The Wall Street Journal - 11 12 2020

2020·33.9 MB·English

***** FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2020 ~ VOL. CCLXXVI NO. 138 WSJ.com HHHH $4.00
DJIA29999.26 g69.55 0.2% NASDAQ12405.81 À0.5% STOXX600 393.15 g0.4% 10-YR.TREAS. (Reopening), yield0.907% OIL $46.78 À$1.26 GOLD $1,833.60 g$1.00 EURO$1.2142 YEN104.22
Israel Hails Morocco Peace Deal on First Night of Hanukkah Panel
What’s
Urges
News
Covid-19
Business&Finance
Vaccine
Airbnb’ssharesmore
thandoubledintheir Approval
tradingdebut.Thehome-
sharingcompanyended
thedayvaluedat$100.7bil- FDAadviserscite
lion,basedonafullydi-
broadneedforPfizer
lutedsharecount.A1
drugasdailyU.S.
(cid:2)TheECBscaledupits
emergencybond-buyingpro- deathsreach3,000
grambymorethanathird
andunveiledanewbatchof BYTHOMASM.BURTON
ultracheaploansforbanks.A1 ANDJAREDS.HOPKINS
(cid:2)Brentcrudepricestopped
$50abarrelforthefirsttime AFoodandDrugAdminis-
sinceearlyMarch,thelat- trationadvisorypanelrecom-
estmilestoneinaremark- mended approval of the first
ableoil-marketrecovery.B1 Covid-19 vaccine in the U.S.,
OL clearing the way for the FDA
(cid:2)losTth0e.1%S&aPnd500.02%a,nrdesDpeocw- SSPO tograntemergencyauthoriza-
tively,asbroadlossesoffset PRE tionasearlyasFriday.
N/ The 17-4 vote by the Vac-
arallyintheenergysector. A
M cines and Related Biological
TheNasdaqrose0.5%.B11 AL
S ProductsAdvisoryCommittee,
(cid:2)Americansarepoisedto MIL withoneabstention,followed
E
takeoutmoremortgages NEWLIGHT:IsraeliPrimeMinisterBenjaminNetanyahu,meetingwithU.S.AmbassadorDavidFriedmanThursdayatthe a daylong public hearing on
thisyearthantheydideven WesternWallinJerusalemfortheHanukkahcandlelightingceremony,praisedadealforIsraelandMoroccotonormalize thesafetyandefficacyofthe
duringtherun-uptothe relations.TheU.S.-brokeredagreementwasannouncedbyPresidentTrumpearlierintheday.A16 Covid-19vaccinedevelopedby
2008-09financialcrisis.B1 Pfizer Inc. and German part-
nerBioNTechSE.Thepanel’s
(cid:2)BreakingupFacebook
actioncameasCovid-19infec-
wouldbedifficult,butnot Airbnb Stock Price Skyrockets
tions continued surging,
impossible,saycurrentand
claiming more than 291,000
formeremployeesandtech-
livesintheU.S.
industryexperts.B1,B4-5
Thediseaseisnow“essen-
(cid:2)Amazonunveiledaneffort In Market Debut as IPOs Boom tiallyoutofcontrol,”Kathrin
aimedathelping29million Jansen, Pfizer’s head of vac-
peopleworld-wideretrainby cine research and develop-
2025,givingthemnewskills ment,toldthepanelonThurs-
forcloud-computingroles.B1 day. “Vaccine introduction is
Airbnb Inc.’s shares more bynow-ChiefExecutiveBrian Airbnb’s first-day perfor- 86%and120%respectivelyon anurgentneed.”
(cid:2)WaltDisney’sDisney+is
than doubled in their trading Chesky,changedthehospital- manceislikelytocontinueto Wednesday.DoorDash’sstock Wednesday marked the
growingatsuchaclipthat
debutonThursday,reflectinga ityindustrybydemonstrating fuel excitement over the IPO slipped 1.9% Thursday, while highest single-day total of
theworld-widesubscriber
soaring market for new stock that millions of people were market, where investors have C3.ai continued to rise, gain- deaths in the U.S. from
countcouldmorethantriple
listingsandthehome-sharing willingtoskiphotelstaysand been clamoring for shares of ing40.6%. Covid-19, with the seven-day
by2024,thecompanysaid.B1
company’s ability to navigate book spaces offered by hosts hotnewlypubliccompanies. By both volume and stock- average also setting a record
(cid:2)TheSEC’stopenforcement onitsplatform.Thecompany “Peoplearejustcompelled priceperformance,thesecom- of 2,276 deaths, according to
official,StephanieAvakian, ByPreetikaRana, hassaidithasbuiltapowerful to be invested,” said Jim paniesaretradingintooneof analysisbytheCovidTracking
willstepdownthismonthaf- MaureenFarrell brand, with the majority of Cooney,headofAmericaseq- thehottestIPOmarketsinhis- Project.
terfouryearsintherole.B10 andMicahMaidenberg gueststhisyeargoingdirectly uity-capitalmarketsatBankof tory.Sofarin2020,morethan The U.S. recorded 3,124
toAirbnbwhenbookingshort- America Corp. “Even if you $155billionhasbeenraisedon Covid-19 deaths on Wednes-
World-Wide
thecoronavirus-induceddown- termrentals. don’t like the valuation of U.S. exchanges, far exceeding day, the first time that the
turnintravelthisyear. Thecompanyendedtheday someofthesetechcompanies, the previous full-year record country has topped 3,000
The stock began trading at valuedat$100.7billion,based you know they’re likely to set at the height of the dot- deaths in a single day. That
(cid:2)AFoodandDrugAdmin- $146ontheNasdaqStockMar- onafullydilutedsharecount, keepgoingup,atleastinthe comboomin1999,accordingto PleaseturntopageA6
istrationadvisorypanelrec- ket,higherthanitsinitial-pub- greater than the combined shortterm.” Dealogicdatathatdateto1995.
ommendedapprovalofthe lic-offeringpriceof$68ashare. market value of Marriott In- In addition to Airbnb, Airbnb’slistingcapsadiffi- (cid:2)Trackingwhogotshotsis
Covid-19vaccinedeveloped Itclosedslightlylowerthanits ternationalInc.,HiltonWorld- shares of DoorDash Inc. and cultyearinwhichthecompany toughjob......................................A8
byPfizerandBioNTech, openingpriceat$144.71. wide Holdings Inc. and Hyatt C3.aiInc.alsosurgedontheir waswhipsawedbyasharpde- (cid:2)Russiagetsadoseofreality
clearingthewayfortheFDA Airbnb,co-foundedin2008 HotelsCorp. first day of trading, jumping PleaseturntopageA6 onvaccines.................................A8
tograntemergencyauthori-
zationasearlyasFriday.A1
TOMORROW
ECB Adds Stimulus U.S. Unemployment Claims Rise
(cid:2)TopSenateRepublicans
signaledtheywouldn’taccept
Thenumberofworkersseekingunemploymentbenefitslast
abipartisangroup’seffortsto
To Fight Downturn weekrosesharply,by137,000,to853,000,thehighestsince
craftacompromiseontwo
September,theLaborDepartmentreported.A2
contentiousissueshindering
adealoncoronavirusrelief,
Initialunemploymentclaims,weekly
undercuttingthecoalition’s
bidtobreakanimpasse.A2 BYTOMFAIRLESS largetourismindustry. 7million
Together with a new €750
(cid:2)Barrhasknownabouta FRANKFURT—TheEuropean billionjointfundthatEuropean
disparatesetofprobesinvolv- Central Bank scaled up its Union leaders signed off on 6
ingHunterBidensinceatleast emergency bond-buying pro- Thursday evening, after Hun-
spring,apersonfamiliarwith grambymorethanathirdand garyandPolanddroppedtheir 5
themattersaid,andworked unveiledanewbatchofultra- concerns about a mechanism
toavoidtheirpublicdisclo- cheap loans for banks, a bold thatcouldhavedeprivedthem
sureduringthecampaign.A4 stimulus package aimed at of future budget funds, the 4
backstoppingtheregion’sgov- ECB’sdecisionsignalsEurope’s
(cid:2)TheSupremeCourtruled
ernments and businesses as willingness to combat this WeekendedDec.5
thatfederalagentscanbe 3 853,000
theynavigateastubbornresur- year’seconomicdownturnusing
suedforputtingMuslimmen
genceoftheCovid-19pandemic. newdebt.Thatmarksashiftin
ontheno-flylistinalleged
Themove,whichtakesthe strategyfromtheregion’sdebt 2
retaliationfortheirrefusal
ECB’smonetarystimulusthis crisisadecadeago,whenmany
tocooperatewithcounter-
year above €3 trillion ($3.63 governmentssoughtquicklyto
terrorisminvestigations.A3 1
trillion)underscorestherocky tightenpursestrings.
(cid:2)U.K.PrimeMinister WSJ. path ahead for the 19-nation ECB President Christine
Johnsonsaidtherewasa eurozoneeconomy.Europehas Lagarde warned that the 0
strongpossibilitythat MAGAZINE beenhitmuchharderthanthe roughly $13 trillion eurozone
M A M J J A S O N D
talksoveranewtrade U.S.andotheradvancedecon- PleaseturntopageA8
agreementwiththeEuro- omies as strict lockdowns Note:Seasonallyadjusted Source:LaborDepartment
peanUnionwouldfail.A16 have repeatedly closed busi- (cid:2)HeardontheStreet:InEurope,
reginaking
nesses and hurt the south’s givingbanksmoney................B12
(cid:2)Thepresident-electhas
chosenSusanRice,aformer
U.S.ambassadortotheU.N., The Office Party Is Still On— Xi Ramps Up Control
toleadtheWhiteHouse
DomesticPolicyCouncil.A4 And More Awkward Than Ever
Of China’s Private Sector
(cid:2)TheLebanesejudge
leadinganinvestigationinto i i i
thedeadlyexplosionatBei-
Holiday festivities go virtual with online
rut’sportchargedthecare-
takerprimeministerand
otherswithnegligence.A16 ugly-sweater contests, dancing avatars Pushdrivenbylackoftrustinmarketsandentrepreneurs
JOURNALREPORT BY PING CHEN rateherapartment.“Buteven BY LING WEI nottobefullytrusted.Theviewthatstate
TheFutureof for me, this was a meeting I plannersarebetteratrunningacomplex
Everything:Movingto On a recent day, Mariah- didn’twanttobeapartof.” XiJinping,longdistrustfuloftheprivate economyhasgainedcurrencythisyear,with
LynnBlacksteeledherselffor Overavideocall,Ms.Black sector,ismovingassertivelytobringitto Beijingrelyingheavilyonstatedirectivesto
theMoon.R1-8
a work meeting she didn’t and her colleagues debated heel. engineeraV-shapedrecoveryfromtheshock
want to partici- themeritsofpossi- China’smostpowerfulleaderinagenera- ofCovid-19.
CONTENTS Opinion..............A13-15 pate in. It wasn’t bleholidaycelebra- tionwantsevengreaterstatecontrolinthe Mr.Xihasmadehisprioritiesespecially
ArtsinReviewA10-11 Sports........................A12
withherbossora tions: a virtual world’ssecond-largesteconomy,withprivate clearinrecentmonths.InSeptember,the
BusinessNews......B3 Streetwise.............B10
Crossword..............A12 Technology..........B4-6 difficultcolleague. movie night, per- firmsofallsizesexpectedtofallinline.The partyissuednewguidelinesforprivatecom-
HeardonStreet.B12 U.S.News.............A2-6 It was with the haps, or an online governmentisinstallingmoreCommunist panies,remindingthemtoservethestate
Mansion.............M1-14 Weather...................A12 party-planning SecretSantaactiv- Partyofficialsinsideprivatefirms,starving andvowingtouseeducationandothertools
Markets.....................B11 WorldNews......A8,16
committee. ity.Butlogisticsfor someofcreditanddemandingexecutivestai- to“continuouslyenhancethepoliticalcon-
“Usually I’m a the former were lortheirbusinessestoachievestategoals. sensusofprivatebusinesspeopleunderthe
> superfestiveper- daunting,whilethe Insomecases,itistakingchargeentirely leadershipoftheparty.”
son,”saysthe27- Cheers! latter felt like giv- ofcompaniesitregardsasundisciplined,ab- Justafewweekslater,Mr.Xipersonally
year-old Ms. ing employees an- sorbingthemintostate-ownedenterprises. intervenedtoblockthe$34billioninitial
Black,atheater-schoolteacher otherchore.Theysettledona Thepushisdrivenbyadeepeningconvic- publicofferingofoneofChina’sbiggestpri-
andadministratorinPhiladel- holidaycardandrecipeswap, tionwithinthecountry’sleadershipthat vatefirms,AntGroup,partlyoutofconcerns
s2020DowJones&Company,Inc.
AllRightsReserved phiawhorecentlyhand-sewed withaZoompartyandcompe- marketsandprivateentrepreneurs,whileim- itwastoofocusedonitsownprofitsrather
aChristmasstockingtodeco- PleaseturntopageA9 portanttoChina’srise,areunpredictableand PleaseturntopageA9
A2|Friday,December11,2020 THEWALLSTREETJOURNAL.
****
U.S. NEWS
Unemployment Claims Increase Sharply
Labor-market signs the recovery continues, 700,000 and 800,000 a week Jobless-claims data have gress established earlier this accounting for more than a
but at a cooler pace. Job since mid-October, before been viewed as a bellwether year.Thatmeasure,whichisn’t quarter of the CPI’s overall
recoveryappearsto
growtheasedinNovemberand jumpinguplastweek.Econo- for economists and policy adjustedforseasonality,fellby rise, according to the Labor
becooling;consumer the number of job openings mists caution that week-to- makers for a half-century. 1.1millionfromthepriorweek. Department.
edged down in early Decem- week data can be volatile However,theGovernmentAc- Those pandemic pro- Apparelandtransportation
pricesedgehigher
ber.Thelabormarket’spartial aroundholidayperiods. countability Office, a federal grams—one for gig workers servicessawsomeofthebig-
reboundhasbeenakeycom- “We’re seeing a cooling watchdog,lastmonthsaidjob- andothersnottypicallyeligi- gestpriceincreasesinNovem-
BYERICMORATH ponentintheoveralleconomic trendinthelabormarket,with lessclaimsdatawasflawed. ble for jobless benefits, and ber, rising 0.9% and 1.8%, re-
recoveryfromapandemic-re- risinglayoffs,”saidNelaRich- The GAO said states have another for those who have spectively.Pricesforusedcars
Theeconomicrecoveryhas lateddownturninthespring. ardson,chiefeconomistathu- providedinconsistentdatato exhaustedeligibilityforother declined 1.3%. Grocery prices
downshifted,withjobgrowth Consumerspendingrosein man-resources software firm theLaborDepartmentandin- programs—aresettoexpireat fell0.3%.
slowingandlayoffspersisting Octoberforthesixthstraight AutomaticDataProcessingInc. cidentsoffraudhavedistorted theendoftheyear.Peoplein There are ample job open-
atahighlevelamidrisingcor- month, though at a slower Ms. Richardson said a re- the numbers. The Labor De- the pandemic programs ac- ings in several industries, in-
onaviruscasesandrelatedre- pace, according to the Com- turn to net monthly jobs partmentonThursdaysaidthe countedformostofthosere- cluding in the finance, ac-
strictions. merceDepartment.Themanu- losses this winter “can’t be measurementofongoingbene- ceivingbenefitslastmonth. counting and technology
The number of workers facturingandservicessectors ruled out if we’re seeing a fits, known as continuing U.S. consumer prices in- sectors, said Paul McDonald,
seeking unemployment bene- expanded in November, ac- surging pandemic causing claims, reflects “a good ap- creasedlastmonth,andwages senior executive director at
fits, a proxy for layoffs, cording to the Institute for states to take steps to roll proximation”ofthenumberof rose slightly, the Labor De- professionalstaffingfirmRob-
climbedsharplyby137,000to SupplyManagement. backthereopeningprocess.” insured unemployed workers partmentsaidWednesdayina ertHalfInternationalInc.
