reappeared on regulators’ radar, especially when it agreed to buy video game company Activision Blizzard for $69 billion. The US FTC tried to block the deal, but Microsoft appears to be on track for victory as a judge dismissed the FTC’s case as well as the agency’s subsequent appeal.

Game console rival Sony, which had vehemently opposed the acquisition, also lowered its objections. Meanwhile, a workaday rival has stoked the EU’s concerns around Microsoft Teams:

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Slack, the workplace messaging company whose woodblock-like notifications probably haunt your dreams, kicked off the scrutiny in 2020 after it complained that Microsoft had automatically been enrolling customers in Teams, a practice which Microsoft halted this April, per the FT. Sounds a bit 2008-y, doesn’t it?

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Sources told the FT that while Microsoft has tried to avoid getting hit with a formal investigation over Teams, it’s now “very unlikely” to escape one. Still, it managed to avert disaster with Activision Blizzard, so maybe there’s time to turn the tables.

Pass the Tongs: In Norwegian, the idiom “to step in the salad” means you’ve made a mistake or faux pas. Meta is finding itself up to its neck in lettuce, as Norway is threatening to ban Facebook and Instagram inside the country starting in August unless they stop showing users personalized ads that use location data and records of a user’s online activity, Politico reported Monday. Norway’s population of 5.5 million doesn’t represent a huge slice of Meta’s multi-billion-strong usership, but the ban would set an uncomfortable regulatory precedent.

– Isobel Asher Hamilton

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Travel

Believe it or Not, Bus Travel is Back

(Photo by Mika Baumeister via Unsplash)

This summer, boarding an Airbus A320 is out. Boarding a regular bus is in.

With extreme weather and logistical challenges sending air travel into disarray, travelers are increasingly turning to an oft-overlooked and folksy alternative: long-distance, inter-city buses.

The Deals on the Bus

It never made front-page news, but, unsurprisingly, the pandemic devastated the bus industry. Up to 40% of small motor coach companies in the US went out of business because of travel restrictions, Peter Pantuso, president of the American Bus Association, told The Wall Street Journal.

Still, those that successfully steered into the skid finally found a wide-open road and — excuse us — literal busloads of eager passengers:

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Flix North America, the parent company of both FlixBus and the eponymous Greyhound bus lines, said inter-city ridership jumped over 63% year-over-year during the Fourth of July weekend, and 70% year-over-year over Memorial Day weekend. Air travel, meanwhile, only increased by 11% over both holiday weekends, according to Transportation Security Administration data.

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Meanwhile, bus fare — the mode of transit’s main draw — remains cheap, and has barely risen with inflation. Inter-city bus fares increased by under 2% year-over-year in June, according to travel-booking site Wanderu, and compared to last-minute plane tickets, bus travel remains a cheaper option.

Hail to the Bus Driver: The surge in interest has also challenged some of the more undesirable stereotypes of bus travel — especially given a new wave of start-up bus companies that promise a luxury experience on four-to-six wheels, such as The Jet, which shuttles passengers between New York and Washington, and Napaway, which goes from Nashville to DC, with stops in between. Amenities on inter-city buses now often include fully reclining seats, neck pillows, blankets, frequent snack services — and zero chance of long TSA lines. At the very least, it sure sounds better than flying Spirit.

– Brian Boyle

Extra Upside

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Opposite of sticker shock: Ford cuts EV truck F-150 Lightning price by as much as $10,000.

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And boom goes the dynamite: Nolan says ‘Oppenhiemer’ should be a lesson to Silicon Valley.

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