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SUMMARY  08SENATE DEAL SHOULD MAKE IT EASIER TO BUY ELECTRIC VEHICLES  38APPLE STILL THRIVING AS ECONOMY SLOWS, DESPITE 3Q PROFIT DIP  46WATCHOS 9 - HEALTH & FITNESS: THE NEXT LEAP FORWARD IN WEARABLE TECH 82CITIES FACE CRISIS AS FEWER KIDS ENROLL AND SCHOOLS SHRINK

CONGRESS OKS BILL TO AID COMPUTER CHIP FIRMS, COUNTER CHINA   18 UBER’S STOCK SURGES ON POSITIVE TRENDS DESPITE BIG Q2 LOSS   28 INFLATION WEIGHS ON BACK-TO-SCHOOL BUYING FOR MANY FAMILIES   70 NEW CRYPTO OVERSIGHT LEGISLATION ARRIVES AS INDUSTRY SHAKES   96 FAA CLEARS BOEING TO RESUME DELIVERY OF 787 DREAMLINERS   106 CELLPHONE, WI-FI SERVICE EXPANDING ACROSS NYC SUBWAY SYSTEM   114 ELON MUSK’S TECH ALLIES MIFFED ABOUT TWITTER SUBPOENAS   118 ROBINHOOD CUTS 23% OF ITS WORKFORCE AS FEWER USERS TRADE   122 AIRBNB POSTS 2Q PROFIT OF $379 MILLION ON RECORD BOOKINGS   128 THIS YEAR’S SUMMER TRAVEL FOMO IS REAL   132 BARCELONA AUCTIONS NFT OF ICONIC CRUYFF GOAL FOR $693,000   140 GREAT VOICE CAST ANCHORS ‘DC LEAGUE OF SUPER-PETS’   160 OLIVER JACKSON-COHEN CHARMS, MYSTIFIES IN THRILLER ‘SURFACE’   182 EVEN SIMPLE EXERCISE MAY HELP AGING BRAIN, STUDY HINTS   188 CHINA BLOCKS SOME TAIWAN IMPORTS BUT AVOIDS CHIP DISRUPTIONS   200 MUSIC   144 MOVIES & TV SHOWS   152 TOP 10 ALBUMS   172 TOP 10 MUSIC VIDEOS   174 TOP 10 TV SHOWS   176 TOP 10 BOOKS   178 TOP 10 SONGS   180





SENATE DEAL SHOULD MAKE IT EASIER TO BUY ELECTRIC VEHICLES 08

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The surprise deal by Senate Democrats on a slimmed-down bill to support families, boost infrastructure and fight climate change also is likely to jump-start sales of electric vehicles. The measure agreed to by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and holdout Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia would give EV buyers a $7,500 tax credit starting next year, through the end of 2032. There’s also a new $4,000 credit for those buying used EVs, a move to help the middle class go electric. But as things often go in Washington, there are a bunch of strings and asterisks. To be eligible, the electric vehicle has to be assembled in North America, and there are limits on annual income for buyers. There also are caps on the sticker prices of new EVs — $80,000 for pickups, SUVs and vans, and $55,000 for other vehicles — and a $25,000 limit on the price of used electric vehicles. Still, even with the restrictions, the credits should help stimulate electric vehicle sales, which already are rising as automakers introduce more models in different sizes and price ranges, said Jessica Caldwell, an analyst for Edmunds.com. “The tax credits for electric vehicles in the bill will benefit consumers and cut costs for low- and middle-income families,” the Sierra Club said of the measure, which still must be approved by both chambers. “We’re hoping for swift adoption.” For the first half of this year, electric vehicles accounted for about 5% of U.S. new vehicle 11