853,000 last week, the Labor U.S.stocksfellThursdayaf- However,sheaddedthatin- receivingbenefits. separatereport. Still,recentlayoffshaveoc-
Departmentreported. tertheunemployment-claims creased federal stimulus and That number rose by The consumer-price index, curred in the entertainment
The level of applications figureswerereleased. an expedient rollout of a 230,000 to 5.8 million in the which measures what Ameri- andleisureindustry,including
wasthehighestsinceSeptem- Jobless claims have mostly Covid-19vaccinecouldsupport weekendedNov.28.Statepro- canspayforhouseholditems at restaurants, as well as at
ber,butstillwelldownfroma trendeddownsincethespring, jobgrowth. gramsprovideunemployment suchaslawnmowersandser- retailersandinthetranspor-
peakofnearlysevenmillionin when the pandemic caused Thursday’sunemployment- insurance to most U.S. work- vicessuchaseyecare,grewa tationsector,atemployersin-
lateMarch.Thenumberofap- widespread business restric- claims report showed jobless ers.Justmorethan19million seasonally adjusted 0.2% in cluding airlines and transit
plications for a separate fed- tions.Sincefallingbelow1mil- applicationsincreasedinmost continuing claims were filed NovembercomparedwithOc- authorities, said Andy Chal-
eral pandemic program also lionclaimsaweekinAugust,the states,ledbypopulousplaces forallprogramsfortheweek tober. lenger,seniorvicepresidentat
rosesharplylastweek. paceofimprovementslowed. such as California, Illinois, ended Nov. 21, including two Priceincreaseswerebroad- outplacementfirmChallenger,
The claims figures add to Claims had held between TexasandVirginia. pandemic-reliefprogramsCon- based,withnoonecomponent GrayandChristmasInc.
U.S.WATCH GOP Casts Doubt
On Virus Aid Talks
BYKRISTINAPETERSON essary,theDemocratfamiliar
ANDANDREWDUEHREN with the conversations said,
dimming hopes for progress
WASHINGTON—TopSenate ontheissue.
RepublicanssignaledThursday Senate Republicans had
theywouldn’tacceptabiparti- earliercoalescedaroundlegis-
san group’s efforts to craft a lation that would make it
compromiseonstateandlocal more difficult for courts to
governmentsandliabilitypro- find businesses, schools, or
tectionsduringthepandemic, health-carefacilitiesatfaultif
undercuttingthecoalition’sat- employees, students, or cus-
tempt to break the months- tomerscontractedCovid-19.It
longimpasseoveracoronavi- alsowouldgivefederalcourts
rusreliefpackage. jurisdictionovercasesinvolv-
Democrats continued to ingallegedcoronavirusexpo-
throw their support behind sure and last through 2024,
thebipartisangroupworking Mr.McConnellsaid.
on a $908 billion proposal, The bipartisan group con-
RESS leaving in question whether tinuedtoworkThursdaynight
P theywouldbewillingtosup- andhadlargelyresolvedtheis-
A
UM portanaidbillwithoutfund- sueofhowtodistributestate
Z
G/ ingforstatesandlocalities. and local funding, aides said.
N
SC “My sense is that they’re Somememberssaidtheywere
AY/ notgoingtogetthereonthe not ready to settle for a nar-
R
UR liability language,” Senate rowerpackage.
M
Y Majority Whip John Thune “I’moptimisticthatwecan
N
BRITTA (tRho.,uSg.Dh.)tshaeiydTshpuernstdaay.l“oEtveonf sstioilnlsw,”orskaioduStetnh.oSsuestawnoCporlolivnis-
CLEANUP:CrewsinSanPedro,Calif.,cleartrashfromahomelessencampment.Peoplelivingtherewereofferedbedsatashelter. time trying to come up with (R.,Maine).
sort of creative, innovative
ECONOMY TREASURY NEWHAMPSHIRE WHITEHOUSE solutions to it, they’re just
Recovery Expected Two-Month Deficit House Speaker Dies Trump to ‘Rebrand’ notgoingtobeabletothread Negotiatorshad
theneedle.”
To Remain Stalled Expanded 25% From Covid-19 Foreign Assistance Aides to Senate Majority largelyresolved
Leader Mitch McConnell on fundingforstates
TheU.S.economicrecoveryis TheU.S.budgetdeficitwid- ThespeakeroftheNew PresidentTrumpsignedan Wednesdaynighttoldthestaff
andlocalities.
likelytoslowfurtherbeforethe ened25%inOctoberandNo- HampshireHouseofRepresen- orderrequiringthatallU.S.for- ofHouseSpeakerNancyPelosi
impactofexpectedapprovalsof vemberfromthesameperiod tativesdiedofCovid-19,amedi- eignassistancebe“rebranded” (D., Calif.), Senate Minority
Covid-19vaccinesmakesitself lastyearto$429billion,arecord calexaminerruledThursdaya toensurethatrecipientsknow Leader Chuck Schumer (D.,
feltinthesecondquarterof forthefirsttwomonthsofthe dayaftertheRepublican’sunex- thatAmericantaxpayershave N.Y.) and House Minority
2021,anewWallStreetJournal fiscalyear,theTreasuryDepart- pecteddeath,raisingconcerns paidforit. Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., BothDemocratsandRepub-
surveyshows. mentsaidThursday. thatothermembersofoneof Mr.TrumponThursdaydi- Calif.) that he didn’t see any licans in the group have
Inthelatestmonthlysurvey Higherspendingandshrinking theworld’slargestlegislative rectedthe22federalagencies possiblepathfromthebiparti- wanted to secure more fund-
ofbusinessandacademicecono- revenuetiedtothecoronavirus bodiesmighthavebeenexposed thatdistributeU.S.aidabroadto san group on those two con- ingforstateandlocalgovern-
mists,forecastersslashedtheir pandemicandtheresultingeco- attheirswearing-inlastweek. useacommonlogoontheir tentiousissuesthatwouldbe ments.Nationwide,thestates’
projectionsforeconomicgrowth nomicdownturnpushedthedefi- DickHinch,whowasswornin packaging.Currently,different acceptable to Republicans, a budget shortfall from 2020
andjobcreationinthefirst cithigher.Federalspendingrose Dec.2asleaderofthestate’s agencies—fromtheUnitedStates seniorDemocratfamiliarwith through2022couldamountto
quarter,amidasurgeincorona- 9%to$887billionduringOctober newlyRepublican-led,400-mem- AgencyforInternationalDevelop- theconversationssaid. about$434billion,according
viruscases.Anumberofecono- andNovemberfromthesame berLegislature,diedWednesday. menttotheAgricultureDepart- Untilthisweek,Mr.McCon- todatafromMoody’sAnalyt-
mistssaidtheyexpectcoronavi- periodayearearlier,whilereve- Hewas71andhadbeenstart- ment—usedifferentlogoson nellhadsaidanypackagethat ics. State workers are being
ruscaseloadstoremainhighin nuedeclined3%to$457billion. inghisseventhtwo-yeartermin itemsthatrangefromsacksof passes the Senate must in- laid off and are taking pay
thefirstquarterof2021be- TheTreasurysaidthedeficit thestateHouse. graintomedicalsupplies,tents cludebeefed-uplegalprotec- cuts,andtheretirementbene-
causevaccineswilltaketimeto wouldhavebeenevenwiderif Mr.HinchisthefirstNew andwaterpurificationkits. tions for businesses, schools fits for police, firefighters,
bedistributedacrosstheU.S. notforcalendarquirksthat Hampshirespeakertodieduring Thathascreatedconfusionin and other entities operating teachers and other govern-
Onaverage,economistsex- movedupthetimingofcertain thesession,accordingtoHouse somecountries,accordingtoU.S. during the pandemic. On mentworkersareundermore
pecttheeconomytoexpandata benefitpayments.Ifnotfor ClerkPaulSmith. officialswhosaythataidfrom Tuesday,theKentuckyRepub- pressure.
1.9%annualratefromJanuaryto thosetimingissues,thedeficit Theswearing-inoftheHouse othernations,likeChina,isread- lican instead urged moving The bipartisan group has
March,downfrom3.3%growth inOctoberandNovemberwould andthe24-memberstateSen- ilyidentifiablewithstandardized forward with a smaller relief beenfocusedthisweekontry-
inNovember’ssurvey.Econo- haverisen47%fromthesame atewasheldoutdoorsatthe logos. package that omits both the ing to hammer out a deal on
mistsforecastthelabormarket periodayearearlier. UniversityofNewHampshire Theexecutiveordergivesthe liabilityprovisionthatRepub- some form of limited protec-
willaddjustunder295,000new Higherspendingtocombat becauseofthecoronaviruspan- president30daystochoosea licans want, as well as state tions, reviewing ideas from
jobsamonthinthefirstquarter, thecoronaviruswasdriven demic.Mr.Hinchwasphoto- logoandthenprovidesfora and local funding, a Demo- Sen.MittRomney(R.,Utah),as
downfromover440,000a largelybyincreasesonsafety- graphedwearingamask,though 120-dayperiodforthatchoiceto craticpriority. well as Sens. Angus King (I.,
monthintheNovembersurvey. netprograms. itdidn’tcoverhisnostrils. beimplemented. Democratic leaders have Maine) and Senate Judiciary
—HarrietTorry —KateDavidson —AssociatedPress —AssociatedPress said the bipartisan group Committee Chairman Lindsey
shouldbeallowedtocontinue Graham(R.,S.C.).
CORRECTIONS (cid:2) AMPLIFICATIONS negotiating, arguing that Democrats have also pro-
THEWALLSTREETJOURNAL whatever deal it reached posed a six-month freeze on
(USPS664-880)(EasternEditionISSN would have the best shot at coronavirus-related litigation
0099-9660)(CentralEditionISSN1092-
passingbothchambersofCon- aswellascreatingarelieffund
0935)(WesternEditionISSN0193-2241)
Apple Inc. is projected to stop collecting profits and to and Wednesday incorrectly gress and being signed into covering legal fees for busi-
Editorialandpublicationheadquarters:1211
AvenueoftheAmericas,NewYork,N.Y.10036 sell 100 million pairs of Air- return $124 billion to Fannie said the DJIA’s all-time high lawbyPresidentTrump. nesses and schools that suc-
PublisheddailyexceptSundaysandgeneral Pods in 2021, according to andFreddie. was 30046.24 on Nov. 24. In Mr.McConnell’saidescon- cessfullydefendagainstthese
legalholidays.PeriodicalspostagepaidatNew Counterpoint Research. In addition, the S&P 500 index veyed to Democratic leader- suits,accordingtoanaidefa-
York,N.Y.,andothermailingoffices. some editions Thursday, a TowinaSenateconfirma- reached 36699.12 on Dec. 4, ship staff that the liability miliarwiththetalks.Theaide
Postmaster:Sendaddresschangesto
TheWallStreetJournal,200BurnettRd., Page One article about wire- tionvote,anomineeneedsthe whichwasanall-timehighat ideas being discussed by the saidRepublicanshavefavored
Chicopee,MA01020. less headphones incorrectly votes of a majority of those the time. The Markets Digest bipartisan group fell short of a liability shield that lasts at
AllAdvertisingpublishedinTheWallStreet said the projection was for present.ADec.3U.S.Newsar- published on Tuesday incor- whatRepublicansfeltwasnec- least18to24months.
Journalissubjecttotheapplicableratecard,
2020. ticle about a vote on Judy rectly said the all-time high
copiesofwhichareavailablefromthe
AdvertisingServicesDepartment,DowJones& Shelton’snominationforaseat was3669.01onDec.2.
Co.Inc.,1211AvenueoftheAmericas,New Shareholders of Fannie ontheFederalReserveBoard
York,N.Y.10036.TheJournalreservestheright
nottoacceptanadvertiser’sorder.Only Mae and Freddie Mac allege of Governors implied that 51 Japan’sstockshaveatotal
publicationofanadvertisementshall thatthefirmsmade$124bil- votesarenecessary. debt to total equity ratio of
constitutefinalacceptanceoftheadvertiser’s
order. lion in overpayments to the around 77%. A Heard on the
LetterstotheEditor: U.S.Treasuryafterthecompa- China’s National People’s Street column Tuesday about
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Needassistancewithyoursubscription? 2008financialcrisis,andthey has 175 members. A World saidbelow90%. K
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H
GOTATIPFORUS? MIC
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THEWALLSTREETJOURNAL. ***** Friday,December11,2020|A3
U.S. NEWS
U.S.
Justices Say FBI Agents Can Be Sued
Carries Out
By Muslims Who Alleged Retaliation
Protested
Execution
BYJESSBRAVIN expressionandtheliberalinter- Act,a1993lawthatauthorizes served,andsimilarphrasingin of cruel and unusual punish-
est in accountability for mis- “appropriaterelief”forthose federal civil-rights laws has mentswereunrelatedtothera-
BYJESSBRAVIN WASHINGTON—The Su- conductbylawenforcement. whosereligiouspracticesim- authorizedliabilityforindivid- tionaleforastatuteoflimita-
preme Court ruled that fed- Three Muslim men, a U.S. properlyareburdenedbythe ualgovernmentemployees. tions,hewrote.
