Hello! Liberté, égalité, upcyclé… the French government is subsidizing the cost of clothing repairs to cut waste and pollution from the textile industry — simple restitching will see a $6 subsidy and resoling shoes could score citizens $25 off. Today we’re exploring:
It’s HOT
A punishing heat wave is currently sweeping across much of Europe, North America, and Asia, shattering records in cities throughout the Northern Hemisphere, less than two weeks after the global average temperature reached its highest level on record.
On Tuesday, Phoenix experienced an unprecedented 19th consecutive day of temperatures surpassing 110 degrees Fahrenheit, breaking a 49-year-old record. On the same day, Beijing recorded 27 days of 95°F+ temperatures, also setting a new record for the city. The situation is no better in Italy, where almost all major cities are under red alert for extreme heat, with local media referring to this relentless heatwave as “settimana infernale” — or the “week of hell”.
Elsewhere, Iran witnessed temperatures soar to 152°F on Sunday, a figure that scientists say is on the verge of the limits of human survival, and China recorded its highest-ever temperature of 126°F.
Lots of hot air
Amidst this blazing heat, John Kerry, President Biden's special envoy for climate change, has jetted to Beijing to meet with China's premier to discuss cooperation on global warming. Both nations, as the world's largest carbon emitters, play a pivotal role in the energy transition that many see as necessary to prevent such records from being shattered year after year.
N.B. We've plotted the data from the Climate Change Institute from the University of Maine, providing a daily "unofficial" snapshot of temperatures as estimated from their Climate Forecast System. Other data sources, like the NOAA, are considered the gold standard in temperature data, but are not as timely. That said, data from EU institutions has found similarly anomalous results in recent days.
Peacocking
Peacock is the latest video-on-demand service to dip its toe in the stream of price hikes that have hit the industry recently, announcing across-the-board increases for the first time since launching in 2020.
Starting August 17th, current subscribers will see the cost of the Premium service go up $1 to $5.99 a month, while Premium Plus subscribers (who get fewer ads and downloadable episodes) will see their bills increase from $9.99 to $11.99.
Upstream
Peacock was one of the last bastions of the streaming scene that hadn’t upped costs for customers, with rival platforms Disney+, Netflix, Paramount+, Max, and Apple TV+ all increasing prices in the last 2 years. Execs at the Comcast-owned streamer explained that the move will allow them to “continue to invest in the best user experience and the highest-quality content while remaining competitive in the marketplace”.
In truth, the price hikes couldn’t come soon enough for the service that boasts over 80,000 hours of film and TV content as well as live sports such as the English Premier League and WWE. While subscribers have grown in recent years, losses incurred by the streamer, which has spent heavily to secure content, have mounted even more quickly. In the first quarter of 2022, the platform lost $456 million — a figure that ballooned to $704 million for the same period this year.
Even with the increased price point, Comcast and NBCUniversal chiefs are expecting things to get worse before they get better, forecasting losses to peak at ~$3 billion for 2023.
Buffering
When the pandemic hit, many of us instinctively reigned in our spending — partly out of choice, and partly because there weren’t a lot of fun things to splurge on. That set of circumstances coincided with stimulus checks and tax credits in April 2021, leading to many Americans building up healthier-than-usual cash balances in their bank accounts.
However, new data from JPMorgan reveals that much of the buffer has now disappeared.
Indeed, although US households still hold approximately 10% to 15% more cash in their savings accounts than before the pandemic, analysis of 9 million Chase customers reveals that the median account balance has dropped significantly in the last 2 years. That could help explain why the much-feared recession has yet to materialize, as consumers have had strong reserves to combat rampant inflation and rises in borrowing costs.
Interestingly, the trend is seen across all income brackets. The nation's top quarter of earners have seen their savings accounts decline from a median high of nearly $12,000 to $9,000, as of March this year — though their 25% decrease is a smaller relative drop than that experienced by lower earners. Indeed, people in the lowest income quartile — who likely have to allocate a larger portion of their income to essentials — have seen a 41% decline since their savings peaked.
Easier said than saved
As inflation subsides and real wages begin to rise, people could start rebuilding their savings again. However, with student loan payments set to restart in October, and other pandemic-era safety net programs ending this fall, that may be easier said than done.
• The “holy grail” among iPhone collectors — a 4GB, unopened first edition — just fetched $190,000 at auction, more than 300x the amount it was bought for back in 2007.
• Remote work could wipe out $800 billion of office value in 9 global cities by 2030, according to a new McKinsey report.
• Just 1% of US homes have changed hands so far in 2023, the slowest turnover rate in at least 10 years.
• Singapore passports just became the most powerful in the world after toppling Japan, allowing holders visa-free access to 192 countries.
• Great visual deep dive on shifting global demographics and how they will change the world.
• How does China feel about the rest of the world?
Off the charts: It's Barbie vs. Oppenheimer for the summer blockbuster title: but which one is generating the most hype online? [Answer below].