sales, with 46 models on sale. S&P Global Mobility expects that to hit 8% next year, 15% by 2025, and 37% by 2030. At present, many new EVs, including two of sales leader Tesla’s four models, wouldn’t be eligible for the credits because they’re priced higher than the bill’s limits, Caldwell said. But the number of eligible vehicles will grow as automakers roll out more mainstream EVs during the next few years, she said. “I would imagine that these price brackets will become a lot more realistic in the coming years when you probably have more vehicles that fall within these parameters,” Caldwell said. Several automakers, including Ford and Hyundai, already have them in the $40,000s, and General Motors next year plans to start selling a small Chevrolet SUV for about $30,000 with about 300 miles of range per charge. Also, there aren’t many used EVs priced under $25,000 yet, and those that are mainly are older, with lower ranges per charge, Caldwell said, noting that a 5-year-old Chevrolet Bolt small electric car — one of the lowest-priced EVs on the road — is likely to cost more than $25,000. “It seems like that is something that should potentially be revisited for it to make more sense given today’s market,” she said. To get the credit, buyers of new EVs can’t have modified adjusted gross incomes of more than $300,000 per year if filing joint tax returns, $225,000 for a head of household, and $150,000 for all taxpayers not in the first two categories. For used EVs, income limits are $150,000 if filing a joint return, $112,500 for a head of 12

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household, and $75,000 for others not in the first two categories. The bill also removes caps on the number of tax credits each manufacturer can offer. General Motors, Tesla and Toyota all have exceeded the cap and can’t offer any credits now under a previous measure. But other manufacturers still offer them. Also, more than half the value of battery components have to be manufactured or assembled in North America to get the full credit. And at least 40% of the minerals used in batteries must come from either the U.S. or a country with which it has a free trade agreement. Those percentages increase gradually over the years, and minerals recycled from used batteries in North America also qualify. Credits would also go to buyers of hydrogen fuel cell and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Plug-ins can travel on electric power alone for several miles before the gas-electric hybrid powertrain kicks in. The EV tax credits are much smaller than several Democratic legislators from automaking states had proposed earlier. Gone are extra credits for EVs made in the U.S. by union workers. 15





CONGRESS OKS BILL TO AID COMPUTER CHIP FIRMS, COUNTER CHINA The House passed a $280 billion package to boost the semiconductor industry and scientific research in a bid to create more high-tech jobs in the United States and help it better compete with international rivals, namely China. The House approved the bill by a solid margin of 243-187, sending the measure to President Joe Biden to be signed into law and providing the White House with a major domestic policy victory. Twenty-four Republicans voted for the legislation. “Today, the House passed a bill that will make cars cheaper, appliances cheaper, and computers cheaper,” Biden said. “It will lower the 18

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costs of every day goods. And it will create high- paying manufacturing jobs across the country and strengthen U.S. leadership in the industries of the future at the same time.” As the vote was taking place, Biden was discussing the economy with CEOs at the White House. During the event, he was handed a note informing him it was clear the bill would pass — a development that produced a round of applause before the tally was final. Republicans argued the government should not spend billions to subsidize the semiconductor industry and GOP leadership in the House recommended a vote against the bill, telling members the plan would provide enormous subsidies and tax credits “to a specific industry that does not need additional government handouts.” Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa., said the way to help the industry would be through tax cuts and easing federal regulations, “not by picking winners and losers” with subsidies — an approach that Rep. Joseph Morelle, D-N.Y., said was too narrow. “This affects every industry in the United States,” Morelle said. “Take, for example, General Motors announcing they have 95,000 automobiles awaiting chips. So, you want to increase the supply of goods to people and help bring down inflation? This is about increasing the supply of goods all over the United States in every single industry.” Some Republicans viewed passing the legislation as important for national security. Rep. Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said it was 21

critical to protect semiconductor capacity in the U.S. and that the country was too reliant on Taiwan for the most advanced chips. That could prove to be a major vulnerability should China try to take over the self-governing island that Beijing views as a breakaway province “I’ve got a unique insight in this. I get the classified briefing. Not all these members do,” McCaul said. “This is vitally important for our national security.” The bill provides more than $52 billion in grants and other incentives for the semiconductor industry as well as a 25% tax credit for those companies that invest in chip plants in the U.S. It calls for increased spending on various research programs that would total about $200 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The CBO also projected that the bill would increase deficits by about $79 billion over the coming decade. A late development in the Senate — progress announced by Democrats on a $739 billion health and climate change package — threatened to make it harder for supporters to get the semiconductor bill over the finish line, based on concerns about government spending that GOP lawmakers said would fuel inflation. Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., said he was “disgusted” by the turn of events. Despite bipartisan support for the research initiatives, “regrettably, and it’s more regrettably than you can possibly imagine, I will not be casting my vote for the CHIPS and Science Act today,” Lucas said. 22