WASHINGTON—Brandon eral agents can be sued for citizen and two permanent federalgovernment. The decision means the Thecourtrejectedanindus-
BernardwasexecutedThursday, putting Muslim men on the residents,allegedthatFederal Thegovernmentcontended lawsuitcanproceed. trychallengetoa2015Arkan-
the second of six federal in- no-fly list in alleged retalia- BureauofInvestigationagents thatsuchreliefcouldonlyin- Separately, the justices re- sas law regulating the reim-
matesAttorneyGeneralWilliam tionfortheirrefusaltocoop- pressuredthemtoserveasin- cludecourtinjunctionsagainst versed the U.S. Court of Ap- bursements that pharmacy-
Barrscheduledtodiebetween erate with counterterrorism formersonfellowMuslims.Af- officialactions.Butin2018,a peals for the Armed Forces, benefitmanagementcompanies
ElectionDayandJan.20,when investigations. tertheyrefused,theagentsre- federal appeals court in New whichhadthrownoutseveral must pay to pharmacies for
President-electJoeBiden,who Thedecision,arareexpan- taliatedbyplacingthemonthe Yorkreadtheprovisionmore rape convictions of service coveredmedications.
opposes capital punishment, sion of personal liability for no-fly list, a secret roster of broadly to include money membersafterconcludingthey Pharmacy-benefitmanagers
takesoffice. law-enforcementmisconduct, people U.S. authorities forbid damages against agents who were brought outside a five- aremiddlementhatpayphar-
Mr.Bernard,40yearsold,re- was one of four unanimous fromboardingcommercialair- yearstatuteoflimitations. maciesonbehalfofhealthplans
ceivedalethalinjectionofpen- rulingsthecourtissuedThurs- craftoverterrorismconcerns. The Uniform Code of Mili- when their members fill pre-
tobarbital at the federal peni- day, the first opinions it has Lead plaintiff Muhammad Threemensaidthey tary Justice doesn’t specify a scriptions.TheArkansaslawre-
tentiary at Terre Haute, Ind., announced since the start of Tanvir is a lawful permanent deadlineforfilingrapecharges; quiredthereimbursementrates
wereputontheno-
shortlyafteradividedSupreme itsannualterminOctober. residentwhosewifeandfamily instead, it previously listed at least equal what the phar-
Courtdeclinedtograntastayof The court also found that remained in Pakistan. He said flylistafterrefusing rape as a capital offense, for macyhadtopayforthedrugs.
execution.Hewaspronounced there is no statute of limita- agentsapproachedhimin2007 whichnostatuteoflimitations Finally, the Delaware Con-
toactasinformers.
deadat9:27p.m.,accordingto tionsonwhenrapechargescan atastorewhereheworkedin applied. In 1977, the Supreme stitutionrequirespartisanbal-
theFederalBureauofPrisons. befiledinthearmedservices, theBronx,N.Y.,toaskaboutan Court held it unconstitutional ance on the state’s major
The Terre Haute prison is and that state regulation of acquaintance. Mr. Tanvir said toexecuteadefendantforthe courts,leavingnoroomforin-
scheduled to execute another pharmacy-benefit managers he knew nothing useful and, rapeofanadultwoman,some- dependents.Alawyerwhobe-
federal inmate, Alfred Bour- isn’tsupersededbyfederallaw. overthefollowingthreeyears, violatedaplaintiff’srights. thingtheUCMJwasn’tupdated longed neither to the Demo-
geois,onFriday. The day’s fourth decision dis- declined repeated requests to Justice Clarence Thomas, to reflect. The armed-forces cratic nor Republican parties
In 1999, at age 18, Mr. Ber- missedonproceduralgrounds gather information during his writingfortheSupremeCourt, court found that since rape challengedthatprovision,and
nard took part in a Killeen, a challenge to Delaware’s visitstoPakistan.Agentsplaced agreed.Thegovernmenttook couldn’t be a capital crime, it last year a federal appeals
Texas,carjackingthatendedin unique requirement for parti- himontheno-flylistin2010. theplaintiffsofftheno-flylist was subject to the default courtinPhiladelphiafoundit
abrutaldoublemurderonthe sanbalanceonthestatecourts. Mr.Tanvirandhisco-plain- aftertheysued,soacourtin- deadlineoffiveyears. violatedtheU.S.Constitution.
groundsofFortHood.Hisattor- Theno-flycasebroughtto- tiffs said that informing on junction would do them no Notso,JusticeSamuelAlito Thursday’s decision rein-
neys argued his sentence was gethertwosometimesdifferent fellowMuslimswouldrequire good,hesaid. wrote for the court. The rea- stated the Delaware require-
improper after recently dis- legal threads on the Supreme deceptioninviolationoftheir The religious-freedom law sons capital punishment for ment. The court found plain-
closed evidence indicated that Court: a conservative push to faith.TheysuedundertheRe- authorizes lawsuits against rape was found to violate the tiffJamesAdamslackedlegal
prosecutors withheld informa- expandprotectionsforreligious ligious Freedom Restoration “officials,”JusticeThomasob- EighthAmendmentprohibition standingtofilethelawsuit.
tionallegedlycastingdoubton
his propensity for future vio-
lence,afactoressentialtothe
government’sargumentforthe
deathpenalty.
Under a landmark Supreme
Courtcasefrom1963,Bradyv.
Maryland, the government is M(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:2)s
obligedtoturnoverexculpatory
evidencewhenthedefensere-
quests. In October, President
Trump signed the bipartisan H(cid:4)l(cid:2)(cid:5)(cid:6)y H(cid:6)pp(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:7)ss
Due Process Protections Act,
Is H(cid:7)(cid:8)(cid:7)...
which requires that federal
judgestakestepsensuringthat AL
N
prosecutors comply with the UR
O
1963 precedent. The new law J
didn’t apply to Mr. Bernard’s REET
caseretroactively. ST
Mr.Bernard’scauseattracted ALL
W
high-profilesupport.Twoattor- HE
neysclosetoMr.Trump,Har- T
R
O
vard law professor Alan Der- F
R
showitzandformerWhitewater BE
U
Independent Counsel Kenneth GR
Starr, recently joined Mr. Ber- TIM
nard’s legal team, while two ActivistshaveshutdownaccesstostreetsneartheMinneapolisintersectionwhereGeorgeFloyd
Democratic senators, Richard waskilled.Policepatrolsandmotoristscan’tgetthrough,andlocalbusinessessaytheyarehurting.
Durbin of Illinois and Cory
BookerofNewJersey,calledon Floyd Memorial Barricades
the president to commute the
inmate’ssentence.
TheWhiteHousedeclinedto
Leave Neighborhood Cut Off
commentonthecase.OnThurs-
day evening, three liberal jus-
tices,StephenBreyer,SoniaSo-
tomayor and Elena Kagan,
indicated they would halt the BYERINAILWORTH clude funding in the mayor’s theMinneapolisPoliceDepart-
execution so that Mr. Bernard ANDKRISMAHER 2021budgettoaddressstruc- ment,saidanincreaseincrime Choose4singlestudsforunder$500
couldpresenthisargument. turalracisminthecity,while theremirrorsuptickshappen-
14kgold,diamondsandgemstones
MINNEAPOLIS—Sixmonths the 2020 budget includes inginanumberofU.S.cities.
Household after activists turned the in- $100,000 for planning a per- Year-to-date, murders are
tersectionwhereGeorgeFloyd manentmemorialtoMr.Floyd. up 65% compared with all of ShoptheCollectionatMISAHARA.COM
was killed into a memorial Early Thursday, the City 2019. Shootings have more
Net Worth surroundedbybarricades,this Council cut $8 million from than doubled compared with (805)3906326|[email protected]
cityisstrugglingwithhowto the mayor’s proposed police thesameperiodlastyear.Car-
Reaches rememberMr.Floydinaway departmentbudgetandshifted jackings are up more than
Handcrafted in New York
that allows the streets to re- ittofundmental-health-crisis 300%, with 385 reported
open and restores full access teams and other programs. throughDec.8.
Record
tobusinesses. Butthecouncilkeptinplacea “There has been such an
The national movement targetforthenumberofoffi- anti-law-enforcementrhetoric
sparkedbyMr.Floyd’sdeathis cersontheforce. thatpeoplehavebeenembold-
BYPAULKIERNAN rootedatEast38thStreetand Ms.Jenkins,whorepresents ened to go out and do what
ANDERICMORATH ChicagoAvenue,whereevery- award thatincludesmuchof theywant,”Mr.Eldersaid.
day life in the neighborhood thecurrentmemorial,saiditis Ms. Jenkins attributed Cascading
The net worth of U.S. hasbeendisruptedbytheme- aninspiringandhealingplace someoftheriseinthearea’s
householdsrosetoarecordin morialmadeupofbrightmu- for visitors. For many resi- crimetothebarriers. beauty.
thethirdquarterasthevalue rals,asculptureofaraisedfist dents,however,shesaid,“Itis “Thisautonomouszonehas
ofstockportfoliosandreales- and wilting bouquets left by challenging,toputitmildly.” created an atmosphere of
tatesurged,aFederalReserve visitors. Motorists can’t drive Streetclosuresforcedabus criminal activity and drug
report showed, highlighting through,impedingpatronageof stop to be relocated blocks sales and violence, gunshots,
theskewednatureofaneco- businessesontheblock.Police away, increasing travel times andthat’sseparatefrompeo-
nomic recovery that has dis- patrols aren’t allowed in, as forriders,shesaid.Thestopis ple who are occupying the
proportionately benefited crimehasincreasedcitywide. space,”saidMs.Jenkins.
wealthierAmericans. Localactivists,whohaveset Amongthoseadvocatingfor
Household net worth rose upamedicalshedandgreen- ‘Peoplehavebeen theremovalofthebarriersare
3.2%inthethirdquarterfrom house as part of an effort to the owners of Cup Foods,
emboldenedtogo
thesecondquarterto$123.52 make the area autonomous, where police detained Mr.
trillion,theFedsaidThursday. saytheyaren’treadytorelin- outanddowhat Floyd and held him to the
Household debt rose 5.6% to quish the intersection to the ground with one officer plac-
theywant.’
$16.4trillion,itsfastestpace city. People stand guard and ing a knee on his neck for an
inatleasttwoyears. stop police and nonresidents extended period. The store’s
Stock-market gains have fromdrivingthrough. reopening in August was met
drivenmuchoftheincreasein “When we get something by protesters. It was the
networth.TheS&P500index that looks like justice, they’ll onthemost-usedbusroutein store’semployeeswho,follow-
andDowJonesIndustrialAv- getsomethingthatlookslikea thestate,shesaid. ing protocol, called police on
erage gained 8.5% and 7.6%, street,”saidMarciaHoward,a NathanielHaileandDeParis May25toinvestigatewhether
WaterfallPendant
respectively, in the July-Sep- 47-year-oldhigh-schoolteacher Frazier,co-ownersoftheDollar Mr.Floydhadusedafake$20
withOpalInlayandDiamonds
tember period, building on and area resident who waved &UpstoreatEast37thStreet billtopurchasecigarettes.
even bigger advances in the neighbors through a concrete andChicagoAvenue,saythey Jamar Nelson, Cup Foods’ in14KYelloworWhiteGold
secondquarter. barrieronarecentday. supportcallsforpolicereform spokesman, said business from$1,599
Many economists have de- Cityofficialsbegandiscus- and accountability, as well as ownersneedtobeabletosit
scribed a K-shaped recovery sions to reopen the intersec- communitybuilding,butwant downwithresidents,cityoffi- Chainincluded
from the coronavirus-induced tioninAugust,butbackedoff toseethebarricadesgone. cials and activists to discuss
MatchingEarringsavailable
shockearlythisyear.Moreaf- when they were met with re- “It’s like we’re stuck at a howtomoveforward.
fluent Americans are doing sistance from activists and a memorial,andwecan’tgetout “Thebarricadeshavetobe
well, while millions of others list of 24 demands that in- ofit,”saidMr.Haile,whogrew removed,” Mr. Nelson said.
are seeing their incomes and cluded firing several law-en- up in the neighborhood and “Businesses have to get back
networthdecline. forcementofficialsandinvest- nowlivesnearbyinsouthMin- tobeingabletothrive.”
“We’ve seen home prices ing in the community, said neapolis.“Openingupandget- Jeanelle Austin, a George
rise, market prices for trad- MinneapolisCityCouncilVice ting a sense of normalcy is Floyd Global Memorial board
ableinstrumentsriseandsav- PresidentAndreaJenkins. goodfortheneighborhood.” member and the lead care- OAHU • MAUI • KAUAI•BIGISLANDOFHAWAII
ings increase because people MayorJacobFrey,Ms.Jen- After Mr. Floyd’s killing, a takerofthespaceat38thand BOSTON•CHICAGO•DALLAS•DENVER•LASVEGAS
haven’t been able to spend kinsandanothercouncilmem- majority of Minneapolis City Chicago, said the group is MIAMI•NEWYORK•ORLANDO•PHILADELPHIA
money on everything from bersentlettersinSeptember Council members supported working to open a dialogue PLEASANTON•PORTLAND•ROSEVILLE•SANDIEGO
sportingeventstoweddings,” andNovembertoMs.Howard effortstodefundthepolice,or andbuildconsensus. SANFRANCISCO•SANJOSE•SEATTLE•WASHINGTON,D.C.
said Constance Hunter, chief andtwootherorganizerswith abolish the city’s police de- Still, Ms. Austin was firm NaHoku.com • 1-866-296-9374
economistatKPMGLLP.“But steps the city is taking to re- partment. A state agency thattheintersectionwouldre-
thosegainsskewtoupper-in- spond to the demands within endedthepushfornow. main closed “until we see
FREEFEDEXSHIPPINGONALLORDERSOF$200ORMORE
comepeople.” thecity’sjurisdiction.Theyin- John Elder, spokesman for somejustice.”
A4|Friday,December11,2020 THEWALLSTREETJOURNAL.
P W L C 10 11 12 H T G K R F A M 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 O I X X *****
U.S. NEWS
Rice Will Lead Domestic Policy
Barr Kept
Secrecy on
BYANDREWRESTUCCIA and domestic-policy arms of
Probes of ANDELIZACOLLINS K8P0V4L the White House to work
closely together, the person
WASHINGTON—President- said. The person added that
Biden Son electJoeBidenhaschosenSu- Ms.Ricealreadyhasaworking
sanRice,aformerU.S.ambas- relationship with Mr. Biden’s
sadortotheUnitedNations,to incoming National Economic
BYSADIEGURMAN leadtheWhiteHouseDomestic Councildirector,BrianDeese,
ANDREBECCADAVISO’BRIEN Policy Council, as he fills out and national security adviser
hisgovernmentwithveterans JakeSullivan.
Attorney General William oftheObamaadministration. Ms.Ricewasunderconsid-
Barrhasknownaboutadispa- Ms.RiceservedasU.N.am- erationtobeMr.Biden’srun-
rate set of investigations in- bassador at the beginning of ning mate and was also dis-
volvingHunterBiden’sbusiness theObamaadministrationand cussedasapotentialsecretary
andfinancialdealingssinceat laterbecamePresidentBarack ofstate.
least this spring, a person fa- Obama’snationalsecurityad- In her new role, Ms. Rice
miliarwiththemattersaid,and viser.Inthatrole,sheworked willbeoneofMr.Biden’stop
worked to avoid their public closely with then-Vice Presi- policyadvisers.Shewillbere-
disclosure during the heated dent Biden, including during sponsible for coordinating
electioncampaign. dailyintelligencebriefings. SS with federal agencies and
Republicans and President Mr.Biden’stransitionteam PRE mapping out Mr. Biden’s do-
Trump have pressed Mr. Barr announced four other nomi- ATED mesticpolicyagenda.Among
for months to pursue Mr. Bi- nees on Thursday, two of OCI theissuesinherportfolio:ex-
den, especially as his father, them Obama administration SS panding the Affordable Care
A
Joe Biden, gained momentum veterans. Y/ ActandimplementingMr.Bi-
inhisultimatelysuccessfulbid Mr. Biden will nominate HRE den’s infrastructure and cli-
P
for president. Mr. Barr has former Agriculture Secretary UM matechangeplans.
