Lawmakers Reach Deal on Aid Package

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Last week: DJIA 30179.05 À 132.68 0.4% NASDAQ 12755.64 À 3.1% STOXX 600 395.90 À 1.5% 10-YR. TREASURY g 17/32 , yield 0.947% OIL $49.10 À $2.53 EURO $1.2258 YEN 103.32 Moderna Vaccine Begins Shipping Across U.S. What’s Lawmakers News Reach Deal on Business&Finance Aid Package nt’sJack Ma offered to Ahand over parts of the fintech giant to the Chinese BY ANDREW DUEHREN weekend. SenateMajority government as the belea- AND KRISTINA PETERSON Leader Mitch McConnell (R., guered billionaire tried to Ky.) on Sundayafternoon said salvagehis relationship with WASHINGTON—Lawmakers all outstanding issues were Beijing in early November. A1 reached afinal agreement on a settled. roughly $900 billion coronavirus “Atlong last we have the bi-  Semiconductor makers relief package, moving Congress partisan breakthrough the face the growing threat of close to approval of afresh infu- countryhas needed,” Mr. their customers making sion of aid to households,small McConnell said on the Senate their own chips tailored to businesses and schools after floor.“Nowweneed to cloud-computing and AI. A1 months of gridlock. promptly finalizetext, avoid  FIS and Global Payments Theemerging agreement is anylast-minuteobstacles and recently held unsuccessful expected to provide a$600 di- cooperatetomovethis legisla- talks foramergerdeal that rect check to manyAmericans, tion through both chambers.” could have been valued at $300 aweek in enhanced fed- Congresspassed a24-hour around $70 billion. B1 eral unemployment benefits extension of government fund- and aid forschools,vaccine ing Sundayevening,setting up  Enthusiastic Tesla in- distribution and small busi- votesonthe relief agreement vestors have helped accel- nesses. and broader spending bill for erate the run-up in the car NegotiatorsonSundayhad Monday. Theaid packageistied maker’s shares ahead of its been finalizing details forthe to aroughly $1.4trillion annual inclusion in the S&P 500. B1 rest of the bill aftersettling a spending package, and Con-  Thoma Bravo is buying disagreement on theFederal gresspassed aseries of tempo- property-management- Reserve’semergencylending rary spending bills in recent

software provider Real- OL powers settled earlier in the PleaseturntopageA4

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 Congress is poised to NCY Virus Va riant Spurs SA

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hundreds of billions dol- PA PACKED: The Moderna Covid-19 vaccine was prepared for shipping at a distribution center lars to business owners Ban on U.K. Travel in Olive Branch, Miss., on Sunday. Immunizations with it are slated to start Monday. A6 who took PPP loans. A4  Wistron apologized for Countries acrossEurope and strictions will continue intothe mishandling wagesatits beyond barred travelersfrom newyear.Thereisnoevidence iPhone plant in India after Britain on Sundayinaneffort to the newvariant causes more angryworkersdamaged its Hospitals RetreatFrom keep out a highly infectious new seriousinfections or will neu- facilities aweek ago. A14 strain of the coronavirus that is tralizethe vaccines,British sci- spreading rapidly in England. entistssay,but thereare con-  The pandemic blunted cerns it will makecontrolling the debut overseas of War- the virus’sspread lessmanage- ner Bros.’ highly anticipated EarlyCovid-19 Treatment By Daniel Michaels in Brussels and Jason able,evenwith avaccine. “Wonder Woman” sequel. B1 Douglas in London Viruses mutateconstantly and scientistsare on the alert World-Wide The British government on fornew mutations that may Changing practices appear to be improving outcomes for sickest Saturdaysaid the newstrain affect how the virus behaves. appeared to be spreading 70% Thenew strain hasn’t been  Lawmakersreached afinal BY MELANIE EVANS Now hospital treatment for the most criti- faster than earlier variants identified in the U.S. agreement on the $900 billion cally ill looks more like it did before the pan- and is responsible for a surge TheBritish government im- coronavirus relief package, Doctors are treating a new flood of criti- demic. Doctors hold off longer before placing in cases in London and itssur- posed a new lockdown on the moving Congresscloser to ap- cally ill coronavirus patients with treatments patients on ventilators. Patients get less rounding areas.Recorded affected regions,which in- proval of afresh infusion of aid from before the pandemic, to keep more pa- powerful sedatives, with doctors checking cases acrossthe U.K. in the cludes the closure of all non- aftermonths of gridlock. A1 tients alive and send them home sooner. more frequently to see if they can halt the week to Sundayrose 51% over essential retail, and aban- Last spring, with less known about the drugs entirely and dialing back how much the week before. PleaseturntopageA8  Countries across Eu- disease, doctors often pre-emptively put pa- air ventilators push into patients’ lungs with Theemergenceofthe vari- rope and beyond barred tients on ventilators or gave powerful seda- each breath. antpresentsaserious setback  Nursing home staff hesitate travelersfromBritain in an tives largely abandoned in recent years. The “Let us go back to basics,” said Dr. Ed- forsuppressing the pandemic on vaccine...... A6 effort to keep out a highly aim was to save the seriously ill and protect uardo Oliveira, executive medical director beforenew vaccines canbe  Companies ramp up testing infectious newstrain of the hospital staff from Covid-19. PleaseturntopageA16 rolled out,suggesting major re- to bring workers back...... A6 coronavirus that is spreading rapidly in England. A1  AU.S.panel recommended Small Businesses Squeezed that both the nation’soldest, Ant Group’s Ma Big-Tech most-vulnerable people and Small businesses that endured coronavirus shutdowns and front-line essential workers received government loans earlier this year now face another be offered the next placein obstacle: Banks don’t want to lend to them. B1 Challenge line for Covid-19 vaccines. A6 Made Offer in Bid Percentage of small ﬁrms thatgot  A congressional panel bank funding in the pastﬁve years issued a report document- Jolts Chip ing what it determined To Placate Beijing were safety-oversight Annual revenue of morethan $1 million Industry lapses by the FAA. A3 between  APentagon proposal to BY LINGLING WEI it stifled innovation. Now, the $100,000 57% of and $1 million put the nation’stop electronic regulatorshad called the meet- $100,000 BY ASA FITCH spy agency under civilian As Jack Ma wastrying to ing to voicetheir concerns or less 35% leadership drew bipartisan salvagehis relationship with about Ant’sbusinessmodel. Theworld’slargest semicon- criticism from lawmakers. A2 Beijing in early November,the His olive-branch offer at the 24% ductor companies faceagrow- beleaguered Chinese billionaire meeting failed at saving the ing competitivethreat: their  EU and British negotia- offered to hand over partsof IPO and Beijing has since biggest customersmaking their tors remained unable to Sources: Small BusinessCredit Survey,Federal ReserveBanks his financial-technologygiant, stepped up effortstorein in ownchips tailored to the super- makeadecisivebreak- Ant Group,tothe Chinese gov- China’s Big Tech giants. chargedareas of cloud comput- through in trade talks as the ernment, people with knowl- “Ant Group cannot confirm ing and artificial intelligence. Brexit transition period edge of the mattersaid. the details of the meeting with Chip making has long been nearsits end on Dec.31. A14 “You cantakeany of the regulatorsheld on Nov.2,2020, Alacazoom! Magic Acts Vanish ruled by big manufacturersand  Jupiter and Saturn will platforms Ant has, as long as because it is confidential,” a design houses such as Intel appear to nearly touch in the the countryneeds it,” Mr.Ma, companyspokesman said. From Theaters, Reappear Online Corp., Advanced MicroDevices night skyonthe winter sol- China’srichest man, proposed Thesuspension of Ant’s Inc.and graphics-chip maker sticeMonday, in an alignment at an unusualsit-down with sharesale of morethan $34 iii Nvidia Corp.Now Amazon.com that has occurred only twice regulators, the people said. billion that followedthe Nov.2 Inc., MicrosoftCorp.and Google since the Middle Ages. A3 Theoffer,not previouslyre- meeting was just the start. It Magicians go virtual, presenting tricky aregetting intothe game in the ported, appeared amea culpa wasfollowedbyabarrageof hunt forimproved performance of sortsfromMr. Ma as he actions against what is dubbed new challenges; levitation, mind-reading and lowercosts, shifting the CONTENTS Outlook...... A2 found himself facetofacewith the “platform economy,” or in- balanceofpowerinthe indus- Arts in Review... A19 Personal Journal A17-18 BusinessNews...... B3 Sports...... A20 officials from China’scentral ternet-based businesses cham- BY KATIE DEIGHTON Thestunt, which proves he tryand pushing traditional chip Crossword...... A20 Technology...... B4 bank andagencies overseeing pioned by large tech firms. cancorrectly guessthe animal makerstorespond by building HeardonStreet..... B9 U.S. News...... A2-6 securities,banking and insur- Mr.Xipersonally ordered Magician and mind-reader an audiencemember was morespecialized chips forma- Markets...... B8 Weather...... A20 ance.The Nov.2meeting took Chinese regulators to investi- Chris Coxspent last December thinking of,forms the finale of jor customers. Opinion...... A21-23 World News.... A11,14 placeafew days beforeAnt was gate the risks posed by Ant, on Broadway, and the one be- Mr.Cox’s newvirtual act. Amazon this month unveiled supposed to go public,inwhat Chinese officials with knowl- fore on the stageofthe Syd- “Howevermuch Itell my- anew chip that, it says,prom- > would have been the world’s edgeofthe mattersaid, and to ney OperaHouse.This year, self it’s just likedoing astage ises to speed up howalgorithms biggest initial public offering. shut down Ant’s IPO. he is performing from his show,” he said, “there’sabig- that use artificial intelligence Mr.Mahad angered Beijing People close to China’sfinan- sparebedroom in England’s gerpart of me that knows it’s learnfromdata. Thecompany by lashing out in aspeech in cial regulatorssay thereisno Buckinghamshire, taking off really not the same as doing a has already designed other pro- October at President Xi Jin- decision, fornow,totakeMr. his sweater in frontofhis stageshow.” cessorsfor itscloud-computing s 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved ping’s signaturecampaign to Ma up on his offer.One plan be- webcam to reveal aLycra leo- Magic has gone online,and arm, called Amazon WebSer- control financial risks,saying PleaseturntopageA11 tard emblazoned with atiger. PleaseturntopageA16 PleaseturntopageA2 P2JW356000-0-A00200-1------XA

A2 | Monday, December 21, 2020 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. U.S. NEWS

THE OUTLOOK | By Harriet Torry ECONOMIC CALENDAR

AYearThatWhipsawedEconomists MONDAY: A monthly survey of eurozone households is expected to record a weakening of All year, Loungani, an economist at As the Covid-19 pandemic hit measures never used before: in June said GDP would con- sentiment in the early weeks of economists, the International Monetary the U.S. in the spring, closing all nonessential busi- tract 6.5% in 2020.BySep- December, as worries about ris- central banks Fund who has writtenabout economists’forecastsfor nesses and schools and or- tember,they had revised ing coronavirus infections and and private economists’ tendency to growth in 2020 switchedto dering people to stay home. that up to a3.7%contrac- the prospect of a lengthening forecasters missthe magnitude of reces- expectations of adeep As economic activity came to tion, and at last week’spol- period of restrictions outweigh have strug- sions.“From my perspective, contraction.Theyimprovedas ascreeching halt, markets icymeeting,they revised it the boost to optimism from gled to predict the economic forecastershaveactually the year progressed. cratered, and economistsre- up further to a2.4%drop. availability of vaccines. impact of the Covid-19 pan- done agood job this year vised2020 U.S. growth to a Thesmaller-than-expected TUESDAY: U.S. existing- demic. relativetotheir past perfor- Grossdomestic product contraction of 4.9% in April, drop in 2020 has led them to home sales rose to a 14-year They went from barely mance.” growth estimates, 2020 then 6.6%inMay,the worst expect asmaller bounceback high in October, spurred on by registering it, to predicting 2% sincethe Great Depression. in 2021, when the Fednow low mortgage rates and a quest it would cause the worst he economythis year But economic activity sees growth of 4.2%, com- for more space. Economists are economic downturn since appeared to start on a 0 bounced back much more pared with 5% in June. estimating a step back in No- the Great Depression,to T vember as limited supplies and solid footing,coming quickly than expected, and something much milder,ona off 2.3% growth in 2019.In -2 as of December,economists he IMF in June ex- higher prices start to bite. Even par with the 2007-09 reces- TheWall Street Journal’s nowthink GDP will fall 2.7% pected the U.S. econ- so, the outlook for the market sion. Januarymonthly survey of this year,similar to the drop T appears robust. omytoshrink 8.2% in -4 Forecasters’ inability to economists,businessand ac- recorded in the fourth quar- 2020 and grow 5.4% in 2021. WEDNESDAY: U.S. jobless pin down howbusinesses ademic forecastersonaver- terof2008 from ayear ear- By October,the forecast had claims have been trending in the and shopperswould respond ageexpected grossdomestic -6 lier. improved to acontraction of wrong direction this month, a to the Covid-19 outbreak product to increase 1.9% in Whywas the Covid-re- 4.1% in 2020,but expected sign of rising layoffs heading echoes the black eyesuf- the fourth quarter of 2020 -8 lated toll lessbad than ini- growth in 2021 slipped to into the winter. Economists ex- feredbypollsters in this from the fourth quarter of JFMAMJJASOND tially feared? “I think that in 3.2%. pect applications for unemploy- year’s presidential election. 2019.That held steady in MONTHESTIMATEWAS MADE manycases the lockdowns “All countries arenow ment benefits to remain ele- Economistshad no com- February, even as theU.S. started to be reversed and facing what Iwould call ‘The vated in the week ended Dec. 19. Note:Change measured from the fourth parable eventstopredict ei- began to register itsfirst quarter of the prior year. activity returned,” said Mr. Long Ascent’—a difficult U.S. consumer spending is ther the path of the virus or coronavirus deaths. Source:WSJ Survey of Economists Loungani. climb that will be long,unexpected to fall for the first the measures governments In early March, they low- Another reason, said Jef- even, and uncertain,” IMF time since April amid a resur- would take in response.Now, ered expected growth mod- wasfeasible. At the depth of frey Frankel, aprofessor at Managing Director Kristalina gence of Covid-19 cases and fad- with infections and deaths estly,to1.2%. One reason for the SARS downturn during HarvardUniversity who has Georgieva said in early Octo- ing fiscal support for households surging again and as govern- the restraint: When the coro- the second quarter of 2003, studied economic forecast- ber. and businesses. Consumer mentsreimpose or weigh re- navirus pandemic emerged, Hong Kong’seconomy ing,was massivefiscal stim- Mr.Frankel said fiscal spending is the main driver of imposing restrictions,econo- some forecasterslooked to shrank 2.4% from the previ- ulus that lawmakersenacted stimulus nowremains essen- economic growth. mistsare again marking itsclosest modern equiva- ous quarter,beforegrowing in March to support the tial. Policymakerswho “pre- U.S. durable-goods orders down forecasts—though not lent forclues about howit 6.1% in the thirdquarter. economyand household in- maturely declared victory are expected to have risen for as drastically as earlier this would playout. In late2002 China’sgrowthslowed to comes. and stopped fiscal stimulus” the seventh straight month in year. and early 2003,severeacute 9.1% in the second quarter of “That wasasurprise in in the wake of the Great De- November, highlighting the man- Thepandemic wasa respiratorysyndrome 2003,when SARS peaked— the midst of apartisan Con- pression in 1937-1938,and in ufacturing sector’s relatively “very, very uncertain situa- emergedinsouthern China down from an 11.1% growth gress,” he said. 2011 afterthe 2007-09 reces- strong rebound from shutdowns tion,” and forecasters’ swing then spread to several other rate in the firstquarter. Thetwistsand turns of sion, ended up slowing the and supply-chain disruptions to very pessimistic and back countries,killing hundreds YetCovid-19 spread as- privateforecastswere economic recoveries,hesaid. during the spring. is “understandable behavior of people. ymptomatically and thus echoed by official bodies.In “I’m worried about adouble- U.S. new-home sales are ex- and good, because otherwise That experiencesuggested moreeasily than SARS,sty- March, Federal Reserveoffi- dip recession,” he added. pected to have fallen slightly in they’renot really calling it ashort, sharp shock to GDP mying containment efforts. cials didn’t issue their usual “We’renot out of the woods November as builders struggle as they see it,” said Prakash followedbyaquick rebound Countries responded with economic projections,then yet.” to keep up with demand. U.S. WATCH

PENTAGON King, an independentwho cau- cuses with Democrats, and Reps. Bid to Split Agencies MikeGallagher (R., Wis.) and Jim DrawsSome Criticism Langevin (D., R.I.)—said the proposal lackssupport. APentagon proposal to put —Dustin Volz the nation’stop electronic spy and Gordon Lubold agency under civilian leadership drew bipartisan criticism from ILLINOIS lawmakers who said the idea was ill-timed and againstthe law. CityAttorneyResigns The proposal, which would for- Over Botched Raid mally separatethe National Secu- rityAgency from U.S. Cyber Com- The cityofChicago’stop attor- mand, wascirculatedinrecent neyresigned Sundayinthe fallout days,according to twoU.S. offi- of abotched policeraid on the cials and another person familiar home of aBlack woman who with the matter.Itappears to be wasn’tallowedtoput on clothes adusted-off version of aprevi- beforebeing handcuffed. ously floatedproposal inside the Corporation Counsel Mark

CK Pentagon by then-Defense Secre- Flessner announced the move in TO tary Jim Mattis, according to one an email, saying he wasonly re- of the officials. cently involved with the legal

SHUTTERS Manycurrentand former offi- case connected to policevideo of

A/ cials saythe partnership between the February 2019 wrongful raid /EP the twospy entities is vital to on the home of social worker An- VEY sharing intelligenceand resources, janette Young. Mr.Flessner didn’t DA

M but critics have said the arrange- sayifhewas asked to resign. mentcan lead to bureaucratic Footage of the raid has

MONICA headaches. Some officials also prompted an uproar.Policebody Google has pioneered artificial-intelligence processors, fueled by growing business demand for tools to analyze vast amounts of data. saythe twoagencies have duel- cameravideo shows officers ing missions thatare in conflict. breaking down Ms. Young’sdoor improvement—is losing rele- factories.Taiwan Semiconduc- making effortstook off largely In ajointstatementonSun- and ignoring her repeatedpleas Tech Firms vance. As aresult, companies torManufacturing Co., in par- with its acquisition of an Israeli day, four keylawmakers—Sens. thattheyhave the wrong home. aresearching fornew ways to ticular, has jumped to the fore- company called Annapurna Labs BenSasse (R., Neb.) and Angus —Associated Press ekeout betterperformance, not front of chip-production about five yearsago. Jolt Chip always measured in speed, but technology. Custom chips arealso gain- sometimes lowerpowercon- Thechanges have benefited ing favor in consumer products. CORRECTIONS  AMPLIFICATIONS sumption or heat generation. chip-designfirm Arm Holdings Apple this year started using Industry “Moore’sLaw has been Ltd., which sells circuit designs itsown processorsinMacs af- around for55years, and this is that anyone canuse afterpay- ter15yearsofsourcing them TheIAB Tech Lab, adigital AReviewarticle on Satur- the firsttime it’ssloweddown ing alicensing fee. Apple is a from Intel. Google has incorpo- media nonprofit, has signaled dayabout dark Christmas tra- ContinuedfromPageOne very materially,” said Partha bigArm customer,asare all of ratedits AI chip in itsPixel plans to bring aset of stan- ditions misquoted awordin vices,including the brains of Ranganathan,avicepresident the big tech companies that smartphones. dards called “ads.txt” to the Christmas carol“We Three computersknown as central and engineering fellowin maketheir ownchips. So far,the lost businessfor streaming television to combat Kings.” Thelyric is “Sorrow- processing units. Google’scloud unit, which has Amazon, Google and Micro- traditional chip makershas ad fraud. ABusinessNewsar- ing, sighing, bleeding, dying,” Thepandemic has acceler- been pursuing specialized chips. softeach areestimated to oper- been modest, said Linley Gwen- ticle on Fridayabout scams in not “Suffering,sighing,bleed- ated the rise of cloudcomput- Thesheer sizeofthe cloud atemillions of serversinglobe- nap, achip-industryanalyst. streaming-television advertising, dying.” ing as companies broadly have giants presentsachallengefor spanning networks of data Themarket shareofall custom- ing incorrectly said that an in- embraced the kind of digital traditional chip producers. In the centersfor their ownuse and to made,Arm-based central pro- dustry trade group was plan- tools using those remoteserv- past, the semiconductor makers rent out to their millions of cessorsislessthan 1%, he said. ning the standards. Noticetoreaders ers. Amazon, Microsoft, Google tended to design their high-per- cloud-computing customers. Google’sAIchips arebyfar the Wall Street Journal staff and othershaveenjoyedstrong formancesemiconductorsfor highest-volume tech-company- Tesla Inc. is based in Palo membersare working re- growth in the cloud during the generic applications,leaving it designed processors, he said, Alto, Calif. A Page One article motely during the pandemic. remote-work period. to customerstoadapt and get Big customers have comprising at least 10% of all on Saturday about trading in Forthe foreseeable future, Business customersalso are the most out of the chips.Now AI chips.Intel still supplies the thestock incorrectly said in please send reader comments showing an increased appetite the biggest customershavethe the financial clout vast majority of CPUsthat go some editions that the elec- only by email or phone, using foranalyzing the datathey financial muscle to push for to push for more intodatacenters. tric-car maker wasbased in the contactsbelow, not via gather on their productsand more-optimized designs. Theincumbentsalso aren’t Fremont, Calif. U.S. Mail. customers, fueling demand for “Whereas Intel in the 1990s optimized designs. sitting idle in the race forcloud artificial-intelligencetools to wasanorder of magnitude and AI chip supremacy. Nvidia Readers can alert The Wall Street Journal to any errors in news articles by makesense of all that informa- largerthan all their customers, this year agreed to buy Arm in emailing [email protected] or by calling 888-410-2667. tion. nowthe customer has superior what would be the chip indus- Google wasanearly mover scale over the supplier,” said Even small improvementsin try’sbiggest acquisition. And amongthe tech giants, releas- James Wang, an analyst at New performanceand minutereduc- Ian Buck,who oversees Nvidia’s THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ing an AI processor in 2016,and York money manager ARK In- tions in the cost of powering datacenter business, said the (USPS 664-880) (Eastern Edition ISSN 0099-9660) has updated the hardwaresev- vestment Management.“As a and cooling chips become worth companyisworking closely (Central Edition ISSN 1092-0935) (Western Edition ISSN 0193-2241) eral times since. Software giant result, they have morecapital the effort when spread across with itslargest customersto Editorial and publication headquarters: 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10036 Microsoft, the No.2inthe and moreexpertise to take thosevast technologyempires. optimizethe use of itschips in Published daily except Sundays and general legal holidays. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y., and other mailing offices. cloud behind Amazon, has also componentsin-house.” Facebook Inc.also has explored their hardwaresetups. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Wall Street Journal, invested in chip designs,includ- Nvidia, nowthe largest U.S. working on itsown chips. Intel said around 60% of its 200 Burnett Rd., Chicopee, MA 01020. ing aprogrammable chip to chip maker by market cap, has David Brown, avicepresident server central processorssold All Advertising published in The Wall Street Journal is subject to the applicable rate card, handle AI and another that en- avalue of $330 billion, and Intel at Amazon WebServices,said to large data-center operators copies of which are available from the Advertising Services Department, Dow Jones & Co. Inc., hances security.Itisnow also is at $207 billion. Thecloud be- making itsown processorswas arecustomized to customers’ 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10036. The Journal reserves the right not to accept an advertiser’s order. Only publication of an advertisement shall constitute final working on acentral processor, hemoths,Amazon, Microsoft an obviouschoicefor Amazon needs,often by switching off acceptance of the advertiser’s order. aperson familiar with itsplans andGoogle parent Alphabet giventhe performancegains it featuresofthe chip that they Letters to the Editor: Fax: 212-416-2891; email: [email protected] said. BloombergNewsprevi- Inc., each top$1trillion in mar- could achievebydropping com- don’tneed. Need assistance with your subscription? ously reported Microsoft’sCPU ketvaluation. patibility with older software And Intel has invested in AI By web: customercenter.wsj.com; By email: [email protected] effort. Thebespokeeffortsare and other standardfeatures of processorsand other special- By phone: 1-800-JOURNAL (1-800-568-7625) Driving the tech giants’ partly made possible by the rise Intel chips that big data-center ized hardwareofits own, in- Reprints &licensing: moves arechanges in howthe of contract chip makers, which operatorsdon’t need. cluding buying Israel-based Ha- By email: [email protected] By phone: 1-800-843-0008 semiconductor world operates makesemiconductorsdesigned “Wewereable to build a bana Labs last year forabout $2 WSJback issues and framed pages: wsjshop.com and agrowing sense that by other companies.This ar- [chip] that’soptimized forthe billion.AWS recently agreed to Moore’sLaw—the sector’s fun- rangement helps tech giants cloud, so we were able to re- put Habana’sAItraining chips in Our newspapers are100% sourcedfromsustainably certified mills. damental assumption that chip avoid the multibillion-dollar movealot of stuff that’sjust not itsdatacenters, as Amazon de- GOTATIP FORUS? SUBMIT IT AT WSJ.COM/TIPS performancewill showsteady cost of building their ownchip needed,” he said. Amazon’schip- velops itsrival chips. P2JW356000-2-A00300-1------XA

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. ** Monday, December 21, 2020 | A3 U.S. NEWS Senate Panel Faults FAA Over 737 MAX

BY ANDY PASZTOR safety management culture” but the captain failed to inves- tending to favorcompanies tigatethe discrepancyornote Acongressional panel is- over FAA staff and “often ac- it in the logbook beforecon- sued areport documenting companied by retaliation ducting two flights. Asubse- what it determined were against those who report quent crew,according to the safety-oversight lapses by the safety violations.” report, did note it in the log- Federal Aviation Administra- Specifics raised in the re- book as required. tion, from agencyintimidation port pertain to two major U.S. FAAwhistleblowers told in- of federally protected whistle- passenger carriers, a number vestigatorsthe tape was blowers to lax policing of of big cargoairlines and placed therefor calibration maintenance errors. smaller commercial-aircraft purposes and “the result could The101-pagedocument, re- and helicopter operators. have been catastrophic.” The leased Fridaybythe Senate TheFAA said it wasreview- report indicates Southwest re- Commerce committee, is ing the information, but fused to permit pilotstobein- sharply critical of FAAleader- sounded askeptical note. The terviewedunlesstheir infor- ship’shandling of numerous committee, according to the GES mation wasaccepted matters over several years. FAA, acknowledges its report IMA unconditionally as avoluntary

Thefindingsstemfromthe contains anumber of unsub- ETTY disclosureand anytype of /G

broadest reviewofagencyen- stantiated allegations. FP punishment was precluded.

forcement effortsconducted in Astring of earlier reports /A Southwest said it was the wake of two fatal crashes by House lawmakers, accident aware of the report and has of Boeing Co.’s 737 MAX jets. investigatorsand independent used earlier discussion of Concluding that systemic safety experts focused on the REDMOND some issues to improveinter- ON

FAAdeficiencies pose an “un- MAX’sflawedflight-control JAS nal practices, adding the car- necessaryrisk to the flying system,which led to 346 fatal- A Boeing 737 MAX is shown at a company factory in Renton, Wash., last month. rier “maintains acultureof public,” the report cited apat- ities and anearly two-year compliance” and recognizes tern of agencymanagers global grounding of the fleet. bounds of program procedures tenancepersonnel. Thesecond sulted in acrash, according to “the safety of our operation as avoiding responsibility forfail- Thestrongest and newest and requirements, according flight wasbeset by the same the report. But the inspector the most important thing we ures to ensureproper staff details in the latest safety re- to the report. handling difficulties. who originally investigated the do.” training.Managersalso under- view, however, related to other Thereport lays out in- “Despitethe intentional na- flights and the flawed repair, Aspokeswoman added that mined or overruled enforce- aspects of the FAA’s dealings stances of Southwest Airlines tureofthe event” which according to the report, told “we absolutely disagree with ment decisions of some in- with theindustry. Investiga- exerting “improper influence should have precluded protec- the committeehewas con- allegations of improper influ- spectors, investigators tors found what they de- on theFAA to gain favorable tions under voluntary disclo- vinced Southwest wasgaming ence,” because Southwest determined. scribed as agencyabuses of treatment.” sures,according to the report, the system and provided mis- didn’t “inhibit or interfere “Wheninspectorspushed voluntarydisclosurepractices Early this year,anFAA in- Southwest successfully argued leading information to the with the FAA’sability to exer- back,” according to the report, the FAA routinely relies on to spector reported that afterpi- the behavior of the crew fit FAA. cise oversight and investiga- “theywereinvestigated and in learn of hazards discovered by lots on a Southwest flight ex- the program’s guidelines and Thesame inspector,who re- tive responsibilities.” some cases reassigned.” carriers, pilotsand mechanics. perienced persistent flight- they shouldn’t be subject to fused to accept another volun- Boeing said lessons from Afterexamining some FAAinspectors“were pres- control problems during punishment. tary disclosurefromSouth- thedual MAXcrashes “have 13,000 pages of documents sured or coercedbyFAA man- takeoff,cruise and descent, An improperly done previ- west, in that case told reshaped our companyand andinterviewing dozens of agers” to accept such volun- the crew opted to fly another ous repair turned out to be investigatorsmaintenance further focused our attention agency employees, investiga- tary disclosures even though leg with the malfunctioning theroot cause of the control tape had been mistakenly left on ourcorevalues of safety, tors described a“failed FAA they clearly fell outside the plane instead of alerting main- issue,which could have re- on asensor of aSouthwest jet quality and integrity.”