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Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader in the House, likened the bill’s spending to “corporate welfare to be handed out to whoever President Biden wants.” Leading into the vote, it was unclear whether any House Democrats would join with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in voting against the bill; in the end, none did. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo talked to several of the most progressive members of the Democratic caucus in a meeting before the vote, emphasizing that the proposal was a critical part of the president’s agenda and that Democrats needed to step up for him at this important moment. Some Republicans criticized the bill as not tough enough on China, and GOP leaders emphasized that point in recommending a “no” vote. Their guidance acknowledged the threat China poses to supply chains in the U.S., but said the package “will not effectively address that important challenge.” But, as McCaul pointed out, China opposed the measure and worked against it. The bill includes a provision that prohibits any semiconductor company receiving financial help through the bill from supporting the manufacture of advanced chips in China. Zhao Lijian, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, commenting before the House vote, said the U.S. “should not put in place obstacles for normal science, technology and people-to- people exchanges and cooperation” and “still less should it take away or undermine China’s legitimate rights to development.” 25

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UBER’S STOCK SURGES ON POSITIVE TRENDS DESPITE BIG Q2 LOSS 28

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Uber’s effort to meld its pioneering ride-hailing service with food and freight delivery showed progress during the past quarter even though the company sustained a huge loss stemming from a sharp decline in its outside investments. Looking past Uber’s second-quarter loss of $2.6 billion announced Tuesday, Wall Street celebrated a significant milestone that raised hopes that Uber is on the verge of becoming a self-sustaining business. The good news arrived this week in the form of a key metric known as free cash flow. Uber generated $382 million in cash during the April- June period, the first quarter in the company’s 13-year history that it didn’t hemorrhage money. Uber has now been profitable for four consecutive quarters under a financial yardstick called EBIDTA, or “adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.” By that measure, Uber earned $364 million during the second quarter, breezing past industry analyst projections of $277 million, according to FactSet Research. Uber still sustained a massive loss that translated into $1.33 per share primarily caused by declines in Uber’s stake in Aurora, a self-driving car company, and a Singapore transportation service called Grab. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said that he is confident the company will build upon its momentum and possibly surpass a previously set goal of generating $1 billion in free cash flow annually. Khosrowshahi said he now believes Uber is in its strongest position since he was hired as the company’s top executive nearly five years 31

ago. Khosrowshahi took over after co-founder Travis Kalanick was pushed out amid a series of scandals, from sexual harassment claims and cover-ups, to allegations of stealing self-driving car technology. Shares of Uber Technologies Inc., based in San Francisco, jumped nearly 19% to close at $29.25 after the announcement. The stock is still down by 30% this year, and far below its peak of about $64 reached early last year. The downturn largely reflects ongoing skepticism about whether Uber will be able to keep charging high enough prices for rides and food delivery to consistently make money over the long term. Through most of its history, Uber had been able to lure customers to its services with low prices that were subsidized by the billions of dollars that it raised from venture capitalists and other investors before becoming a publicly traded company in 2019. Less than a year later, the pandemic hit and demand evaporated as government lockdowns corralled millions at home and people stopped driving. Uber’s ride-hailing service has now surpassed its pre-pandemic levels, even though Khosrowshahi told analysts that demand remains suppressed in several major U.S. cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle where large numbers of people continue to work remotely. Elsewhere, passengers are returning to Uber in droves and appear willing to pay for the higher fares that the service is charging even in the face of soaring inflation. 32

