 The Biden Administration faces pressure from Europe, South Korea, Japan, and the U.K. over the generous subsidies being offered to manufacturers of electric vehicles (EV). The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) includes economic incentives for carmakers that produce EVs in the U.S., which will harm EV manufacturing elsewhere, critics say. More: - Under the IRA, EV manufacturers are eligible for up to $7,500 in tax credits for each vehicle that goes through its final assembly process in North America.
- Many EVs sold in the U.S. are assembled overseas by foreign carmakers.
- The IRA mandates that EVs must have batteries that feature at least 50% U.S. content by 2024, and 100% U.S. content by 2028.
- The South Korean government has asked the Treasury Department, which is yet to issue guidelines for the tax credits, to interpret the IRA's provisions "in the least restrictive manner possible to minimize negative impact on foreign investment and resolve inconsistencies with U.S. international obligations.”
Zoom Out: - The EU argues that the current subsidy package could "trigger a harmful global subsidy race" for green technology manufacturing, possibly triggering "reciprocal or retaliatory measures" by allies.
- U.S. and EU officials are set to discuss the issue at a Dec. 5 meeting of the bilateral Trade and Technology Council.
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 The United Nations (UN) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that African nations are in desperate need of debt relief as poverty and food insecurity surge in the region due to higher fuel, food, and fertilizer prices. The number of East Africans dealing with acute food insecurity grew by 60% over the past year, reaching 82 million. In West Africa, there are now 43 million people struggling with food insecurity, up from 31 million a year ago. More: - Michael Dunford, Eastern Africa director for the UN World Food Programme, urged international organizations to provide cash and food handouts and invest in "social protection systems addressing humanitarian requirements."
- A pandemic-era program run by the IMF and the World Bank, which temporarily suspended debt payments for poor countries, expired at the end of 2021.
- A new "Common Framework" program proposed by G20 economies aims to streamline debt restructuring processes for poor nations.
- Razia Khan, Middle East and Africa Chief Economist at Standard Chartered Bank, said that efforts to relieve debt through the program have been slow.
- Khan suggested that some poor nations may need to undergo "deep restructuring" of their debt in order to secure capital or debt relief.
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Year-over-year inflation in the eurozone fell to 10% in November, declining for the first time since 2021. Eurozone inflation hit 10.6% in October, the highest mark in the history of the bloc. More: - Spain had the lowest inflation level in the eurozone in November, with prices rising by 6.6% on an annual basis.
- France, which previously had the eurozone's lowest inflation numbers, saw prices increase by 7.1% in November.
- According to preliminary data, Germany's annual inflation rate fell to 10% in November, from 10.4% a month earlier.
- Earlier this month, the European Commission said that it expects the eurozone to enter a recession this winter.
Zoom Out: - European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Monday that she doesn't believe that Europe has yet seen peak inflation.
- The drop in annualized inflation numbers in November - the first decline in 17 months for the eurozone - signals that the ECB may not hike rates as aggressively at its next meeting in December.
- The ECB hiked its benchmark rate by 50 basis points (bps) in July, and 75 bps both in September and October.
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 GOOD NEWS: Clinical trials indicate that a new drug can help slow the cognitive decline experienced by people in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. The drug, called lecanemab, is an antibody therapy that removes beta-amyloid protein clumps in the brain. In a clinical trial, the drug reduced the decline in patients' overall mental skills by 27% over 18 months. More: - The exact relationship between beta-amyloid clumps and Alzheimer's is unclear, but researchers say that the clumps play a role in the destruction of brain cells in people with inherited versions of Alzheimer's.
- Questions were raised about the safety of lecanemab after researchers said that the deaths of two trial participants might have been linked to the drug.
- Despite the high cost (between $12,000 and $36,000 per patient annually) and the potential side effects, Bart De Strooper of the UK Dementia Research Institute at University College London said that "this is the first drug that provides a real treatment option for Alzheimer patients.”
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 House Democrats elected Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York to become the party's next Minority Leader in Congress. Jeffries will be the first-ever African-American party leader in Congres. More: - Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts was elected as party whip, and California Rep. Pete Aguilar will become chairman of the party caucus.
- It will be the first time that the Democratic leadership in the House features no white men.
- All three are under 60 years old, and all ran unopposed after being unofficially endorsed by outgoing House Speaker and long-time Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi.
- Rep. Steny Hoyer stepped down as party caucus chairman following Pelosi's resignation announcement.
- Rep. James Clyburn, the former whip, said that he would allow another Democrat to take the whip position.
- Left-wing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) described the election as "the most significant generational change" for House Democrats in decades, but said the caucus would have benefitted from "a debate on what that means."
Zoom Out: - GOP House leader Kevin McCarthy is facing opposition from right-wing Republicans over his bid to become House Speaker.
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 Pictured: one of the earlier Yunxian skulls found at the site. An ancient skull found in China could have belonged to a member of the Homo erectus hominid species one million years ago. The skull, which was discovered in May, was found 35 meters away from two other skulls believed to have belonged to Homo erectus primates that were unearthed more than 30 years ago. More: - The skulls were all discovered in an excavation site west of Yunyang, formerly known as Yunxian, in the Chinese Hubei province.
- Unlike the two other skulls, Yunxian 1 and 2, which were damaged in the million years they spent underground, Yunxian 3 is in good condition.
- Researchers believe that members of the Homo erectus species - first discovered in the Indonesian island of Java - might have been the first early hominids to leave the African continent.
- Homo erectus skulls have been found in Africa, Asia, and potentially Europe, and the species is believed to have lived from 1.9 million years ago to 250,000 years ago.
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QUICK HITS - HubSpot and Brandwatch partnered this year to survey over 1,000 individuals across the U.S. to better understand consumer purchasing habits, thoughts and behaviors.*
- New York Stock Exchange president Lynn Martin said that initial public offering (IPO) proceeds are down by 93% this year, following a record year for IPOs in 2021.
- Kraken, the world's third-largest crypto exchange by volume, laid off 1,100 employees - approximately 30% of its workforce.
- Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly been offered a three-year deal worth more than £300M from the Al-Nassr club in Saudi Arabia. Ronaldo recently left Manchester United after agreeing to a mutual termination of his contract following public criticisms of the club and its manager.
- The Tunisian men's football team beat France 1-0 in a World Cup match on Wednesday, with French-born Wahbi Khazri scoring the game's only goal.
- Tech innovation is surging in education, finance, health care, and other industries. See what your competitors are building with Crowdbotics.*
*This is a sponsored post.
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 Francisca Sabasa y Garcia by Francisco Goya. 1808
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 |  | Daniel Smith is an Inside Analyst who currently resides in Miami, Florida. A native of Brooklyn, New York, Daniel spent the last four years as a PhD candidate in Politics and International Studies at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom. He is fascinated by tech, business, politics, venture capital, and everything in between. When he’s not writing for Inside he can be found kicking a ball on the nearest rugby pitch. Follow him on Twitter @DanSmithInside. |  | | Editor | Eduardo Garcia is a writer and editor based in New York. He is the author of "Things You Can Do," an illustrated book about climate action. Bylines in The New York Times, The Guardian, Slate, Scientific American, and others. In one of his previous lives, Eduardo worked as a Reuters correspondent in Latin America for nearly a decade. | |
Segment is an API-first analytics solution that empowers 15,000+ startups to scale their data infrastructure. | |
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