The conjunction betweenJupiter and Saturn hasn’t occurred under adark sky ThePlanets Align: Jupiter,Saturn Saturn forsome 800 years. Jupiter 0° 2468 Oct. 2 Will Appear Thisclose in NightSky Oct. 7 of the full moon—about a distant worlds and to study tent, Dr. Wasserman said. BY ROBERT LEE HOTZ Oct.12 dime’sthickness—as seen planetarysystems circling Jupiter and Saturn have Oct. 17 Jupiterand Saturn will ap- from Earth, astronomers say. other stars. aligned about 100 times in the pear to nearly touch in the They will be visiblejust above Thetwo planetshad amore past 2,000 years. They lined Oct. 22 nightsky on the winter sol- the western horizon during recent conjunction that was up in the year 7 B.C., as seen sticethis Monday, in arare thehour aftersunset almost just as close,Dr. Hartigan said, from Earth, in May, September Oct. 27 alignment that has happened world-wide in the days before in 1623,only 14 yearsafter and early December—a rare Nov. 1 only twicesincethe Middle and afterthey maketheir clos- Galileo made his firsttele- triplet occurrence, astrono- Ages. est approach on the solstice. scope. But it appears to have mers say. At those junctures, Nov. 6 Weather permitting,the This month’splanetarycon- attractednonoticeatthe though, the planetswererela- Nov. 11 conjunction of the solar sys- junction is part of the solar time,occurring so close to the tively far apart and would tem’stwo largest planetsdur- system’s celestial clockworks. setting sun that it waslikely have appeared much dimmer Nov. 16 ing the Christmas season will Jupiterorbitsthe sun every no one could spot it. “Asfar as than in the alignment ex- Nov. 21 be bright enough to see after 11.86 years. RingedSaturn cir- pected this month. dusk with apair of binoculars. cles every29.46years. They Manyother celestial events The two Nov. 26 It is no star of Bethlehem, as- regularly line up in the sky The pairing in this could have been the Christmas planets will be tronomerssay,but rather a about once every 20 years or star,astronomerssay.Ina Dec.1 visible looking quirkoforbital mechanics so,but only rarely arethey season has stirred much brighter and moreread- toward the Dec.6 that waslast recorded deco- quite so closely aligned. comparisons to the ily visible event, for example, western horizon in rating the sky with such bril- “It is almost like watching Jupiter aligned with Venus in the hour or so after Dec.11 liance in 1226, when artisans two runnersgoing around a star of Bethlehem. 2 B.C. sunset throughout were still building the Notre very large track,one faster For many, the coming win- mostofthe world Dec.16 Dame Cathedral in Paris and than the other,” said RiceUni- ter-solsticeconjunction offers and will appear to be Genghis Khan held sway over versity astronomer Patrick amoment to appreciatethe separatedbyabout Asia. Hartigan in Houston, who has Iknow, thereare no recordsof beauty of the night sky. one-ﬁfth the diameter Dec. 21 “Jupiter and Saturn will charted these conjunctions of anyone actually seeing that “It is really alovely connec- of the moon. have an unusually close ap- Jupiter and Saturn dating one,” Dr. Hartigan said. tion between generations go- Saturnrn proach,” said astronomer back 2,000 yearsand calcu- Among some skywatchers, ing intothe far distant past Jupiter LarryWasserman at the Low- lated futurealignmentsofthe the pairing of the planetsdur- andintothe future, to mark ell ObservatoryinFlagstaff, pair for the next 1,000 years. ing the Christmas season has eras and the passageoftime,” Ariz. “Everyonceinawhile,they stirred comparisons to the said Dr.Hartigan. “Regardless Thetwo worlds will appear line up.” star of Bethlehem mentioned of whatever travails or prob- so close on Dec.21that they Astronomersoften use in the NewTestament. It isn’t lems we as humans maybe will resemble adouble planet, these apparent alignments to known what astronomical oc- having,this grand celestial separated by a distance equal help calculateorbitsmorepre- currence, if any, might have clock just keeps ticking and Sources: NASA;Perth Observatory AlbertoCervantes/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL to only one-fifth the diameter cisely,toestimatethe sizes of prompted that biblical por- moving along.”

COLLECTION Women

NEW YORK ·697 FIFTH AVENUE BETWEEN 54TH &55TH STREET ·212 396 1735 LAS VEGAS ·THE FORUM SHOPS AT CAESARS PALACE ·702 369 1735 P2JW356000-5-A00400-17FFFF5178F

A4 | Monday, December 21, 2020 P W L C 10 11 12 H T G K R F A M 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 O I X X ***** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. U.S. NEWS Election Reversal Retains Trump’sFocus

Amid vaccine rollout dle sticks.” statecourts. Mr.Trump and his neyofUtah, aRepublican and a In an Oval Officemeeting supportershavealready been frequent critic of the president, and a historic hack, Fridaywith Sidney Powell, a turned away by the Supreme lambasted the “inexcusable si- president was largely lawyer he ousted last month Court, whichrejected aTexas lenceand action” from the from his legal team,the presi- lawsuit to void 20 million votes WhiteHouse on the hack. out of public sight dent discussed the prospect of in four other states.The court Mr.Trump Saturdayon naming her aspecial counsel to also rejected aRepublican re- Twitter contradicted Secretary WASHINGTON—In apast investigatehis claims of elec- quest to block Mr.Biden’svic- of State MikePompeo and week that began with the Elec- tion fraud,according to people tory in Pennsylvania. other administration officials toralCollegeaffirming JoeBi- familiar with the meeting.The At other times,the president by dismissing itsseverityand den’svictoryand ended with president doesn’t have that and firstlady Melania Trump questioning whether Russia Vice President MikePencetak- power. have shown signs of wistfulness wasresponsible. ing anew Covid-19 vaccine, Thepresident and his per- about leaving the WhiteHouse. “President Trump must get with amassivenational secu- sonal attorney,Rudy Giuliani, In arecent get-together in the past his grievances about the rity breach in between, Presi- removed Ms.Powell from the Oval Office,Mr. Trump began election and govern forthe re- dent Trumpwas largely outof Trump legal team last month filling up bagswith White mainder of his term,” Tom sight. afterMr. Trump told advisers House trinketsfor his visitors, Bossert,Mr. Trump’sformer he found her claims—including telling them he didn’t know homeland security adviser, By Rebecca Ballhaus, that HugoChávez, the presi- what to do with the items,ac- wrote in an opinion piecelast Alex Leary dent of Venezuela who died in cording to aperson briefed on week about the hack.“This mo- and Dustin Volz 2013,was behind the rigging of the meeting. ment requires unity,purpose the election—too crazy.During The firstshipmentsofa anddiscipline.” Instead, six weeks afterthe the meeting,the idea of deploy- Covid-19 vaccine last week Asked whyAmericans ha- election, the president re- ing the militarytoassist in his marked abreakthrough forthe ven’t heardmuch from the OL

mained fixated on his unsuc- fight to contest the election re- PO Trump administration. Some of president,WhiteHouse spokes- cessfuleffortstooverturn the sultswas raised and shot down, S the president’ssupporterssay man Brian Morgenstern told re-

results, adviserssay.Hepaid one of the people said. /PRES they would liketosee him do porters: “There’salot of work closeattention to TV coverage WhiteHouse counsel PatCi- AS moretocapitalizeonthe that goes on that isn’t neces-

of statehearingsonalleged pollone and chief of staff Mark GRIP achievement. sarily public.”

election fraud, though no evi- Meadows firmly pushed back YURI Mr.Trump acknowledged Judd Deere, another White denceofwidespread fraud has both on the president’seffort President Trump on the White House South Lawn Dec. 12. the development by tweeting a House spokesman, said Mr. surfaced, and in tweetsand to name Ms.Powell special video statement last week.But Trump is focused on securing phone calls urgedhis advisers counsel and on Mr.Giuliani’s Earlier in the week,the agreed, the people said. he didn’t attend an event Fri- stimulus payments forAmeri- and lawyerstokeep going. Department of Homeland Secu- president in ameeting with On Thursday, Mr.Giuliani daywhere Mr.Pencereceived a cans,funding the government, “He’sstill in the fight-for-ev- rity outreach,one of the people KenCuccinelli, the No.2official called Mr.Cuccinelli and again vaccine shot,instead tweeting the pandemic response and ery-vote mode,” said Sen. Lind- said. MikeFlynn, theformer at DHS, raised the prospect of pushed the agencytotakecon- during the event about a“Rus- vaccine distribution. sey Graham (R., S.C.), aTrump national security adviser whom thedepartment seizing voter trol of votermachines,the peo- sia hoax.” Adviserssay the president loyalist, who last week ac- Mr.Trump pardoned last machines as part of the effort ple said. Mr.Cuccinelli, asked And as newdetails have has been in touch with lawmak- knowledged Mr.Biden’svictory. month, wasalso at the meeting. to pursue allegations of voter to comment, said he couldn’t emergedabout asuspected ersand paid close attention to An administration official Ms.Powell and Mr.Giuliani fraud, according to people fa- talk about “activefederal inves- Russian hack that compromised stimulus talks.They sayhehas described the president’sstrat- didn’t respond to requestsfor miliar with the meeting.Law- tigations.” partsofthe U.S. government been briefed on vaccine-distri- egytooverturn the election re- comment on the meeting, yers and Mr.Meadows pushed On SundayMr. Trump’scam- with alevel of sophistication bution efforts. Thepresident sultsas: “Let’sthrow agiant which wasreported by the New back in the meeting,saying the paign filed anew appeal at the that surprised even veteranse- hasn’t attended acoronavirus plateofspaghetti at the wall York Times.The WhiteHouse agencylacked the authority to Supreme Court related to three curity experts,Mr. Trump for task-force meeting in months, and hope that at least one noo- declined to comment. do so,and Mr.Cuccinelli cases it lost in the Pennsylvania days wassilent. Sen. MittRom- including one last week. Lawmakers Alcohol, Say Deal Dining Is Reached Sectors

ContinuedfromPageOne Get Break days to keep the government funded while it finished the ne- BY RICHARD RUBIN gotiations. “This agreement is far from WASHINGTON—Thebeer in- perfect, but it will deliver dustry, struggling restaurants emergencyrelief to anation in and federal workersforcedinto the throes of agenuine emer- President Trump’spayroll-tax gency,” SenateMinority Leader deferral all stand to gain from Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.)said the year-end congressional on theSenatefloor. agreement reached Sunday. Thelegislation is set to add Thedeal is expected to in- $300 to weekly unemployment clude taxbreaks aimed at sup- paymentsfor 11 weeks and ex- porting the economyduring tend two other unemployment thecoronavirus pandemic as programs until they begin well as extensions of popular phasing out in mid-March and provisions that were set to ex- endinearly April. Those two pireatthe end of the year. programs expand the pool of Beer,wine and spiritsmak- people eligible forunemploy- ershad been bracing forexcise ment benefitsand extend their taxincreases Jan. 1. Instead, duration. the lowertax ratesthey have Thepaymentsare expected had since2018 will be ex- to be $600 per adult and $600 tended permanently,according per child, with the amounts House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, above, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell were in the Capitol on Sunday to wrap up aid talks. to aperson familiar with the phasingout at $75,000 in in- agreement. come forindividuals and Mr.Trump will getthe busi- $150,000 forcouples.President PPP Borrowers Set Full details of the provision, ness-meals break he has de- Trump had pushed forincluding including any limits on the desired for2021 and 2022. Some direct checks in the legislation. To Gain Tax Break duction, hadn’t been released lawmakersand economists “Welook forwardtoCon- as of Sunday afternoon. Sen. have questioned the meritsofa gresssending abill to his desk John Thune (R., S.D.) told re- “three-martini-lunch” deduc- imminently forsignature,” WASHINGTON—Congress is porters that the agreement in- tion that encourages indoor WhiteHouse spokesman Ben poised to deliver a tax benefit cludes the deduction. dining during apandemic.Mr. Williamson said. worth hundreds of billions of Lawmakers say they want Trump says the measurewill Households wheresome dollars to business owners to clarify what Congress in- help therestaurant industry. membershaveSocial Security who took Paycheck Protection tended when it created the Thededuction will lead to numbersbut othersdon’t Program loans. PPP and prevent unexpected morespending “and will help would be eligible forpartial The provision, part of the tax bills from hitting business save millions of restaurants payments, aperson familiar year-end coronavirus relief bill, owners. across the nation from going with the discussions said. De- would ensure that PPP recipi- Still, a full deduction could under,” said Sen. Tim Scott(R., (2) pendentsoverage 16 wouldn’t ents can deduct the payroll reduce federal revenue by S.C.), who championed the pro- qualify, just likeinthe first GES costs and other expenses cov- about $200 billion, with a ma- vision. round of stimulus payments, IMA ered by forgiven loans, even jority going to very-high-in- Federal workerswereamong

despitepleas from some law- ETTY though the loans themselves come households, said Adam the few who were pushed into makers. That meanshouse- /G are tax-free income. The move Looney of the Brookings Insti- deferring their Social Security DIS

holds won’t getpaymentsfor PO would reverse a Treasury De- tution, who is a former Obama payroll taxes forthe final four

those who arecollegestudents TO partment ruling that denied administration official. months of 2020.Mr. Trump KA

or disabled adults. S the deductions. —Richard Rubin wastrying to offer apayroll- SO

Approving the bill would TA taxcut without congressional end an effort to craftanother support, but all he could do un- bipartisan aid agreement that deal beforeCongresstakes a ents,remained uncertain. lending programs next year around indefinitely.” der the lawwas defer the pay- stretched formuch of the year. holidaybreak. On aconferencecall with withoutcongressional ap- In March, the Federal Re- ments. Most employers chose Afterquickly passing nearly $3 Negotiations accelerated last TreasurySecretarySteven proval, aides familiar with the serveannounced lending pro- not to changeworkers’ pay- trillion in aid in the spring,Re- week aftercongressional lead- Mnuchin on Sunday, several legislation said. But the agree- grams to keep credit flowing to checks at all because of the publicans and Democrats ersagreed to drop two provi- House Republicans raised con- ment wouldn’t prevent the Fed large companies and cities and complexities and potential lia- struggled formonths to negoti- sions: funding forhard-hit cerns about the possible absence from starting other similar states.Days later,Congress bility,but Mr.Trump made fed- ateanother package, with talks stateand local governments, of ameasureallowing busi- programs,akey demand from provided $454 billion forthe eral employees participate. at several points breaking which Democratsand some Re- nesses to take taxdeductions for Democrats. Treasury Department to cover Currently,the workers, in- down. publicans had sought, as well expenses coveredbyforgiven “The Federal Reservewill losses in Fedlending programs. cludingmilitaryservicemem- But the rapid spread of the as liability protections forbusi- small-businessloans,people fa- retain itstools and authority in Credit marketsrebounded bers, arerequired to payback virus this fall, signs of aslow- nesses and other entities oper- miliar with thecall said. the event of atrueemergency,” strongly and the Fedultimately deferred taxesoverthe first ing economic recovery,agov- ating during thepandemic,a President Trump urgedlaw- Mr.Schumer said. purchased fewerthan $30 bil- four months of 2021, and that ernment funding deadline and GOP priority. makerstofinish work on the Mr.Mnuchin in November lion in loans and other assets. could pose hardships forpeo- the looming expiration of sev- Lawmakersalso wrapped up relief package. “GETITDONE, declined to allowthe programs Currently,the Fedand the ple who aren’t expecting eral existing aid measures negotiations on the duration and givethem moremoney in to continue afterDec.31, say- Treasury Department areal- smaller paychecks.The con- pushed lawmakerstoreach a and limitsaround atemporary direct payments,” he said on ing he didn’t think it wasle- lowedtoestablish anyemer- gressional agreement would ex- increase in food-stamp bene- Twitterearly Sundaymorning. gally allowed. Anonpartisan gency-lending programs if they tend the payback period fits,aperson familiar with the One major sticking point re- congressional research arm agree jointly.Indeciding to end through December 2021. talks said. Thebill wasset to garding Fedpowers remained disputed that interpretation on the current lending programs, Some low-income workers Order by provide $15 billion forairline at thestart of the weekend. On Thursday. Mr.Mnuchin had said the Fed will getflexibility on their 12/22 for payroll support, two people fa- Saturdaynight, Mr.Schumer Mr.Toomey had insisted that and Treasurywould be free to 2020 taxreturns that Demo- Christmas! miliar with the measuresaid. andSen. PatToomey (R., Pa.) the Fedbeprevented from re- restart them next year with a cratshad sought, according to Roughly $277billion would go reached acompromise on the viving those programs without differentfunding source. their leadersinCongress. Re- toward the Paycheck Protection agency’s emergency-lending explicit congressional approval. FedChairman Jerome Pow- cipientsofthe child taxcredit Program, the bulk of the $325 powers. Thecompromise will ensurethe ell has made the same point, andearned-income taxcredit billion the bill putstoward Under the deal, $429 billion Fedand the Biden administra- including at apress conference canqualifyfor the 2020 credits small businesses. previouslyprovided to the tion can’t restart the lending on Wednesday,inaneffort to based on their 2019 incomes,if Thefateofsome taxprovi- TreasuryDepartment to back- programs “bycreating aclone reassuremarketsshould condi- that is betterfor them. That sions,including expiring busi- stop losses in Fedlending pro- andcalling it something differ- tions deteriorate. change canavoid situations

Your Children’sNames hand-craftedin nesstax breaks and the tax grams would be revoked, and ent,” Mr.Toomey told reporters —Nick Timiraos wheredeclines in income can sterling silver with brilliant Swarovski crystals set in solid gold -$390 to $450 treatment of certain expenses the Fedwouldn’t be able to on Sunday. “These programs and Ken Thomas shrink alow-income house- JOHN-CHRISTIAN.COM 888.646.6466 forsmall businessaid recipi- replicateidentical emergency were never intended to hang contributed to this article. hold’stax credits. P2JW356000-0-A00500-1------XA

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Monday, December 21, 2020 | A5

The Secret Tesla Reveals About Index Investing

As Ithink most investors know by now,Tesla joins the S&P 500® Index this week.What’s less known is that Tesla became one of the country’s top 500 stocks by market cap back in 2013.

That is aroughly seven-year gap and about a3100% increase in Tesla’s stock price during that time. It’s an extraordinary story,and ironic in away.The meteoric rise of asingle company reveals something every investor should know about an investment strategy that in many ways is the exact opposite of individual stock-picking –index investing. Thewisdom of themarket The stock market is actively picking winning and losing stocks every minute of every day in arational, unemotional way based on all the information available about companies’ growth potential.Because of that,many investors –myself included –have come to believe that one of the simplest and most effective ways to manage money is to just “buy the market.”

At its heart,anindex uses the pooled wisdom of the market as its manager.Harnessing that process is what index investing is all about:using objective criteria to win the day over human emotions and feelings. It’s why so few actively managed investments beat indexes over time.

But indexes come in many different shapes and sizes. Understanding those nuances is important.

Which brings us back to Tesla, which didn’t enter the S&P 500 Index back in 2013 because acommittee of people chose not to include it despite the fact it was one of the largest US stocks even back then. Many investors find this surprising, and Tesla is far from the only one of America’s largest 500 companies by market capitalization not represented in the S&P 500 Index. Marketspick winners andlosers very efficiently. Buthow you buy themarket matters. In my view,the smart way to buy the market is through:

Indexesthat rely on objective criteria likemarket cap. Ibelieve the very spirit of index investing is that it should be objective, transparent,and rules-based. The Schwab 1000 Index®,for example, is made up of the top 1000 US common stocks as defined by market cap.Inother words, it lets the market determine which companies get included. The S&P 500 Index uses amore subjective approach –via acommittee – to decide which companies should enter the index,looking at factors like profitability,sector representation, or other considerations investors may not be aware of.

Indexesthat are largeenoughtocapture thefast-growingup-and-comers earlier in their success. The Schwab 1000 Index,for example, combines large-cap and mid-cap stocks in asingle index.And it’s in those second 500 stocks –the smaller end of the companies in the index –where you can find the innovative “highflyers” before they possibly become part of the S&P 500 Index.Tesla became part of the Schwab 1000 Index in February of 2011, and then continued to grow rapidly for two years to become one of the largest stocks in the US. But there are many others. Companies like Lululemon, Moderna, Square, and DocuSign –none of which are in the S&P 500 Index yet.

ADDED TO 11/30/2020 ADDED TO STOCK SCHWAB 1000 INDEX MARKET CAPUS$M S&P 500 INDEX Tesla February 4, 2011 $538,085 12/2020 Square February 8, 2018 $94,446 No Moderna February 6, 2020 $60,392 No Lululemon February 6, 2014 $48,253 No DocuSign February 7, 2019 $42,507 No

Source: FactSet.Market cap subject to change based on current market conditions.

My intent is not to beat up on any one index.But as index investing continues to take hold, Ibelieve investors have something to learn from the Tesla story.Ibelieve the ideal selection criteria for what goes into an index belongs in the hands of the dispassionate market.Market wisdom versus subjective choice.

It’s not enough to decide you want to buy the market.How you buy the market matters.

By Charles R. Schwab Founder andChairman TheCharles Schwab Corporation

Learn more about the Schwab 1000 Index at Schwab.com/1000

Investments thattrack each of these indexes may have different performance as aresult of fees, expenses, and tracking error, among other variables. Indexes areunmanaged, do not incur management fees, costs and expenses, and cannot be invested in directly. Past performance is no guarantee of futureresults and the opinions presented cannot be viewedasanindicator of futureperformance. All corporatenames and market data shown above arefor illustrative purposes only and arenot arecommendation, offer to sell, or asolicitation of an offer to buy any security. ©2020 Charles Schwab &Co., Inc. All rights reserved. Member SIPC. (1220-0Z0C) ADP113792-00 P2JW356000-4-A00600-1------XA

A6 | Monday, December 21, 2020 **** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. U.S. NEWS U.S. Starts New Vaccine Rollout Panel Lays Out Who Moderna supply boosts ernment planned fordeliveries of 5.9million doses of Mod- amassimmunization erna’svaccine and two million Should Get campaign launched doses of Pfizer’s. Michael Dacey,president of during the pastweek Riverside Health System, aVir- Next Dose ginia-based health-carepro- BY PETER LOFTUS vider that encompasses five BY BETSY MCKAY AND CHARLES PASSY hospitals and 10 nursing

GES homes,said his companyisan- Afederal advisorypanel

Immunizations using the IMA ticipating an allocation of 5,000 recommended Sundaythat newly authorized Covid-19 initial doses of the Moderna both the nation’soldest, most vaccine from Moderna Inc.are GETTY vaccine in the coming weeks. vulnerable people and front- slated to start Monday, boost- SE/ Riverside hasalready re- line essential workersbeof- ing the massinoculation cam- ceived 2,800 initial doses of the feredthe next placeinline for paign that waslaunched just Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine,ac- Covid-19 vaccines,hoping to ANCE-PRES

last week. FR cording to Dr.Dacey.Alto- use limited vaccine supplies in Drug distributor McKesson gether,hesaid, the supplies early2021 both to reducehos- ENCE

Corp. began picking up doses AG won’t be enough forasystem pitalizations and deaths and

of the vaccine from manufac- ON/ with 10,000 employees,aswell slow transmission of the virus.