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Passengers took a total of 1.87 billion trips on Uber during the spring and early summer, a 24% increase compared with the same time last year. That’s about 21 million trips per day, on average. The volume also surpassed the 1.68 billion passenger trips that Uber provided during the second quarter of 2019 before the pandemic upended everything. Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives said the second quarter suggests Uber can “produce profits while navigating inflationary pressures and pockets of driver shortages that still linger in some cities.” The surge in ridership helped Uber more than double its revenue from the same time last year to nearly $8.1 billion. Uber’s higher fares and other incentives are making driving for the service a more attractive option, too. Drivers who work exclusively for the ride-hailing service are now making about $37 per hour while those that also spend some of the time on the food delivery side. 35





APPLE STILL THRIVING AS ECONOMY SLOWS, DESPITE 3Q PROFIT DIP Apple’s profit slipped during the past quarter, but the world’s largest technology company is holding up better than many of its peers as the economy teeters on the edge of a recession. While grappling with manufacturing headaches and inflation pressures that have vexed a wide range of businesses, Apple saw its profit for the April-June period decline by 10% while revenue edged up 2%. Both figures were better than analysts projected. The results announced for Apple’s fiscal third quarter weren’t a shock. That’s because Apple had already warned that its revenue would be 38

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Image: Mark Lennihan depressed by as much as $8 billion because of supply chain problems that have been compounded by pandemic-related shutdowns in Chinese factories that make iPhones and other Apple products. That scenario played out as expected in Apple’s fiscal third quarter. Earnings fell to $19.4 billion, or $1.20 per share, while revenue edged up to nearly $83 billion. The positive surprise helped boost Apple’s stock price by 3% in extended trading after the numbers came out. “The quarter shows that amid all this volatility in tech, Apple remains a fortress,” said Edward Jones analyst Logan Purk. As usual, Apple’s results were propelled by the iPhone, which posted a 3% gain in sales from the same time last year. Analysts had been bracing investors for a slight decline because of supply chain issues and the upcoming release of a new model this fall. It marked the seventh consecutive quarter that iPhone sales have increased. The ongoing demand for iPhones underscores the enduring appeal of a device that has helped has established Apple as the world’s most powerful tech company during the past 15 years. The device’s sales climbed, despite inflation hovering at its highest rate i n more than 40 years, a development that caused consumers to rein in their spending on a variety of discretionary items such as clothing and other home goods that enjoyed an uptick in demand during the pandemic. The troubles emerging in corporate earnings reports over the past two weeks — combined with other sobering data — have heightened 41

worries that the Federal Reserve Bank’s inflation-fighting increase in interest rates will shove the economy into a recession. That would weigh on corporate profits and already drooping stock prices. Apple CEO Tim Cook acknowledged that the Cupertino, California, company isn’t immune to the current economic turbulence squeezing consumer budgets, but maintained a mostly upbeat tone during a conference call. “When you think about the number of challenges in the quarter, we feel really good about the growth that we put up,” Cook said. So far, Cook said, inflation seems to be affecting Apple’s sales of wearable technology — a segment that includes the Apple Watch — more than those of the iPhone. In the past quarter, revenue in Apple’s wearables division fell 8% to $8.1 billion. On the upside, Apple expects supply-chain issues to ease during the current July- September quarter. If history is any guide, the release of its next iPhone model later this year could spur another flurry of upgrades. Apple expects its year-over-year revenue growth in the current quarter to exceed the past quarter’s 2% uptick, according to Luca Maestri, Apple’s chief financial officer. Tech stocks have been particularly hard hit by market jitters. The Nasdaq composite index, which is tethered to the tech industry’s fortunes, has fallen by 22% so far this year. Apple had held up far better than most of its tech peers, with its stock price declining 11% this year. 42

Image: Mladen Antonov 43





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watchOS 9 Health & fitness: The next leap forward in wearable tech 47

As Apple edges closer to the release of the Apple Watch Series 8 and a new rugged version for athletes, developers are testing watchOS 9. The update includes a host of features that will transform how you work out and communicate, making the Apple Watch even better. 48

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