H
staved off pressure from Re- Tom Vilsack to return to his K TheDomesticPolicyCoun-
R
publicansinCongressforinfor- roleleadingthefederalagency MA cil position doesn’t require
mationintotheinvestigations, and Denis McDonough, who SusanRice,aboveinFebruary,willberesponsibleforcoordinatingdomesticpolicywithfederalagencies. Senateconfirmation.Hadshe
thepersonsaid,withoutelabo- servedasWhiteHousechiefof beennominatedforadifferent
ratingonhisactions. staffintheObamaadministra- role,Ms.Ricecouldhavefaced
One investigation became tion, to lead the Department McDonoughTapped Donoughwasdeputynational alsocitedMr.McDonough’sun- opposition from Senate Re-
public this week after federal ofVeteransAffairs. securityadviserandworkedfor derstandingoflegislativeaffairs publicans for her role in for-
ForVeteransPost
investigators served a sub- HewillalsonominateRep. theNationalSecurityCouncil. andgovernmentbureaucracy, eignpolicyduringtheObama
poena on Hunter Biden. The MarciaFudgeofOhio tolead Mr.McDonoughdidn’tre- whichareseenaskeytonavi- administration.
subpoena sought financial in- the Department of Housing spondtoarequesttocom- gatingadepartmentlongbeset Republicanshavecriticized
formationinconnectionwitha and Urban Development and President-electJoeBiden ment. byorganizationalchallenges. Ms. Rice for initially charac-
criminal tax investigation by KatherineTai,thechieftrade selectedDenisMcDonough, Ifconfirmed,Mr.McDonough TheDepartmentofVeterans terizing the deadly 2012 at-
theU.S.attorney’sofficeinDel- counselfortheDemocratson whoservedasWhiteHouse wouldbethesecondnon-vet- Affairsisasprawlingorganiza- tacks on Americans in Beng-
aware,accordingtopeoplefa- the House Ways and Means chiefofstaffintheObamaad- erantoholdtheposition. tionwithapproximately400,000 hazi, Libya, as an episode of
miliarwiththematter. Committee,asU.S.TradeRep- ministration,toleadtheDe- Mr.McDonough’sexperience employees.Thesecretaryover- spontaneous protest hijacked
FederalprosecutorsinMan- resentative. The Wall Street partmentofVeteransAffairs, shapingdomesticandforeign seesthreehugeorganizations:a byextremistsinsteadofapre-
hattanhadalsobeenlookingat Journal had previously re- thetransitionteamsaid. policywasafactorinMr.Bi- health-caresystem,apension meditated terrorist attack.
HunterBiden’sbusinessandfi- portedMr.Vilsack,Ms.Fudge Beforeservingaschiefof den’sdecisiontonominatehim, anddisabilitysystem,anda Theyhavealsoaccusedherof
nancial dealings, as part of a andMs.Tai’snewroles. staffduringPresidentBarack accordingtoapersonfamiliar cemeteryandburialsystem. spyingonMichaelFlynn,Pres-
broadercriminalinvestigation “Thisistherightteamfor Obama’ssecondterm,Mr.Mc- withtheprocess.Theperson —SabrinaSiddiqui ident Trump’s first national
that two people familiar with thismomentinhistory,andI securityadviser.
thematterdescribedasanin- knowthateachoftheselead- A2014HouseofRepresen-
ternationalfinancialinvestiga- ers will hit the ground run- role are outgoing Sen. Doug The president-elect is ex- Though Ms. Rice is known tativesreportontheLibyain-
tionthathadbeengoingonfor ning on day one to take on Jones(D.,Ala.),formerMassa- pected to soon turn to filling asaforeign-policyexpert,Mr. cidentfoundthatwhilepublic
atleastayear.HunterBidenis theinterconnectedcrisesfam- chusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, several energy and environ- Biden chose her because of statements by Ms. Rice and
implicatedinthatinvestigation iliesarefacingtoday,”Mr.Bi- former deputy Attorney Gen- ment-relatedpositions,includ- their close relationship and other U.S. officials were
butwasneveraspecifictarget densaid. eralSallyYatesandfederalap- ing the heads of the Energy becausehebelievesherexpe- proved wrong, the inaccura-
for criminal prosecution, the While Mr. Biden has an- pealscourtjudgeMerrickGar- Department, Interior Depart- rience in government will ciesstemmedfrompoorintel-
people said. They declined to nounced many of the most land, according to a person mentandEnvironmentalPro- translate to domestic policy, ligence. Declassified records,
provide details on the sub- high-profilecabinetpositions, familiar with the matter. The tection Agency. Mr. Biden is accordingtoapersonfamiliar meanwhile,haveshownnoev-
stanceoftheprobe. hehasn’tyetunveiledhispick person said that no decision alsoexpectedtonameaWhite withhisthinking. idence she improperly ac-
The federal scrutiny dates forattorneygeneral.Thelead- hadbeenmadeandonewasn’t Houseofficialfocusedondo- The president-elect wants cessedinformationaboutMr.
backto2018,thepeoplefamil- ingcontenderstoserveinthat expectedthisweek. mesticclimatechangeissues. the foreign-policy, economic Flynn.
iarwiththemattersaid.
Neither the Delaware nor
Trump Bets on Long-Shot Texas Lawsuit
the Manhattan investigation
implicates President-elect Bi-
den,accordingtopeoplefamil-
iarwiththematter.
Hunter Biden said Wednes- BYDEANNAPAUL TheTexassuitisthebrash- CharlesCicchetti,whoclaims
daythathislawyeradvisedhim ANDJESSBRAVIN estattemptyetbyGOPofficials Mr. Biden’s odds of winning
abouttheinvestigationintohis toinvalidatetheelection,andit thefourdefendantstateswere
taxesandsaidhehadactedle- President Trump and his quickly picked up Republican “1 in 1,000,000,000,000,000.”
gallyandappropriately.Hislaw- supporters have pinned their supportfromacrossthecoun- The analysis is based in part
yer, George Mesires, didn’t re- hopes of reversing President- try.OnThursday,inadditionto onhowmuchMr.Trumpwas
spondtoquestionsonThursday. elect Joe Biden’s victory on a SS106GOPmembersofCongress, leadinginthesestatesonelec-
The Biden transition team lawsuitfiledbytheRepublican RERepublican officials in Idaho, tion night before late votes
P
hdaesndleeacrlinneeddotfotshaeyiwnvheesntigJoateioBni-. Teleexcatisona-tlatowrnspeyecigaelinstesraslaythhaast OCIATEDAnilaasaksak,eAdrtizhoencaoaunrdttPoelnentstyhlevma- sfawcutngthtoeMpr.reBsidideennatndcoanrrtiehde
The team said in a statement almostnochanceofsuccess. SSfilebriefsbackingMr.Paxton. these states in his 2016 race
A
Wednesday said Mr. Biden is The suit, filed on behalf of N/ In turn, 23 attorneys gen- againstHillaryClinton.
A
“proud of his son, who has thestateofTexasandjoinedby Meral from Washington, D.C., ButMr.ShapiroofPennsyl-
S
fought through difficult chal- Mr.Trumppersonally,asksthe ATEand 22 Democratic leaning vania called Mr. Cicchetti’s
lenges,includingtheviciousper- SupremeCourttoblockGeor- STstatestoldthecourttheTexas analysis“nonsense.”First,Mr.
N-
gWiais,cMoincshiingafnr,oPmenncasysltvinangiaealencd- MERICAssutiittuwtioonuldan“dreuonrddeerrmthineeCoounr- Ssuhmapeisrothsaatidla,tteh-tealalnieadlymsiasila-isn-
PresidentTrump toralvotesonDec.14forMr.Bi- NAfederalistsystem.” votes should have broken for
denafterhewontheirpopular STI Constitutionalscholarssaid Mr.Trumpinsimilarpercent-
hadmadeHunter votecountsintheNov.3elec- R/AUtheydoubttheSupremeCourt agesasin-personvotes,even
Bidenatarget tion.Atleast17otherRepubli- NEwillentertainasuitproposing though more Democrats said
N
can-leaningstatesand106GOP JAto disenfranchise millions of theywouldvotebymail.Sec-
beforetheelection. membersofCongressalsofiled AYvoters.“IfTexasgetsitsway, ond,Mr.Shapirosaid,election
J
paperssupportingthelawsuit. TexasAttorneyGeneralKenPaxtonaccusesfourstatesof‘rampant the Supreme Court will basi- resultsfrom2016shouldn’tbe
Inthefiling,TexasAttorney lawlessness.’Thepresidenthaslostdozensofelectionchallenges. callybethrowingoutapresi- viewedasdeterminativeofre-
General Ken Paxton accuses dentialelectiondespitenoevi- sultsin2020.
sonalattacksofrecentmonths, the four states of “rampant tweetedThursday. Theonlyquestionbeforethe dence of fraud or that the Mr. Paxton is battling his
onlytoemergestronger.” lawlessness,”claimingtheyvi- Stateelectionofficialsand Supreme Court is whether results aren’t accurate,” said own legal problems. He has
While the investigations in olatedtheirownelectionlaws U.S.AttorneyGeneralWilliam Texashaspermissiontofileits University of Texas law pro- beenunderstateindictmentfor
Delaware and Manhattan pro- whenofficialsadjustedvoting Barr have said they haven’t case.Mostcasesthatcomebe- fessor Steve Vladek, calling fiveyearsandwasaccusedby
ceeded, investigators tried to procedurestoprocessmail-in seen election irregularities forethejusticeshavefirstgone thelawsuitoneofthemostbi- severalformerstaffersofbrib-
keep the cases out of public ballots,whichmillionsofvot- widespreadenoughtochange through lower courts, but the zarrecourtfilingsofthe2020 eryandimproperinfluenceina
viewbytakingfewvisiblesteps ers employed to comply with the outcome of the election. Constitutionauthorizesstates electioncycle.“It’scrazy.” lawsuit earlier this year. The
intheweeksbeforetheNovem- public-health guidance to re- Thepresidentandhissupport- to file suits directly with the Mr.Paxton’ssuitresurrects FederalBureauofInvestigation
berelection,saidoneofthepeo- ducetransmissionofCovid-19. ers have lost dozens of elec- Supreme Court. The court’s claims that the Trump cam- has questioned people about
plefamiliarwiththematter. Texascontendsthatinmaking tionchallengesinfederaland practice,however,hasbeento paignanditssupportershave Mr. Paxton, The Wall Street
On Thursday, Mr. Trump such accommodations, the statecourt. accept such cases only when brought and lost dozens of Journal has reported, citing
tweeted,“Whydidn’ttheFake statesviolatedfederalconsti- Inaresponsefiledwiththe theyinvolvedisputesthatcan- timesinseveralpivotalstates peoplefamiliarwiththematter.
News Media, the FBI and the tutionalprovisionsthatdirect SupremeCourt,Pennsylvania’s notfirstbeheardelsewhere. over the past five weeks. Mr. Paxton’s office didn’t
DOJ report the Biden matter statelegislaturestodetermine AttorneyGeneralJoshShapiro, Thehighcourtcoulddecide Judgeshaverejectedthepre- respond to requests to com-
BEFOREtheElection.” the “manner” of appointing a Democrat, said Texas’s law- tohearthecase,withoutrul- vious suits in sometimes ment Wednesday. He has de-
Mr.Trumptalkedofinvolving electors. suit“islegallyindefensibleand ingonthemerits,orcouldre- scathingtones,generallysay- nied wrongdoing and previ-
Mr.Barrwhenheurgedthepres- Mr.Trumpcalledthelawsuit is an affront to principles of jectitaltogether.Fivejustices ing they made the audacious ously said the former
identofUkraineina2019phone “the big one” in a tweet constitutionaldemocracy.” must agree for the suit to demand of throwing out mil- employees’ “allegations are
calltoannounceaninvestigation Wednesday. “The Supreme MichiganAttorneyGeneral move forward; the justices lionsofvoteswithoutprovid- overblown, based upon as-
intoJoeBidenandhisson,which Courthasachancetosaveour Dana Nessel, a Democrat, have different views on ingspecificevidenceoffraud. sumptions,andtoalargede-
ultimatelyledtoMr.Trump’sim- CountryfromthegreatestElec- called it “an unprecedented whether the court must con- Texasrestsmuchofitsar- greemisrepresentthefacts.”
peachment.Mr.Trumpsaidhe tionabuseinthehistoryofthe one, without factual founda- sider every original filing by gumentonadisputedstatisti- —RebeccaBallhaus
woulddirecthispersonalattor- United States,” the president tionoravalidlegalbasis.” onestateagainsttheother. cal analysis by economist contributedtothisarticle.
ney,RudyGiuliani,andMr.Barr
tocontacttheUkrainianleader.
TheJusticeDepartmentsaidMr. VA Chief Faulted in Handling of Sex-Assault Claim
TrumpneveraskedMr.Barrto
contacttheUkrainians.
—ArunaViswanatha,
JamesT.Areddy BYBENKESLING after an initial round of dis- Mr.Wilkiedeniedwrongdo- Goldstein,aNavyveteran,who ouscomplaintsheallegedthe
andAndrewDuehren cussions. That unwillingness ingandsaidtheinspectorgen- claimedshewasassaultedata womanhadmade.“Theinfer-
contributedtothisarticle. Veterans Affairs Secretary to talk left unresolved many eral’sinvestigationitselfisun- VAhospital. encewasthatthecomplaints
Robert Wilkie mishandled an conflicting accounts of how founded.“Afternearlyayearof Rep. Mark Takano (D., Ca- were unfounded,” the report
investigation into sexual as- theVAsecretaryandhisdepu- investigation, interviews with lif.), chairman of the House said.
sault at the department and tiesdealtwiththematter,ac- 65peopleandanalysisofnearly Committee on Veterans Af- “TheInspectorGeneral’sre-
Orderby disparagedthewomanmaking cordingtothereport. 1.5milliondocuments,VA’sin- fairs,inFebruaryrequestedan portconfirmedthatSecretary
12/22for the claim, according to a re- “Our investigation found spectorgeneralcannotsubstan- investigation into how Mr. Wilkie’s response was not to
Christmas!
portreleasedbytheVAOffice that Secretary Wilkie and tiatethatIsoughttoinvestigate WilkiehandledMs.Goldstein’s takeownershipandensureac-
ofInspectorGeneral. other VA officials disparaged or asked others to investigate claims. Ms. Goldstein, who countability,buttoinvestigate
Thereportalsofoundthat theveteranwhofiledthesex- theveteran,”Mr.Wilkiesaidin serves on Mr. Takano’s staff, meandattempttoimpugnmy
anothertopofficialunsuccess- ual-assault complaint,” said a statement. “That’s because saidshehadbeeninappropri- character,”Ms.Goldsteinsaid.
fullytriedtoplantanegative VAInspectorGeneralMichael theseallegationsarefalse.” atelyapproachedwhileatthe Investigators didn’t pursue
newsarticleaboutthewoman. Missal.“ThetonesetbySec- TheOfficeofInspectorGen- Washington, D.C., VA facility. criminal charges against the
Accordingtothereport,top retaryWilkiewasatminimum eralbeganitsinvestigationof Investigatorsdidn’tfindMr. manMs.Goldsteinaccusedof
officials,includingMr.Wilkie, unprofessional and at worst the department in February Wilkie actively sought infor- assault,butinvestigatorssaid
YourChildren’sNameshand-craftedin refusedtocooperatewiththe provided the basis for VA aftercongressionalallegations mationtodiscreditMs.Gold- thatdoesn’tmeantheunderly-
sterlingsesitlvienrswoliitdhgborilldlia-n$t3S9w0atroov$s4k5i0crystals inspectorgeneralwhenhere- leaders’ attempts to under- that Mr. Wilkie sought infor- stein,butseveralofficialssaid ingallegationwasunsubstanti-
JOHN-CHRISTIAN.COM 888.646.6466 quested follow-up interviews minetheveteran’scredibility.” mation to discredit Andrea Mr.Wilkietalkedaboutprevi- ated.