turing plants on Saturday for LL as 1,300 nursing-home resi- This next group would in- FA

distribution around the coun- T. dents. clude people ages 75 and older, try. United Parcel ServiceInc. “It is going to leave us short, whose hospitalization and TRICK

and FedEx Corp.trucks started PA no doubt,” he said. death ratesare the highest of rolling out Sundaytodeliver A health-care worker got the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in Torrance, Calif., Saturday. JimmyLewis,chief executive allage groups.Itwould also the doses to hospitals and officer of HomeTownHealth include teachers, factorywork- other sites. venting Covid-19 in alarge clin- massimmunization campaign, said, is the shipment sizes.An LLC,anAtlanta-based company ers, police and firefighters, Thefederal government ical study. Pfizer shipped 2.9million doses order forModerna’svaccine that serves as aconsultant to grocerystore workersand oth- planstodistributeoverthe Apanel of doctorsand pub- of itsvaccine,which largely contains 100 doses,while ruralhospitals throughout erswho areconsidered essen- coming week atotal of 7.9mil- lic-health officials advising the went to health-careworkers Pfizer’s has 975. Georgia, expressed concern tial to the functioning of the lion doses of vaccines from U.S. Centersfor Disease Control and residentsoflong-term care George Garrow,chief medi- that some people living around economy and at high risk of Moderna and Pfizer Inc., which and Prevention votedSaturday facilities. calofficer forthe Primary the hospitals might be hesitant exposuretoCovid-19. developed the firstCovid-19 to recommend that people re- Manyhospitals,nursing Health Network,said the to take the vaccine. Athirdgroup would follow shot authorized foruse in the ceivethe Moderna vaccine. homes and other sites in more health centersitcoversacross “Weget the vaccines,but them, comprised of people be- U.S. Theclearancecame aweek ruralareas missed out because ruralPennsylvania arepleased howdoweconvincepeople tween the ages of 65 and 74, “The second vaccine from afterthe FDA authorized use of they lacked the freezers capa- that they will be among the that this is the right thing?” he anyone age16orover with a Moderna, addedtothe Pfizer the firstCovid-19 vaccine in the bleofstoring the shotsatul- firsttoreceivethe Moderna said. medical condition that puts vaccine,now allows us to be on U.S., developed by Pfizer and tracoldtemperatures. vaccine this week.They have Otherchallenges remain in them at high risk of complica- the offense” against the coro- itsGerman partner BioNTech These hospitals and other been preparing forthe vaccine rolling out both vaccines.This tions from Covid-19,and other navirus pandemic,Gen. Gustave SE.The CDC committeealso vaccination sites have been sincemid-November. past week,some shipmentsof essential workers. They in- Perna, who is overseeing the recommended the Pfizer vac- waiting forModerna’svaccine, “Werecognized that the Pfizer’s vaccine had tempera- clude people who work in federal vaccine-distribution cine last week. which also must be kept cold Pfizer vaccine wasnot agood ture variations that required transportation and logistics, plan, said Saturday. Health authorities viewinoc- but at higher temperatures that option forsmaller Community them to be returned forre- food service, waterand waste- TheU.S.Food and Drug Ad- ulations as crucial to allowing most standardmedical freezers Health Centersdue to the cold- placement doses. water, and energy sectors. ministration on Friday autho- people to gather in large num- canaccommodate. storagerequirementsand the And several states,including Therecommendations were rized the emergencyuse of bers, and forschools,busi- Another factor making Mod- incrementalallotmentsof975 Illinois,Michigan and Iowa, made by the AdvisoryCommit- Moderna’svaccine in people 18 nesses and other establish- erna’sshot moreaccessible for doses,” Dr.Garrow said in an complained they weren’t get- teeonImmunization Practices, yearsand older,citing the mentstofully reopen. smaller and harder-to-reach email. ting as manydoses of Pfizer’s which voted13-1infavor. shot’shigh effectivenessinpre- During the firstweek of the vaccination sites,Gen. Perna This week,the federal gov- vaccine as expected. TheACIP advises the Cen- ters forDisease Control and Prevention on whoshould get vaccines and howthey should Nursing-Home Staffers Hesitate on Shots be used. If the recommendation is accepted by the director, then these groups will be BY ANNA WILDE MATHEWS offered vaccine afterfront-line AND SARAH TOY health-careworkersand nursing home residents who are Morenursing homes around being vaccinated now. the country will start getting a Thedecision to include the Covid-19 vaccine Monday, but oldest people in the next pri- the impact of the massive ef- oritygroup marks ashiftfor fort will partly depend on win- the ACIP,which last month ning over front-line workers considered giving priority to likeLaShundraWilliams,who essential workersoverthe old- saythey areskeptical of the est generations forvaccines in shots. early 2021. That position was Ms.Williams,40yearsold, based on the argument that, is acertified nursing assistant likehealth-careworkers, es- at St.James Veterans Home in sential workers are putting St.James,Mo.,and she says their lives on the line to keep she is unlikely to agree to get theeconomyand society go- the shots, though her son is ing. currently ill with Covid-19.She In addition, manyessential recently watched awebcast by workersare older,havehigh- nursing-home doctorsabout risk medicalconditions,and the safety and benefits of the arefromracial and ethnic

vaccines,but came away un- JOURNAL groups and lower-income pop- convinced. She is still worried ulations that have suffered REET

avaccine might makeher ane- ST disproportionately high rates

mia worse, and she thinks the LL of severeillness, according to

shotsare being authorized for WA the CDC.

broad usage too quickly. THE But some government offi- R

“It’stoo new,” she said. FO cials,health expertsand mem- “I’m just not comfortable.” N bersofthe public pushed back, The federal long-term-care OW arguing that the nation’spri- BR vaccination program, led by ority should be to protect the

CVSHealth Corp.and Wal- SHANE oldest Americans. greens BootsAlliance Inc., Zenobia Carden said getting the vaccine still felt too risky to her. She worries about potential long-term side effects. People 75 and older make will begin itsrollout in a up 8% of the population but dozenstatesthis week,with Raynor, director of health-care stafferswill agree to getshots Despiteeffortstobolster said she has seen firsthand the 25% of hospitalizations and hundreds of facilities slated services.“It comes down to in alater visit. testing and protective equip- impact of the virus,which have the highest death rate of for visits during the next few fear of the unknown,” he said. Afterits outbreak is over, ment in nursing homes, cases killed several residentsofthe all agegroups by far,accord- days.But surveyshavesig- In Chester,W.Va., the Or- Mr.Murray said the commu- and deaths have continued to facility whereshe used to work. ing to the CDC.Their ratesof naledthat manystaffersare chards at Foxcrest, which in- nity plans to start requiring surge inside the facilities. She ultimately decided getting hospitalization have also been reluctant to getthe shots, and cludes anursing home,assisted- employees who haven’t been Researcherssay staffersex- the vaccine still felt toorisky. climbing morerapidly in re- some have been declining living center and independent vaccinated to wear N95 masks posed to the virus in their Ms.Carden, who lives in cent weeks than other age them in the limited number of units, had about 65% of eligible at all times, except while eat- communities arelikely un- Bartlesville,Okla., worries groups,the agencysaid. facilities wherevaccinations staffersagree to getthe vaccine ing or drinking.Those who knowingly conveying it to vul- about potential long-term side Jose Romero, chair of the have been administered. Thursdayand Friday. MattMur- have received the two required nerable nursing-home resi- effects, as well as shorter-term ACIP and secretaryofhealth in At the nursing home at John ray, vicepresident of opera- shotswill be allowedtouse dents, highlighting the urgent ones likeheadaches,because Arkansas,said deciding howto Knox Village, in Pompano tions,said the company less-restrictivesurgical masks, need to vaccinate workers. she already suffersfrommi- givepriority to the groups was Beach, Fla., which became one mounted an extensiveinforma- and only in patient areas.“The Zenobia Carden is a35-year- graines.“I’m scared,” she said. wrenching. “This is without of the firstU.S.facilities to get tion campaign. Thecommunity goal is really to encourage old certified nursing assistant “It takesyearstocome out doubt the hardest vote that I the vaccine last Wednesday, faced arecent Covid-19 out- people to getvaccinated,” and who is about to start anew job with avaccine,and forthem have taken in my six-and-a- about one-thirdofstafferspar- break,including two deaths,he also to protect residentsand at aresidencefor people with to come out with it this half yearsonthe committee,” ticipated, according to Mark said, and executives hope more employees, he said. developmental disabilities.She quickly—I don’t trust it.” he said. Companies Ramp Up Testing to Bring Their Workers Back

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. with the mattersaid. Thetwo ties. Inoculations for the gen- they wait to enter. It was de- plans to test workers report- companies join DeltaAir eral public could come in veloped by LumiraDXUKLtd., ing to itsNew York offices for Lines Inc. and othersthat spring or summer,health offi- adiagnostics companythat Covid-19 morefrequently than have already been using CVS’s cials say. some otherCVS clientshave it has throughout the pan- corporate-concierge program. WorkplaceCovid-19 tests used that countsTroyBren- demic. Netflix Inc.isadding It is one of manyback-to- aretypically coveredbyem- nan, CVS’s chief medical offi- more rapid testing to quickly work testing programs offered ployers and cost anywhere cer, among itsboardmembers. clear the cast and crewsofits by pharmacies,labs and medi- from $15tomorethan $100 Netflix has tapped CVSto TV shows. calconsultancies as employers apiece depending on the type perform some of its point-of- trytobring workerssafely of test and the frequencyof S care testing at production

By Jared S. Hopkins, back to offices, trading floors screenings. NEW sites, according to people fa- G Sarah Krouse and movie sets. Alongside Goldman, whose CEO,David miliar with the matter. Thear- and Liz Hoffman their social-distancing proto- Solomon,has continued going rangement doesn’t currently cols and mask rules, employ- into headquartersthroughout OOMBER coverNetflix officeemployees, Eager to safely getemploy- ersare screening workers the pandemic and has stressed they say.

ees back to in-person work be- more regularly to catch those the importanceofofficecul- MOON/BL HR executives saymany fore vaccines arewidely avail- who don’t showsymptoms yet ture,had already converted a workersbecome infected with

able,companies from but might carry the virus. corner of the lobby foron-site JEENAH the virus at social gatherings, Hollywood to Wall Street are Thetesting is abridge until testing.The deal with CVS—a Goldman hopes to bring more employees back to headquarters. not at the office, but they are embracing regular,sometimes vaccines areavailable to the big client of the investment starting to offer free testing, daily,testing—regardlessof general public,companies say. bank—will expand that effort in 8,000 employees report to vators indicating wherepeople regardlessofwhether workers whether workers feel sick. Doses of the Covid-19 vaccine the hopes of bringing as many Goldman’sNew York head- should stand. arephysically returning to the Behind both Goldman’sand from Pfizer Inc.and Germany’s as 2,000 additional tradersand quarters. About 1,000 have Under adeal reached in re- office. Such testing helps catch Netflix’seffortsisCVSHealth BioNTech SE arelimited for bankersback to itsNew York been coming in on an average cent days,bank employees infected people early and may Corp., which will provide on- nowand prioritized for officeinJanuary, people famil- daythis fall, with temperature would receiveaCVS-adminis- help limit the virus’sspread to sitetestswith resultsavailable health-care workers and resi- iar with the mattersaid. checks at the door and floor tered rapid test that delivers other membersoftheir house- in minutes,people familiar dentsoflong-term care facili- In normal times about markingsinthe cornersofele- resultsin12minutes while holds. P2JW356000-0-A00700-2------XA

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A8 | Monday, December 21, 2020 **** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. FROM PAGE ONE

cells.One of the mutations, Countries known as N501Y, has been associated with increased infec- tivity in animal experiments. Ban Travel Another has been linked to an improvement in the virus’s ability to enter certain cells in From U.K. a host’s airway. It is theseunusual genetic features, as well as the rapid ContinuedfromPageOne pickup in cases of the new doned plans to allowafive- variant, that led British scien- daytruce of Covid-19 tists to alert the government, restrictions acrossthe country the World Health Organization over Christmas wherethree and the wider world about households could mingle. their findings last week. Germany, France, Spain, It- Agroup of scientiststhat aly,Canada, Israel, the Nether- advises the U.K. government, lands and Belgium on Sunday known by the acronym announced bans on passenger Nervtag, estimated from ge- air travel from the U.K. Other nomic datathat the newvari- countries were considering ant is between 67% and 75% similarmoves in an effort to moretransmissible than older, prevent aworsening of the moreestablished strains,ac-

pandemic before Christmas. GES cording to minutes of aDec.18

TheU.S.hasn’t yetfollowed IMA meeting published on Sunday. suit. Susan Hopkins,chief medi- ETTY

Thetop U.S. official over- /G caladviseronCovid-19 to Eng-

seeing coronavirus testing AFP land’spublic health agency, said he didn’t foresee a quick said therewas no reason to

U.S. ban on U.K. travel. HALLE’N/ think the newvariant would “I really don’t believewe S be resistant to vaccines being

need to do that yet,” Adm. NIKLA rolled out in the U.S.,Canada, BrettGiroir said on ABC News. The British government said the highly infectious new strain is responsible for a surge in cases in London and its surrounding areas. the U.K. and some other coun- Adm. Giroir said the newvirus tries.The vaccines aim to trig- mutation waslocalized within gerabroad immune response the U.K.,adding,“We have not SwissSki Resorts spots, as happened in early out, and lift capacity is capped Dec. 24, but since hotels will that teaches the body to rec- seen asingle [virus] mutation 2020. Earlier this month, after at two-thirds the normal maxi- stay closed, few foreign tourists ognize the virus’sentirespike yet that would make it evade ResistCovid-19 Push diplomatic pressure from Ger- mum. Face masks are required will be able to come. protein, she said. the vaccine.” many, Italy and France, Austria except while people are actually In Europe, memories are still Nor does it appear more The U.S. State Department clamped down on foreign ski skiing. People must stay 1.5 fresh of the Covid-19 debacle at dangerous.“We arenot seeing recommends travelers recon- ST. MORITZ, Switzerland— tourists. Intrepid skiers turned meters, or about 5 feet, apart. Austrian ski resort Ischgl early a disproportionate number of sidervisiting the U.K.,while Switzerland is holding out their attention to Switzerland. In St. Moritz, ski-lift opera- this year. Skiers returning home people being admittedtohos- theU.S.Centersfor Disease against pressure from other Eu- “We have seen strong de- tors stand by, ready to remind from Ischgl, where the party pital over the last two weeks Control and Prevention recom- ropean countries to shut down mand for Switzerland in the people to pull up their masks. scene is as big a draw as the andwe’renot seeing anyin- mends against going there. its ski lifts, even though it is past few weeks,” said Rupert In practice, they rarely need to slopes, were later linked to creases in mortality yet,” Dr. TheEuropean Center for struggling with one of Europe’s Longsdon, chief executive of intervene since virtually all thousands of infections all over Hopkins said in an interview Disease Prevention andCon- highest Covid-19 infection rates. Oxford Ski Company, which or- guests wear a mask on or near Europe. with SkyNews. Nervtagsaid trol said afew cases of the Like elsewhere in Europe, ganizes luxury ski vacations. the lifts, or when lining up for “This isn’t Ischgl. You four deaths in 1,000 cases newstrain had also been re- anti-contagion measures punc- “It’s a combination of clients takeout pizza, strudel and hot couldn’t even party here if you have been linked to the new ported in Denmark, the Neth- tuate Swiss daily life: Face that had booked in places now drinks. wanted to because everything variant, and morework is erlands and possibly Belgium. masks are obligatory almost ev- closed, and you always get peo- If Switzerland’s approach is closed,” said Daniel Schmidt, needed to comparefatality Similar variantsofthe virus erywhere, large gatherings are ple last minute asking where works, it could become a tem- 33 years old, who traveled to rates across different strains. appear to have emergedsepa- banned, and restaurants and they can go ski.” plate for reopening ski resorts St. Moritz from Germany and is Paul Hunter,professor of rately elsewhere. In South Af- bars have limited hours. But Instead of closing, Switzer- safely elsewhere. Germany, Italy staying in an Airbnb rental with medicine at the University of rica, anew version that shows Switzerland says skiing is safe. land is trying to apply social- and France have said they plan two friends. “There won’t be East Anglia, cautioned that we some similarities to the one Other European countries distancing measures on the to allow ski resorts to open in much chance for me to catch still don’t knowifherdimmu- identified in the U.K. is driving are worried that ski resorts slopes. Restaurants and bars at January. Austria will open its the virus,” he said. nity is achievable,sinceitisn’t asecond wave of infections, could become coronavirus hot ski resorts can offer only take- lifts for limited numbers on —Eric Sylvers clear how long the resistance the country’s health ministry conferred by vaccine or prior and virologists said. infection lasts. “But what Ican British scientistsidentified health agencies, has since the scientistsacrossthe world. result of tinyerrorsincopying base as VUI202012/01, has 17 sayconfidently is that this and recorded the new variant beginning of the pandemic TheU.K.isits biggest contrib- the genetic code.Morethan distinct mutations,and 23 if newvariant will makecontrol as part of abroad effort mapped the genetic makeup of utor,producing morethan half 1,000 variantsofthe coronavi- additional mutations that even with avaccine lesseffec- world-wide to track mutations almost 150,000 virus samples of its 275,000 submissions. rus that causes Covid-19 have don’t serveany function are tive,” he said. “Morepeople in the virus. taken from infected individu- Whatisunusual, the scien- been identified sincethe pan- included. Themost notable oc- who choose not to have avac- TheCovid-19 Genomics U.K. als.Their findingsare up- tists report, is the number of demic began. Most areunre- cur in the virus’sspikepro- cine are likely to get infected, Consortium, which brings to- loaded to aglobal initiative mutations this newvariant markable. tein, which dotsthe surfaceof suffer severe disease and po- gether universities,medical- called Gisaid, a vast database displays.Viruses replicate This variant of the patho- the virus and is the means by tentially die than would other- research institutes and public- that collectssimilar datafrom quickly and mutations arethe gen, known in the Gisaid data- whichitbreaks intoahost’s wise have been the case.” ©2 02 0D ow Jone s&C o. ,I nc .A ll ri ght sr es er ve d. 6D J8 18 6

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THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. ** Monday, December 21, 2020 | A11 WORLD NEWS ItalyStruggles With Deadly NewSurge

Inadequate spending 100,000 residentsoverthe past two weeks,compared with 6.3 on health care, toofew in Spain, 6.9inGermanyand doctors and older 8.3inFrance, according to the population arecited European Center forDisease Prevention andControl. S AfterItaly suppressed the PRES BY MARGHERITA STANCATI firstwavewith help from a

long and stringent lockdown, ZUMA

ROME—Italy,the firstnon- few Italians thought the high MA/

Asian countryhit by the coro- death toll would repeat itself. AM navirus pandemic early this Virusinfections slowedtoa GR year,onceagain is struggling trickle in the summer.Millions OTO

with oneofthe world’sdeadli- of Italians adopted mask-wear- OLI/F ZZ

est outbreaks. ing.Hospitals and the govern- CO Around 611 people aredying ment appeared betterprepared. Workers expanded Milan’s largest cemetery, Cimitero Maggiore, in November to accommodate rising Covid-19 deaths. Below, shoppers of Covid-19 in Italy on an aver- Italy’s infections remained pack a Rome street on Sunday, ahead of strict new lockdown measures that take effect across Italy on Dec. 24. ageday,behind only Brazil and modest even in early fall,when the U.S. This year Italy has re- asecond wave of contagion Daily conﬁrmedCovid-19 corded about 68,900 confirmed swept over Spain, Franceand deaths per million people, deaths from the virus,the the U.K. But as winter begins, seven-dayrolling average highest totalinEurope,and Italy is back whereitwas in 12 fifthinthe world afterthe U.S., March: the worst-hit placein Brazil, India and Mexico— Europe. 10 Italy whichall have much bigger On Friday, the Italian gov- populations. ernment announced another Onceagain, Italians areask- lockdown, over the Christmas 8 ing themselves whyCovid-19 is and NewYear holidays,for fear U.S. 6 killing morepeople herethan that hospitals could overflow U.K. almost anywhereelse. and deaths rise even higher in Theanswerlies partly in de- January. 4 Mexico CK

mographics,public health ex- From Dec.24toJan. 6, bars TO Spain pertssay.Italy hasone of the and restaurantswill have to 2 world’soldest populations,sec- close and therewill be travel ond only to Japan. Nearly one and movement restrictions SHUTTERS

A/ 0 in four Italians is over 65,an acrossthe country. On specific I/EP Nov. Dec.

agegroup much morelikely to days,such as on Christmas Eve SS succumb to the disease. and weekends,most stores CO Note:Datathrough Dec. 14

PER Source:European Center forDisease Prevention Another factor: Multigenera- must stay shut, too. and Control(deaths); the governments tional homes areespecially Despitepolicies aimed at IMO (populations); U.S. Census Bureau (Mexico's SS population)

common in Italy,potentially ex- sheltering older people,the vi- MA posing older people to infection rushas again spread in nursing from their younger relatives. homes and hospitals,affecting be that different from the rest government sought to increase pitals,the local network of phy- of Oxford—a higher percentage Since thepandemic began, numerous people over 65. of Europe,” said Dr.Viola. the number of intensive-care sicians and smaller clinics is than in anyother major Euro- 95% of thosekilled by the virus Yetage alone doesn’t explain “Thereisaclear problem in the beds across the country. poorly equipped to care for pean country. In Germany, in Italy have been over 60,and Italy’s grim tally.Anational way that local health care is or- Manyhospitals have strug- Covid-19 patientswho remain around 1.7% of those who 86% over 70.Deaths in many health-caresystemthat was ganized. Thereare toofew doc- gled with the influx of Covid-19 at home,especially in remote tested positivesuccumbed. other countries have also been overstretched and understaffed tors.GPs have toomanypa- patientsthis fall anyway be- ruralormountainous areas. While Italy spent $3,650 on concentrated among older peo- beforethe pandemic is also to tientstoproperly care foreach cause they didn’t have enough Sincethe start of the pan- health care per inhabitant in ple,but thereare proportion- blame,said Antonella Viola,a of them.” doctorsand nurses to care for demic, around 3.5% of Italians 2019,Germanyspent $6,650, ately more of them in Italy. professor of pathologyatthe In the spring,hospitals in them, partly aconsequenceof who tested positivefor the vi- according to datafromthe Or- Italy’s death toll also looks University of Padua. badly hit partsofnorthern Italy decades of spending cuts. rushavedied, according to offi- ganization forEconomic Coop- badonaper capitabasis.The “Yes,the population is old didn’t have enough beds to Even in the wealthynorth- cial datacollated by Our World eration and Development. Aver- countryhas recorded 15.9 coro- and frail, and thereare pre-ex- treat all severely ill Covid-19 ern region of Lombardy,which in Data, anonprofit research agespending among OECD navirus deaths forevery isting conditions.But that can’t patients. To avoid arepeat, the has some of Europe’sbest hos- project based at the University nations was$4,224 per person.

by Mr.Xiofthe Communist Ma Tried Party’s Politburopledged to strengthen antimonopoly ef- fortsnextyear and to “pre- To Placate vent the disorderly expansion of capital”—a messageseen as portending alargercrackdown Beijing on internet giants.

S Chinese officials saythe

PRES leadership is particularly con- ContinuedfromPageOne cerned that highflying entre- ing considered involves subject- TED preneurssuch as Mr.Makeep OCIA

ing Ant to tighter capital and SS attracting capital while expos-

leverageregulations,the people /A ing the financial system to

said. Under that scenario,state MUS greater risks. CA

banks or other types of statein- T Even beforethe halt of vestorswould buy intoAnt to UL Ant’sIPO,for instance, regula-

help coverany potential capital THIBA tors were worried about the shortfall as aresult of the tight- Billionaire Jack Ma offered frenzy over the deal. Thestock ened rules. regulators an olive branch. sale would have valued the “The Chinese statehas al- companyatmorethan the ready effectively nationalized ernment oversight of their likes of JPMorganChase &Co. some of the financial infra- quest to build and expand in- and Goldman Sachs Group. structureAnt built, such as ternet-based payment, lending Shortly after the Politburo the interbank payment system and other businesses. meeting,China’santitrust reg- that became NetsUnion,” said With Tencent’sWeChat and ulator fined Alibaba and a Martin Chorzempa,aresearch other apps developed by these Tencent subsidiaryfor some fellowatthe Peterson Insti- firms,millions of Chinese con- acquisitions made in years tutefor International Econom- sumersand small-business past—again signaling the days ics who specializes in China’s owners can make a purchase, of laissez-faire are over. fintech sector,referring to the hail a taxi, execute an invest- In China, state-owned enter- firm nowcontrolled by the ment or even take out aloan prises toweroverthe country’s central bank that clearstrans- with aswipe on their smart- telecommunications,financial actions between banks and phones.Firms such as Alibaba services,airlines,energy and third-party payment provid- and Tencent have become so othersectors. By emphasizing ers. “So thereisaprecedent successfulthat Chinese lead- “antimonopoly,” Mr.Xiis fornationalizingplatforms ersregularly hail the use of squarely aiming at China’sin- that areviewedasserving a the internet and big dataas ternet giantsthat have har- critical policy purpose.” crucial in driving futureeco- nessed unprecedented dataon The government under Mr. nomic growth. millions of Chinese consumers Xi’sleadership in recent years and businesses. has shown aresolvetobring The country’s central bank to heel privateconglomerates The government has andtraditional lendersdon’t viewedasundisciplined—how- have the direct line to China’s ever politically invincible their shown a resolve to free-spending younger con- foundersmight have appeared. bring to heel private sumersasAnt does.The com- Property tycoon Wang Jian- pany’sAlipayapp is used by lin’sDalian Wanda Group,for conglomerates. one billion Chinese,which has instance, has been forced to sell enabled it to collect troves of assets, shrink itsbusinessand consumer dataand use propri- payback bank loans.Anbang In- etary algorithms to assess in- suranceGroup,another private However, Beijing’sleader- dividuals’ creditworthiness. high roller,has been takenover ship also has shown increasing But itsdatasofar hasn’t been by the state, while itsfounder unease with thewealth and in- fully integrated intothe cen- Wu Xiaohui in 2018 was sen- fluencethese firms have built tral bank’scredit-scoring sys- tenced to 18 yearsinprison for as well as the risks posed by tem, and such information fraud and embezzlement. HNA their lightly regulated activi- gaps positioned Ant as avalu- Group,anairlines-and-hotel ties,such as online lending able partner to originatemi- conglomerate, has had to pull made popular by Mr.Ma’sAnt. croloans for banks, especially back on aggressiveacquisitions In addition, the big tech firms smaller ones.Inreturn, Ant overseas and sell assets. in some instances have com- pocketed handsome profits. Until recently,Mr. Ma had a plicated the government’sown Fornow,regulatorsare de- reputation for well-cultivated effort to use dataand technol- bating whether Alipay or any political ties. He hasn’t made ogy to tighten social control. otherpartsofAnt’sbusiness BOUTIQUES any public appearances since In November, China re- represent monopolistic com- his Oct. 24 speech. leased draftregulations aimed petition and if so,what ac- FIFTH AVENUE •BEVERLYHILLS BAL HARBOUR •MIAMI Foryears, companies in- at preventing thesefirms from tions should be taken. LASVEGAS•PALM BEACH BIGBANG cluding Ant and e-commerce colluding to sharesensitive “The odds of nationalizing DALLAS•ORLANDO •HOUSTON giant Alibaba Group Holding consumer data, forming agree- at least parts of the company SANFRANCISCO•SCOTTSDALE 18KKingGold andceramic case. Ltd., both controlled by Mr. mentstoblock out smaller ri- arenot zero,” agovernment Te l. +1 (646) 582 9813 Chronograph movement. Ma, and internet conglomerate vals and engaging in other an- adviser in Beijing said. Tencent Holdingshad largely ticompetitivebehavior.Earlier —Jing Yang enjoyedrelatively little gov- this month, ameeting chaired contributed to this article. P2JW356000-0-A01200-1------XA

A12 | Monday, December 21, 2020 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Monday, December 21, 2020 | A13

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A14 | Monday, December 21, 2020 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. WORLD NEWS WORLD WATCH

BREXIT abducted from the Government Science Secondary school on the U.K., EU Still Divided night of Dec. 11. Other families As Deadline Looms met their sons in Ketare, about 15 miles away. More boys went European Union and British to their homes further away in negotiators extended their Katsina state. standoff over EU fishing rights Many of the boys expressed in U.K. waters and remained un- worry about returning to school, able to make a decisive break- saying their captors threatened through in trade talks aimed at them with death if they went averting a costly post-Brexit back to classes. Nigeria’s Boko split on New Year’s Day. Haram jihadist rebels claimed re- Despite movement on major sponsibility for the abductions, issues to keep trade going once saying they attacked the school a Brexit transition period ends because they believe Western on Dec. 31, the two sides hag- education is un-Islamic. gled over fish quotas and the Another abduction of more rights of trawlers without much than 80 students happened Sat- success, turning a sector of little urday night in an area nearby, financial significance into one but the pupils were quickly res- that could decide the outcome cued by security forces after a of the nine-month negotiations. gun battle, police said Sunday. One official said the EU was —Associated Press refusing to yield more than a quarter of the fishing quotas the BELARUS bloc stands to lose now that Britain is regaining full control of Dozens of Protesters its waters due to Brexit. Britain Detained in Capital is also steadfast that a 3-year

