Biden Plans to Split Spending Plan in Two – Wall Street Journal, 3/29/2021

• President Biden plans to split up his next big government-spending push into two programs and will lay out his vision for an infrastructure-focused first proposal, including green-energy programs, at an event in Pittsburgh this week, a top administration official said Sunday.
• The second proposal, which the administration plans to release in April, would focus more on child care and healthcare programs, among other priorities for the administration, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on “Fox News Sunday.”
• At some point the administration plans to propose tax increases on higher-income households and businesses to help pay for the programs, though it has yet to lay out its tax strategy or how it will fit together with the next two proposals.
• Some Democrats believe it would be easier to get Republican support for infrastructure investments in a separate bill and then the administration can pursue its other priorities, including tax measures, through reconciliation, the process which allows the Senate to pass legislation tied to the budget with a simple majority, rather than the 60 votes most bills require.

New Trade Representative Says U.S. Isn’t Ready to Lift China Tariffs – Wall Street Journal, 3/29/2021

• The U.S. isn’t ready to lift tariffs on Chinese imports in the near future, but might be open to trade negotiations with Beijing, according to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai.
• In her first interview since Senate confirmation, Ms. Tai said she recognized that the tariffs can exact a toll on U.S. businesses and consumers, though proponents have said they also help shield companies from subsidized foreign competition.
• “No negotiator walks away from leverage, right?” she said.
• Under President Donald Trump, the U.S. placed tariffs on about $370 billion of goods from China annually, or roughly three-quarters of its exports to the U.S. by value, as part of a trade war aimed at getting China to drop trade barriers.
• China retaliated with tariffs on $110 billion of U.S. goods—an even higher percentage of what the U.S. exports to China.
• During her confirmation hearing, Ms. Tai said she would enforce the trade deal, although she didn’t say how. The accord also calls for the USTR to meet every six months with a Chinese vice premier, in this case Liu He, who negotiated the deal.
• Although the meeting is two months overdue, no session has yet been set.

Pandemic Accelerates Retirements, Threatening Economic Growth – Wall Street Journal, 3/29/2021

• The proportion of older workers participating in the labor force is hovering at its worst level since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, raising the prospect that many of these Americans may have permanently left the workforce, potentially impairing future economic growth.
• The labor force participation rate—the proportion of the population working or seeking work—for Americans age 55 and older has fallen from 40.3% in February of 2020 to 38.3% this February—representing a loss of 1.45 million people from the labor force.
• The participation rate initially fell much more for prime-age workers, those between ages 25 and 54, from 82.9% in February last year to 79.8% in April, but has since jumped 1.3 points, to 81.1% in February of this year.
• By contrast, participation for older workers has shown no rebound from last spring.
• The proportion of the working-age population not in the workforce due to retirement rose to 19.3% in the fourth quarter of 2020 from 18.5% a year earlier, just before the pandemic, according to government data compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
• That is roughly 2.4 million workers who left the labor force due to retirement since the pandemic’s onset, more than double the number who did so in 2019, according to Ms. Boussour’s analysis.

EUROPE & WORLD

Chinese EV maker BYD profit up 162% in 2020 – Reuters, 3/29/2021

• Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD, which is backed by billionaire Warren Buffett, on Monday reported a 162% growth in 2020 net profit as it became a major mask maker amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
• BYD, which rolled out a customized EV model for ride-hailing services with China’s Didi Chuxing last year, said 2020 revenue dropped 22.6% to 156.6 billion yuan. Analysts expected revenue of 148.76 billion yuan.
• The Shenzhen-based car company, which has partnerships with Japan’s top automaker Toyota and German Daimler in China, sold 426,972 vehicles in 2020, 7.5% lower from a year earlier.
• BYD reported 4.23 billion yuan ($643.75 million) net profit in 2020, up from 1.61 billion yuan in 2019.
• That compared with a 4.6 billion yuan net profit estimated by 22 analysts, according to Refinitiv data.