THEWALLSTREETJOURNAL. Friday,December11,2020|A5
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A6|Friday,December11,2020 ** THEWALLSTREETJOURNAL.
U.S. NEWS
Meddling in CDC Virus Work Is Alleged
Housepanelaccuses fromRep.JamesClyburn(D., whohaddeletedit. calinterferenceintheMMWR uledtobereleasedtothepub-
S.C.), chairman of the House “I am deeply concerned process.” liconJuly29,buttherelease
Trumpadministration
Select Subcommittee on the that the Trump administra- The House oversight sub- wasdelayedfortwodaysfol-
ofconcealingevidence CoronavirusCrisis. tion’spoliticalmeddlingwith committee has been investi- lowing a “requested delay by
Dr.Kentsaidhersupervisor the nation’s coronavirus re- gatingwhethertheTrumpad- Dr. Redfield and HHS,” Mr.
ofpoliticalinterference
toldhertodeletethemessage, sponsehasputAmericanlives ministration pressured or Clyburnsaidintheletter.
and that she understood the at greater risk, and that ad- influenced actions of the na- At the July 31 hearing, Dr.
BYSTEPHANIEARMOUR direction came from CDC Di- ministrationofficialsmayhave tion’stophealthagenciesdur- Redfield testified that he be-
rector Robert Redfield, ac- takenstepstoconcealandde- ingthepandemic.Dr.Redfield lieved schools should reopen
The chairman of a Demo- cording to the letter sent to stroyevidenceofthisdanger- and Food and Drug Adminis- for “face-to-face learning” in
cratic-led House oversight Health and Human Services ousconduct,”Mr.Clyburnsaid tratorStephenHahnhaveboth September 2020 and noted,
subcommittee accused the Secretary Alex Azar and Dr. intheletter. testified that they haven’t “There’sreallyverysignificant
Trumpadministrationofcon- Redfield. S “Regarding the email in beensubjecttopoliticalpres- publichealthconsequencesof
W
cealingevidencebasedonthe The email from Paul Alex- NEquestion, I instructed CDC sure. The Government Ac- theschoolclosure.”Hedidn’t
testimony of a career em- ander,aformerscientificad- RGstafftoignoreDr.Alexander’s countability Office has also discusstheCDCstudy,which
ployeeattheCentersforDis- viser within HHS, demanded MBEcomments,”Dr.Redfieldsaid. saiditwouldinvestigatepos- found that the virus spread
ease Control and Prevention, thatCDCinsertnewlanguage OO“AsItestifiedbeforeCongress, sible political influence at widely among children at a
who said political appointees inapreviouslypublishedsci- O/BLIamfullycommittedtomain- bothagencies. summercampinGeorgia.
G
interfered in the agency’s entific report on coronavirus Ataining the independence of Dr.Kentalsotoldsubcom- The hearing ended at
R
worktofightthecoronavirus risks to children or “pull it ALDthe MMWR, and I stand by mittee staff that Dr. Redfield around12:45p.m.,andCDCre-
pandemic. downandstopallreportsim- CDCDirectorRobertRedfield thatstatement.” and HHS also delayed releas- leased the report approxi-
Charlotte Kent, who over- mediately,” according to the defendedhisagency’sactions. AnHHSspokespersonsaid, ing a report on coronavirus mately15minuteslater.
seestheCDC’sMorbidityand letter.Federalemployeesmust “The subcommittee’s charac- spreadatasummercampun- The letter to Mr. Azar and
MortalityWeeklyReport,told generallypreservedocuments “that’swhatIunderstood,that terizationoftheconversation tilaftertheCDCdirector’stes- Dr. Redfield said HHS is ob-
Houseoversightsubcommittee undertheFederalRecordsAct. itcamefromDr.Redfield,”ac- withDr.Kentisirresponsible. timonytotheSelectSubcom- structingtheinvestigationby
staff that she was instructed Dr. Kent stated that she cordingtotheletter.Shesaid Weurgethesubcommitteeto mittee where he pressed for the oversight subcommittee.
todeleteanAug.8emailthat didn’t speak directly to Dr. shelookedfortheemailafter release the transcript in full the reopening of schools, Mr.Clyburnsaidthesubcom-
showed a political appointee Redfield about this instruc- shehadbeentoldtodeleteit, which will show that during basedontheletter. mitteemayissuesubpoenasif
triedtomeddleinthereport, tion,butwasinformedthatit but that it was already de- hertestimonyDr.Kentrepeat- Documents show that the documentsaren’tprovidedby
according to a Dec. 10 letter came from him, explaining, leted.Shesaidshedidn’tknow edlysaidtherewasnopoliti- article was originally sched- Dec.15.
Panel Calls
Ifeachstatehad100people,howmanypeopleineachstatehavecontractedCovid-19?
Hawaii,Maine SouthDakota NorthDakota
For Broad
andVermont
Rollout
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11outof100
ContinuedfromPageOne
equates to about two people
dyingeachminute.Therehave
beenmorethan15millionin- Washington,Oregon IowaandWisconsin
fections. andNewHampshire
In its vote to approve, the
panelsaidthebenefitsofthe DistrictofColumbia,Virginia
vaccineoutweightherisksfor andWestVirginia
people 16 years of age and
older.
California,NewYork,NewJersey, Idaho,Montana,Nebraska,
“Theefficacyisoverwhelm-
Pennsylvania,Ohioand6other UtahandWyoming
ing”forthevaccine,saidEric states
Rubin, a Harvard microbiolo-
gist,panelmemberandeditor- OOL
Florida,Georgia,Texas,NewMexico P
Jino-ucrhniaelfooffMtehdeicNineew.“EItn’sglvaenrdy and5otherstates PRESS
strong.” Nevada,Illinois,Indiana, UM/
R
Not all panelists had a Arkansasand9otherstates CO
chancetoexplaintheirvotes, UEL
but some had expressed the Note:AsofDec.9. SAM
viewthattherecommendation Sources:JohnsHopkinsUniversity(cases);CensusBureau(population) JoelEastwood/THEWALLSTREETJOURNAL AsampleofthevialusedtotransportthePfizervaccine
should be for people 18 and
older. FDAtogreen-lightdistribution whoreceivedthevaccinethis nextyear. officialatthefederalCenters suchlonger-termstudywillfo-
ArchanaChatterjee,deanof of the vaccine, a step that is week in the U.K. had allergic The vote recommended an for Disease Control and Pre- cusonwhetherchildrenunder
theChicagoMedicalSchoolat expectedasearlyasFridayor reactionsaftergettingthevac- FDA action known as an vention specializing in vac- 16 can benefit from this or
RosalindFranklinUniversityof thisweekendgiventhemagni- cine. Various panel members “emergency use authoriza- cines,saidatthemeetingthat othervaccines.Sofar,theFDA
ScienceandMedicine,saidshe tudeofthepublic-healthcrisis called on the FDA and Pfizer tion,” which is a quicker ver- her agency, along with the has said, there isn’t enough
dissentedfromtherecommen- and scientific analysis that tofurtherstudytheissue. sion of full FDA approval. FDA and the Department of evidencetoprovethatavac-
dation because there isn’t showedthevaccineissafeand “Thisissueisnotgoingto Pfizer also said during the Defense, will conduct “active cinehasabenefitforchildren.
enoughdatajustifyinginclud- 95% effective in combating dieuntilwehavebetterdata” presentationitplanstofilefor surveillance” of health-care Answeringthatquestioncould
ing16-and17-year-oldsinan Covid-19amongtestsubjects. abouttheextentandnatureof fullapproval,throughwhatis workersandresidentsoflong- becrucialforreopeningmost
emergencyauthorization. Whiletheoutsidedoctors— the reactions, said panelist known as a biologics license term-care facilities getting schoolsystemssafely.
“They’re not a high-risk mostlyinfectiousdiseasephy- Paul Offit, a vaccine expert application,byApril. shots to gauge the effects of The vaccine has already
group,” she said in an inter- sicians,pediatriciansandvac- and pediatrics professor at TheFDAandotherfederal theimmunization. been shown in clinical re-
view. “My concern was that cine specialists— theChildren’sHospitalofPhil- agencieswillmonitortheuse Researchers will make in- search to reduce the rate of
the data was very limited in overwhelmingly supported adelphia. ofCovid-19vaccineslongafter quiries by text of such trial symptomatic disease by 95%,
the16-,17-year-olds.”Shesaid granting the emergency use Dr. Jansen said Pfizer was their release, including the participants, and “we really and appears headed for FDA
shewouldhavevotedinfavor authorization,panelistsraised studyingwhetherthevaccine questionofhowlongvaccines needpeopletosignontothis approval. The FDA isn’t re-
otherwise. some concerns over side ef- protects against asymptom- will confer immunity, federal systemtoprovideuswiththe quired to accept the decision
The advisory committee’s fectsandreactions. atic Covid-19, and hopes to officialssaid. bestdatapossible,”shesaid. ofanadvisorypanel,butgen-
decisionpavesthewayforthe Atleasttwoofthepatients complete that analysis early NancyMessonnier,asenior Dr. Messonnier said that erallydoesso.
FROM PAGE ONE
Airbnb
levels—down 32% year over Airbnb’sbusinessisnowhereclosetopre-pandemiclevels.Still,ithasgainedgroundoveritshotel daymyself.ButIwasn’tableto
yearinthefirstninemonthsof rivals.Thecompanyspentbigbeforepandemicandwasforcedtocutcoststhisyear. do it because I just don’t feel
Soars the year—but has still recov- that the math is reasonable,
eredfromlowsinthespring. U.S.spendingbyhotelservice,changefromayearearlier AirbnbU.S.reservations, and the stock should come
“One of the benefits of the changefromayearearlier down in my view,” said Tony
75%
In Debut crisis is that it did require us 100% Roth,chiefinvestmentofficer
to get really focused,” Mr. for Wilmington Trust, which
Cheskysaid.“Thatenabledus 50 manages$124billioninassets.
to tell a story about who we The company’s growth in
areandwhatwe’llbe,”hesaid. 50 0 recentyearshasdrawnsharp
ContinuedfromPageOne Intheweeksleadinguptothe opposition.Manyhomeowners
cline in travel caused by the debut, Mr. Chesky spoke to –50 havebeenpushingtocombat
spread of Covid-19. The pan- prospectiveinvestorsonvideo Airbnb, raising objections to
2016 ’18 ’20*
demic upended vacations and wearingsweatpants. livingnearshort-termrentals
25
work-related trips, forcing AsoftheendofSeptember, because of noise, parties and
Airbnbnetloss,inmillions
Airbnbandothercompanies— the company had more than worriesaboutpropertyvalues.
includingairlines,hotelchains four million hosts and seven $0 In its stock-offering prospec-
and cruise operators—to re- millionlistingsofhomerentals –200 tus, the San Francisco com-
tgrleonbcahl.p“aIfndyeomuiccanthsautrvsivheutas agnuiddedexapcteirviietniecse,si,nmsourcehthaans 0 Airbnb –400 Through3Q pneaingyhbonrohtoeosdtghraotuplsaannddlocrodns-,
down global travel, you can 220placesglobally,according –600 dominium associations have
surviveanything,”saidAlfred toaprospectusabouttheIPO. moved to prohibit or restrict
Lin,partneratSequoiaCapital Thecompany’scostsjumped –800 homesharing.
andanAirbnbboardmember fivefoldbetween2015and2019 –25 2016 ’18 ’20 Denver, Boston and other
andearlyinvestor. asitexpandedintonewareas cities have tightened rules
This spring, as consumers suchasmediaandtransporta- Airbnbcostsandexpenses coveringshort-termrentalop-
shelteredinplace,Airbnbbor- tion,builtanewheadquarters erations, as have cities that
Generalandadmin.
rowed$2billiontoshoreupits and aggressively invested in beforethepandemicwerema-
–50 Marriott Salesandmarketing
cashreserves.InMay,thecom- sales and marketing. Mr. jor tourist destinations, in-
pany said it would cut 1,900 Chesky said he ran through Hilton Productdevelopment cludingRomeandBarcelona.
jobs,orone-quarterofitsstaff, hundredsofexpenseitemsdur- Other† Meanwhile, some mayors
andpauseinvestmentsinnon- ing the pandemic. Total costs $6billion havesaidthatinvestorshave
coreoperations.Airbnbslashed dropped 22% in the first nine –75 purchased homes to rent out
IHG
other big expenses, including monthsofthisyearcompared 4 throughAirbnb,exacerbating
formarketing. with the year-earlier period. housingshortagesandafford-
“I assumed that this crisis Thecompany’sheftysalesand 2 ability.Airbnbsaidinitspro-
wasastormthatcouldbeun- marketing budget was cut by spectus that it will continue
relenting for years,” Mr. morethanhalf. –100 0 “to collaborate with policy
Cheskysaid. The cost cuts, along with Jan. March May July Sept. Nov. 2016 ’18 ’20‡ makerstoimplementsensible
But the company was able theunforeseenpickupinlocal legislationincitiesaroundthe
to latch on to demand from stays,ledthecompanytopost *AsofDec.6 †Includescostofrevenue,operationsandsupportandrestructuringcharges ‡2020dataninemonthsendedSept.30 world.”
peoplelookingfortripscloser aprofitinthethirdquarterof Sources:EdisonTrends(spendingbyhotelservice);AirDNA(Airbnbreservations);thecompany(netloss,costsandexpenses) Organized-laborgroupstied
tohomeduringthepandemic, thisyear.TheJune-September tohotelshavealsofoughtthe
fueledbyconsumerswantinga quarteristypicallystrongfor public, Airbnb has never year-earlierperiod,largelybe- duringthepandemic. company.InNewYork,forex-
changeoflocation. the platform because of sea- posted a full-year profit. Its causeofshrinkingrevenueear- Someinvestorssaidtherun- ample,amajorhotel-employee
In August, for example, sonalfactorsincludingsummer losslastyearwasgreaterthan lierinthehealthcrisis.“Idon’t upinpricesforAirbnb’sshares unionhadputtogetheralob-
more than half of bookings vacations, and Airbnb has itslossesinthepreviousfour know what the future brings madethemtooexpensiveand byingefforttotrytocurtailit.
madethroughAirbnbwerefor turned a profit in that period years combined. And it lost but that we can adapt to it,” avoidedbuyingthestockdur- Airbnbsaidearlierthisyearit
stays within 300 miles of the since2018.ButlikemanySili- more than twice as much Mr.Cheskysaid.Hepointedto ingThursday’sdebut. wouldhireunionconstruction
guest’slocation.Revenueisno- con Valley startups that are throughthefirstninemonths Airbnbredesigningitsappand “I’mabigfanofAirbnb,and workers for new real-estate
where close to pre-pandemic bleedingredinkwhentheygo of this year than it did in the websitetofocusonlocalstays Ireallywantedtobuysometo- projectswhereitisinvolved.