REUTERS transition period would be long Around 100 people were de- Police guarded the Wistron factory near Bangalore last week after workers rioted over pay and other labor complaints. enough for EU fishermen to tained in the Belarusian capital adapt to the new rules, while on Sunday in continuing anti- the EU wants at least six years. government protests prompted A failure to reach a post- by the re-election of the coun- India iPhone MakerApologizes Brexit deal would lead to more try’s authoritarian leader more chaos on Britain’s borders with than four months ago. the EU at the start of 2021, Crowds of people have taken BY ERIC BELLMAN removed the vicepresident who Wistron’soperations in Ban- India is one of the largest when new tariffs would add to part in dozens of small rallies AND VIBHUTI AGARWAL oversees itsbusinessinIndia galorewereoften pointed to by phone marketsinthe world, so other impediments to trade en- scattered all around Minsk—a and started an anonymous policymakersand economists manufacturershaveanincen- acted by both sides. new tactic used by the opposi- NEW DELHI—Wistron Corp. hotline forcomplaintsand cre- as an example of India’sability tivetobecloser to their cus- The European Parliament tion instead of one large gather- apologized formishandling ated otheravenues foremploy- to attractinvestment by luring tomerstoavoid the cost of im- needs to ratify any agreement, ing, intended to make it harder wagesatits plant in India that ees to disclose their concerns. companies looking to diversify porting handsetsand partsas and its members said they for security forces to target the makes iPhones,saying it will “Wedeeply regret this and away from China. well as tariffs.Itistrying to po- would have needed to have the protesters. correct the problems that led a apologizetoall of our workers,” India’sprime minister has sition itself as asmartphone- terms of any deal in front of Demonstrators carrying red- group of angryworkerstodam- Ms.Chou said. “This is anew been trying to makeiteasier to production hub amid aU.S.- them by late Sunday if they and-white flags, the symbol of ageits facilities aweek ago. facility,and we recognizethat invest and expand in India for China trade warthat has were to organize a special gath- the protest, gathered in groups On Dec.12, workersbroke we made mistakes as we ex- disrupted global supply chains ering before year end. If a deal and marched down residential windowsand overturned cars panded. Some of the processes and lefttech companies looking comes later, it could only be rati- areas of the city, demanding the at aWistron facility near India’s we put in placetomanagelabor Apple putsWistron foralternatives to China. fied in 2021, as the parliament resignation of President Alexan- technologyhub of Bangalore. agencies and paymentsneed to Samsung Electronics Inc.is wouldn’t have enough time to der Lukashenko and protesting They threwstones,tossed of- be strengthened and upgraded.” on probation until building one of itsbiggest debate a proposed agreement his government’s violent crack- fice furnitureand set fire to a Apple said it had also done staff problems that plantsinthe world near New before the new year starts. down on activists and peaceful sign at Wistron’soperations, itsown investigation and found Delhi. Foxconn Technology —Associated Press demonstrators. according to videos shown on problems.Itisputting Wistron led to ariot arefixed. Group hasgone from afew PoliceinMinsk said around Indian television. on probation until the problems hundred employees in southern NIGERIA 100 protesters have been de- Labor leaderssaid workers arefixed and structures areput India to morethan 30,000 in tained. The Viasna human rights at the Taiwanese-owned com- in placetoensurethey couldn’t recent years. Morethan 300 Freed Schoolboys center released the names of 141 panythat is acontract manu- happen again. years. NarendraModi’s “Make companies that supply partsfor ReuniteWith Parents people detained in Minsk and facturer for Apple Inc. were up- “Our preliminaryfindingsin- in India” campaign gained more Foxconn have also set up pro- other cities, whererallies also set about latewagepayments dicateviolations of our supplier firepowerthis year as foreign duction. Nigeria’s freed schoolboys took place. Twojournalists were andconfusion over expected code of conduct by failing to investment is seen as acrucial Wistron’sassembling and have reunited with their parents detained in the western cityof working hoursand overtime implement proper working- component forIndia to dig its building of iPhones in India was after being held captive for Grodno,according to the Belaru- payments. hour management processes,” way out of itscurrent Covid-19 one of the firsthigh-profile vic- nearly a week by gunmen allied sian Association of Journalists. Wistron has investigated and Apple said. “Wehaveplaced recession.Hehas promised a tories of the Modi government’s with jihadist rebels in the coun- According to human rights discovered the workershad le- Wistron on probation, and they morepredictable and open reg- effortsand wasoften pointed to try’s northwest. advocates, more than 30,000 gitimatecomplaints, Wistron will not receiveany newbusi- ulatoryregime,asimpler cor- as proof that India could make Parents hugged their sons on people have been detained since spokeswoman JoyceChou said. ness from Apple beforethey poratetax structureand incen- even some of themost sophisti- Saturday in Kankara, where the protests began in August. To trytofix the problems it has completecorrectiveactions.” tives fortargetedindustries. catedphones. more than 340 boys had been —Associated Press

WhereIt's Beenand WhereIt's Going IcebergA68a is drifting closer to South Georgia aftersnapping off from SOUTH AMERICA the Antarctic iceshelf three yearsago. SOUTH GEORGIA ISLAND (U.K.)

Icebergpath Dec.1 Dec.7 Dec.9 Areae offdf detailetaetail Nov. 25 Dec.13 ClerkeRocks Oct. 10 Nov. 5 A68a ICEBERG Nov. 15

Atlantic Ocean Oct. 31 100 miles 100 km Source:British Antarctic Survey Drifting IcebergOpens Window On IceMasses; Penguins at Risk

BY JAMES HOOKWAY to seek food elsewhere,” said 400,000 breeding pairsofking Mark Belchier,fisheries and penguins,one of the largest IcebergA68a is big.Almost environment director forthe concentrations of the species half the sizeofJamaica. Three government of South Georgia in the world. times the sizeofLondon. and the nearby South Sand- Growing up to 39 inches Larger than Rhode Island. wich Islands. tall, they are the world’s sec- And it is on the move. After He and other scientists see ond-largest penguin after the breaking from the Antarctic A68a—the name comes from emperor penguins that liveon THE CAT’SMEOW ice shelf three years ago, it is the U.S. National Ice Center’s Antarcticaitself,and typically closing in on some of the naming system—as avaluable are deep-ocean hunters. They ANDREA LANDINI world’s largest penguin colo- opportunity to study what diveupto400 yardsbelow nies on South Georgia Island, happenswhen ever-larger the surfacetofeed on small aBritish territoryinthe South chunks of icebreak off from fish, squid and krill. Millions Italianmaster. FamedCardinalpainting. Atlantic, where it could block the Earth’spolar icecaps as more of the smaller macaroni Charming subject. Acardinal finds humor them from their hunting theplanet’sclimatewarms. and gentoo penguins also live in hiskittens’anticsinthisoriginaloil by grounds and disrupt the envi- Often, such chunks stay where on South Georgia. ItalianCardinal painterAndreaLandini. ronment closer to shore. they are, likethe slightly Norman Ratcliffe, aseabird Entitled HisFavorites,the painting displays Thegiant iceberg, some largerA23a, which is still in researcher with the British awonderful senseofrealism,exhibiting 1,500 squaremiles in size, is Antarctica’sWeddell Sea after Antarctic Survey in England, nowaround 50 miles south of breaking off, or calving, from said the concern is that A68a Landini’sskill forrendering texture,light the similarly sized island. Sci- the Filchner Ronne Ice Shelf. might spin around on the cur- anddetail. Foroveracentury,his works entistsfromthe British Ant- The berg bearing down on rent and end up adjacent to have beenbelovedfor both theirmeticulous arctic Survey arewatching South Georgia has traveled South Georgia’seast coast, workmanshipand intrinsiccharm.Signed anxiously to see wheresea morethan 930 miles since blocking the path to the ocean. 3 1 (lower left). Canvas:18/4”h x15/2”w;Frame: currents take it. calving from the Larsen C Ice It could take adecade for 5 3 Thenextfew days could be Shelf on the Antarctic Penin- the bergtomelt enough to 23 /8”h x20/4”w. #31-2430 critical in determining sula in July 2017, sending driftaway,Geraint Tarling,an whether it will driftpast chills among scientistswho ecologist at the group,said, South Georgia’scontinental were already alarmed by the and the huge volume of fresh shelf to awateryend in the warming Antarctic climate. water it releases would shock tropics,orifitwill swirl As temperatures rise—in algae and other plants at the around to the island’snorth- February they hit a record 70 base of the food chain, which east coast and ground there, degrees Fahrenheit on Sey- in turn would damagethe pop- perhaps for years. That could mour Island, off the Antarctic ulations of krill, fish and, ulti- make it tougher forthe pen- Peninsula—they have the ef- mately, penguins and seals. guins to gettoone of their fect of flattening the icecap “Ifthat happens,itwill stop 622 RoyalStreet,New Orleans,LA•888-867-9583 •[email protected] •msrau.com primaryfoods,asmall shrimp- likeamelting snow-cone.This everything else from thriving,” like crustacean called krill. drives moreice to the edgeof he said. Since1912, M.S. Rauhas specialized in the world’s finest art, antiques and jewelry. “Remaining thereintact for the continent whereiteventu- Firstmapped by Captain Backed by our unprecedented125% Guarantee, we stand behind each and everypiece. aconsiderable period could ally snaps off intothe ocean, James Cook in 1775, South disrupt local oceanographic pushing up sea levels. Georgia Island is perhaps best flowsand potentially interrupt A68a poses amoreimmedi- known as the final resting the flow of krill to the island, ate danger to South Georgia’s placeofAntarctic explorer Er- causing krill-feeding animals penguins,particularly its nest Shackleton. P2JW356000-0-A01500-1------XA

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Monday, December 21, 2020 | A15

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A16 | Monday, December 21, 2020 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. FROM PAGE ONE

they areseeing is not only im- performancefocuses on Delaney,amagician based in mentalists” has been the most Magicians possible,but that it doesn’t mind-reading and close-up the U.K. “IfIread your popular category forvirtual take advantageofthe me- magic,the kind that “not mind from London while corporateeventsonits site dium,” Mr.Evans said. “They everyone has had the op- you’reinLos Angeles,it sinceMay.Pre-Covid, magi- Reappear need to believeit’sexactly portunitytosee if their seems moreimpossible cianswerethe fifthmost-re- what they would see if we experienceofmagic is than if I’m in the same quested, behind mariachi were together in person.” spectacular stageshows room,” he said. bands,cover bands,DJs and Online He has leftsome of his in Vegas,” he said. Zoom hasits benefits. caricaturists, the company best-known stunts, such as “Small tricks cannow Props canbeplaced at said. levitating and amodern ver- playreally big,” he said. The arm’slength just out of Mr.Chan said the natureof ContinuedfromPageOne sion of sawing awoman in locked- and zoomed-in viewof shot,which means transi- virtual magic means he is sav- that is changing most things half,out of his Zoom show. the cameraallows him greater tions between tricks are ing on expenses such as gaso- Now you see it about being amagician. The Convincing audiences that freedom, as he doesn’t have to quicker than they would be on line and meals in restaurants, newvenue has illusionists what they’rewatchingismag- worryabout aspectator at the stage, said Mr.Cox.Hepins and has time to perform more learning howtolevitate on ical,not technical, is moredif- wrong angle,headded. their actsfor video,and per- cuecards and scriptstothe shows.Inone recent week,he screen, choose an audience ficult with the barrier of the Mr.Chan, who is based in forming tricks from start to border of his computer screen put on 12 in one day, he said. member andpracticevirtual screen, and such illusions only Silicon Valley,spent the initial finish in full sight of the cam- when performing newmate- Beforethe pandemic,six was sleightofhand. Their skills instill genuine awe when the weeks of lockdown devising era, said Noel Britten, presi- rial, and uses asecond camera the most he could manage. areindemand this holiday audienceiswatchingthem in twistsonclose-up magic,wak- dent of the Magic Circle,a to givethe audienceabetter “Back then Ifelt so burnt season, but forthose used to real life, he said. ing up at 5a.m. some days to U.K.-based international soci- viewofhis close-up magic,he outIswore to myself Iwould astonishing crowdsinperson, TheMagic Patio’s virtual perfect his Zoom act. ety of magicians.Setting up a said. never do that manyshows in working remotely canbe performances areinstead built Therevealofa“pick a stunt outside of the video Another bonus: Audience one dayagain,” he said. “Now tricky. around mind-reading tricks, card,any card” act in alive frame,obscuring the webcam, membersare betterbehaved I’m doing that easily,and I’m Andrew Evans,founder of he said, likecorrectly predict- show, forinstance, would see or using other cameratrickery on Zoom and magicians can not even breaking asweat be- the SanFranciscotheater the ing aperson’sideal “quaran- Mr.Chan present avolunteer wouldn’t be accepted by an mutehecklers, Mr.Cox said. cause Ican take anap in be- Magic Patio,said he began tine vacation, including the with their chosen card in his audienceasreal magic,Mr. “And it’snever been easier tween.” filming his virtual shows with destination, preferred airline, hand. Theaddition of the Brittensaid. to find atest audiencefor a Mr.Cox would prefer to be multiple cameras,but stripped and costsofthe tickets.” screen nowletshim unveil the “That’sthe same as some- trick,” he said. “A quick social on stagethis December.His back to asingle cameraset-up Dan Chan’spre-pandemic card in amoreunexpected one walking out of sight on a media post and I’veinstant transition to Zoom meant he by fall. Themoveaims to fo- performancewas avariety way:Itappearsacrossthe theater stageand doing their access to an audiencewho just is earning approximately 80% cus on the magic,rather than showofcardtricks,juggling room in his 13-year-old son’s dirtywork behind the scen- have to turn their computers lessthis month than he wasin calling attention to technol- and some mind-reading.While mouth. (Likeany good magi- ery,” he said. on formetotry something December 2019. ogy, which could makeview- he has adapted alevitation cian, Mr.Chan declined to dis- Mind reading is one of the out.” Butthereisanupside,he erssuspicious. trick forhis video act—invest- close howhis tricks work.) few tricks that canappear to TheBash, abooking plat- said: “For the firsttime in five “My job is to convincethe inginacamerathat tracks his Most magicians areadapt- be moreimpressiveovervideo form forentertainment ven- years, Iget to spend Christ- audience early on that what body as it ascends—his virtual ing rather than reinventing than in person, said Darren dors, said “magicians and mas at home with my family.” Hospitals Return To Basics

ContinuedfromPageOne forcritical-careservices for AdventHealth Central Florida, which recommends itsdoctors stick with pre-pandemic guidelines forventilator use. “The less you deviate from it, the better.” Advances also include new drugs, most notably steroids, Y

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formost Americans remain P: months away.The disease has TO killed 1.68 millionworld-wide, OM FR according to Johns Hopkins Above, a medical staff member treating a patient in the Covid-19 intensive-care unit at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, Texas; below, Ralph Walker Sr. with University. the keyboard his daughter brought him while he was recovering at a hospital in Baton Rouge, La. Last spring,doctorsput pa- tientsonventilatorspartly to tioned whether Covid-19 study also suggestspatients mal practice. “It felt likeyou limit contagion at atime when would require new treatment may have benefited from new were watching—being forced it waslessclear howthe virus approaches.Betterunder- medications and improved to watch—patientsnot get spread, when protectivemasks standing of severely ill corona- treatment, they said. better,” Dr.Thomas said. He and gowns were in short sup- virus patientsinrespiratory Gains in treatment may di- soon reverted to lighter seda- ply.Doctorscould have em- distresshas increased confi- minish in aprolonged Covid-19 tion. ployed other kinds of breath- dencethat they aresimilar surge if doctorsand nurses BatonRougeGeneral, where ing support devices that don’t enough to patientswith other areoverwhelmed and hospi- Dr.Thomas works,had also requireriskysedation, but infections to rely on pre-pan- tals must keep out visitors, prohibited family visits to re- earlyreportssuggested pa- demic guidelines forventila- said E. Wesley Ely,aprofessor ducecontagion. In August, tientsusing them could spray tors,according to doctorsand at theVanderbilt School of doctorsdecided it would be dangerous amountsofvirus hospitals. Medicine,who studies the bettertoallowfamilies to visit into the air,said Theodore DoctorsatAdventHealth risks of intensive-caretreat- delirious patientstohelp with Iwashyna, acritical-carephysi- Central Florida use computers ment, which include neurolog- recovery,the usual practice cian at University of Michigan to select treatment options, ical damage and physical dis- before the pandemic. and Department of Veterans and for Covid-19 patients, the ability. Overextended doctors “Wetried iPads,FaceTime,” Affairshospitals in Ann Arbor, system added options to cali- mayagain use heavy sedation Dr.Thomas said, “but decided Mich. brateventilatorsusing long- if ICU teams can’t closely that in-person wasessential At the time,hesaid, doctors standing protocols,Dr. Oliveira monitor ventilated patients, for some patients.” and nurses feared the virus said. Dr. Ely said. Deborah Walker couldn’t would spread through hospi- Thecomputerized guides visit her husband, Ralph tals.“We were intubating sick have helped spread the use of Walker Sr., for weeks after he patientsveryearly.Not forthe pre-pandemic treatment op- Notes on recovery entered the Baton Rouge, La., patients’ benefit, but in order tions,such as the amount of Less sedation combined hospital in mid-July.Hewas to control the epidemic and to air to push intolungsper with othermeasures also dizzy, nauseous and feverish. save other patients,” Dr. breath, acrossits 20 hospitals shortens hospital stays and Doctors put him on a ventila- Iwashyna said. “That felt aw- and emergencyrooms,Dr. Oli- improves survival, research tor. ful.” veria said. shows.Among those mea- Ms.Walker,forbidden from Ventilatorscan injurelungs Nashville-based HCA sures: halting intravenous visiting, spoke to and prayed by causing toomuch strain as HealthcareInc., one of the drugsfor portions of each day forhusband daily over an the machines forceinair.They largest hospital chains in the to see if they are still needed, iPad. “Please come home,” she deliver air and oxygen through U.S.,went astepfurther.Doc- cine at the University of Min- One study of three New attempting daily to remove would say, and she promised athroat tube,which the body tors getanalert from comput- nesota. “Guidelines arejust York City hospitals found the patients from ventilators and him he could buy aguitar he typically fights. “We’vegot gag ers when patients aren’t get- guidelines.” death rate forall Covid-19 pa- keeping patientsmoving.Con- wanted. reflexes that areprettyhardto ting the ventilator treatment Beforethe pandemic,be- tientsdropped to 7.6% from tact with family also plays a Mr.Walker already had 10 go away,precisely to avoid that might benefit them. The tween about 30% to morethan 25.6%between March and Au- significant role in recovery,re- guitarshanging on the walls of thingsgoing intoour lungs,” company rolled out the alerts 40% of ventilator patients gust afteraccounting for search shows. the couple’shome in aBaton Dr.Iwashyna said. in June.Afterward, it com- died, according to research. younger, healthier patients in Christopher Thomas,aphy- Rouge suburb.Healso plays As asafety precaution, doc- pared treatment and outcomes Numbers were sharply higher the summer.Hospitals in New sician and assistant professor piano—they owntwo—and a tors and hospitals limited the forsimilar patientsbeforeand in the pandemic’searly hot York were lesscrowded in Au- of clinical medicine and pul- drum kit is set up in the din- access of health-careworkers afterthe alerts. It found more spot in Wuhan, China. As the gust than during the April monary and critical care with ing room. Thenight the couple to coronavirus patientsonven- doctorsnow followthe pre- pandemic grew,hospitals in surge, which could increase Louisiana State University met, Ralph sang to his future tilators, giving them fewerop- pandemic protocols, which the U.S. reported death rates mortality, the study’s authors Health, used heavy sedation wifefromthe stageofabar portunities to check on them. have reduced the number of in some cases of about 50% for wrote in October in the Jour- on patientsfor afew weeks in where he played. That meantpatients required deaths and shortened the time ventilated Covid-19 patients. nal of Hospital Medicine. The the spring.Itwasn’t his nor- Doctorshalted Mr.Walker’s morepowerful sedatives to patientsspend on ventilators, sedatives in early August, but keep them from pulling out HCA’schief medical officer he waslargely unresponsive throat tubes. Sedation in- said. forabout two weeks,Ms. creases risk fordelirium, re- Overall, survival for Walker said. She firstsaw him search suggests,and delirium Covid-19 patientsincreased open his eyes on Aug.17. He increases the likelihood of 28% from April to September said little fordays.Doctorslet long-term confusion and death. at HCAhospitals,though the two family membersvisit, Subsequent research found companydidn’t break out fig- hoping to rouse Mr. Walker. the alternativedevicestoven- ures forventilated patients. His daughter arrived one tilators, such as delivering oxy- Doctorscan use their judg- daywith akeyboard.Ms. genthrough nasal tubes, ment to ignorethe alertswhen Walker watched on an iPad in weren’t as riskytocaretakers other patient conditions make the hospital parking lot. “His as believed. Doctorsalso it medically necessary, the fingerscrawled up the key- gained experiencewith company said. board, and he put them on the Covid-19 patients, learning to Researchersand doctors keys,” she said. Then he began

spot signs of who might sud- continue to study Covid-19 pa- TH to play, and she sang along. denly turn seriously ill, some tientswho requireventilators, “You could just see the light said. and some experts have called switch on,” Ms. Walker said. ENTHEAL

forflexibility from pre-pan- DV Mr.Walker has sincere-

demic standards fordoctorsto /A turned home.Hecontinues to

Close threat decide howtocalibrateventi- INEY work with physical therapists When the pandemic first lators. “It’spersonalization, RA to rebuild muscles to walk and overwhelmed hospitals in that’sthe key word,” said John TT regain enough strength in his MA China and Italy,doctorsques- Marini, aprofessor of medi- The Covid-19 vaccine is administered to Dr. Eduardo Oliveira on Dec. 15. wrist to play his new guitar. P2JW356000-4-A016A0-1------NS

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. **** NY Monday, December 21, 2020 | A16A GREATER NEW YORK CityRoadDeathsSoarDuring Pandemic

Traffic decreased but NewYork City had recorded Deaths of motorists and passengersinNew York Cityare increase this year in frequency maintained significant en- 234 total road deaths, includ- on course to surpassrecentrecords during the pandemic, of speeding as well as in forcement against speeding. fatalities climbed amid ingpedestrians and cyclists. compared with previous years. deaths among passengers not TheNYPD spokesman said They include115 cardrivers, wearing seatbelts, especially 140,000 speeding summonses speeding and other Traffic deaths Deaths per 1,000 serious motorcyclists and passengers men aged 18 to 34. They also were issued between Novem- crashes reckless behavior whohavebeen killed, a69% Motorcyclists suggested that older drivers, ber 2019 and November 2020, increase from the same period Driversand passengers who aretypically morecare- about 7% lowerthan asimilar BY PAUL BERGER last year and the highest num- ful, have minimized travel dur- period a year earlier. 60 12 AND COULTER JONES ber of such deaths since2006. ing the pandemic,while youn- Thecity also deploys speed Meanwhile,pedestrian deaths ger, lessrisk-aversedrivers cameras at 750school zones New York City is on course areontrack to reach arecord 40 8 have taken to the roads. that areinoperation on week- this year to record the highest low this year. Ms.Kite-Laidlawsaid that days between 6a.m. and 10 number of deaths of drivers Thefatalitieshavemounted 20 4 of the 66 motor vehicle occu- p.m. Speed-cameratickets and passengerssinceitdespitethe totalnumber of pantswho died through Dec. peaked in Aprilatjust over launched atraffic-safety initia- crashes in which people were 0 0 16 in NewYork City,23 500,000 that month, according tive in 2014. injured or killed falling to 2013 '15'20 2017 '20 weren’t wearing aseatbelt. to city data. Sincethen, they Therise in deaths comes about 22,000 forthe period Note:Serious crashes involveinjury or death. Data through Dec. 16 foreach year. Among motorcyclistswho died have decreased to about even as crashesand traffic from April through Nov.30, Source:New York CityDepartmentofTransportation in acrash, only 14 of the 49 300,000 tickets issued in No- plummeted during the corona- about 30% lowerthan the riders were properly licensed vember. viruspandemic.City transpor- same period last year,accord- A New York Police Depart- they areoverwhelmingly men, and registered. TheNYPD has also devoted tation officials sayspeeding ing to aWall Street Journal ment spokesman said the according to city data. Are- Thefederal researchersalso resourcestocrack down on and other recklessbehavior on analysis of transportation de- number of marked policevehi- cent survey by AAA Founda- noted an increase in drug and drag racing,policeofficials the city’s emptier roads,espe- partment data. Forevery 1,000 cles deployedacrossthe city tion forTraffic Safety found alcohol use because of pan- said. Congestion has returned cially at night, caused the in- serious crashes during the to monitor traffic hasn’t that men were morelikely demic-related stress, as well to manyroads during the day, crease. pandemic,therewere8.6 changed this year.NYPD Chief than women to speed, tailgate as areduction in policing as but traffic at night remains Julia Kite-Laidlaw, the De- deaths—almost twiceasmany of Transportation Kim Royster and to merge dangerously. departmentshavebeen much lighter,providing oppor- partment of Transportation’s in the past three years. said her officersset up “safety Economic downturns and strained by the virus. Arrests tunity forthose who want to head of policyfor Vision Zero, Ms.Kite-Laidlawsaid the corridors” in areas where reduced road congestion usu- fordriving while intoxicated speed. the city program to reduce increase in road deaths has speed and fatal crashes are ally lead to lowerfatality and driving without a license This fall, the city lowered road deaths,said manypolice been concentrated on high- common, parking vehicles at rates, according to the Na- aredownmorethan 50% so the speed limit by 5miles per reportsthis year involved driv- waysand in the outer bor- the side of the road to monitor tional Highway Traffic Safety far this year in NewYork City, hour on stretches of nine ma- ersspeeding and vehicle occu- oughs,especially in Queens, behavior and encourage driv- Administration, afederal according to NYPD data. jor roads that had a high rate pantsnot wearing seatbelts. where fatalities including pe- ers to slow down. agency. NHTSA researchers ChiefRoystersaid the re- of crashes.But it can’t change “These arethe kind of destrians and cyclistsrose “Visibility is very impor- found in arecent report that duction mainly is due to offi- limitsonhighways, which are things where choices as driv- about 25%, and in the Bronx, tant,” Chief Royster said. the pandemic has bucked this cers being out sick or to controlled by New York state. ersand motorcyclistsreally wherethey rose about Driversinvolved in deadly trendwith arise in fatality greater demand forpolicing Ms.Kite-Laidlawsaid it was matter,” Ms.Kite-Laidlawsaid. 50%, compared with the previ- crashes in New York City this rates nationwide. civil unrest earlier this year. toosoon to saywhether the Through Dec.16this year, ous three years. year coverall agegroups.But Theresearchersnoted an But she said officershave changes have had an effect.