Malaysia’s AirAsia posts record quarterly loss – Reuters, 3/29/2021

• Malaysia’s budget airline AirAsia Group reported a record quarterly loss on Monday, as depreciation and impairments deepened the impact of lockdowns, but said it was confident of a full recovery in two years’ time.
• Revenue fell 92% to 267.4 million ringgit as capacity shrank by 88% compared to a year ago, mainly because of lower capacity in Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia, as international borders remained closed, it said in stock exchange filing.
• AirAsia Group reported a 90% fall in passengers compared to a year ago, resulting in load factor, a measure of how full planes are, dropping 15 percentage points to 67%.
• Net loss in the October-December period widened to 2.44 billion ringgit ($590.72 million) versus 384.4 million ringgit a year earlier, overtaking the 1.33 billion ringgit loss estimated in a Refinitiv poll.

Exclusive: Italy to cut 2021 GDP forecast to 4.1%, raise 2022 to 4.3% – sources – Reuters, 3/29/2021

• Mario Draghi’s government expects Italy’s virus-hit economy to grow by 4.1% this year and 4.3% in 2022, three sources close to the matter told Reuters ahead of official publication of the new forecasts next month.
• The 2021 forecast is a steep downward revision from the 6% growth that had been penciled in by the previous government of Giuseppe Conte, which collapsed in January, while the 2022 projection is above Conte’s target of 3.8%.
• Both forecasts remain above those of the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the Bank of Italy, which all currently see Italian growth below 4% this year and next.
• Italy’s economy, which shrank by a post-war record of 8.9% in 2020, is still struggling under the weight of the coronavirus pandemic. Much of the country remains in lockdown to try to tame a third wave, with around 20,000 new infections a day.

Myanmar Protesters Return After Security Forces Kill at Least 90 People – Wall Street Journal, 3/29/2021

• Protesters returned to the streets of Myanmar after soldiers and police gunned down at least 90 people across the country in the bloodiest day since the military began its violent campaign to crush opposition to last month’s coup.
• Among those killed on Saturday were six children between the ages of 10 and 16 as security forces opened fire in residential areas and into homes, said the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a nonprofit that monitors arrests and fatalities.
• The nonprofit group recorded gunfire and violence against protesters in 40 locations across the country on Saturday, including the two largest cities Yangon and Mandalay, and said the death toll was likely higher than the 90 fatalities it had confirmed.
• The displays of force are intended to strike fear and suppress resistance to the Feb. 1 coup, which ended Myanmar’s decadelong shift toward democracy and returned the country to absolute military rule.

Covid-19 Variant Rages in Brazil, Posing Global Risk – Wall Street Journal, 3/29/2021

• Brazil is in the throes of a battle against the new Covid-19 variant from the Amazon that threatens to send shock waves across the globe.
• Home to less than 3% of the world’s population, Brazil currently accounts for almost a third of the daily global deaths from Covid-19, driven by the new variant. More than 300,000 have died, and daily deaths now top 3,000, a toll suffered only by the far more populous U.S.
• The so-called P.1 strain, present in more than 20 countries and identified in New York last week, is up to 2.2 times more contagious and as much as 61% more able to reinfect people than previous versions of the coronavirus, according to a recent study.
• Researchers said preliminary studies suggest the existing vaccines being rolled out across the world are effective on P.1, but further studies are needed to check if their efficacy is reduced with the new variant.

Damage from fire at Renesas chip factory worse than first thought – Reuters, 3/29/2021

• Renesas Electronics now believes damage from a fire at its chip-making plant was more extensive than first thought, the Nikkei daily newspaper reported on Monday.
• The company had initially said 11 machines were damaged, but the Nikkei reported that the number of inoperable machines was now believed to be around 17. A company spokeswoman would not confirm a specific number.
• The company has said it will take at least a month to resume production at its 300mm wafer line, but replacing damaged machines could take several months.
• The company accounts for 30% of the global market for microcontroller units used in cars, and two-thirds of the chips produced at the facility are for the auto industry.

Factmonster – TODAY in HISTORY

• For the first time in recorded history, Niagara Falls stopped flowing. An ice jam in the Niagara River above the rim of the falls caused the water to stop. (1848)
• The North America Act was passed by the British parliament, creating the dominion of Canada. (1867)
• William Calley was convicted of murdering 22 Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai massacre. (1971)
• The last U.S. troops left South Vietnam. (1973)