THEWALLSTREETJOURNAL. Friday,December11,2020|A7
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A8|Friday,December11,2020 THEWALLSTREETJOURNAL.
WORLD NEWS
Most Vulnerable Face More Isolation
Tracking
Who Got
Homebound,residents
achallengethatoffersacau-
ofnursinghomesare tionarytaleforU.S.healthof- Shots Is
ficials as they contemplate
firstinlineforshots,
theirownrollout.
butmustwaitforvisits Themainreasonisthatthe Tough Job
conditionsneededforthevac-
LONDON—IfaCovid-19vac- cine’s storage aren’t usually
cine is the key to unlocking foundinlong-termcarefacili- BYMIKECHERNEY
peoplefrompandemicisolation, ties.Thevaccinemustbekept
thefirsttobereleased,govern- at temperatures of minus-70 SYDNEY—Governmentspre-
ments say, should be those in degreesCelsius(minus-94de- paring to roll out Covid-19
long-termcarefacilities. grees Fahrenheit) and once vaccines are grappling with
thawed,refrigeratedandused how to keep track of those
SS
ByJoanna withinfivedays,ortwohoursRE whohavebeenimmunized.
P
Sugden,WillHorner ifatroomtemperature. A Many developed countries
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andPaulVieira Canada,too,authorizedtheZU maintain lists of who has re-
vaccinethisweek,andisalsoRE/ ceivedvaccines,butthosereg-
Butaftermonthsofbeingde- facing challenges inoculatingWI istriescanrelyonincomplete
A
privedoffamilyvisitsandhugs those in care homes. Public-Y/P data provided voluntarily by
withlovedones,mostresidents healthofficialsinOntariode-NE doctors,pharmaciesandeven
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in nursing homes in the U.K. cided to start by giving theBU health-careprovidersthatdis-
andCanadawillhavetowaita shots first to nursing-homeMC tributeflushotstocorporate
M
while longer, despite the two workersatthe14siteswhereLIA clients in winter. The U.S.
countriesleadingthechargein thevaccineistoberolledout. EthelSinclair,100yearsold,wasinoculatedatBradleyManorcarehomeinNorthernIreland. doesn’t have a national data-
vaccinerolloutsintheWest. “Wewillgettheworkersin base,butstatesandsomelo-
The U.K. became the first those nursing homes to come ing-homeproviderssaynoel- ress and understanding what can be stored for longer peri- calitiesmaintaintheirown.
Westernnationtostartimmu- tothevaccinationsite,”saidre- derly-care residence exists in can and can’t be done,” said odsatwarmertemperatures. Healthexpertssayitwillbe
nizing its residents from the tiredgeneralRickHillier,who the U.K. with so many resi- Prof.AdamFinn,amemberof “Theclockstartstickingas crucial for governments to
coronavirusthisweek,butthe isleadingthevaccinelogistics dents. A Quebec government theU.K.’sJointCommitteeon soonastheythawthevialsand monitor accurately who gets
speedofauthorizationandim- intheprovince.“Thatinitself spokesmansaidunuseddoses VaccinationandImmunization. theyhave12hourstocomplete inoculated,particularlybecause
plementation of the program will change dramatically the at the province’s long-term Thevaccinemustbeturned thepackdown,labeltheboxes manyvaccinesareunderdevel-
isbeingtemperedbythereal- risk posed to the residents of carefacilitieswillbegivento upsidedown—butnotshaken— and then get the vials to the opmentandsomeareexpected
ity of getting the delicate thoselong-termcarehomes.” patientsatothernursingfacili- andreturnedtorestingbefore mobile teams and into care to require multiple doses.
PfizerInc.-BioNTechSEinoc- Another challenge is that tieswhocantravel. itisgiven.Thedelicatetechnol- homes,”apersonfamiliarwith Widespread tracking would
ulationtothemostvulnerable. the vials holding the vaccine “Clearly there are aspects ogyitcontainsissonewthat vaccine-distribution plans in also enable health officials to
Reaching the housebound comeinpacksof975andmust ofhandlingthisparticularvac- Pfizerisstillrunningstability theU.K.said.“Thishasnever detect any adverse reactions,
andthoseinnursinghomesis allbeusedonceopened—nurs- cine that are a work in prog- studiestoworkoutwhetherit beendonebeforeatscale.” whichisimportantbecausethe
vaccines are being developed
Russia Gets a Dose of Reality on Vaccines muchfasterthanusual.
“It is mandatory to have
this kind of information to
protectthehealthofthepopu-
lation,”saidTerrySlevin,chief
BYGEORGIKANTCHEV executiveofthePublicHealth
AssociationofAustralia.Gov-
ST. PETERSBURG—In Au- ernmenthealthofficialsthere
gust,PresidentVladimirPutin plan to require health-care
heralded the approval of a providerstoreportwhogetsa
Russian vaccine against coronavirus vaccine to that
Covid-19.Officialspromisedto country’sregister.
produce millions of doses by Requiring reporting pres-
year’send. entsseveralchallengestoau-
Now,however,thoseambi- thorities, including the secu-
tions have been greatly re- rity of patient health data.
duced—St. Petersburg, home Earlyinthepandemic,anAus-
to five million people, is due tralian government initiative
to get just 5,000 doses this todevelopanappthatwould
month—asthecountrystrug- recordwhethersomeonewas
gles to manufacture the two- in contact with anyone in-
shot vaccine, Sputnik V, in fected with the coronavirus
largequantities. founderedwhenmanypeople
Russia expects to produce avoideditonprivacygrounds.
justtwomilliondosesbythe Knowingwhohasavaccine
endoftheyear,downfromthe couldenableeconomiestoopen
30 million promised over the AL up more quickly. Airlines are
N
summer. UR amongthecompaniesthatcould
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30“mWielliwonerdeoaslelsexwceitreedpwrohmen-REETJ bvaecnceifniattiforonminftohremdaatitoan. dGiertetcitnlgy
ised,”saidDmitryKulish,pro-ST fromthegovernmentcouldal-
fessor at Moscow-based pri-WALL low them to more easily clear
vate researchHE passengers for overseas
T
institute Skoltech, which fo-R travel. However, some govern-
O
cusesonpharmaceuticalinno-AF mentshavesaidtheywouldn’t
V
vation.“Butthatwasahyper-O disclose the data to private
N
optimistic forecast. We are VA companies and that people
I
morerealisticnow.” NIA wouldneedtodecideforthem-
To help ramp up produc- SE selveswhethertoprovidetheir
K
tion,Russianauthoritieshave WorkersatBIOCAD’sfactoryinSt.Petersburg,Russia,helppreparedosesofthenewSputnikVvaccineagainstCovid-19. vaccinationstatustobusinesses.
turned to a clutch of compa- IntheU.K,whichrolledout
niesincludingBIOCAD,apri- cause of supply-chain obsta- component that takes longer Russia began a limited-scale adenovirus, as a vehicle for a vaccination program this
vate-sector pharmaceutical cles. The shot, developed tobrewinsidethebioreactors, rollout, starting with doctors geneticmaterialfromthecor- week after granting emer-
companythathasn’tbeenin- jointly with BioNTech SE, is oneofthepeoplesaid. andteachers. onavirus—was developed by gency-use authorization to a
volvedinvaccineworkbefore. alreadyinuseintheU.K.and For Russia, the stakes are AtBIOCAD’sfactory,execu- Moscow’sstate-runGamaleya vaccine from Pfizer Inc. and
Hundredsofitsscientistsand isbeingreviewedbytheFood high, as the coronavirus tivesracedtosourcemedical InstituteofEpidemiologyand BioNTechSE,seniorhealthof-
techniciansareracingtofind and Drug Administration in spreads at a record pace and vialsfromGermany,vialcaps Microbiology. ficials say coronavirus vacci-
ways to transform small theU.S.,wherearolloutcould theKremlinseekstoavoidin- fromChinaandequipmentfil- It shipped the underlying nationsmustberecordedbya
amounts of the vaccine into begin before the end of the troducinganewnationallock- ters from Japan. Certain re- biomaterial—a frozen liquid person’sprimary-caredoctor.
tensofmillionsofdoses. year. down,insteadmakingthevac- agents—ingredients used in containingthetwoadenovirus TheU.K.regulatorsaidaran-
“Scaling is a complex pro- Russian pharmaceutical cineoneofthemainpillarsof chemicalreactions—weresup- typesneededforeachshot—to dom selection of people who
cess,” said Dmitry Morozov, companieshavefoundithard itsresponse. pliedfromtheU.S. BIOCADinOctober. receive the vaccine would be
BIOCAD’s chief executive. to secure everything—from Authorities in Russia— Otherproducershavefaced Inabidtogaingeopolitical sent letters asking them to
“Whatwaseffectiveinthelab vialcapstoso-calledbioreac- where the vaccine has been challenges with procuring clout, Moscow is also selling takepartinasurveyforlong-
maynotbereplicatedinlarge tors,whichgrowandferment compared with the Kalash- bioreactors,withwaitlistsof SputnikV—namedinreference termmonitoringofitseffects.
volumes.” the vaccine’s ingredients— nikov assault rifle on state uptoayearforsuppliesfrom totheColdWar-eraspacerace TheexperienceinAustralia—
Western companies have from foreign suppliers, said television, describing it as Germany,ItalyandtheU.S. betweentheU.S.andthefor- whichsetupitsregistryin1996
also encountered roadblocks people familiar with the pro- “simple but reliable”—autho- “We never planned to get mer Soviet Union—to dozens torecordchildren’svaccines—
inthebreakneckeffortstoin- cess and companies involved rizedSputnikVquicklyinAu- involved,” Mr. Morozov said. ofcountries,includingBrazil, highlightsthedifficultiesinreli-
vent,manufactureanddistrib- intheproduction. gust,eventhoughclinicaltri- “Butnowwehavetodosome- India and Mexico, though ablytrackingwhogetsvaccines.
utetheirvaccines. Meanwhile, manufacturing alswerecontinuing. thing that saves people. One those doses will be produced More than 90% of many chil-
Pfizer Inc. said in Novem- the second of Sputnik Trial data released since cannotpostponethiswork.” internationally and it is still dren’svaccinesadministeredare
beritexpectedtoshiphalfthe V’stwo-shotdosehasproved then showed it was 91.4% ef- The vaccine itself—which unclearwhetherthedomestic now reported to the database,
Covid-19vaccinesithadorigi- more challenging than the fective in protecting people usesageneticallyalteredform productionproblemswouldaf- buttheadultreportinghasbeen
nallyplannedforthisyearbe- first, since it uses a different from Covid-19. On Saturday, ofacommonvirus,knownas fectthem. muchlesscomprehensive.
ECB Adds
lenges to public health and EuropeanCentralBankcumulative economistwithPictetWealth high, governments in Ger-
economicprospects,cannotbe netpurchasesundercurrentprograms* ManagementinGeneva. many,Franceandothercoun-
Stimulus ruled out,” Ms. Lagarde said. €4trillion While the rollout of a vac- tries have signaled they will
Sheunveiledgloomyeconomic cineinsomepartsoftheworld tightenorextendrestrictions
Pandemic
forecastssuggestingthateuro- emergency inrecentdayssuggestssocial in the weeks ahead. Policy
Measures zoneinflation,whichtheECB 3 Asset-backed restrictions could be elimi- makersworrythatconsumers
aims to keep just below 2%, securities natednextyear,policymakers couldgrowmorecautious.
wouldreachonly1.4%by2023. worry that the economic re- Adding to policy makers’
Corporatesector
Inresponse,theECBsaidit covery is likely to remain concerns: The euro’s recent
Coveredbonds3
wouldscaleupitsemergency 2 bumpy at least until wide- rally against the dollar has
Publicsector
ContinuedfromPageOne bond-buyingprogram,firstun- spreadimmunityisachieved. reaching a two-year high of
economywouldlikelyslipback veiled in March, by €500 bil- TheU.K.’sstatisticsagency $1.21andhurtthecompetitive-
into contraction in the last lion, to €1.85 trillion, and ex- 1 said on Thursday economic nessofEurope’slargeexport-
threemonthsofthisyearand tend the expected time growth slowed in October as ersincrucialoverseasmarkets
grow more slowly than ex- horizon of its purchases by new infections rose and re- suchastheU.S.
pected next year, as busi- nine months, through March strictionsweretightened.The Regulators, including the
0
nesses and households are 2022.Thebankalsorolledout economyexpanded0.4%from ECB’s own banking-supervi-
buffeted by new restrictions newcheaploansforbanksand 2015 ’16 ’17 ’18 ’19 ’20 the previous month, having sionarm,areincreasinglyput-
aimedatcontainingthevirus. sweetenedtermsofitsexisting grown1.1%inSeptember. ting pressure on banks to
*Asofmonthend,netofamortizationandredemptions Note:€1=$1.21
Still,Ms.Lagardesaidthere loans. It left its key interest Source:ECB FederalReserveofficialsare make sure they are properly
are“goodreasonstobelieve” rateunchangedatminus0.5%. expected at their Dec. 15-16 accounting for loans in their
thatEuropewillhaveattained The fresh stimulus means thefinanceministers.…TheECB riskiestamongthearea’smajor meetingtoissuenewguidance books that could turn sour.
effectiveherdimmunitybythe the ECB will continue to ab- islikelytofinancedefactothe economies,hoverednearmulti- abouthowlongtheyexpectto The pressure and fears over
endof2021,meaningthatvac- sorb about three-quarters of entire 2021 budget deficits of yearlows,indicatinginvestors continuetheirasset-purchase the economic recovery have
cinations will be widespread the debt issued by eurozone theeurocountries,”saidJörg were comfortable with the program,underwhichtheFed madelendersmorecareful.
enoughtopreventnewinfec- countriesnextyear,according Krämer, chief economist at bank’s efforts to keep the fi- is currently buying $120 bil- Tom Kinmonth, a fixed-in-
tions and allow the economy to estimates from Pictet CommerzbankinFrankfurt. nancialsystemflushwithcash. lionamonthinTreasurysand comestrategistatDutchbank
tofunctionnormallyagain. WealthManagement.Thatsup- Market reaction was sub- “Wecan’thelpbutfeellike mortgage-backed securities. ABNAMROBankNV,saidthe
The recent rollout of vac- portstheregion’sgovernments dued, however, because the theECBshouldhavedelivered Fedofficialshavesignaledre- ECB’s stimulus package was
cines“allowsforgreaterconfi- astheyspendfreelyonjob-fur- stimulus had been widely ex- a bolder package…to make cently that they don’t think disappointing for banks.
dence…[but] it will take time lough measures and other pected. The euro rose about sure that they don’t need to theyneedtochangetheasset- “Overall,theECBhaskeptthe
untilwidespreadimmunityis costlyprogramsaimedatkeep- halfacentagainstthedollarto do more next year in case buyingprogramnowtodeliver conditionsfavorableforbanks,
achieved,whilefurtherresur- ingbusinessesandjobsalive. $1.215,beforeretreating.Yields somethinggoeswrongagain,” moreeconomicstimulus. butithasnotgiventhebanks
gencesininfections,withchal- “Thisisacarteblanchefor onItaliangovernmentdebt,the said Frederik Ducrozet, an With infection rates still alargeChristmasgift.”