STATESTREET | By Jimmy Vielkind With Capitol Closed, Advocates Lament Their Lack of Access

Advocacy walking around potentially groups said not social distancing,” Mr. they are dis- Cuomo’s top aide, Melissa appointed DeRosa, said on Nov. 20. “So that the New it’s not something, at this York state point, we’re prepared to do.” Capitol remains closed to the An administration spokes- general public on the eve of man didn’t respond to re- a legislative session where quests for additional com- lawmakers will consider rais- ment. ing taxes, adjusting the state Rebecca Garrard, who cam- budget and legalizing mari- paigns fortenant protection juana for recreational use. measures on behalf of Citizen Gov.Andrew Cuomo, with Action, said face-to-faceen- the support of Democratic counterswith legislatorsand leadersofthe stateAssembly protestsinCapitol hallways and Senate, closed the Capi- areanimportant part of her Restaurants, like Rodd’s Restaurant in Bristol, Conn., are among the hardest-hit businesses. Since the pandemic took hold, about one toltovisitorsonMarch 14 group’sadvocacyefforts. in three small businesses in the statehas closed. Below, an emptystorefrontonanalmost-deserted Westport shopping street in May. aftertwo legislatorstested “The decisions that are positivefor the coronavirus. made during the 2021 ses- Access restrictions have re- sion are literally going to Connecticut’sSmall Businesses Suffer mained in placesincethe have life-and-death conse- spring,and both chambersof quences for New Yorkers,” the Legislaturepassed resolu- she said, including a broader BY JOSEPH DE AVILA tions allowing membersto moratorium on the eviction cast their votesremotely.The of residential tenants during Aboutone in three small halls of the Capitol—normally the pandemic. businesses has closed itsdoors GES crowded with besuited lobby- Jason McGuire, a lobbyist in Connecticutsincethe begin- IMA

ists, chanting protesters, bus- for evangelical Christian ning of the coronavirus pan- ETTY /G

tling bureaucratsand lawmak- churches, said he usually or- demic,asetback forastate TT

ers—werequiet this year,as ganized 1,500 people to that never fully recovered PLA officials enacted a$178billion travel to the Capitol complex from the last recession. budget and passed laws over- in March. The annual advo- That number puts Connecti- SPENCER

hauling policing practices. cacy day was canceled in cutbehind NewYork,New Jer- S; 2020, and next year he is di- sey and the nation as awhole, recting people to meet with whereabout one in four small PRES lawmakers at offices in their businesses has closed, accord- TED Fa cetoface CIA

respective districts. ing to Opportunity Insights, a SO

encounters with “I understand the need for research and policyinstitute AS

legislators are key to public safety, but it has basedatHarvardUniversity HILL/ bothered me from the begin- that is tracking the economic groups’ efforts. ning that if government is damagecaused by the pan- SICA JES

essential, then we the people demic. P: need to have access to legis- The arrival of Covid-19 vac- TO lators,” Mr. McGuire said. cines has brought hope that OM FR The Democratic governor Assembly Minority Leader the worstofthe pandemic will and legislative leaders said Will Barclay, aRepublican end in 2021. But beforethat past decade beforethe current government will be able to Mystic,Conn., while revenue in recent weeks that there from Oswego County,said happens,hundreds of Connect- crisis began, according to the help her businesssurvivethe fell 34% compared with last are no plans to reopen the therewas moretoparticipa- icut small-businessownerswill stateLabor Department. The next few months. year.Revenue at Oyster Club, Capitol, citing the continuing tion in government than ral- struggle to makeitthrough state’scurrent count of about “I don’t knowhow long I another restaurant he owns in pandemic. Groups who tradi- lies on the Capitol’sinterior the winter and spring. 1.6million jobs is the lowest it will hold on. Ihonestly don’t Mystic,isdown50%, he said. tionally advocate have had to staircases.Hesaid therehas Using funds from the federal has been since1996. know.Aslong as Ican,” she Mr.Meiser said he wantsto shift their plans and said been morefocus on virtual Cares Act, Connecticut started Restaurantsare among the said.“But if it startscosting avoid temporarily shutting they hope officials will in- meetingswith constituents a$50 million small-business small businesses hit hardest by me morethan I’m bringing in, down anyofhis restaurantsto vest in digital tools to in- and called on Democratsin grant program—enough to the pandemic.The warm sum- I’m going to have to close.” avoid laying off morestaff. crease participation. his chamber to start webcast- award $5,000 to 10,000 busi- mer months offered the chance Moresmall-businessclo- “IfIwas just looking at this “To be locked out of the ing the proceedingsoflegis- nesses by the end of the year. to makeuplost revenue by of- sures are on the way without equation from astrict business Capitol, essentially, is sort of lativecommittees.(Thestate Butnearly 20,000 businesses fering outdoor dining,but that help from the state or federal standpoint, we would have a shock to my system,” said Senatealready does so.) applied, and the program is no isn’t arealistic option anymore government, said Andrew closed already,” he said. “But Blair Horner, executive di- Aspokesman forAssembly longer accepting applications, as temperatures drop,said Markowski, the state director this isn’t just abusinessdeci- rector of the New York Pub- Speaker Carl Heastie, aDem- said DavidLehman, commis- ScottDolch, executivedirector in Connecticut forthe National sion—this is adecision that has lic Interest Research Group, ocrat from the Bronx,said sioner of theConnecticut De- of the Connecticut Restaurant Federation of Independent my entireteam in the balance, an advocacy group. memberswere“working hard partment of Economic and Association. Morethan 600 Business. and their families and their The first weeks of January everyday talking to their Community Development. Connecticut restaurantssince “They need something to ability to put food on the table.” are usually a time of major constituentsand helping to Mr.Lehman said the state the pandemic began already get them through to that new Theofficetowers in down- convening. The Assembly keep them safe. We,likeall wasconsidering making more have closed their doorsperma- normal, whatever or whenever town Hartford,the state’scapi- and Senate lay out their pri- NewYorkers, look forwardto financial assistanceavailable nently or temporarily. that may be,” he said. tal, remain largely empty, and orities for the year. Mr. returning thingstonormal next year.But what that could Connecticut regulations al- Mr.Markowski said restric- the theatersinthe city that at- Cuomo proposes a state bud- when it is safetodoso.” look like dependsonwhether lowindoor dining up to 50% tions put in placetocurb the tracted out-of-townvisitorsre- get and delivers a “State of LeeRowland, legislative Washingtonwill be able to chip capacity,but most restaurants spread of the coronavirus had main closed. Thesituation the State” presentation. director forthe NewYork in and howthe broader econ- arehaving trouble even ap- been painful forsmall busi- forced Max Restaurant Group Officials expect these Civil Liberties Union, called omyperforms,hesaid. More proaching that limit with cus- nesses,particularly in the hos- to temporarily close Trumbull events will largely occur in a on officials to invest in IT in- federal help is likely coming, tomers fearful of catching pitality industry. But he noted Kitchen, one of itseight res- virtual fashion. On Dec. 9, frastructuretoensuremass but the timing and scope of as- Covid-19,hesaid. that consumer behavior was taurants in the state, said Mr. Cuomo shifted his participation in decision- sistanceremains uncertain. PattyDauten used to em- also changing,with people cut- SteveAbrams,apartner of the Emmy-winning televised making—and then keep those “Weare contemplating if ployabout nine people at her ting back on spending and pa- business. Another downtown press briefings from an in- processes in placeforever. thereare additional waysby restaurant in Litchfield, Conn., tronizing small businesses. Hartford restaurant owned by person exchange with re- “I actually think keeping year-end and beyond that we whereshe has been serving Mr.Dolch said hundreds Max Restaurant Group,Max porters to an online format, remote and online access to canhelp with additional fund- omeletsand burgers formore morerestaurantscould go out Downtown, remains open, but citing updated guidance the legislative process helps ingasthe uncertainty around than two decades.She was of businessnextyear.“This is business is slow, he said. from the Centers for Disease reduce the cronyism that Washingtoncontinues,” he said. forced to let her staff go, and the darkest time that we’ve Mr.Abrams said he and his Control and Prevention. comes from physical proxim- Connecticut lost 120,300 nowshe is doing all the cook- been faced with right now,” he partners would do their best “If you open the Capitol, ity in the halls of govern- jobs during the 2007-09reces- ing and serving. said. to keep their restaurantsgo- then you open yourself to ment,” she said. sion and regained lessthan Ms.Dauten has home equity Dan Meiser said he recently ing,but “itwould be very diffi- hundreds of people confined 90% of those positions during and savingsshe candip intoto laid off some staff at Engine cult to survivewithout anyfi- in stairwells and people [email protected] the economic expansion of the stay afloat, but she hopes the Room, arestaurant he owns in nancial assistance,” he said. P2JW356000-2-A016B0-1------NS

A16B | Monday, December 21, 2020 NY ** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. GREATER NEW YORK GREATER NEW YORK NewYorkers Check Out BooksonRace WATCH

BY CHARLES PASSY BROOKLYN

Whenitcame to reading Motorist Dies After material this past year,New Hitting Garbage Truck Yorkersturned to books that helped them makesense of our Police say a motorist died af- increasingly challenging world, ter he rear-ended a garbage particularly in terms of race truck on a New York City street. relations and social justice. Kenneth Pamphile, 32 years At least that is the take old, was driving a 2002 Nissan from NewYork Public Library Altima at about 3:45 a.m. Sun- officials based on the library day in Brooklyn when he system’sMondayannounce- slammed into the back of a sta- ment of the year’s most bor- tionary Department of Sanita- rowedbooks.Topping the tion truck. A sanitation worker 2020 NYPL list: Brit Bennett’s driving the truck and another novel “The Vanishing Half,” standing nearby weren’t injured. which chronicles the story of —Associated Press identical twin Black sisters through the prism of race. In STATEN ISLAND the No.2spot: Robin DiAn- gelo’s“WhiteFragility: Why Father Is Charged It’s So Hard for White People In Woman’s Slaying to Talk About Racism,” anon- fiction work. Authorities say the father of NewYorkersare “looking to a woman whose body was understand the world we’re found last year in a Staten Is- living in and learn about each land park has been charged in other,” said Andrew Medlar, her murder. director of book operations for Kabary Salem was taken into

NYPL.The system includes WIRE custody in Egypt earlier this branches throughout Manhat- month and brought late last UMA

tan, the Bronx and StatenIs- /Z week to the U.S., according to

land. GES the Staten Island Advance. The

Queens and Brooklyn have IMA body of 25-year-old Ola Salem A

theirown librarysystems and OP was discovered on Oct. 24, 2019. each announced their most /S Prosecutors had no comment AR

borrowedbooks for2020 as AD on Sunday. The name of an at- well on Monday. TheBrooklyn N torney for the father wasn’t RO Public Library’s2020 slate The New York Public Library system includes branches throughout Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island. available. wassimilarly dominated by ti- Mr. Salem is a former profes- tles delving intothe subject of off the world’stroubles during sional middleweight boxer who race,with Ibram X. Kendi’s such adifficult year.“You Most Borrowed Most Borrowed Most Borrowed competed in the Summer Olym- “HowtoBeanAntiracist,” a want to escape,” she said. pics in 1992 and 1996. nonfiction book, claiming the Although the lists did vary New York Public Brooklyn Public Queens Public —Associated Press No.1spot. Ms.DiAngelo’s from one librarysystemtoan- Library Books, 2020 Library Books, 2020 Library Books, 2020 “WhiteFragility” wasthe sec- other,former firstlady Mi- QUEENS ond-most checked-out book in chelle Obama’smemoir,“Be- the Brooklyn system as well. coming,” made it on all three u “The Vanishing Half,” u “How to be an Antiracist,” u “The Guardians,” Cause Is Sought In the case of the Queens top-10 slates. by Brit Bennett by Ibram X. Kendi by John Grisham In Deadly House Fire Public Library, the list leaned Other books featuredonall heavily to bestselling authors three librarylists: Delia Ow- u “White Fragility: Why It’s u “White Fragility: Why It’s u “Moral Compass,” The cause of a three-alarm of fiction. John Grisham, ens’s novel “Where the Craw- So Hard for White People to So Hard for White People to by Danielle Steel house fire that killed three peo- known forlegal thrillers, came dads Sing” and Tara Westo- Talk About Racism,” Talk About Racism,” ple is under investigation. out on topwith his novel, ver’s memoir “Educated.” by Robin DiAngelo by Robin DiAngelo u “Becoming,” Two firefighters were among “The Guardians.” James Pat- Although libraries in all sys- by Michelle Obama the injured in the blaze that terson,another popular novel- tems were completely closed u “The Glass Hotel,” u “Normal People: A Novel,” broke out after 5:30 a.m. Satur- ist, had two books in the top at the onset of coronavirus by Emily St. John Mandel by Sally Rooney u “Lost,” day in the Elmhurst section of 10,“Lost” (writtenwith James pandemic,manybranches have by James Patterson Queens. Officials said the roof of O. Born) and “Criss Cross.” sincereopened forlimited ser- u “Wherethe Crawdads Sing,” u “Becoming,” and James O. Born the three-floor building col- Hong Yao, director of tech- vice. Thetop-10 listsincorpo- by Delia Owens by Michelle Obama lapsed. The Fire Department of nical services at the Queens rate books that areborrowed u “Wherethe Crawdads Sing,” New York said dozens of fire- system,said residentsofthe digitally and the systems say u “The Dutch House,” u “Wherethe Crawdads Sing,” by Delia Owens fighters brought the blaze under borough were likely looking they have put increased em- by Ann Patchett by Delia Owens control around 8 a.m. forbooks that took their mind phasis on e-book offerings. —Associated Press

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CAREERS & LEADERSHIP PERSONAL JOURNAL.

AT WORK KRITHIKA VARAGUR

or a few weeks last June and July, Seyi Fabode’s phone rang off the hook. “I was constantly roped Finto calls with 20 other white founders as the ‘Black founder’ to talk about my experience,” says Mr. Fabode, an entrepreneur in Austin, Texas, and co-founder of Varuna, which provides software and sensors for water utilities. He was happy to recommend talented Black job candidates when asked.

“But as I followed up with APHY those same people months later, GR TO asking, ‘Did you make that hire?,’ PHO in almost every single instance, GNE

they say, ‘Oh, it’s been so busy…’ RO Meaning, in a word, no.” Offices across the country re- ORD ADF

sponded to this summer’s racial- BR justice protests after the police

killing of George Floyd in Minne- BODE; apolis on Memorial Day with an FA

unprecedented wave of diversity SEYI

and antiracism training. Half a ION);

year later, workers of color are AT TR

taking stock of the results. US

It’samixed bag.It’sclear by (ILL nowthat corporatediversity efforts requiresubstantial follow-up, DRIGUEZ

both in terms of interpersonal dy- RO namics and in translating rhetoric intoconcretepolicies.Not all EDEL workplaces areuptothe challenge. Several consultantsinthe diver- of color and outreach to organiza- sity,equity and inclusion field say tions like the National Society of that summer 2020 wasthe busiest TheUnfinished Business Black Engineers. period of their careerstodate. He believes that the personal- “This year has been a roller ized feelings of guilt experienced coaster,” says Lily Zheng, a diver- by non-Black workers in one-off sity consultant based in San Jose, Of DiversityTraining workshops can be counterproduc- Calif. When Covid-19 first hit in tive if they treat the emotional ca- the spring, her industry was rav- tharsis as an end in itself. aged by layoffs. Then, just a few “If you go through those pain- months later, the Floyd protests reassurance, and Iend up comfort- could be a great window ful feelings and think that I, as a prompted a sharp reversal. “The ing them,” he says.“It wasa of opportunity for com- Black co-worker, feel better some- demand far exceeded the supply,” very uncomfortable experi- panies to try more how, the issue goes away and it she says. “And it’s just been up- ence.” empirically backed keeps you from doing anything ward from there.” Mr. Fabode, in Austin, policies,” he says. practical,” Mr. Maples says. The scramble to meet this de- says his conversations last He points to But concrete policies and diver- mand led to a number of poorly summer were taxing, too. mentorship pro- sity training don’t need to be an thought-out initiatives, says Far- “Many folks on these calls, grams, whose value either/or choice. zana Nayani, a diversity consultant who had all recently under- has been demon- CO Architects, a 130-person Los based in Los Angeles. “There are a gone some kind of uncon- strated by research. A Angeles firm, is doing both, says lot of upstarts in this field,” she scious bias or diversity train- set of psychology stud- senior associate Antoinette Bunk- says, who may not plan for the ing, would offer up really ies from 2015 found that ley. The company’s diversity task emotional impact of their work on patronizing examples of how high-quality mentorship could force of 20 volunteers has created participants. they’ve helped Black employees.” Seyi Fabode, left, a startup offset the negative impacts of a an agenda with several specific She notes that unconscious bias Follow-up work is essential, founder, and Farzana Nayani, right, general climate of racial discrimi- initiatives. They’ve identified more training,one popular program de- says Ms. Nayani, and it has taken a diversity consultant, say that nation in the workplace. The study Black or minority consultants and signed to reveal workers’ preju- up most of her time this fall and corporate diversity initiatives linked that kind of climate to ab- contractors to do business with. dices,can backfireand actually en- winter. She typically offers her cli- require practical follow-up. senteeism and even physical side They’ve set up a fortnightly, all- hancestereotypes if it doesn’t leave ents a few specific suggestions, effects like insomnia. staff virtual town hall meeting. people with tools to manageor like scheduling a weekly or Practical changes are the pre- And they are also going to host eliminatethose biases.“These ses- monthly discussion group or creat- came to the conclusion that while siding concern of Curtis Maples, more antiracism training in 2021. sions canbring up alot of uncom- ing a secure online form to field mandatory training seemed more an electromechanical development The task force did a session fortable emotions,likesadness, an- concerns about diversity and dis- effective on behavior, participants engineer at Ethicon, a Cincinnati- with an antiracism trainer in Sep- ger, frustration…shame and guilt,” crimination. perceived voluntary training more based subsidiary of Johnson & tember, and found it so meaningful she says.“Can they changeoffice As to the logistics of diversity favorably. Johnson. He is the only Black per- that they asked management about relationships? Absolutely.” training itself, research doesn’t One common pitfall of diversity son on his team of about 40 peo- rolling it out to their whole office, AnthonyTurner, aBlack clinical provide easy answers. A study of training is trying to do too much ple, and says that today, his long- says Ms. Bunkley, who is Black. social worker in Brooklyn Park, online diversity training published at once, argues Musa al-Gharbi, a time efforts to get more Black They got the green light, and she’s Minn., says multiple whitecol- in the journal PNAS in 2019 con- sociology research fellow at Co- workers into the company’s talent looking forward to the day when leagues approached him last sum- cluded that one-off training ses- lumbia University. It will be im- pool are taken more seriously. everyone at the office has experi- mer,after the public high school sions are “unlikely to be stand- portant to focus the goals of diver- “They are much more amenable enced the emotional virtual work- whereheworked held amandatory alone solutions for promoting sity training, from something to what we have to say,” he says. shop. “I think it will deepen our diversity workshop.“Therewere equality in the workplace.” And a vague like fixing racism in the His strategies to recruit more di- working relationships and take our these liberal whitewomen coming 2016 meta-analysis of over 40 workplace to more concrete objec- verse talent include setting up communication to a new level,” up to me and crying,asking me for years of diversity training research tives, Mr. al-Gharbi says. “This more co-ops with college students she says.

From left, Gary Cole Here’sHow to Shed and Ron Livingston in the 1999 comedy, Low-PriorityTasks ‘Office Space.’ ing to pare the number of attendees. He BY ALINA DIZIK person oversight, some employees also got the execu- feel empowered to rethink tasks tive’s support for IN THE 1999 cubicle comedy, “Of- that feel like a waste of time and quiet hours—a fice Space,” paper-pushers obsess are more open about their needs three-hour interval over memos about cover sheets for at home, said Jennifer Chatman, a during the week reports. Today, some real-life em- professor of management at the without scheduled ployees doing their jobs remotely University of California Berkeley’s meetings. “Everyone are trying to clear the decks of vir- Haas School of Business. “Employ- was feeling it, but I tual busy work. ees are in a position where they put my hand up and Claudia Allwood is among them. are calling more of the shots than said ‘I’m drown- A month after joining a skin-care they did before,” she said. “That ing,’ ” said Mr. Vigi- company in September, she knew has shifted the power balance a lante. she needed to rethink part of her little bit.” job. During Covid, the marketing Know Your Limits deck she was in charge of present- Prioritize Critical Tasks Being open with his ing to her colleagues each week Although some workers gained Care Caucus suggested scrapping hallway chats. Ultimately, he real- manager about his workload has was no longer relevant. Rather time by not commuting, the added the letter of recommendation re- ized that his typical 9-hour days helped Lee Gross feel less stressed than spend hours polishing the hours spent caring for children, quirement for internal awards and just weren’t as productive outside about meeting deadlines while on slides that others now viewed vir- parents or others outside work grants and instead letting univer- the office. the job at home in Irvine, Calif. tually, Ms. Allwood suggested to leave many susceptible to burnout, sity employees be contacted to Higher-ups allowed Mr. Azeez to Mr. Gross, who handles claims for her boss that instead she take a says Jessica Calarco, a sociology vouch for an applicant, if needed. delegate projects to others in his an insurer, recently asked if he few minutes to plug the data into professor at Indiana University. five-person department. He also could stop sending a spreadsheet the company’s project manage- She also is a member of the Care Seek Out Efficiencies plans to set department goals in that updates senior executives on ment app—without the charts or Caucus, a new advocacy group that Being stretched thin spurred Rene “shorter sprints,” thinking ahead his most high-value insurance fancy fonts. Ms. Allwood calcu- examines how Indiana University Azeez to find more efficient ways only to the next 90 days. claims. His manager agreed to lated the hours the report took ev- employees who also have care-giv- to check in with co-workers at the complete the spreadsheet herself, ery week and made a case for how ing responsibilities are managing a MaRS Discovery District, a To- Keep Meetings Focused using data from Mr. Gross’s files. the time could be better spent. heavier burden outside paid ronto-based technology innovation Steven Vigilante, growth-market- Handing it off saves Mr. Gross Her boss went for it. “I’m a single work.“It’s not good for anyone if hub. This summer, Mr. Azeez, the ing manager at Olipop, a maker of hours each month and made work parent, so time is precious,” says we’re being asked to do too director of venture engagement, healthful sodas, said he ap- less likely to spill over into the Ms. Allwood, senior vice president much,” she said. asked his boss to let him address proached the company’s chief of weekend. “If I push back, they will of marketing at Herbivore Botani- For those re-evaluating their colleagues at large meetings and staff after finding his days work- listen,” he said. cals in San Francisco. workday, Dr. Calarco suggests pri- town halls, instead of doing one- ing from home in Los Angeles Finding the courage to turn Working from home has in- oritizing tasks that advance a com- on-one catch-ups over Zoom. Mr. were jammed with “massive meet- down new projects also helps. Mr. CTION

spired some people to lobby for pany’s core mission while doing Azeez, who also is studying for an ings,” driving him to resume work- Gross recently declined to take on LLE

less busy work and more control away with reports or projects be- M.B.A., said working from home ing from 8 p.m. to midnight. Mr. claims work from another depart- CO over how many hours they spend ing done simply for tracking pur- rules out informal in-person col- Vigilante suggested they deter- ment. “I thought, I’m going to

on the job. Without the usual in- poses. For instance, she said, the laborations or updates from quick mine who is critical to each meet- break if I do this,” he said. EVERETT P2JW356000-0-A01800-1------NS

A18 | Monday, December 21, 2020 NY THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. PERSONAL JOURNAL.

there could be layoffs or a com- Negotiating and pany merger in the future that af- fects your job. A good severance package can give you peace of mind and pay off in the future. Countering Now is the best time to negotiate one, while your future bosses are wooing you and don’t think they will ever have to use it, according AJob Offer to Wayne Outten, the founding partner at Outten and Golden LLP, a law firm that represents workers in employment matters. B Y D EBORAH ACOSTA Find out what is negotiable After you have laid out all of beyond the salary. the above, calculate what impact eing offered a job is a Job candidates often focus all of the benefits package would have reason to celebrate, but it their attention on the base salary on your take-home pay. Prioritize is also an opportunity to and miss out on other aspects of what matters most to you, so you negotiate the best terms the job offer they can negotiate. are clear on what you want most Byou can get, which may You should have a thorough under- before you begin negotiating. not come up again for a standing of the entire package, in- while. You should maintain a pro- cluding health insurance, retire- Explain whythe job offerfalls short fessional, friendly tone during ment benefits and time off, before relativetothe responsibilities. these talks as you forge a relation- deciding how to counter. Based on your research, you can ship with your new employer. What to consider in your coun- now share what people in similar “Once you receive a job offer, teroffer: positions in the same industry and you stop being a candidate and n Health insurance. Does it in- location are paid, and how valu- you start being an employee of the clude dental and eye care? Find able your skills, credentials and company to some extent,” says ca- out what the copays are and when experience are for the role. This is reer coach Paolo Gallo. “The way benefits kick in. For example, you your chance to pitch yourself, as you negotiate starts building your can negotiate a reimbursement of you did during the application pro- reputation.” Cobra health insurance payments cess, by raising all of your stron- Figure out your priorities, ask if there would be a gap in your gest attributes and past successes, for what you want, and keep in coverage. and reiterating how you are ex- mind all your options. n Retirement plan. Find out the actly what the company needs. “Think about the entire com- type of plan the company pro- Then propose your ideal base sal- pensation package and not just the vides, whether they match em- ary. The worst they can say is pay you’ll be receiving,” says Dr. ployee contributions and, if so, by “no,” at which point you still have Hamaria Crockett, a career coach how much. room to negotiate other elements with Korn Ferry Advance, the ca- n Bonuses. Some companies of- of your package. Be prepared to reer-coaching arm of organiza- fer a signing bonus to help seal answer tough questions. If you say tional-consulting firm Korn Ferry. the deal or if they can’t meet your the role is a heavier lift than what Here, advice from experts: salary target. You can also negoti- the compensation signals, you will ate the length and terms of the need to explain why. Know your numbers. clawback period, or the time you If you haven’t already researched have to remain employed to keep nies have a policy that goes be- home on a particular schedule a Negotiate face-to-face if you can, what your pay should be, do this the bonus. Keep in mind that bo- yond the three-month period typi- long-term option? but then get it all in writing. JOURNAL

now. Don’t go into the negotiation nuses may be taxed differently cally offered to parents. If this n Job title. This is sometimes It is always best to negotiate face- REET blind. Use publicly available infor- than your base pay. matters to you, take the company’s easily negotiated since it doesn’t to-face, or at least over the phone, ST mation or network with current or n Stock options. If these are policy into consideration. cost the employer anything. so that there isn’t a lot of back LL WA former employees at the company. part of the offer package, you can n Flexible work. Does the com- n Education stipends. Some and forth over email. However, Websites like Payscale.com, Sal- ask for more options or a change pany allow a four-day workweek? companies offer this as long as it once you do finalize an agreement,

ary.com and Glassdoor.com also to the terms, such as accelerating Or can you choose when to start is relevant to the job. make sure to get it all in writing, ZUKE/THE

track salaries for particular roles. the vesting period. and end your workdays? Think n Allowances. Thecompany over email as well as in your offer KE You want to know what those in n Vacation time. You can nego- about a working structure that might offer astipend foryour carif letter. Otherwise, if your employer JA

comparable positions earn at the tiate more time up front, instead would suit you and allow you to youuse it to do your job or acom- leaves the company, or simply for- AND

company or at similar organiza- of waiting for it to increase over fulfill the duties of your role. panycredit card to coverexpenses. gets, those agreements are null. “If LIAN tions so that you can back up your time. n Remote work. Beyond the n Severance package. While it it’s not in writing, it didn’t hap- Y MM

counteroffer with hard data. n Parental leave. Some compa- current pandemic, is working from may be difficult to imagine now, pen,” says Dr. Crockett. TA

