I can’t keep writing every week about how extreme the weather is everywhere, so let’s just get this over with.
- July was the hottest month in 125,000 years.
- Residents were livid after China suffered massive floods and some of the heaviest rain in a century, with more on the way.
- California’s high desert, where plant cover is so sparse it rarely burns, became the location of the state’s biggest fire.
- Canada’s wildfires have torched an area almost five times the size of Belgium with more than 600 fires out of control.
- After a few days respite, Portugal and southern Spain are bracing for more extreme heat.
- Iran declared a two-day holiday due to health risks as an “unprecedented” heatwave pushed temperatures to 50C.
- Buenos Aires registered its hottest Aug. 1 in 117 years of data.
- The temperature in Vicuna, high in the Chilean Andes, exceeded 38C — in the middle of winter.
I could go on, but it gets depressing. Instead let’s ease into the weekend with something less stressful, such as returning full-time to the office, identity theft, internet-addicted kids and murder.
It was a topsy-turvy week in markets, with burned bulls and bouncing bonds.
Teen gamers stole $24 million from crypto promoter Michael Terpin using a low-tech SIM-swap. When he went to war to get it back, he found some surprising allies.
Speaking of crypto, take a look inside Sam Bankman-Fried’s penthouse and private jet in the days before his empire fell.
In China, new central bank chief Pan Gongsheng met with property developers in the latest effort to glean opinions about financing difficulties and moribund markets.
Japan’s top financial watchdog is examining how Credit Suisse’s riskiest debt was sold to investors as the fallout ripples through its financial sector.
For one group, the long arm of government control in China is getting stronger. Here’s a way to unglue your kids from their phones.
Murder, money and mystery. Almost six years after two of the wealthiest murder victims in history were found by their pool, police are still looking for the killers.
Well done Jamaica, South Africa and the other 14 teams to make it to the knock-out stage of the Women’s World Cup. The battle starts today.
WFH holdouts took another hit. A study by economists at MIT and UCLA found that new hires in India randomly assigned to work from home full-time are 18% less productive than those in the office.
In the market for a prestige motor? Meet the women spicing up Cadillac’s new flagship vehicle, which sports next-gen hands-free driver assistance, a 55-inch digital dashboard and a smart glass roof that tints at a touch.
Have a Lucullan weekend.