THEWALLSTREETJOURNAL. Friday,December11,2020|A9
FROM PAGE ONE
China’s Xi
ofBaowu’slistedarmdeclined
42%inthepreviousyear.Elim-
Ramps Up inatingpovertyisatoppoliti-
calobjectiveofMr.Xi.
ChineseofficialssayMr.Xi
Control doesn’tintendtocrushentre-
preneurshiporeliminatemar-
ketforces.Hehaspromisedto
support the private sector,
which contributes half of the
ContinuedfromPageOne government’staxrevenuesand
than the state’s goal of con- employs 80% of urban work-
trollingfinancialrisk. ers.
The message isn’t lost on Unlikehispredecessorswho
entrepreneurs,whoarereori- steadilyexpandedtheprivate
entingtheirbusinessestoap- economy, Mr. Xi focuses on
peasethestateorgivingupon bringing entrepreneurs into
privateenterprisealtogether. theparty’sfold.
“Forussmallbusinesses,we Chinese officials close to
have no choice but to follow the leadership say Mr. Xi’s
the party,” says Li Jun, a 50- thinking has been influenced
year-oldownerofafish-farm- byexcessesthatemergedun-
ingbusinessintheeasternJi- derpredecessorsJiangZemin
angsu province. “Even so, and Hu Jintao, when corrup-
we’re not benefiting at all tionandenvironmentaldegra-
fromgovernmentpolicies.” dation were rampant, and by
Mr.Lirecentlycloseddown marketdisruptionsthatrattled
aseafood-processingplantbe- Mr.Xiintheearlyyearsofhis
cause it couldn’t get bank rule.
loans—a persistent problem Initially, Mr. Xi had been
forprivatefirms,despiteBei- SS opentoadvancingmarketre-
jing’s repeated pledges to PRE formsthatbeganinChinaun-
A
makecreditmoreavailablefor M der Deng Xiaoping in the
U
them. A/Z 1980s. In late 2013, Mr. Xi’s
U
The risk for China is that H leadershipvowedtogivemar-
N
Mr. Xi’s vigorous assertion of G/XI ketforcesa“decisiverole.”He
statist prerogatives will dull PEN blessedmarket-mindedregula-
the kind of innovation, com- U tors who talked up stock in-
J
petitive spirit and unbridled ChinesePresidentXiJinping,rightfront,longdistrustfuloftheprivatesector,touredaBaowuSteelGroupfacilityinAugust. vesting and relaxed govern-
energy that powered China’s ment control over China’s
explosivegrowthinrecentde- vest in state firms, bringing GovernmentPriority currency. His administration
cades. The economic policies moreprivate-sectoracumento even pondered a proposal to
Althoughprivatecompaniesremainmoreprofitablethanstateones,theyarebecomingless
that helped nurture e-com- China’s often-bloated state- have professional managers
soastheChinesegovernmentdirectsmorecredittostate-ownedenterprises,depriving
merce giant Alibaba Group ownedenterprises. ratherthanpartyapparatchiks
entrepreneursofcapital.
HoldingLtd.,techconglomer- runstatecompanies.
ateTencentHoldingsLtd.and Oneafteranother,thosere-
State acquisitions Returnonassets,bytypeofenterprise China’sdebtasapercentageofGDP
other global success stories formplansledtochaos.Inthe
seem to be at an end, say Now,underMr.Xi,thepro- 15% 300% summer of 2015, a big stock-
economistsinsideandoutside cessoftenworkstheotherway market selloff pounded mar-
China. As a result, they say, around,withbigstatecompa- 13 250 kets and embarrassed Mr. Xi.
Chinesecompaniesarebecom- niesabsorbingsmalleronesto Thecentralbank’smovetoset
10 200 Household
ing less like American ones, keepthemgoing,andreconfig- the Chinese yuan freer
which are driven by market uringthesmallerfirms’strate- spookedthepublicfurther.
8 150 Government
forces and depend on private giestoservethestate. Beijingnowdirectlysuper-
innovationandconsumption. Transactionsinvolvingstate Private vises128statefirms.Although
5 100
The information office of firmsbuyingintoprivateones Privatecorporate thatisdownfromabout140in
theStateCouncil,China’scabi- exceeded$20billionlastyear, 3 State-owned 50 State-owned 2012, the enterprises have
net,didn’trespondtowritten more than double the 2012 enterprise grown larger, encroaching
questionsforthisarticle. level,inindustriesincludingfi- 0 0 more on the private sector,
The percentage of Chinese nancialservices,pharmaceuti- amidgovernment-ledconsoli-
2005 ’10 ’15 ’20 2005 ’10 ’15
manufacturingandinfrastruc- cals and technology, disclo- dationsaimedatcreatingna-
ture investment coming from sures by publicly traded Sources:MacquarieGroup,NationalBureauofStatisticsofChina(return,debt);MinistryofFinance,People'sBankofChina(debt) tionalcorporations.Localgov-
privatecompanies,aftergrow- companiesshow. ernments manage thousands
inginrecentdecades,peaked “State-owned enterprises Adding to Mr. Wen’s prob- “alliance of the strong.” Mr. told,isgoodforcorporatede- moreofthefirms.
in 2015 at more than half of must play a leading role and lems,thegovernmentin2018 Wendeclinedtocomment. velopment.” Until last year, Xu Zhong
total fixed-asset investments important influence on the startedtoreverseaninitiative Often,governmentofficials was head of the research de-
and has been shrinking since healthydevelopmentofprivate thatteamedprivateinvestors just want to make sure large partment of China’s central
Party cells
then. enterprises,” says a new cen- with local governments to private companies are adher- bank. He publicly blamed
China’seconomyasaresult tral-government action plan buildbig-ticketinfrastructure ing to the state’s goals and Threeotherprivatecompa- China’s poor governance and
hasbecomelessefficient.The forthenextthreeyears,which projects, citing fears of over- policies.Tothatend,thestate nies in Dongguan also set up market distortions on the
amountofcapitalinputneeded calls for more mergers be- spending. Companies like Mr. isinstallingmoreCommunist partycellsrecently,including state’s hand in allocating
to generate one unit of eco- tweenstateandprivatefirms. Wen’s were left with unfin- Partycommitteesincorporate anelectronicsmaker,anauto- credit, which had caused pri-
nomicgrowthhasnearlydou- Beijing OriginWater Tech- ished projects and debt that officesandencouragingthem parts manufacturer and a vatefirmstobedeprivedoffi-
bled since 2012, when Mr. Xi nologyCo.,aproviderofsew- wasmaturingfast. toplaymoreassertiverolesin chemical company. A Dong- nancing.
rosetopower,accordingtothe age-treatment services that AsubsidiaryofChinaCom- decision-making. guanofficial,ZhaoZhijia,calls “The first institutional
ChinaDashboard,adataproj- competes with the likes of municationsConstructionCo., SanyueIndustrialCo.,apri- the party committees “red problemthatleadstofinancial
ect between research firm General Electric Co., was one abigstatecontractorforBei- vate maker of electronics in chargingstations”sayingthat chaos is unclear boundaries
Rhodium Group and the Asia of the target firms. It was jing-ledinfrastructureprojects thesoutherncityofDongguan, “these companies will inte- between government and the
SocietyPolicyInstitute,athink started in 2001 by Wen Jian- overseas,swoopedin,buyinga in October formed the first gratepartybuildingintotheir market,”hewroteinanarticle
tank. That is partly because ping, an engineer who had controlling stake in Beijing party committee in the com- corporate culture. It’s a win- publishedinDecember2017.In
China’s state-owned enter- studied in Australia. He was OriginWater for more than win.” ahigh-leveleconomicforumin
prises, which have swollen in eagertohelpcleanupChina’s $440million.Mr.Wen’sstake Such party committees of- February 2019, he called for
size,areoftenlessproductive pollutedwatersupplyandtake was reduced to around 10%, Entrepreneursare tentrumpthedecision-making accountability of the govern-
than private businesses, offi- advantageofthecountry’sin- from23%. ofcorporatemanagementand mentwhenitcametomarket
reorientingtheir
cialdatashows. creasinglyopenbusinessenvi- Now,insteadoffocusingon boards.ApartycellatBaowu reforms.
Party officials, for their ronment. the domestic market, Beijing businessesto Steel Group, a state-owned Shortly after that, he was
part, see an opportunity to Asdemandforwaterpurifi- OriginWater says it plans to companythatisChina’slargest moved to a new role outside
appeasethestate.
reinintheexcessiverisk-tak- cation grew, Mr. Wen’s busi- helpfacilitatethepartyleader- steel producer, held 55 meet- thecentralbankinanassocia-
ing,debtandgraftthataccom- nessthrived.Aninitialpublic ship’sBeltandRoadInitiative, ingsinthepasttwoyearsand tionofmarketdealers.
paniedtherapidriseofprivate offering in 2010 helped turn ahugeinfrastructureprogram reviewed some 137 business “Themarket-reformcampis
businesses. Mr. Xi’s brand of himintoabillionaire.In2018, promoted by Mr. Xi to pull andotherproposalssubmitted all but gone,” says an econo-
state capitalism, which mixes hemadeForbesmagazine’slist Asian, European and African pany’s11-yearhistory.Itdidso bymanagement,accordingto mistwhoadvisesthegovern-
marketswithstepped-upstate ofChina’srichestpeople,with nationsintoBeijing’sorbit. afterthegovernmenttoldthe company filings. It revised 16 ment.“Bynow,it’sprettyclear
intervention, has survived a a reported net worth above Several longtime board company it needed to, says of the proposals before send- what kind of reform the top
trade war with the U.S. and $1.1billion. members were replaced with company executive Huang ingthemontoBaowu’sboard guyreallywants.”
outperformed free-market Overtime,Mr.Wentookon appointees approved by the Shengying. ofdirectors. Therewasnomistakingthe
economies recently, based on morerisk,pledginghisshares State-owned Assets Supervi- The committee, which is It also turned down some, shifting winds in September,
economicgrowthrates. to borrow more and finance sionandAdministrationCom- made up of five party mem- includingoneinvolvingafund- whenLiuHe,theleadership’s
Inoneoftheclearestsigns biggerprojects.Agovernment mission, which regulates and bers who were already work- raisingproposalforacompany top economic adviser with a
ofChina’sdirection,morestate “deleveraging” campaign holds majority stakes in big ingatthecompany,including subsidiary,sayingtheneedfor reputationforsupportingmar-
firmsaregobblingupprivate launchedunderMr.Xitocurb state companies, including two from management, plans more capital was unclear, ac- ketreforms,summarizedBei-
companies, redefining a gov- excessive risk-taking forced China Communications Con- to meet often to “study the cordingtoanarticlepostedon jing’splansforthestatesector
ernment initiative called companies to pare back on struction. spirit”ofgovernmentpolicies Baowu’swebsite. forthenextthreeyears.
“mixed-ownership reform.” debtandcausedstockmarkets In response to questions, and Mr. Xi’s speeches, Ms. Thepartycommitteehasdi- “State-owned enterprises,”
Theoriginalidea,datingback toswoon,sendingthevalueof China Communications Con- Huang says. “We need to un- rected the company to set he said, “must become the
to the late 1990s, was to en- Mr. Wen’s shares down. His structiondescribedtheacqui- derstand the policy better to aside more funds to help the competitive core of the mar-
courage private capital to in- lendersstartedcallinginloans. sitionofMr.Wen’sfirmasan survive. Party building, we’re poor even though the profits ket.”
The Office
wasrecentlychargedwithor- Ms.Connors’steamhadorigi- puttheircameraon.”
ganizing a virtual holiday nallydiscusseddoingagroup Anintrovertwhoisn’tusu-
Party Goes party. “Everybody’s super fa- cookie-decoratingsessionover allyabigofficepartyenthusi-
tigued, everybody’s pretty MicrosoftTeams,buttheidea ast,NicoleSenter,anadminis-
burntoutfrombeingonline,” wasscuttledforcostreasons, trator in the German, Nordic
Online saysMs.Berry,whohasbeen toherrelief. and Slavic language depart-
trying to come up with ways “Iwassortofdreadingit,” mentattheUniversityofWis-
toenliventheproceedings,in- shesays.“Itjustseemedlike, consin-Madison,saysthelow-
cludingonlinegames. what are we going to talk key feel of this year’s
InGeorgia,marketingcom- aboutwhilewe’redecorating? festivitiescomeassomething
ContinuedfromPageOne pany 3MP Atlanta convened You have all those Brady of a relief. Earlier this year,
tition for the most festive lastweekwitharound600of Bunchsquaresofpeoplestar- shehadtriedtohostaZoom
work-from-homeofficespace. its sales representatives and ing at each other, and it gets cocktail hour for the 50-odd
While the offerings might managers in a virtual ski awkward.” membersofherdepartment.
seem a little threadbare, she lodge, which was outfitted Last year, product design “Iwastheonlyonethere,”
H
sayssheishopefulpeoplewill with a fireplace, a Christmas UG companyQuantumMetricInc. she says. She didn’t mind.