BY ROBERT GRESKOVIC Pacific Northwest Ballet principal dancer Seth Orza as Drosselmeier, TWOFILMS of “George Bal- with PNB School student Zoe anchine’s ‘The Nutcracker,’” one Alvarado as Clara made by Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle and the other by New York City Ballet, began streaming PNB’s, which canseem moreabout on Friday. But for the current pan- care and control than spirit and demic, these troupes would be energy.LetaBiasucci is staid as the performing the work, live, for PNB’sSugar Plum, with her danc- most of December in front of their ing echoing the stark,grape-purple theaters’ audiences. hue of Mr.Falconer’s costuming. Thefilms,which requirea Still, in Elizabeth Murphy, PNB has ticket purchase foronline viewing, an especially fresh and fleet Dew- arejust two signs of the long drop to galvanizeits sweeping coast-to-coast fame of Bal- “Waltz of the Flowers.” Likewise, anchine’sballet. Firstgiven by MargaretMullin and Steven Loch NYCB in 1954, the two-act work to makestylish and lively work of the Tchaikovsky’s1892 scoreset a lead couple in the Spanish-flavored standardthat has made this “Hot Chocolate” segment. Christmas-themed ballet asought- PNB’s filming neatly opens with afterholidayevent. TheNYCBfilm glimpses of the orchestra and its wasshot in 2019 foruse in anew conductor, Emil de Cou, but es- Disney+ documentaryseries about chews any curtain calls for the the School of American Ballet and cast. NYCB’s film leaves the or- documentsthe production Bal- chestra pit and musicians out of anchine himself revamped in 1964 sight, but does include curtain and oversawuntil his death in calls, which show its conductor, 1983.PNB’swas firstperformed in Andrew Litton, applauded along- 2015 and wasfilmed in 2018 for side the dancers. archival purposes,its tweaks in Bringing a live ballet experience design and production framing the to the small screen is a tall order. scrupulously staged Balanchine Working through today’s con- choreography. DANCE REVIEW straints, both PNB and NYCB have Unlikenumerous “Nutcracker” made notable efforts to set their stagingsbyother choreographers productions of Balanchine’s ster- in which adultsplaythe story’s The GiftofBalanchine at Home ling “Nutcracker” before home- youngsters, the Balanchine work bound audiences. Watching both confidently uses real children to films in close succession adds up artfully enact the narrative’schar- sembles a sepia-toned tintype pho- NYCB’sstaging—with settings makethat climactic scene,cued to to something with less impact actersatits homey Christmas tograph. Wide shots allow viewers by Rouben Ter-Arutunian and cos- Tchaikovsky’ssoaring music,as than an in-person performance, gathering—one that magically to appreciate the productions’ full- tuming by Karinska evoking 19th- towering atransformational mo- but gives the viewer somewhat evolves intoastory about an en- stage dimensions to the maximum centuryGermany, wherethe bal- ment as possible on alittle screen. more than either film could ac- chanted Nutcracker and an ensu- and both movies feature occa- let’sE.T.A. Hoffmann narrativeis When adult dancers dominate complish on its own. ing battle between toysoldiers sional, judicious close-ups. set—can feel moreremoved from the Kingdom of Sweets in Act 2, and aggressivemice, beforecon- Both films were shot in HD, the viewer. Mark Stanley’s atmo- NYCB’s cast hits more high marks George Balanchine’s ‘The cluding in afairykingdom. More though PNB’s is clearer and sphericlighting oftenbathes the than PNB’s. In long-limbed, wil- Nutcracker’ than 60 studentsfromtheir re- crisper, with James F. Ingalls’s stageinaglowthat canturn lowy Maria Kowroski as the Sugar Pacific Northwest Ballet, through spectiveballet schools arein- high-contrast lighting making for murkyunder the camera’slens. Plum Fairy, dressed in shimmering, Dec. 26, pnb.org/nutcracker volved in each production filmed wondrous changes to both the in- Fortunately,however, when the pale hues of tulle and satin, the here; the agerangeis9through terior and exterior scenes. Ian Fal- Christmas tree growsand grows, ballet has an especially queenly New York City Ballet, Marquee TV, 13 in Seattle and 8through 13 in coner’s striking, New England-in- the camera’sdistanceworks to the ballerina. through Jan. 3, 2021, marquee.tv/ny- NewYork. spired settings, amplified by some ballet’sadvantage,dramatically Overall, NYCB’sdancing of the cbnutcracker ERLING

As caught in this filming, PNB’s animated film moments, and his dwarfing the School of American divertissementsthat makeupthe ST visual style suggests a Currier and hard-edge costuming ably support Ballet’sSophia Thomopoulos as the second act’ssuiteofnumbersis Mr. Greskovic writes about dance

Ives print; NYCB’s filmed result re- the choreography. girl-heroine,Marie,and helping to morelight of tone and touch than for the Journal. ANGELA P2JW356000-0-A01900-17F7DF7178F

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Monday, December 21, 2020 | A19 ARTS IN REVIEW

ARTREVIEW

his introspectivegreen space, looking lesslikeahipster and more ANew Painter’sPoignant Scenes likea19th-centuryfarmer (broad- brimmed hat; loose,well-used trouserswith apatch;and under- Salman Toor’s deftdepictions of young gaymen signal hope forthe futureoffigurativepainting sized jacket) just arrived in the big city.Hegazes at his cellphone (ah, those light lines) instead of regard- BY PETER PLAGENS ing the panoply of gayurban life all around him—adroitly drawnfig- good manyfigurative ures who sleep,lounge, flirt, dance paintingsthese days and smoke. We can’t quitetell if seem to aspiretobeing the central figure is taking refuge coverillustrations for in his electronic devicebecause Athe NewYorker maga- he’sill at ease,ortelling friends zine.They have the kind that, yes, this is the place. And we of benign, politely progressive, op- don’t quiteknow, given the vicissi- ed flavor that hardly anyeducated tudes of diasporalife, if the artist urbanitecan resist—a perfect has decided the matter, either. match forthe magazine’scovers, In “Man With Face Creams and which have evolved over thede- Phone Plug” (2019), adisheveled cades from pictures of tweedy,up- man, wearing an untucked white per-middle-classpleasures to,for shirt and ocher shawl, stands be- lack of abetterterm, apersistent hind acounter on which the epon- social conscience. ymous possessions sit. He seems That’snot abad thing,for either to be gathering himself to go home the periodical (as asubscriber,I afterafailed or frustrating night await each week’spunchypremier out. Or perhaps he’sinthe middle pictorial), or today’sfigurative of security clearancefor aflight. painting—at least when it’snot In anyevent, he’smelancholy at strident, self-congratulatory,or best, unhappy at worst, and the mawkish. Thework of Salman static,pyramidal composition com- Toor—a Pakistani-American painter bined with the dull gray ambience born in 1983 who depictsthe lives suggest thingsare not going to get of (in the wordsofthe Whitney betteranytime soon. In Mr.Toor’s Museum of American Art’spress work,the prospectsfor lasting or materials) “young,queer Brown profound happi- men residing between NewYork nessdonot shine City and South Asia”—is an excep- Salman bright, but they do tion to these debilities.Mr. Toor’s Toor’s ‘Bar flicker.The artist work is modestly original, deftly Boy’ (2019) suggeststhat’sthe done,poignant, and—by itsvery best anyofuscan existenceand the Whitney’s giving hope for. it museum exposureinthe free, Mr.Toor is quoted in the press ground-floor lobby gallery—evi- materials as saying,“Ireally did denceofhope forimperfect hu- not think at all about whether the manity. vanDyck, and Jean-Antoine Wat- paintingsrangefromthose that meaning in these paintingswould “Salman Toor: HowWill I teau, incorporating their styles Combining feelings of aremostly neutrals (i.e.,the color- be coherent to others. Ijust Know,” ashowof15oil paintings intohis ownoriginal composi- lessnessofgetting by day-to-day) thought of making something very ranging in sizefromalittle over a tions.” He obviously picked up gossamer happiness and to those with large areas of tur- straightforwardtome.” Alot of foot to morethan four feet on a what he needed to knowthere, and seminumbing societal quoise (Mr.Toor has called green artistssay thingslikethis—trans- side,depictsyoung gaymen—Mr. along the way added some semi- “a spaceofself”), with punctua- lation: “I really don’t catertoan Toor and his friends—at home in cartoonish aspectstohis ulti- oppression tions of rust redand tangerine.He audience”—but in Mr.Toor’s com- groups and in pairs, in clubs,inti- mately brushypainting style.He gives asense of atmosphereto mendable case,webelieveitbe- mately alone,and, occasionally,in includes,for example,the comic- otherwise flat backgroundsbyar- cause his paintingsdon’t shout, perilous situations with the police. strip visual trope of light lines to ticulating them with small patches “Look,everybody,I’m newand dif- Theexhibition is Mr.Toor’s first showthe glowofacomputer lifeinplaces wheregovernments of color. ferent!” They do utterit, though, museum solo show. screen. There’sconsiderable prosecuteit, and also adds afaint Generally,the exhibition’s in aquietly convincing way. Mr.Toor cancertainly draw.Ac- Daumier,and—Mr.Toor attended tension to scenes of nominally smaller paintingsare betterthan cording to aWhitney websitees- collegeinthe U.S.—maybe even a comfydomesticity. the largerones,for they embody Salman Toor:How Will IKnow say, the artist “spent yearsstudi- little R. Crumb in his pictures.Mr. What’smost powerful in lending the tinydramas of everyday life WhitneyMuseum of American Art,

ously poring over and copying the Toor’s people,with their Pinocchio Mr.Toor’s paintingstheir emotive rather than narratethem. At 48 by through April 4, 2021 OR

works of Rococo, Baroque,and noses,also look somewhat like combination of fleeting,gossamer 60 inches,“Bar Boy” (2019) is a TO Neoclassical-eraartistslikeCara- marionettes. His work depicts, in happinessand asemi-numbing so- wonderfulexception. In it, the art- Mr. Plagens is an artist and writer LMAN

vaggio,Peter Paul Rubens,Anthony part, the inherent tragedy of gay cietal oppression is his palette.His ist stands almost dead center in in New York. SA

Judy Garland, .

OS right, in

BR ‘Meet Me in St. Louis’ RNER WA CULTURAL COMMENTARY Judy Garland’sGood Tidings

BY BOB GREENE hadsaid goodbyebeforethe rounding ourselves with loved young men had boarded the ones at the gatheringsweal- SHE WASSINGING on the packed ships that would waystook forgranted, there set of amotion picturethat transport them to faraway arethose haunting wordsof wasbeing produced in war- warzones; the only way to yearning,overall the decades: time.She could have had no keep in touch wasthrough Once again as in olden idea that her wordswould the mail, and with combat days, happy golden days of carrysuch present-tense raging that wassporadic at yore, powermorethan 75 years best. No telephone calls,not Faithful friends who were later. during that war; the families dear to us, will be near to us, Themovie wasn’t about hadn’t heardeach other’s once more.… war—it wasamusical about a voices foryears. Then, with What is it that we have in Midwestern family,set in the another Christmas approach- common with those Ameri- early 1900s.The film, “Meet ing,therewas adifferent cans of the 1940s? Their or- Me in St.Louis,” wasreleased voice, Judy Garland’s, speak- deal, afterall, wasquitedif- in 1944, and itsstar, Judy Gar- ing to,and for, all of them: ferent from ours. Perhaps the land, sang the wordstoMar- Next year all our troubles connectivethread is just this: garetO’Brien, who wasplay- will be miles away.… the knowledgethat the lives ing her little sister. Thesong became aholiday we take on faith, the daily as- Have yourself amerry lit- standard; foraversion in the sumptions about the world tle Christmas, let your heart 1950s,inpeacetime,Frank Si- around us,can be yanked be light. natrahad the lyrics watered away so quickly by uninvited Next year all our troubles down abit, to de-emphasize forces that overwhelm us. will be out of sight.… the baseline sense of depriva- Which is why, as we aread- It wasexactly what Ameri- tion. Some of the morepen- monished to keep our dis- cans,wearyfromthe yearsof sivephrases were replaced tance, those words, in afresh World WarII, needed to hear: with cheerywords about dec- yetfamiliar context, canstop those wordsofhope—the orating aChristmas tree. us in our tracks: promise that in the next year But as Christmas ap- Someday soon we all will all, at last, would be well. proaches in 2020 it is the be together, if the fates allow, From phonographs in living original that cancause listen- Until then we’ll have to rooms and radios near battle- erstopause and ponder what muddle through somehow.… fields,the wordsto“Have they have gone through in the What is themessage, as Yourself aMerryLittle Christ- long months sincelast Christ- we do our best to muddle mas” comforted mothersand mas.If, when the song was through this cold December? fathers, sistersand brothers, new, it brought atender,frag- Probably the same as it was soldiersalone in the dark. ile look to the eyes of itslis- in 1944—nothing moresim- Thesong,writtenbyHugh teners, it is having asimilar ple,ormorecomplicated, Martin and Ralph Blane, effect now, in acountryin than this: Have yourself a reached inside listenerslike manyways changed yetatits merrylittle Christmas now. an electrical jolt to their core much the same as it ever hearts. Thesoldiersand their was. In this year of so much Mr. Greene’s books include families had been apart for illnessand death, when we “Duty: AFather, His Son, and holidayafter holiday. They have been warned against sur- the Man Who Won the War.” P2JW356000-0-A02000-1------XA

A20 | Monday, December 21, 2020 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. SPORTS College Dual Olympic Role DrawsScrutiny

Playoff John Coates holds key positions at both the IOC and in the world’s top sports court Is Set BY RACHEL BACHMAN With high-ranking positions at two of the world’stop sportsbod- BY LAINE HIGGINS ies,asharp-tongued Australian law- yernamed John Coates has long

Afterapandemic season filled been one of the most powerful play- OL PO

with chaos and surprise,the College ersinthe Olympics universe. S Football Playoff is set with perhaps Nowthose two roles have inter- the most unsurprising lineup of sected in the form of acourt ruling powerhouses imaginable: Alabama, that decided Russia’snear-term Clemson, Ohio State and Notre participation in the Olympics.The MARIN/PRES Dame. situation has intensified questions REYES No.1Alabama and No.4Notre about whether Coates’ dual posi-

Dame will meet on Jan. 1inthe tions represent aconflict in the DRIGO game that wasmeant to be the governanceofthe Olympic sports RO

Rose Bowl, but has been relocated world—especially when it comes to GES;

from Pasadena, Calif.toAT&TSta- anti doping efforts. IMA dium in Arlington, Texas.No. 2 The70-year-old Coates is an in-

Clemson and No.3Ohio State will fluential International Olympic GETTY

reprise their semifinal meeting Committeemember who chairsthe VIA T

from last season in the SugarBowl. TokyoOlympics coordination com- OR CollegeFootball Playoff executive mission and is aconfidanteofIOC director Bill Hancock said the president Thomas Bach. ALLSP “Granddaddy of Them All” would He is also president of the Court ON/

relocateand possibly take on anew of Arbitration forSport, the Swit- WILS name.Heattributed the changetoa zerland-based body also known as NICK

“growing number of Covid-19 cases CASthat serves as akind of Su- P: in Southern California.” Current preme Court forinternational dis- TO OM

datashows that the positivity rate putes. FR in Tarrant County,wherethe game On Thursday, athree-member Australian lawyer John Coates, below, used aggressive tactics to land the 2000 Olympics for Sydney. will nowbeplayed, is 17%–higher CASpanel cut in half the World than in LosAngeles County. Anti-Doping Agency’sfour-year ban later.Coates helped securethe Thelast minuteRose Bowl of Russia forastate-sponsored dop- 2000 Sydney Games and remade switch came aftercomplaintsfrom ing scheme at the 2014Sochi Olym- howOlympics areorganized. Unlike coaches who took issue with Cali- pics and asubsequent elaborate the privately funded 1996 Atlanta fornia’sprohibition on fans at coverup. Theruling outraged U.S. Games,the Sydney Olympics were sporting eventsthat would prevent athletesand antidoping experts, underwrittenbythe local govern- parentsfromwatchingtheir sons who had criticized even the initial ment yetrequired to involvethe play. California public-health offi- four-year ban because it would let AOCinall key decisions.An$88.5 cials twicedenied waiver requests hundreds of Russian athletes who million bonanzafromhosting Syd- from the Tournament of Roses to meet certain provisions slip through ney enabled the AOCtooperate allowlessthan 500 fans.About to the Olympics. without the funding and influence 3,000 spectatorscan attend the Theclosed-door natureofthe of the government. SugarBowlatMercedes-Benz Su- sportscourt’sinner workingsand When adebateraged about the perdome in NewOrleans; AT&T Sta- Coates’sdual positions as CASpres- Sydney Olympics bid processthe dium has hosted upwardof30,000 ident and as an IOC vicepresident, year beforethe Games,Coates tack- fans at Cowboys games this fall. however, raise the question of how led it by disclosing that the AOC Alabama wasthe runaway No.1 much influencethe IOC has on had offered inducementstotaling seed, having finished the season as CAS’soutcomes,said Travis T. Ty- $70,000 to two IOC membersfrom 11-0 Southeastern Conferencecham- gart, CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Kenyaand Uganda the night before pions afterdefeating Florida 52-46. Agency. the 1993 host-city vote.The offer As usual, the most controversial “Russia’sput aton of money into wascontingent on Sydney winning team to makethe playoff wasalso the Games,” Tygart said. “They’re the bid—which it did, beating Bei- the last. NotreDame,inits first very powerful within the IOC and jing by two votes. year of conferenceaffiliation, be- within international sport, and “I wasn’t going to die wondering came the firstteam to makethe (Olympic officials) want to appease whywedidn’t win,” he said at the playoff afterlosing aconference them. It’sprofits over principle.” time. championship game. Coates declined to be inter- Coates said the paymentswere Texas A&M, which finished the viewedfor this story. In response to contingent grantsoffered to those season 8-1, is the firstone-lossSEC writtenquestions,hesaid his posi- nations’ National Olympic Commit- team to missthe semifinal. tion as CASpresident “has no role global sponsors, and that Russia tries’ citizens gathering during the tees under the Australian Olympic in the appointment of Panels or the will not host an Olympic Games be- coronavirus pandemic,orbe Committee’sprogram of assistance running of the proceedings.” fore at least2030. scrapped and threaten National to African NOCs and “werenot in Tygart’scharacterization of Rus- Questionsabout Coates’ influ- Olympic Committees world-wide breach of anyIOC candidaturerules sia’sinfluence, Coates wrote, “does encepre-dated last week’sruling. with financial disaster. at the time.” Therules were not bear scrutiny” or have anyrela- Rob Koehler,director general of the With the IOC,Coates has often changed in 2003. tion to Thursday’sCAS decision or international athlete-led advocacy playedthe role of bad coptoBach’s Coates became an IOC member anyprevious one he is aware of. organization Global Athlete, criti- placid-faced good cop. Forinstance, in 2001 and rose to the executive Coates said he would forwardany cized Coates’sdual roles before it wasCoates who publicly slammed boardin2009. specific allegations to the relevant Thursday’sCAS decision. the organizersofthe Rio 2016 “He’sextremely smart, anda CASdivision forinvestigation. “Whether thereare real or per- Games as their preparations lagged. tough competitor,” said longtime An IOC spokesperson also received conflictsofinterests, they’re “Some people maynot likehis IOC member and fellowAustralian

GES futedthe idea that thereisacon- there,” Koehler said. “And it under- methods,but he’sincredibly effec- KevanGosper.“He doesn’t suffer

IMA flict. “Wewould suggest that Mr. mines the credibility and the inde- tive,” said John Boultbee,aformer fools.His last resort is compromise. Tygart do afact check firstbefore pendenceofCAS.” director of the Australian Institute He stays with intent to win to the

GETTY he startsanother political mission,” Coates is amajor Olympic player. of Sport. last minute, and thereisacertain N/

TO the spokesperson wroteinanemail. Thecoordination commission for Coates climbed the ranks of quality of arroganceinhim. While

TIL Thespokesperson added that it is the TokyoOlympics,onwhich sportsadministration and by 1990 he listens to advice, he has astrong C. “obvious and fully transparent” that Coates is chairman, will soon decide became president of the Australian belief in his ownopinions.” RED

JA the IOC does not have aRussian whether the Games go on next sum- National Olympic Committee, apo- —Alastair Gale and Stuart Notre Dame is the No. 4 seed. companyamong itshighest-paying mer despitethe risks of 200 coun- sition he still holds three decades Condie contributed to this article.

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THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Monday, December 21, 2020 | A21 OPINION How Tech Got Ready for 2020 BOOKSHELF | By Moira Hodgson