O
attend:“Youdon’twanttobe tree and tables. Attendees HR flewaround100employeesto “Honestly,itwaskindofnice.”
theGrinch.” couldclickondifferenttables AKT its headquarters in Colorado Ms. Senter is planning to
Longbeforethecoronavirus, tomovearoundandvideochat BRE Springs,Colo.,toattenditshol- send her team of four col-
I
officeholidaypartieswereof- withcolleagues,partofanef- EdCunliffe,3MPAtlantamanagingpartner,introducedtheugly- idayparty.Thisyear,itissend- leagues reindeer antlers,
tenawkwardaffairs.Now,with forttomimicthefeelofareal sweatercontestatthecompany’svirtualholidayparty. ingemployeesboxesofbeaded, whichtheycanweartoavir-
theholidaysfastapproaching, party, says Ed Cunliffe, 3MP feathered and glittery masks tual gathering. She will also
officeadministratorsandother Atlantamanagingpartner,who regionstoattend.“Itwasdefi- slightly less stilted” as ava- thattheycanwearon-screen, send them gift cards to local
boostersofworkplacebonho- hosted the event. He intro- nitelymemorable,”hesays. tars, she says, adding that it aswellassmallbottlesofalco- restaurantsandmugs.
miearerackingtheirbrainsfor duced the online ugly Christ- In the United Kingdom, wasnicenottofeelasvisible holtheycanconsumeduringa MarthaSantana,aprogram
waystoremotelycelebratethe massweatercompetition,com- LysaCampbell,chiefexecutive and self-conscious as she virtualparty,andgiftcardsfor project coordinator at Stan-
season,tryingtodustofftheir plete with a $500 cash prize. atRetailMarketingGroup,re- mightoncamera. takeout.Theparty’s entertain- ford Health Care, says a vir-
virtualplaybooksinlieuofthe Mr.Cunliffewasn’tsurethe centlyattendedhercompany’s Many are planning more mentwillfeatureapairofdu- tualpartyinsomewaysiseas-
traditionaltinsel,potlucksand event would be a success. “I virtualparty,inwhichemploy- traditionalvideocallconfabs, eling piano players who will ier on attendees. “You’re
officeChristmastrees.Itisn’t was thinking, is this gonna ees could pick avatars that but with a festive twist. Ellie takeaudiencerequests. already on your laptop, you
aneasytask. suck? Is this gonna be weird mingled and danced on a Connors, 56, a manager at a EfratRavid,thecompany’s don’thavetodriveanywhere,”
“I’d rather braid grass,” foreverybody?”hesays,add- beach—preprogrammed health-care company outside chief marketing officer, says saysMs.Santana,whoisplan-
says Kristelyn Berry, 33, an ingthatheenjoyedthenovelty dancesincludedthe“Gangnam Ithaca, N.Y., is planning to the masquerade masks will ning her department’s party
eventsspecialistintheUniver- of the event and appreciated Style”horse-ridingmove—and make paper snowflakes and help create a festive feeling, aroundlunchtime.“Also,itis
sity of Southern California’s how it made it possible for watchedacomedyshow. playatriviagameinavirtual and have a bonus: “They will inthemiddleoftheworkday,
accounting department who peopleindifferentgeographic “We were all actually gathering with co-workers. helpmakesurethat100%will so—noexcuses.”
A9A|Friday,December11,2020 THEWALLSTREETJOURNAL.
NY *****
GREATER NEW YORK
Jersey City Marks Grim Anniversary
Ayearaftershooting, Areportontheresponseto
the2019attackconductedby
mayornoteseffortsto
anoutsidecompanyprovided
improvesecurityand direction to alter JCPD poli-
ciesandtactics,Mr.Sheasaid.
communityrelations
And the department con-
ducted interviews with more
BYBENCHAPMAN than900officerstohelphone
strategiesformassshootings.
JerseyCityofficialssaythey Changingconditionsinthe
havetrainedpoliceandengaged cityinthewakeoftheMay25
communities to guard against killingofGeorgeFloydinMin-
future incidents of domestic neapolis police custody and
terrorismafteramassshooting the pandemic also have in-
targetedthecity’sJewishcom- formed changes in protocols,
munityoneyearago. Mr.Sheasaid.“Myselfandthe
Two shooters went on an police director met with just
hourslongrampageinthecity’s abouteveryofficerinthede-
Greenville section, killing po- partmentandaskedthemwhat
liceDetectiveJosephSealsina theythoughtofboththeattack
cemetery before besieging a itself,theaftermath,Covid-19,
koshergrocerystoreandkill- howwe’veresponded,”hesaid.
ingthreebystanders.Duringa Since then, the city began
firefight with police, the two dispatchingtwoofficersineach
perpetratorswerekilled. SScar,changingapolicywhereof-
The assailants, David An- REficers conducting daytime pa-
P
dersonandFrancineGraham, Dtroltoursdroveincarsalone.
used high-powered rifles in ATEThe department has also ex-
theirattackandhadoriginally SSOCIpandeditsuseofvideocameras
intended to strike a Jewish G/Ainpublicspaces,Mr.Sheasaid.
day school near the grocery, NI City officials marked the
WE
officialssaid.Avandrivenby shooting anniversary with a
H
Mr.AndersonandMs.Graham SETmemorial service Thursday.
was found to contain an un- FamilyandfriendsofDetectiveJosephSealsleavethecemeteryafterlayingawreathduringaceremonytohonorhiminJerseyCity. Members of the city’s Jewish
detonatedpipebomb.Officials community planned a virtual
saidthetwohadplannedthe strengthen tactical prepared- provementsintechnologyand and federal law enforcement, monitoredsocialmediaandin- Thursday night memorial
attackformonthswhiletravel- ness,Mr.Fulopsaid,byholding addedmanpower,reducingthe JerseyCityPoliceDepartment cidents of graffiti for anti-Se- hosted by Congregation B’nai
ingandlivinginBayonne,N.J., meetingswithcommunitylead- city’smurderratebyredeploy- officerscontainedtheshooting. miticcontentandhavedetected Jacob, a temple located in
andOhio,andhadahistoryof ers and residents, and imple- ingofficersandbuildinganet- Sincethen,Mr.Fulopsaid, noincreaseinhatefulmessag- Greenville.RabbiLeanaMoritt
makingstatementsagainstpo- mentingtrainingforofficers. workofpolicevideocamerasto city officials have held meet- ing, said James Shea, Jersey of Temple Beth-El said mem-
liceandJewishpeople. “We’ve done some things monitorareasbesetbyviolence. ingswithmembersoftheJew- City’sdirectorofpublicsafety. bers of Jersey City’s Jewish
MayorStevenFulop,whois thatarevery,veryvisibletothe Thoseeffortsweretestedon ishcommunityandotherresi- Mr. Shea, who previously community felt supported by
Jewish,saidinaninterviewthat public,andsomethingsbehind Dec.10,2019,whenofficersre- dentstoincreaseawarenessof servedasadeputychiefinthe efforts made by law enforce-
the incident left deep wounds thescenes,thatreallybuildthe spondedtothemassshooting, anti-Semitismandfosterrela- New York Police Department ment, but residents remain
across the city, traumatizing support and framework to engaginginafirefightwiththe tionshipsinthecity’sdiverse and led its Joint Terrorism waryofthepotentialforanti-
Jewish residents, members of makesurethatwecontinueto two heavily armed attackers population, including with Task Force, said Jersey City Semitism. “We’re excruciat-
law enforcement and those in beawelcomingcommunityto who had occupied the kosher members of the large Black policeofficershavesincepar- inglyawareoftheanti-Jewish
thecity’sBlackcommunity. everybody,”themayorsaid. market,killingthreebystand- communitythere. ticipatedinadditionaltraining rhetoric that has been on the
Inthemonthssincetheat- WhenMr.Fuloptookoffice ers. With assistance from the The mayor said he believes provided by former Navy increasesincelastDecemberin
tack,cityofficialshaveworked in2013heundertookaneffort New Jersey State Police, the widespreadanti-Semitismisn’t SEALstopreparethemforac- thecountry,notnecessarilyin
to counter anti-Semitism and to reduce crime through im- New York Police Department athreatinhiscity.Officialshave tive-shooterscenarios. JerseyCity,”RabbiMorittsaid.
Virus Poses Challenges
For Immigrant Artists
BYCHARLESPASSY Nevertheless, the report, “Immigrant artists are at
whichderiveditsfiguresfrom thenexusofthings,”hesaid.
NewYorkCityishometoa U.S.CensusBureaudata,sug- Still, the report and Mr.
sizableandever-growingpop- geststhatthecity’sartsscene Dvorkin make clear that such
ulationofartistsfromabroad, is becoming more multicul- individualsfaceadoubleseries
accordingtoanewreport.But turalthaneverandmorevital ofdifficulties.Asimmigrants,
they face myriad challenges, asaresult. theymustcontendwithfinding
particularlyduringthecorona- The report also cites the theirwayinaplacewherethey
virus pandemic, that may af- prominentrolethatgroupsand maynotknowthelanguageor
fect their ability to continue organizationsthatpresentNew way of life, to say nothing of
workingandlivingwithinthe York’s foreign-born artists, issuesfacedbythosewhoare
fiveboroughs,thestudynotes. suchasFlushingTownHallin undocumented.Asartists,they
Thereport,fromtheCenter Queens and the Manhattan- must grapple with the peren- MED
for an Urban Future, a New based Center for Traditional nialchallengeofhowtoearna M
A
York-basedthinktankdevoted MusicandDance,aretakingin livingdoingtheircraft,which OH
M
to planning and economic is- shapingthecity’sculturallife. oftenmeansfindingnonartistic AY
sues, chronicles a remarkable EliDvorkin,thecenter’sedi- jobstopaytherent. TIJ
riseinthecity’scommunityof torialandpolicydirector,said The pandemic has only ex- TijayMohammed,borninGhana,saysthereisaconstantadjustmenttolivinginanewcountry.
immigrant artists. Since 1990, itisperhapsonlynaturalthat acerbated the challenges, the
theirnumbershavegrown69% foreign-bornartistsshouldbe reportnotes.ItcitesTijayMo- alsohasseensalesforhiswork from all zero,” he said in an present their work. It also
to about 51,000 today. That seeingtheirnumbersandinflu- hammed,aGhana-bornmulti- dropduringthepandemic. interview. callsfortheestablishmentof
compareswitha30%increase ence grow in the city, given mediaartistwhonowcallsthe Mr. Mohammed, who Thereportmakesthecase newimmigrantartscentersin
inU.S.-bornartistsinthecity New York’s history as a place Bronxhome,asatellingexam- movedtothecityaboutseven that immigrant artists need all five boroughs. Such goals
during the same period, al- thatwelcomesbothimmigrants ple. Mr. Mohammed has lost yearsago,alsosaidthereisa greater support in a number could be hampered by the fi-
though the U.S.-born group is andthosewhopursuecareers $12,000inincomeduetocan- constantadjustmenttoliving of ways, including increased nancial difficulties the city
stilldecidedlylarger,atabout in music, dance, theater and cellationsofarts-relatedteach- in a place that isn’t your na- funding from the city to faces coming out of the pan-
124,000. otherartisticendeavors. ingandotheropportunities.He tivecountry.“It’slikestarting groupsandorganizationsthat demic,Mr.Dvorkinsaid.
School Debates Best Way City Seeks
To Gauge
To Test Students for Covid-19
Learning
BYSARAHKROUSE whichreliesonsalivasamples thecity’sDepartmentofEdu-
collectedathomeandlooksfor cation. The school is run by Loss Gap
HunterCollegeElementary the virus’s genetic material, the City University of New
Schoolteachersandadminis- has been conducted weekly York system, not the Depart-
tratorstussledoverpandemic- since October and will this mentofEducation,butunion BYLESLIEBRODY
relatedsafetymeasuresahead monthoccurtwiceaweek. leaderssayitshouldhavethe
ofitsreopeninglastMonday, “It seemed crazy to me to sameapproachtoregulartest- NewYorkCityplanstoad-
including how frequently to nottrytofigurethatout,be- ingasotherpublicschools. minister new low-stakes as-
teststudentsforthecoronavi- causeit’sasolvableproblem,” The education department sessments to public-school
rustoavoidoutbreaks. saidAndréFenton,theparent modeinvolvesrandomlysam- studentstogaugethedepthof
TheeliteManhattanschool, who crafted the testing plan pling20%ofstudentsandstaff learninglossfromtraumaand
which counts Broadway com- andfoundalabtoprocessthe onceaweekforindividualPCR school closures during the
poserLin-ManuelMirandaand samplesinMirimusInc. testingthatreliesonshallow Covid-19 pandemic, officials
SupremeCourtJusticeElenaKa- The PTA-backed testing is nasalswabscollectedbymedi- saidThursday.
ganamongitsalums,reopened calprofessionalsonsite. Mayor Bill de Blasio said
withmanyotherpublicschools Having DOE-led testing at thedistrictwouldalsoexpand
after rising Covid-19 cases Negotiationsare the New York elementary itsdigitalcurriculaand“par-
promptedthemayortoclosein- school randomizes the selec- ent university” training to
emblematicof
personlearninglastmonth. tion of students, who come helpfamiliesunderstandhow
At the heart of the recent strugglesseen fromacrossthecity,saidBar- theycansupportchildren’sac-
testing tension: How many baraBowen,presidentofPro- ademics.
acrossthecountry.
students learning in person fessional Staff Congress, the Thisweekmanychildrenin
should be tested, how fre- unionrepresentingtheschool’s preschoolthroughfifthgrade,
quently to do so to prevent teachers. It also involves a andthosewithadvancedspe-
outbreaks,andwhoshouldbe medicalprofessionaltooversee cialneeds,returnedtoin-per-
responsibleformanagingit? paidforbytheparentsgroup samplecollection,keepshealth sonlearningafterclassrooms
ThenegotiationsatHunter and has cost about $5,300 a information private and in- wereclosedNov.19amidris-
College Elementary are em- month.Participationhasbeen volvesconsentforms,shesaid. ing coronavirus-infection
blematic of the struggles morethan50%ofelementary- The union pressed CUNY rates. Grades six through 12
schoolsacrossthecountryare schoolstudentseachweekand management for the testing, are virtual indefinitely. Stu-
experiencing as parents and ashighas70%,organizerssay. which is mandatory for any dents missed months of in-
educatorsattempttokeepstu- Testsareruningroupsof24 students who attend in per- person classes when schools
dentslearninginpersonsafely. andprocessedagaininsmaller son,tobevoluntaryforteach- wentremote-onlylastMarch.
A Hunter College Elemen- groupsifapositivesampleis ers,shesaid. District officials had few
tary parent spent months de- detectedtoisolatetheinfected HunterCollegeElementary detailsaboutwhatkindofas-
velopingananonymous,pooled sample. School administrators and sessments would be used to
Covid-19PCRtestingprogram The union representing CUNY management said they examine learning loss, when
backed by the parent-teacher Hunter College Elementary supportmanytestingoptions they would be given or what
association that is available Schoolteacherscalledforthe andhadalreadyarrangedfree, theywouldcostthecity.They
free on a voluntary basis to implementation of another weekly testing at a nearby saideducatorswillvettheop-
studentsandstaff.Thetesting, testing program managed by hospitalforstudentsandstaff. tions.