Woody Allen work with masks), meal de- don’t have to do it them- Zoom beforethe rest of the The Riddle wasonto livery, grocerydelivery, retail selves.Noone really has to world verbed it. something logistics,e-billing,ticketless DoorDash dinner,but enough Of course,plenty of things when he said travel, airport-security line- techies were toolazy to drive were 2020 no-shows.It “80% of suc- cutting retinal scans,motion- to Taco Bell. would have been nicetohave In Her Eyes cess is show- sensing Purell dispensers. This is averyAmerican self-driving cars.And ask any INSIDE ing up.” Sure, Amazon wasready with es- phenomenon. Kind of a“pur- parent or grandparent: Vid- VIEW that gives sentials,but six weeks to de- suit of happiness” thing. eoconferenced education has The Sphinx short shrift liver abook? Yes, I’veheard We’rebusy and have better been awfulfor K-12 and a By Andy to all the of Kindle.And weirdly,ball- thingstodothan sit in traf- mess forcolleges (where’s By Hugo Vickers Kessler work we put park crowd noise sold to fic, wait in lines,pay with that tuition rebateform?). (Hodder & Stoughton, 388 pages, £25) in—Thomas videogame companies was cash, sort photos,gotothe Would’vebeen nicetohavea Edison’s“99% perspiration.” sold back to teams.Acciden- movies,sit knees-in-chest on Primer—a tablet forself- n 1943 Henry “Chips” Channon, a well-known British But never has showing up tally ready! aplane.We’reindependent paced learning,hopefully un- I socialite and Conservative politician, spotted Gladys, been moreimportant than in Youcan probably name and appreciatethe choicewe der development. Duchess of Marlborough, in a Bond Street jewelry shop. 2020.You had to be ready dozens of others. But the big- have—tobelazy. Medical supply chains, He was shocked by her appearance, as was his dog, which- when panic and turmoil and gerquestion is: Whywas all which ranthrough China for began to growl. When Channon reintroduced himself to her, lockdowns hit. this stuff ready to go? masks and antibiotics,werea she looked at him, “stared vacantly with those famous Lots of things didn’t show Thehistoryofdigital tech- Breakthroughs like hugefailure. Three-dimen- turquoise eyes that once drove men insane with desire.” up on dayone: N95 masks, nologyislitteredwith exam- sional printing wassmall-time, She muttered, in French, “I have never heard that name.” ventilators, toilet paper,kettle ples of lowering costs—ever video calling and quick and never scaled up to deliver Gladys dropped the ruby clip she was examining and left bells,flour and common sincechips were invented in delivery arepartofa N95 masks and other essen- without another word. sense.But so manythingsdid 1958, things have magically tials.And government was Hugo Vickerswas 16 in 1968 when he chanced upon this showupduring lockdowns. gotten smaller,cheaper,faster, quest forconvenience. clearly unready,scrambling to entry in Channon’s diaries. He was astonished. How had Teleconferencing has always better. Thenextstepwas get- hireCobol programmersto that great beauty,oncethe toast of Paris,the belle amie been lurking in the back- ting humans out of the way. update50-year-old unemploy- of Anatole France and Marcel Proust, turned into what ground, but Zoom was ready. Operators. Tellers. Librarians. Ithink messenger RNA, ment-claims systems. Channon called a “terrifying apparition”? Consumed with Wherewould we be without Stockbrokers. Taxi dispatch- mRNA,which both Pfizer and Still, society wassurpris- curiosity, he was determined to find out. it? Same forthe cloud comers. Ticket handlers. Every Moderna used to create ingly ready forthis pan- In 1975 he finally tracked the duchess down in a psy- puting it runs on, which was time,quality went higher and Covid vaccines,was just a demic.Manythink we’veex- chiatric hospital. He became her trusted (and only) friend, ready to scale.Add broadband higher.TVand cameraresolu- shortcut forscientistssoperienced acompression: visiting her frequently to the list. Europe,with fool- tions.Wireless3G, 4G,5G they didn’t have to do so Thingsthat were going to before she died aged 96 in ishnetwork-neutrality laws, communications.Connected much work.Moderna had a happen over thenextfiveto 1977. Two years later he hadtothrottle speeds. social networks. vaccine candidateready two 10 yearsanywaycame about published a biography, Telemedicine wasready.I Yeah, great history, but days afterthe coronavirus much morequickly.Ithink “Gladys, Duchess of Marl- wrote last year that Ihad that doesn’t explain why genetic sequencewas re- that’sright, but manythings borough.” Sincethen he firedmydoctor and takenup thingswereready in 2020. leased by China in January. we needed most already ex- has uncovered unseen telemedicine and Igot tons of OK,for that youhavetoun- Lazy? Thebest kind. isted, and only need to material, which he has emails telling me Iwould die derstand the psyche of Sili- That’sthe historyofinno- scale. reworked intohis gripping soon. I’m still here, and now conValley.Thereisanother vation, from plows to pumps So please encouragework- newbook,“TheSphinx.” youprobably use it. Stream- aspect of quality that’srarely to pizza-making robots. arounds to manyoftoday’s Gladys Deacon was an ing via Netflix and adozen discussed, and that’sconve- Someone toolazy to do it the waysofdoing things, espe- American heiress who might other services wasready,and nience. Icould call ataxi ser- old tedious way inventsthe cially in eds, meds and feds. have walked out of a novel by then some.Nextyear major vice, but I’drather simply future. It’salmost guaranteed the Henry James. She was born in studio films will appear si- clickabuttononmyphone. Early adopterstry things, next turmoilwill be totally Paris in 1881 at the height of multaneously in theatersand Basically techies arelazy,and even if expensive. Theorigi- different. Letthe lazy (and the Belle Époque, the eldest of on streaming services—previ- thank goodness. No,not work nal 2007 iPhone was, in ret- crazy) runamok creating this four sisters. When she was 11 ously unthinkable. lazy: They do 80-hourweeks rospect, tiny, slowand kinda decade’sinventions to show her father wasjailed forshooting The“ready” list wasamaz- coding till dawn. But often wimpy.Fanboys charged up during whatever 2030 her mother’s lover dead in abedroom at the HôtelSplendide ing: Contactlesspayments their goal is to getamachine aheadanyway. Just likethere tries to throw at us. in Cannes.The scandal sullied the family’s reputation and (thoughApple Paydidn’t to do thingsfor them so they wasenough of amarket for Write to [email protected]. put the daughters’ chances forgood marriages in jeopardy. Neverthelesstheir mother pressed on, as one observer put it, “dominating the social sea likeaDreadnought.” When she was 14, Gladys read an article about the ninth Cuba’s San Isidro Uprising Duke of Marlborough’s marriage to the American railroad heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt. Consuelo’s $200-million In atelephone dictatorship since1959,when Thenextday hundreds of tyrsthat went beforeit. He an- fortune would pay for the restoration of his family seat, interviewlast Castrotook power. In the late people gathered acrossthe sweredthat some names are Blenheim Palace, one of Britain’s largest and most magnifi- week Iasked 1990s and early 2000s the late street from the Ministryof known, likePayá, killed in a cent houses, dating from the early 18th century. “O dear me Luis Manuel Oswaldo Payá’s Varela Project Culturefor 15 hourstoprotest suspicious carcrash in 2012, if only I was a little older I might ‘catch’ him yet!” Gladys OteroAlcán- collected morethan 25,000 the raid. To defuse the tension, andOrlando Zapata, ablack wrote to her mother. Her girlhood ambition to marry him, tara,one of signatures on apetition call- the regime agreed to meet bricklayerwho died apolitical Mr. Vickers writes, was fueled by a visit to a fortuneteller. AMERICAS the leadersof ing forfreespeech, free as- with 30 of theprotestersto prisoner in 2010.But thereis TheDeacon family’s dubious historydidn’t prevent the dissident sembly,ownership of busi- discusstheir demands for also “a lot of ignorance,” he their daughter’s rapid ascent into the upper echelons of By Mary SanIsidro nesses and political pluralism. freedomofexpression. said, “because every10years European society. Gladys was “radiant”; she spoke seven Anastasia Movement in Since2003 the Ladies in It wasanextraordinary theregime destroys the his- languages and possessed a wide knowledge of Greek O’Grady Havana, what White—wives,sistersand concession. But dissident tory and dissidentshaveto mythology, art, literatureand poetry. Proust commented, he thinks of daughtersofpolitical prison- hopes were soon dashed start over.” “I never saw a girl with so much beauty, such magnificent Fidel Castro. ers—have been an interna- when the dictatorship can- One of SanIsidro’scauses is intelligence, such goodnessand charm.” No wonder the His answerstunned me not tional symbol of resistanceto celed asecond promised gayrights. But RaúlCastro’s art historian Bernard Berenson fell in love with her and because Idisagreed but be- arbitraryincarceration. meeting because the group daughter Mariela has been frequently had her to stay at I Tatti, his villa in Florence. cause challenging the godlike As the SanIsidroMove- hadthe temerity to request dining out foryearsinterna- Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, son of the Kaiser, was myth of the comandante,alive ment gains street cred in the that itsimprisoned members tionally as achampion of the besotted and gave her a ring so valuable his father insisted or dead, has always been taboo. barrio,support from other be included. LGBTcommunity,soIasked it be returned. Librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal described “For me he wasabad per- dissident groups,and recogni- Mr. Otero Alcántara what Gladys as “in [a] certain sense the most brilliant person son, and what he did is not tion abroad, the question on makes it an issue.“Cubans are that I have ever seen . . . The speed and elasticity of her justified by what he did in the minds of long-suffering There has been living in atotalitarian dictator- mind is astounding . . . She often has something of a things likehealth care,” the Cubans is whetherthis time ship whereall institutions re- lascivious young god in girl’s clothes.” 33-year-old performanceartist thingsare different. Thereare organized dissent for spond to the interestsofthe In the fall of 1902 Gladys made a terrible mistake. To said. “Ifyou represssomeone good reasons to remain cau- decades. This time dictatorship,” he said.“But it obtain a more Grecian profile she had paraffin wax injected because they wroteapoem tiouslypessimistic about the is impossible forany institu- into the small depression above the bridge of her nose to youdon’t likeoryou arrest odds of political change. But could be different. tion to coverall the pluralities form astraight line from the forehead to the tip.Her friend young people continually,you it’salso true that Cuban civil in asociety.Yes,thereisasec- Count Robert de Montesquiou, the flamboyant aestheteand arenot agood person. This re- societyseems to be undergo- torinCuba that feels repre- poet (model for Baron de Charlus in Proust’s “In Search of pression has destroyed the ing arevival, and that makes It wasapredictable rever- sented by herbut othersdo Lost Time”), warned her against such a procedure. She lives of intellectuals.” thelandscape markedly dif- sion to the mean. Yetinmy not. These othersare not al- should have listened. The wax disfigured her face, melting Lots of Cubans will tell you ferent than it waseven10 conversation with Mr.Otero lowedtobeindependent.” So into her cheeks, causing them to droop and turn blotchy. similar thingsprivately,but yearsago. AlcántaraIcouldn’t shakethe much foridentity politics. few have dared utterthem in On Nov.26Mr. OteroAl- feeling of something newun- One big changefor dissi- public.Until now. cántaraand at least five oth- folding.Hetold me that he dentscame in December 2018 An American beauty who might have stepped TheSan IsidroMovement ershad been inside an apart- launched his hunger strike when,under severeeconomic out of a Henry James novel, Gladys Deacon wasformed in 2018 to oppose a ment on a hunger strike for when Mr.Solis wasarrested strain, the regime began to of- newlaw making it acrime to morethan eight days,pro- because he wasappalled at fer internet access via a3Gcell beguiled artists and aristocrats alike. engageinperformanceart with- testing rapper Denis Solis’s howquickly Cubans accept network.TodayMr. OteroAl- out permission from the Minis- eight-month prison sentence someone being takenaway and cántaramaintains that the San tryofCulture. Thegroup— for“disrespect.” That’swhen imprisoned. His objection is to IsidroMovement “isfar larger In 1909 Berenson’s wife, Mary, found her to be “rather made up of young adultsof authorities,using Covid-19 “repression normalized.” than what canbeseen because heart-breaking now, when you think what she once was.” different raceswho areartists, regulations as apretext, Nothing new there. But of social media. Social net- She’d become “impossible in manner and conversation,” writers, musicians,students, broke down thedoor and then Iwondered aloud works arethe big key,” he told and “gone off terribly in looks....Yet with all this there and researchers—hold amix of stormed the premises.The whether this group of dissi- me,adding confidently that is something so thrilling, so exhilarating, so unusual about political views but areunited in strikerswerecarted off to de- dents—manyofwhom were “the digitalrevolutionisthe her that you feel as if you cannot live away from her.” their quest forfreedom. tention. Mr.Otero Alcántara selected and nurtured by the greatest revolution since1959. Her botched nose job didn’t prevent Gladys from Therehas been plenty of wastaken to ahospital where regime in their careers—is Cubans want to be free.” achieving her lifelong dream, although it took some time. organized opposition to the his strikewas broken. even aware of the manymar- Write to O’[email protected]. She was 40 when, in 1921, the Duke of Marlborough’s marriage to Consuelo was ended and she finally ensnared him. A dinner held to celebrate the impending wedding included Proust (in a floor-length sealskin dressing gown), The Military Learned to Stop the Bleeding while the ceremony itself was attended by guests such as Edith Wharton and Marshal Foch. By Frank K. Butler four-year reviewofbattlefield ways benefited from military when prehospital trauma sys- Gladyshad always been difficult and at Blenheim And John B. Holcomb trauma care,which led to the wartime experience, but the tems don’t use tourniquets. By Palaceshe was bored and unhappy. Her behavior became development of Tactical Com- process can be slow. By 2010 using recently published, high increasingly irrational. Her dogs were given free rein obyn Gardner laybleed- bat Casualty Care, firstde- tourniquetswereroutine in quality regional data, we esti- indoors, staining the carpets and damaging the sofas. At R ing by ariver near Sac- scribed in 1996.TCCC recom- themilitarybut rare outside matethat up to 5,300 deaths a one dinner party she pulled out a revolver and set it beside ramento, Calif., her mends tourniquetsfor life- it. Civilian tourniquet use in- year could be prevented her plate. A startled guest asked what she was going to do thigh ripped open by a boat’s threatening extremity bleeding creased significantly after throughout the country with it. “I might just shoot Marlborough,” she replied. propeller.Aformer Army until the casualty reaches a 2013,when Hartford,Conn., through the use of these sim- By 1933 the duke decided that he’d had enough and medic happened to be nearby. surgeon. But most U.S. military trauma surgeon Lenworth Ja- ple devices.Money isn’t an is- decamped to his house on Carlton House Terrace in He applied atourniquet, unitsignored the adviceatfirst cobs convened a group of ex- sue: Atourniquet costsless London, taking most of the staff with him. Gladys was which immediately stopped and didn’t carrytourniquets perts to study ways of saving than $30. evicted from thepalace. In 1938 she bought afarmhouse the bleeding and stabilized intoAfghanistan and Iraq. lives in civilian masscasualty ToomanyAmericans bleed in the village of Chacombe in Northamptonshire where she Gardner. But when the ambu- incidentssuch as the Sandy to death everyyear from se- lived with a herd of cats. Eventually she became a recluse, lancearrived, the crew re- Hook school shooting.The vere extremity hemorrhage. stumping around in patched-up rubber boots like a tramp. moved the tourniquet, be- Many civilian lives Hartford Consensus led the Everyprofessional firstre- Thelocals called her “the witch of Chacombe.” By 1962 cause tourniquets weren’t an could be saved by American CollegeofSurgeons sponder needs to have atour- she was seen as a danger to herself. Four men in white approved trauma intervention and the American Collegeof niquet in his medical kit. No- coats came and dragged her out of the house. in the jurisdiction. EMTstried using tourniquets. EmergencyPhysicians to en- body should faceRobyn Mr. Vickers, with his sharp eye for detail, splendidly other techniques to control dorse tourniquet use by pro- Gardner’s fatebecause first- captures the drama of Gladys’s life and the amazing cast of the bleeding,but Gardner died fessional first responders. responder organizations fail characters she encountered. “She paid a high price for her at 38 in 2003. That changedascasualties Yetscores, perhaps hun- to keep up with evolving stan- coronet,” he writes. “Her marriage failed as many of those Tourniquetssavelives,but mounted. In 2005 the U.S. dreds, of first-responder or- dards in trauma care. Anglo-American matches failed. The British establishment an exaggerated fear of tissue Special Operations Command ganizations still don’t use can be witheringly unkind to those they do not understand damage led medical authori- and the U.S. Central Command tourniquets. EMS systems,fire Dr. Butler, aretired U.S. and they were remorselessly unforgiving of her.” ties to ban them from use on both mandated tourniquet departmentsand other such Navy SEAL captain, is afor- Twosphinxes in Gladys’slikenessguardthe first both militaryand civilian use. Studies since have found agencies arelocal and autono- mer command surgeon for terraceat Blenheim Palace. Her famous turquoise eyes, trauma patients. Some 3,400 hundreds of American lives mous, making it hard to hold U.S. Special Operations Com- painted in 1928 on the ceiling of the portico, still gaze American lives were lost in have been savedonthe battle- them to national standards. mand. Dr. Holcomb, a retired down, unblinking, at all who pass beneath. Vietnam from failuretouse field with tourniquetsand lit- Civilian studiesshowthat U.S. Army colonel, is aformer these simple devices. tle danger of tissue damage. deathsrelated to extremity commander of the U.S. Army Ms. Hodgson is the author of “It Seemed Like a Good That realization prompted a Civilian trauma care has al- hemorrhageincrease 600% Institute of Surgical Research. Idea at the Time: My Adventures in Life and Food.” P2JW356000-2-A02200-1------XA

A22 | Monday, December 21, 2020 ** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. OPINION

REVIEW & OUTLOOK LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Covid Political Relief We’ll Keep Wishing You a ‘Merry Christmas’

ongressional leadersreached agree- and 110,000 have permanently closed this year. When aChristian believer says sagethat manywill passalong while ment on a$900 billion Covid-19 relief Manyare victims of ham-handed government “MerryChristmas,” the messagecon- we still can. C bill Sundayevening,but please don’t diktats likeCalifornia Gov.Gavin Newsom’s clo- veys personal feelings, beliefs and a JEFF ADAMS value system. If the response is Atlanta call this economic stimulus. sureofoutdoor dining. Another spending “MerryChristmas” right back,those With some exceptions,the Eventually newbusinesses who exchangethe wishes likely are Mr.Ford’ssentiment seems en- main relief hereisfor the pol- blowout, but at least it will replacethose that fail, kindred spirits. Awkwardmoments lightened until one tries to reconcile iticians who want to take butthe human and economic with some nonbelieversorpeople howavoiding saying “Christmas” ac- credit fordoling out more has limits on the Fed. cost will be smaller if Con- with other religious beliefs tend to tually promotes it. In my experience cash to constituents. gresshelps them and their be brief and manageable.Noharm, thereisaconsiderable overlap be- Thebest provision in the workersride out the months no foul. tween the people who can’t receivea bill is the limit on potential abuse by the Biden until vaccines arewidely available.The labor Stephen Ford encourages us to go “MerryChristmas” with the joyin Treasuryand Federal Reserve. Credit hereto market will also spring back faster if workers with “Happy Holidays” as anoncom- which it wasintended and those who Pennsylvania Sen. PatToomey, who held firm have employers to return to. bativewish that reflectsquiet Chris- claim the progressivevirtue of valu- on limiting the Fed’smaneuvering room with- Thedeal includes several billion moredol- tian confidence(“‘Happy Holidays’Is ing diversity and inclusion. If diver- Pro-Christmas,” Houses of Worship, sity and inclusion were takenseri- out anew act of Congress. Democratsare claim- larsfor vaccine distribution, which maybe Dec.11). Thanks,but no thanks. ously and applied consistently,then ing victory, but that’sface-saving spin. morethan necessarybut will temper kvetch- “Happy Holidays” has all the punch highly progressiverecipientsofthe Thebill will repurpose the $429 billion in ing by governorslikeNew York’sAndrew and symbolism of putting “WeTrust” greeting would bubble with joyin Cares Act emergencyfunding that the Fedhasn’t Cuomo who complain they can’t affordtoin- on U.S. dollarswithout the “In God.” the same way they do upon encoun- had to use.Italso includes languagebarring the oculatetheir populations.The feds aredoing America’sdestinyappearstobe tering an all-gender restroom. Fedfromrestarting the facilities that areset to most of the administrativework and have secular,but a“MerryChristmas” BRYAN BOATRIGHT expireonDec.31orcreating clones.That’sim- paid forthe vaccines.HHS secretaryAlexAzar spoken with joyand loveisames- Austin, Texas portant because the wailing over this language says states merely need to operateas“air proves that Democratswant to use the Fedto trafficcontrollers,” coordinatelogistics and bail out stateand local governments. They said clear the runway. so in the House Heroes Act by demanding 10- Although direct stateand local government The Continuing Saga of Fannie and Freddie year,25-basis-point Fedloans. aidwas leftout of the deal, governorswill still In Washington, “least bad” solu- vatorship in the firstplace. Today’s Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his me- get tens of billions for schools, child-care pro- tions areoften the best that the po- GSEs arefar safer entities as aresult dia echoes targeted Mr.Toomey as their villain viders, broadband, food stamps and public litical processcan produce(“TheFan- of the conservatorship.Arelease du jour,asiffinancial marketsare still in acri- transit. Much of this is pork. nie and Freddie Conundrum,” Review without congressional action would sis.They also claimed Mr.Toomey wanted to iii &Outlook,Dec.9). But releasing gov- eliminateour ability to constrain rewritethe lawgoverning 13(3) Fedfacilities, Thebiggest fiascoisanother round of ernment-sponsored enterprises Fan- them at all—preventing protections but that is false.His aim is to makesurethat checks—this time $600—tomost Americans nie Mae and Freddie Mac from con- forlendersand taxpayers. emergencyfacilities don’t become open-ended who earn up to $100,000.This will have little servatorship with little capital and no Fortruereform, we must frame fiscal programs.Biggercompanies nowhave or no economic impact sinceitwon’t change reforms is no solution at all. It would explicit guarantees on mortgage- ample access to privatecredit, and small busi- incentives; it also isn’t focused on the neediest. undermine investor confidence, cre- backed securities.Further,GSEs atevolatility in the mortgagemarket shouldn’t be allowedtocut sweet- nesses aregetting moredirect aid. Thepersonal savingsrateinOctober was and impede access to credit forcon- heart deals in exchangefor market Readersmay recall that last March Demo- 13.6%, about twiceashigh as beforethe pan- sumers. Whyupend the mortgage sharewith the biggest banks.And cratswerecalling the money forFed pandemic demic,with $2.4trillion on the sidelines. market at atime when it is one of rather than rely on unelectedbureau- facilities a“slush fund” forDonald Trump. Another blunder is three moremonths of the few economic bright spots? cratslikeFHFADirector Mark Ca- “Trump wantsour response to be ahalf-trillion $300 in federal enhanced weekly unemploy- Moody’s recently wrotethat an exit labria to ensureequitable access to dollar slush fund to boost favoredcompanies ment benefits. This plus-up will allowhalf or from conservatorship without agov- lenders, Congressshould take the and corporateexecutives,” Elizabeth Warren so of workerstoearn morebynot working and ernment guarantee could result in a lead in these reforms. tweeted. JoeBiden slammed the Fedprograms slowthe labor market recovery oncethe vac- downgrade in the GSEs’ debt ratings. DAVID H. STEVENS as a“$500 billion slush fund forcorporations cine rollout gets underway sincethey will have TheMortgageBankersAssociation Moneta, Va. with almost no conditions.” TheTrump Trea- lessincentivetofind work. doesn’t support an endlessconserva- Mr. Stevens is aformer assistant suryused the money responsibly. Manybusinesses,especially in construction torship; we believethe TreasuryDe- secretary for housing (2009-11) and partment should work with the Fed- FHA commissioner. Yetnow Brian Deese, Mr.Biden’schoiceto and warehousing,are desperatetohire, and eral Housing FinanceAgencyto runthe WhiteHouse National Economic Coun- therewere6.7 million job openingsinOctober, implement reforms so that Fannie Thegovernment purchased $191.5 cil, says “the Fed'sability to respond quickly according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. and Freddie caneventually operate billion of Fannie Mae and Freddie and forcefully” is still needed. But the Fed can StateslikeNew York and California, whose outside of government control. These Mac preferred stock in the after- still do that in an emergencyifitgetsCon- governorshaveimposed excessivebusinessre- reforms include equal secondarymar- math of the 2007-08 financial crisis. gress’s assent. By the way, Mr. Deese has been strictions,will benefit most from the income ketaccessfor all lendersregardless Uncle Samhas thus far collected working forBlackRock,the Wall Street firm the transfers. of size, businessmodel, or volume of morethan $301 billion in “divi- Fedtapped to buy corporatebond exchange- GOP leadersare hoping this spending blow- loans delivered to the GSEs; strict dends.” Do the math. Thegovern- traded funds on itsbehalf. outwill help their two incumbentsinthe Geor- limitsonthe sizeand use of the ment never really put up apennyof iii gia Senaterunoffs on Jan. 5. It had better, be- GSEs’ mortgageinvestment portfo- itsown money.The cash came from Therest of the relief bill is amix of good to cause this is merely forthree months and lios; and the promotion of credit-risk wherethe rest of our chronic deficit transferstoprotect taxpayers. spending comes from: the bond awful. Another $330 billion or so forthe Pay- Democratsare viewing it merely as adown BOB BROEKSMIT market. Thegovernment borrowed check Protection Program is warranted to aid payment on trillions morenextyear.The coun- President &CEO the money (at probably lessthan small businesses until the pandemic eases.The trywill be paying forthe pandemic forde- Mortgage Bankers Association 3%), and then reloaned it to Fannie National Restaurant Association reported this cades,and Congressisadding ever moretothe Washington and Freddie at 10%. Without the tax- month that 500,000 restaurantsare in free fall bill forfuturegenerations. payerputting up adime,the gov- Without appropriateoversight ernment has been earning at least a these companies could easily repeat 700-basis-point spread on almost Trump’s Bad Exit the mistakes that put them in conser- $200 billion of “other people’s money” foradozenyears. Brilliant! resident Trump accomplished a great said Friday that the evidence clearly points to “Hasn’t come close to being re- What the Election Revealed paid”?Tothe contrary, it has been deal in four years, but as he leavesoffice the Russians for the hack. the best deal forthe taxpayersince P he can’t seem to help reminding Ameri- But Mr.Trump tweeted that “Russia, Russia About Institutional Health the Louisiana Purchase. cans why they denied him a second term. is the priority chant when anything happens It’strue, as William A. Galston GARY HINDES He could focus on the positive, such as the because Lamestream [media] is, for mostly fi- pointsout in “Institutions Savedthe New York Covid-19 vaccines and his Arab-Israeli peace nancial reasons,petrified of ...discussing the 2020 Election” (Politics &Ideas,Dec. breakthrough. Instead he’scalling Membersof possibility that it maybeChina (it may!).” 16), that federal judges ruled impar- Thebig question is whether the Congressand asking them to object on the Then he linked the hack to apossible “hit on tially on President Trump’snumer- government should be involved in Houseand Senatefloor to the resultsofthe ourridiculous voting machines during the ous appeals.But Mr.Galston fails to 70%ofhome mortgages. Electoral College count. election, which is nowobvious that Iwon big, mention the activist judges and state JIM SMEDRA This won’t change the outcome, but it will making it an even morecorrupted embarrass- Supreme Court justices who ignored Grand Prairie, Texas put pressureonRepublicans to embarrass ment forthe USA.” statelaw to changerequirementsfor mail-in voting,including the proper themselves by indulging Mr.Trump’sattempts Mr. Pompeo has no incentive to dissemble completion of the ballotsand the Mind What Neuroscientists to delegitimizethe results. We hope the Mem- about Russia’s role, and Americans deserve to dateatwhich they would no longer Can Tell Us About the Brain bers ignore his pleas. knowthe truth about what happened. Mr. be accepted. Most Americans don’t Meanwhile, afterdays of silenceoverthe Trump doesn’t want to admit he lost, and he knowiftherewereelection shenani- In the book “Seven and a Half Les- hack on U.S. government agencies and private can duck the inauguration if he likes. But his gans or not, but Isuspect most sons About the Brain,” reviewed by companies, Mr. Trump chimed in Saturday to soreloser routine is beginning to grateevenon wouldn’t want to go through this ev- Emily Bobrow (Bookshelf, Dec. 14), add confusion. SecretaryofState MikePompeo millions who voted for him. eryfour years. Can’t we acknowl- Professor Lisa Feldman Barrettwrites edgeJoe Biden as the president- without equivocation, “Your brain’s elect and still investigatethe voting most important job is to control your Education Rescue in Providence process? body—to manage allostasis.” But is TIM EICHENBRENNER that right? Charlotte, N.C. The brain has higher-order pur- report last year found abject student drain money from neighborhood public poses than serving as a conductor for performance, demoralized teachersand schools.” Mr.Galston writes,“What Ishould the body’s organs. It is also the seat A deteriorating buildingsinProvidence, This is the usual rhetorical union trick.Char- have anticipated but didn’t washow of consciousness and the mind. What Rhode Island’straditional ters are public schools, albeit manyofMr. Trump’ssupporters gives us identity or personhood? public schools.Well, this par- Rhode Island allows without the barnacles and would believehim” about election What allows us to think about think- ticular hell mayhavefrozen more charter schools costsofunion control. Fund- fraud. Fair enough. But howmanyof ing—to wonder? The materialist in- over,aslast week the state’s ing forcharter schools in the president’sdetractorsbelieved terpretation is that consciousness education council votedtoex- after union failures. Rhode Island follows the stu- that the Steele dossier wastrueand and the mind aren’t separate from pand and open morecharter dent, though local districtsre- President Trump assumed officeille- the brain, but rather are products of schools to rescue studentsin tain aportion forfixed costs gitimately? Howmanybelieved that the brain—of neuronal, synaptic and Adam Schiff had incontrovertible ev- other activity. To borrow philosopher the district. when studentsleave foracharter.The state idenceofMr. Trump’scollusion with Gilbert Ryle’s expression, there is no About 13% of Providence’s30,000 students took over the Providenceschool district, in- Russia? Howmanybelievethat Mi- “ghost in the machine.” attend 28 charter schools,some in other dis- cluding the budget, last year afterthe Johns chael Flynn brokethe lawwhen talk- KEITH TIDMAN tricts. But demand far exceeds supply.Only Hopkins Institutefor Education Policyexposed ing with Russia’sambassador? Bethesda, Md. 18% of the 5,000 or so charter school appli- the school horror showinastudy. GREGG SCHULER cantswereoffered aseat this school year,ac- TheHopkins team reported that manypeo- Cincinnati cording to the stateeducation department. ple it interviewed, including school administra- Pepper ... Eighty-four percent of Providencestudentsare tors and district leaders, said the union collec- Mr.Trump has done Americaa And Salt low-income and 92% areminorities. tive-bargaining agreement makes it difficult to servicebydemonstrating through Thestate education council last week gave fire bad teachers. Only 11.9% of elementaryand his baselesslegal challenges that our THE WALL STREET JOURNAL preliminaryapproval formorethan 5,700new middle-school Providence students met or ex- system canwithstand attemptsto subvert fair elections and the rule of charter seatsinProvidenceand other dis- ceeded stateexpectations in math and 17.2% in law. Thefreepress,anindependent tricts. Threeoffour newchartersthat applied English LanguageArtsonstate exams in the judiciaryand the sovereign powerof gotagreen-light to open, pending final ap- 2018-19 school year.Contrast that with 54% individual states have preserved the proval in the spring,and three existing char- and 57.1% of studentsatAchievement First, a will of the people,asexpressed in a ters (two of which serveProvidence) areex- charter system with five schools in the state, well-run election with historically panding.“Parentsofcolor don’t have alot of which nowhas approval to add two K-8schools high turnout. Maywenever take our choiceand resources,” said Education Com- and ahigh school. morethan two centuries of peaceful missioner AngélicaInfante-Green,who “You knewfromthe minuteyou walked in transitions of powerfor granted. pushed the expansion. “Weshould not be clos- that therewereexpectations,that the teachers MEL SMITH ing opportunities.” were all on the same page, that parentswere Nashville, Tenn. Theteachersunion isn’t happy.Inaletter welcome,” one city school boardmember Lettersintended forpublication should to Gov.Gina Raimondo,three union leadersin- noted of Achievement Firstinthe Johns Hop- be emailed to [email protected]. Please cluding American Federation of TeachersPres- kins report. Credit to Ms.Infante-Green for include your city, state and telephone ident Randi Weingarten complained that the buckingunion pressuretogivemorechildren number.All letters aresubject to expansion would “financially destabilizethe achanceatabettereducation and the oppor- editing,and unpublished letters cannot “Ultimately, I would like be acknowledged. Providenceschool district, because it would tunities it creates forabetterlife. to drive my own sleigh.” P2JW356000-0-A02300-1------XA

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Monday, December 21, 2020 | A23 OPINION No More Generals Atop the Pentagon The Cyber ThreatIsReal By Mike Gallagher Congressorthe WhiteHouse.The secretarywill have to be an ener- nJan. 13,2017, Ivoted to getic advocate. AndGrowing allowretired Marine Gen. Surveysconsistently report that Jim Mattis to serveas the militaryisone of the most O secretaryofdefense.Like trusted institutions in America, but By Mike Rogers everyMarine of my gen- politicization undermines that trust. eration, Ilooked up to Gen. Mattis Look at the 2016 Democratic and Re- he SolarWinds breach could be TO as theembodiment of the Marine publican conventions,wherere- the most significant cyber inci- PHO T Corpsethos.Istill do.But Ihave cently retired general officersat- dent in American history. Rus- OCK

come to believethat my vote wasa ST tacked the other party’s nominee as sian intelligence—likely the SVR, the

mistake. Congresswas wrong to ex- MY anational-securitythreat. If install- foreign-intelligencebranch—infil-

empt him from alegal prohibition ALA ing general officersasdefense sec- trated andsat undetected on U.S. on recently retired militaryofficers retary becomes the norm, senior government networks fornearly 10

serving as defense secretary. And CTION/ militaryleadersmay trytoingrati- months.Itwas asophisticated, smart

Congress shouldn’t do the same for LLE atethemselves with one political and savvyattack that should alarm CO

President-elect JoeBiden’s nominee, Y party or another in the hopes of se- the public and privatesectors. retired ArmyGen. Lloyd Austin. AR curing apowerful appointment. We maynot knowthe full extent

BeforeSecretaryMattis, Congress MILIT America’sforemost militaryand of the damagefor some time.Don’t F

had allowedonly one exemption PJ national-security threat is China. be surprised if moregovernment en- sincepassing the 1947 National Secu- Gens. Lloyd Austin and Jim Mattis in Baghdad, Dec. 15, 2011. Both partiesagree on this basic tities disclose that they toowere rity Act, forArmyGen. George Mar- point. Gen. Austin has considerable victims of this attack.Don’t be sur- shall in 1950.Voting to allowasec- command. Afterhundreds of billions our militaryand in the importance experience, but in the Middle East. prised either if it emergesthat pri- ond exception didn’t seem likemuch in defense cutsunder the Obama ad- of astrong civil-militaryworking re- He would be the thirdstraight for- vate companies were hit. SolarWinds of athreat to civil-militaryrelations. ministration, he rightly made a pri- lationship at DoD—as does Austin,” mer Armyofficer to oversee the says it has morethan 300,000 cus- Yetwith the benefit of hindsight, I ority of improving readiness. But Mr.Biden wroteinthe Atlantic.That Pentagon, following Christopher tomers, including 400 companies in cansee howGen. Mattis’stenurede- that came at the expense of long- misses the point. No serious ob- Miller and Mark Esper.Hewould the Fortune 500.That’salot of po- parted from norms in important term overhaul, despitebipartisan server is worried about Gen. Austin work alongside Gen. Mark Milley, tential victims. ways. Despitemyenormous respect support foreffortslikegrowing the seizing powerand threatening civil- chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Navy to 355 ships. ian control of the military. But de- Staff,also an Armyofficer.Gen. Additionally,Gen. Mattis brought fense scholarsonthe leftand right Austin’selevation would mean land- The U.S. must respond I voted to exempt Jim awarfighting-first perspectiveto have laid out broader concerns that power advocates would continue to proportionally to the Mattis from the law but public relations.With no back- areworth considering. dominatethe Pentagon even as the ground in politics,heundervalued One is that the qualities that threat from China demands acom- SolarWinds breach—and won’t repeat that mistake the importanceofengaging the pub- makeasuccessfulmilitaryofficer pelling vision of American sea lic on national-security issues and don’t necessarily translateintoPen- power. Further,Mr. Biden and his prepare for the next attack. with Lloyd Austin. scaled back the department’spublic tagonleadership,and Gen. Austin closestforeign-policyadvisers will release of information. This had the has little experienceout of uniform. have to deepen alliances and perverse effect of reducing the de- Soldiers aretrained to carryout or- strengthen partnerships in the Indo- It appearsthat this waspurely an forhim and the exceptional National partment’s ability to persuade Con- ders, and officersrarely become Pacific to counter China. They will intelligence-gathering effort. TheSVR Defense Strategy he wroteatthe gressand the public in important generals by shaking thingsup. need adefense secretarywho knows sat on government networks collect- Pentagon, his time as secretaryrein- bureaucratic fights. Thereare also questions about the region. ing as much dataasitcould, when- forced whyrecently retired officers In voting to grant an exception Gen. Austin’s time running Central IadmireGen. Austin forhis life- ever and howeveritwanted. It was shouldn’t serveinthis role. forGen. Mattis in 2017, Sen. Jack Command. Congressional inquiries time of honorable service. But that lessliketapping intophone lines and Likemanymilitaryofficers, Sec- Reed, ranking member of the Armed suggest that intelligencebriefings servicedoesn’t makehim the best morelikebreaking intothe library retary Mattis never seemed inter- Services Committee, cautioned that during his tenureunderstated the fitfor defense secretaryduring a andwandering around. estedinthe cabinet politics that “waiving the lawshould happen no dangersofISIS.Then there’sthe re- moment of profound geopolitical Everycountryconductsespionage. come with the position. He avoided morethan onceinageneration.” porting suggesting that Mr.Biden changeand challenges.When Con- That’snot the alarming part. What is fightswith fiscal hawks in the White Sen. Reed is right. Making such ex- tapped Gen. Austin because he won’t gressdecides whether to makean truly scaryisthat the Russians are House over defense spending,even ceptions acommon practicewould rock the bureaucratic boat. Thenext exception to the lawfor Gen. Austin, inside thehouse now. Whoknows as defense hawks in Congress subvert the intent of the National defense secretarywill have to deal Iwill vote no. wherethey’veplanted malware, cor- beggedhim to makethe case forad- Security Act. with coronavirus spending putting rupted or deleted data, locked users ditional dollars. Mr.Biden is sensitivetothese downward pressureondefense bud- Mr. Gallagher, aRepublican, rep- out of systems,ordestroyed systems SecretaryMattisseemed to run concerns: “I respect and believein gets.That will demand hardchoices resentsWisconsin’s Eighth Congres- entirely? Turning off the system and the Pentagon likeitwas acombatant the importanceofcivilian control of that won’t playwell in all cornersof sional District. uninstalling SolarWinds software isn’t enough. It maytakeyearsand thousands of hourstounpack fully where the Russians hid themselves and their Why Are Covid Antibody Drugs Sitting on Shelves? code. Using a network-management By Scott Gottlieb send more antibodies to community aren’t convinced they have anybene- Manylarge health systems and in- company’ssupply chain of updates And Mark McClellan infusion centersand clinics that have fit. Each emergencyauthorization surersare tracking their Covid pa- to penetratetargetednetworks is ex- takensteps to administer doses. wasbased on asingle study of mod- tients; if the antibody effectsturn ceptionally smart. This tactic will he Fridayapproval of asecond These clinics canwork with testing eratesize. This isn’t unusual in a out to be as significant as suggested spawn imitators, and not only among T Covid vaccine is welcome news, sites to speed referrals. public-health emergency, especially in trials,itshould showupinanaly- governments. Tools and techniques but much of the public won’t be Maryland has helped establish in- foradrugintended forhigh-risk pa- ses using this data. These studies used by stateactorsquickly end up able to getinoculated formany fusion-ready sites in each region and tients. But both approved antibody could also help zero in on which pain the hands of criminals,especially months.Meanwhile,the best way to is educating providersonhow to re- tientsare most likely to benefit and when they work.Look howransom- reducesuffering and hardship is thera- ferpatients.Most health insurers assessthe best waystoprovide ware spread afew yearsago. peutic technologies likeantibody have set up payment mechanisms Strapped hospitals are treatments, especially to underserved Hostile governmentsand criminal drugs. But right now, manyofthese based on Medicare’sapproach to re- populations. groups want to see not only howthe drugsare languishing on shelves at imburse forthe service. But this may struggling to set up ThelatestCovid trends aremiser- attack wascarried out, but howthe hospitalsand not reaching patients. not be sufficient, particularly for infusion sites. But states able,and it’stoo latetostamp out U.S. responds,ifitresponds at all. Moncef Slaoui, who runs Opera- home infusion of nursing-home resi- this surge.But there’sstill time to Thenature of cyberwarfareissecre- tion Warp Speed, said recently that dentsand other hard-to-reach pa- and the feds can help. save lives and help contain Covid tive, but recent attacks on the U.S. morethan 80% of the available sup- tients. Health plans could enter spe- from nowon—by making aggressive don’t appear to have prompted any ply is sitting unused, even as hospi- cialized contractswith home-infusion use of both vaccines and antibody response.Moscow,Beijing,Tehran, tals areinundated with critically ill providerstocreatemorepredictable treatmentswork similarly and the to- treatmentsnow entering the market. Pyongyang and the dons of cyber- patients. Antibody drugsinfuse pa- capacity to treat such patients. tality of the evidenceseems to show criminal gangssee that thereisno tientswith synthetic versions of the Operation Warp Speed is funding a compelling effects, reinforcedbyevi- Dr. Gottlieb is aresident fellow at pricetopay forhacking the U.S. kindsofimmune cells developed in pilot program to provide infusions in dencethat the coronavirus canbeef- the American Enterprise Institute and government. So whynot giveita response to an infection. Early trials nursing homes and patients’ homes fectively neutralized by antibodies. was commissioner of the Food and try? showantibody cocktails canstop in seven cities.But the scale is small. Evidence is also growing that the Drug Administration, 2017-19. Dr. Mc- TheU.S.needs to respond in a Covid symptoms from progressing. Medicareshould also payproviders drugsare relatively safe. Clellan is the director of the Duke- smart, considered manner.Shutting They canbeused with or without more forcounseling apatientwho Thereare waystobuild on the Margolis Center forHealth Policy at off the lightsinMoscow isn’t an ap- vaccines forpatients at highestrisk testspositive, sincetreatmenthas available evidence. First, sincethe Duke University andwas FDA com- propriateorproportional response. of severedisease. improved beyond merely telling peo- antibodies areinlimited supply, missioner, 2002-04. Dr. Gottlieb Disrupting thenetworks of the SVR Thesupply is limited. Thetwo ple to isolate. Counseling could help states such as Colorado have set up a serves on the boards of Pfizer and Il- or GRU—Russian militaryintelli- companies with authorized versions, ensure timely referrals to antibody system to randomizewho gets doses lumina and Dr. McClellan on the gence—maywell be.Ifthe U.S. Eli Lily and Regeneron, will ship alit- treatmentwhen appropriate. if supply runs short. That andsimilar boards of Johnson and Johnson and doesn’t define redlines todayand tle morethan one million doses by Another obstacle is the limited ev- systems areopportunities to gather Cigna; each companyisinvolved in demonstratethat thereare conse- theend of the year.Evidencesug- idenceabout the drugs. Some doctors moreevidenceonpatientoutcomes. aspectsofthe Covid response. quencesfor crossing them, we will geststhat forevery 10 high-risk pa- continue to be the victim of cyberat- tients treated, one hospitalization tacks.The breaches will only get might be avoided. That maysound worse. modest, but it adds up: amillion Online Class and False ADHD Diagnoses As we work to uncover the full doses administered could translate extent of the hack,weneed to geta into 100,000 fewerhospitalizations. By Erica Komisar actions were perfectly normal. The expectations forwhat kids canlearn grip on our collectivenational cyber Such areprievewould help hospitals problem wasthe school’sunrealistic in the online format. “Our children defenses.For toolong the cyber de- keep up with the current surge. nline learning is especially dif- expectations. arefeeling unheardand unseen, with fenses of the federal government Thebiggest difficulty is logistical. O ficult for young children, and Thepandemic and the shifttoon- athoughtful, hands-on, playful and have been scatteredacrossindivid- Patientsneed to be referred foranti- schools areblaming parents. A line learning seem to be intensifying experiential approach remotelearn- ual offices,agencies and depart- bodies soon afterdiagnosis.The infu- woman came to see me because her the trend toward pathologizing ordi- ing canbesuccessfulfor even the ments. Therehasn’t been asingle sion takesseveral hourstoprepare, de- 8-year-old daughter’s school recom- narychildhood behavior.Diagnosing youngest of learners,” said Mary person or officeinthe WhiteHouse liver and monitor.Aspecialized nurse mended neuropsychological evalua- achild with attention-deficit/hyper- Cantwell,aco-founder of En- tasked with managing the govern- must supervise,with protectiveequip- tion. Each daythe girl wasexpected activity disorder isn’t straightfor- richedNYC. “But the schools arenot ment’s cybersecurity policy. That ment, in aspaceseparatefromother to sit in achair,stare at acomputer ward.Itcan be challenging to deter- implementing such an approach. ” needstoend. patientstominimizespread. for hours, listen, memorize and re- mine if the child’sbehavior indicates Theincoming administration must Most early doses have been going peat. Not surprisingly,she had trou- aneurodevelopmental disorder or a appoint anational cyber director,a to hospitals.But manyhospitals are ble staying engaged, oftengot up natural response to astressful and Children under 10 can’t provision included in the recently strapped by Covid and having ahard andmoved around, and wasdis- stifling environment. Theprevalence be expected to stare at passed National Defense Authoriza- time setting up dedicated spaceand tracted when the teacher called on of ADHD diagnoses among U.S. chil- tion Act, and an issue on which Ites- redirecting trained nursing and sup- her.She had no learning or attention dren and adolescents rose from 6.1% a computer for hours. tified this summer.Wecan’t afford port staff.The government should problems beforeCovid-19 and her rein 1997-98 to 10.2% in 2015-16 among to have dozens of offices and agen- U.S. children and adolescents. A2015 cies running their owncybersecurity study found acorrelation between As the second half of the school policies and budgets. The White ratesofADHD diagnosis and laws pe- year begins,parentsand teachers House must assert itself. PUBLISHED SINCE 1889 BY DOWJONES&COMPANY nalizing school districtswhen stu- must accept that distraction and dis- Thegovernment can’t do it alone. Rupert Murdoch Robert Thomson dentsfail, suggesting that diagnostic engagement during online learning Cooperation with the privatesector Executive Chairman, News Corp Chief Executive Officer, News Corp ratescan be influenced by policy. arenormal, not pathological. Chil- on cyber defenses is urgent and nec- Matt Murray Almar Latour Editor in Chief Chief Executive Officer and Publisher Covid-19 shutdowns complicate dren arefeeling frustrated and need essary. This goes beyond contracts Neal LipschutzKaren Miller Pensiero DOWJONESMANAGEMENT: the matterfurther.Teachersand ad- compassion rather than judgment, and purchasing agreements, and Deputy Editor in Chief Managing Editor Ramin Beheshti, Chief Technology Officer; ministratorsexpect to be able to criticism and impatiencefromthe must includerecognition that the Jason Anders, Chief News Editor; Louise Story, Chief Kamilah Mitchell-Thomas, Chief People Officer; teach young children in the same way adultsintheir lives.For most, nation—privateand public sectors— News Strategist, Product &Technology Officer EdwardRoussel, Chief Innovation Officer; they did when they were facetoface. 2020-21 won’t be ayear of great ac- areunder attack.Weneed to crafta Thorold Barker, Europe; Elena Cherney, Coverage; Christina VanTassell, Chief Financial Officer But children under 10 have ahard ademic achievement. But it could be truly whole-of-nation and whole-of- Andrew Dowell, Asia; AnthonyGalloway, Video & time learning remotely,evenifthey ayear of strengthening relationships government approach to collective Audio; Brent Jones, Culture, Training &Outreach; OPERATING EXECUTIVES: AlexMartin, Print &Writing; Michael W. Miller, Jason P. Conti, General Counsel; clearly don’t have ADHD—and the with family members, building resil- cyber defense. Features &Weekend; Emma Moody, Standards; Frank Filippo, Print Products &Services; younger the child, the moredifficult ienceand emotional maturity,and TheSolarWinds damageisdone, Shazna Nessa, Visuals; MatthewRose, Kristin Heitmann, Chief Commercial Officer; the task.Young children arefilled learning to cope with the disappoint- but it isn’t toolatetostrengthen Enterprise; Michael Siconolfi, Investigations; NancyMcNeill, Corporate Sales; Stephen Wisnefski, Professional News with exploratoryenergy,and need ment and adversity of missing ourcyber defenses,work to deter Thomas SanFilippo, Customer Service; outletsfor playand creativity. friends and activities.The most im- foreign actors, and preparefor fu- GerardBaker, Editor at Large Josh Stinchcomb, Advertising Sales; That said,itisexciting to watchas portant lessons foreveryone this turebreaches.And therewill be Paul A. Gigot, Editor of the Editorial Page; Suzi Watford, Chief Marketing Officer; education-technologyentrepreneurs year will be learned outside the more. Daniel Henninger, Deputy Editor, Editorial Page Jonathan Wright, International work to find solutions to this school classroom. WALL STREETJOURNAL MANAGEMENT: Joseph B. Vincent, Operations; Professional Information Business: failure. Newonline tutoring compa- Mr. Rogers, aMichigan Republi- LarryL.Hoffman, Production Ingrid Verschuren, Deputy Head nies foryoung children use morecre- Ms.Komisar is apsychoanalyst can, was chairman of the House Per-

EDITORIAL AND CORPORATEHEADQUARTERS: ative and experiential methods of and author of “Being There: Why Pri- manent Select Committee on Intelli- 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y., 10036 teaching,don’t expect children to oritizing Motherhood in the First gence, 2011-15. He is adirector at Telephone 1-800-DOWJONES stay online forlong and have realistic Three Years Matters.” IronNetCybersecurity. P2JW356000-0-A02400-1------XA

A24 | Monday, December 21, 2020 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. P2JW356000-4-B00100-1------XA BUPERSOSINAL TECHNOLNEOGY: FOODSS-DELIVERY APPS&FCAN MAKE YOINUR BURGERANCOST MORECEB4

Last Week: S&P 3709.41 À 1.25% S&P FIN À 0.12% S&P IT À 3.20% DJ TRANS g 0.84% WSJ $ IDX g 0.96% LIBOR 3M 0.236 NIKKEI 26763.39 À 0.42% See more at WSJ.com/Markets TeslaBulls Double Down on Shares Payments Firms Fail Share-priceand index ShortedTesla shares as a BY GUNJAN BANERJI terthe S&P 500 on Monday. secutive quartersofprofit to performance percentageofsharesavailable AND MICHAEL WURSTHORN Tesla’srun has been so makeiteligible forinclusion. fortrading powerful that manybearish in- Tesla bulls saythe com- To Reach Die-hard Tesla Inc. inves- vestorshaveabandoned their pany’s potential is limitless 700% Tesla 50% tors arefeeling vindicated: money-losing bets, sending and arebuying even more Thestock is extending itsre- short positions on the stock to stock as shares charge to new $70Billion 600 lentlessrun, and the company arecordlow.Short interest in highs. 500 is set to join the S&P 500,the the stock as apercentageof “There’ssomuch good most widely tracked stock shares available fortrading re- news to come,” said Rostislav Merger 400 benchmark in the world. Many cently fell to alow of 5%, Zotin, a44-year-old business areevenbuying moreshares. down from roughly 18% earlier engineer who said he has been BY CARA LOMBARDO 300 25 Tesla has surged731% this in the year,IHS Markit data regularly buying Tesla shares AND DANA CIMILLUCA year and reached arecordFri- shows. since2013,stashing away ex- 200 day,padding the walletsofin- SinceTesla went public a traincome in the investment. Fidelity National Informa- vestorswho have poured their decade ago, its market value He pointed to Chief Executive tion Services Inc. and Global 100 savingsintoboth the stock has surged to $659 billion to Elon Musk’s ability to innovate Payments Inc.recently held S&P500 and the company’selectric become the sixth-largest com- and his promise of an on-de- unsuccessfultalks fora 0 cars.The rally has accelerated panyinthe U.S. market. Tesla mand robot taxi fleet. “I’drec- mergerdeal that could have since S&P Dow Jones Indices is by far the biggest company ommend to buy Tesla at any been valued at around $70bil- –100 0 said it would add Tesla to the ever addedtothe S&P 500.Its price,” he added. lion, people familiar with the Jan. Dec. 2011 ’20 benchmark.The shares areup market value ballooned even After buying a black Tesla mattersaid, in asign that a Sources: FactSet (performance); IHS Markit (shorts) 70%sinceNov.16and will en- before it delivered four con- PleaseturntopageB4 wave of consolidation is still sweeping through the payments industry. Sales arefalling again at independentrestaurants at the same time Thecompanies,which make Restaurant thatﬁnancial supports to the industryare dwindling. technologythat facilitates mer- chant paymentsand banking, Sales at independent full servicerestaurants were in advanced talks and aiming to announceadeal this Safety Net Frays $8 billion coming week beforethe nego- 6 tiations brokedowninthe last few days,the people said. It 4 couldn’t be learned what spe- As Winter Sets In cifically caused them to falter. 2 Had the companies managed to strikeadeal, it would have Managers say options additional debt to survive— 0 been the biggest of the year by provided they canget loans at Jan. Feb. March April MayJune July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. far,eclipsing several transac- for financial aid all. tionsvalued at about $40 bil- PeterMihajlov,co-founder lion, according to Dealogic. decrease as the U.S. businessloans this year COMMERCIAL LOANS SMALL BUSINESSLOANS IN DEFAULT, of Parasole Restaurant Hold- change from previous year,Aug.–Oct. Oct. Global Paymentshas amarket new year approaches ings Inc.group of restaurants capitalization of nearly $59 bil- Accommodation in theMinneapolis area, said and Food Services –20.9% 6.7% lion. Fidelity National, widely B Y HEATHER HADDON his banks agreed to defer prin- known as FIS,has amarket Administrative AND JULIE WERNAU cipal paymentsonloans after and Support* 3.4 3.2 value of around $90 billion. the March shutdown. Now Though there is little pros- Arts,Entertainment Themoney and goodwill ex- those same banks aretaking and Recreation –18.7 2.8 pect of the talks coming back tended to restaurantsearly in their time in responding to his to life imminently, they could the pandemic aredrying up. requestsfor further deferrals, Construction 8.4 2.8 get revived later, some of the Independent restaurant he said. people said. ownerssay that lifelines ex- “The hand of fateisnow Educational Services –16.0 2.3 Atlanta-based Global Pay- tended by landlords,banks and within an inch away from the mentsprimarily provides tech- Mining, Quarrying, vendorswhen the pandemic off switch. Theindustryisal- Oil and GasExtraction –16.2 3.0 nology and point-of-sale ser- firsthit the U.S. areending, ready on lifesupport,” said Mr. vices to merchants. A while federal loans made as Mihajlov,who closed three of Public Administration 7.0 1.6 combination would have ex-

part of pandemic-related stim- his restaurantsduring the pan- *Includes waste managementand remediation services panded FIS’smerchant-facing ulus programs arelong gone. demic and is limping along at Sources: NPD Group (sales); PayNet (loans) business, which currently ac- Thebleak financial picture theother seven afterMinne- counts for roughly 20% of its means that manymorerestau- sota suspended indoor dining revenue.The bulk of the Jack- rantscould close in the coming last month. sonville,Fla., company’sreve- months,adding to the tens of More than 110,000 restau- nue last year came from serv- thousands of restaurantsthat rantsand barshaveclosed for ing banks, helping them with have already shut during the good or fallen dormant since such tasks as commercial pandemic. the pandemic hit, afigurethat lending and risk management. Thetiming couldn’t be representsatleast 17%ofall Therehas been arush of worse. Morestatesand locali- eating and drinking places in deal making in thesector in ties have ordered restaurants the U.S.,according to estimates recent yearsasestablished to close their dining rooms this month from the National companies seek to gain econo- again to curb the virus’s Restaurant Association. Of the mies of scale and better com- spread, with NewYork City 6,000 operatorssurveyed by pete with upstarts. Early last among the latest to suspend in- the trade group,37% said they year, Fiserv Inc. agreed to pay door service earlier this month. didn’t expect to survivethe about $22billion forFirst Outdoor patios that helped next six months without help. DataCorp.Then FIS struck a carryrestaurants through Restaurantshavelobbied $35 billion deal for Worldpay warmer months aren’t popular Congressfor months to pass a Inc., the largest paymentsdeal in much of the U.S. now, and bill that would allocate$120 to date.Months later,Global landlordsand supplierswho billion in grants to the indus- Paymentsdid aroughly $22 extended help earlier in the try. Thebill has bipartisan sup- billion deal for Total Systems pandemic facechallenges of port but hasn’t moved forward. Services Inc., which wasbetter their ownafter months of cus- Adeal wasreached on Sunday known as TSYS. tomersfalling behind. foraroughly $900 billion relief FIS’sdeal forWorldpay,

Forindependent restau- packagethat includes aid for MOON/REUTERS which closed in July 2019,ex- rants,the cash crunch is forc- small businesses.Inthe deal, panded itsmerchant business

ing harddecisions about President Trump would getthe JEENAH and brought it intomore whether they should take on PleaseturntopageB2 Morestatesand localities, including NewYork, have ordered restaurants to close their dining rooms. PleaseturntopageB2 Lack of Bank Credit INSIDE Virus Blunts Overseas Debut Hits Small Business Of ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ J

BY PETER RUDEGEAIR over the past decade,removing WS

the main funding source for THE BY R.T. WATSON R

Small businesses that manyoftheir local businesses. FO cleared the hurdle of the coro- Small loans arealso far less A Warner Bros.’ highly antici-

navirusshutdowns arenow en- profitable: Bankerssay it costs O’HAR pated “Wonder Woman” se- countering an all-too-familiar about the same to processan quel faced stiff headwinds as

obstacle: Banks don’t want to application fora$100,000 loan CAITLIN the studio rolled out the lend to them. as it does fora$1million one. movie acrossapatchwork of

ThePaycheck Protection Lendershavefurther pulled MEDIA international markets, manyof GES

Program funneled $525 billion back during the pandemic, ‘Star Wars’novelists which are still being hit hard IMA in forgivable loans to millions tightening underwriting stan- by the Covid-19 pandemic.

seek yearsofmissing GETTY of small businesses in the pan- dards forsmall businesses this “Wonder Woman 1984” demic’searly days.Yet that summer to adegree unseen royaltypayments grossed a mere $38.5 million massiveinfusion masked a sincethe last financial crisis, from Disney. B3 from 32 countries,according MEDIA/ yearslong contraction in small- according to aFederal Reserve to preliminary estimates, just OFT businesslending that happened survey of loan officers. days before Warner Bros. will CR BAR

alongside abig-businessbor- At JPMorganChase &Co., debutthe film on Christmas O/

rowing boom. America’sbiggest bank by as- Daysimultaneously in U.S. FOT ST

In 2007,banks held $721 bil- sets,non-PPP loans to small theaters and living rooms via CO lion in small loans to busi- businesses fell to $956 million the company’sstreaming plat- The sequel attracts a line of moviegoers in Shanghai. nesses and small commercial in the thirdquarter,the lowest form HBO Max.The first mortgages of $1 million or less, level since2010.Nonbank lend- “Wonder Woman” grossed thwarts consumers’ ability to more lockdowns to curb the according to an analysis of ersand financial-technology $103.3 million in the U.S. and return to public spaces.Media spread of the coronavirus, bank regulatoryfilingsbyFlor- companies,go-tofunding Canada during itsopening measurement company Com- even as thenation recently be- ida Atlantic University profes- sourcesfor small businesses in weekend in 2017. scoreestimates only about a gan distributing a vaccine. sor Rebel A. Cole.By2019,such recent years, have scaled back, While some theaters in the third of North America’s the- “Wonder Woman 1984” loan balances had fallen around too. PayPal Holdings Inc.and U.S. have managed to reopen aters are open. stars Gal Gadot as the titular 6% to $680 billion. Biggerbusi- Square Inc.paused newcredit FINANCE at limitedcapacity during the Abroad, the economies of characterand is directed by nessloans and commercial offersinthe spring and haven’t Man who runs pandemic,others, including key international box-office PattyJenkins.Immersed in the mortgages,meanwhile,more returned to prepandemic lend- $1.3 trillion fund in those in large metropolitan marketslikethe U.K., Brazil glitz and excess of 1980s than doubledto$2.82 trillion. ing levels.KabbageInc.has yet marketslikeNew York City and Mexicoare also under se- America, the Amazonian war- Thereare afew reasons for to makenew loans sinceitsold Norwaygrapples and LosAngeles,havere- vere strain as manypeople rior turned superherois the credit chasm. Thousands of itself to American Express Co. with public scrutiny. B8 mained closed because of lock- choose to stay home.Overthe tasked with battling villains community banks disappeared PleaseturntopageB8 downs as the pandemic weekend, the U.K. initiated PleaseturntopageB2 P2JW356000-4-B00200-17FFFF5178F

B2 | Monday, December 21, 2020 **** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. INDEX TO BUSINESSES BUSINESS & FINANCE

These indexes citenotablereferences to mostparent companies and businesspeople in today’s edition. Articles on regional page inserts aren’t cited in these indexes. ‘Wonder A E Moderna...... A6 Accenture...... B5 Equifax...... B8 N Advanced Micro Devices F Netflix...... A6 Woman’in A1 Facebook...... A2 Nvidia...... A1 Adyen...... B2 Fidelity National Alamo Drafthouse P Information Services Hard Debut Cinema...... B2 B1 Parasole Restaurant Alibaba Group...... A11 Holdings...... B1 Fiserv...... B1 Alphabet...... A2,B3 PayPal Holdings...... B1 ContinuedfrompageB1 Amazon.com...... A1 Ford Motor...... B9 Foxconn Technology Pfizer...... A6 amid effortstosavethe world. American Express...... B1 Primary Health Network

Group...... A14 Buoyedbythe on-screen CTION Ant Group...... A1 A6 Apple...... A14 G chemistrybetween Ms.Gadot LLE S CO ARK Investment Global Payments...... B1 and co-star Chris Pine,the Management...... A2 Goldman Sachs GroupA6 Samsung ElectronicsA14 movie has received generally Arm Holdings...... A2 Shake Shack...... B4 positive reviews,including a I ./EVERETT

AT&T...... B2 Southwest Airlines....A3 critics scoreexceeding 80% on OS

Instacart...... B4 BR B Square...... B1,B2 RottenTomatoes,despite Intel...... A1 manygrumbling about atwo- T RNER Bank of America...... B5 Iron Mountain...... B5

and-half-hour run time. WA BioNTech SE...... A6 Taiwan Semiconductor

ISHIR...... B8 S/ Boeing...... A3 Manufacturing...... A2 Hollywood studios have J largely chosen to remove the ENO C Tesla...... B1 Y Johnson & Johnson....B9

most-anticipated andexpen- CLA Carnival...... B8 W CVS Health...... A6 L sivemovies from the calendar Gal Gadot and Kristen Wiig in the superhero film, which will open in the U.S. on AT&T’s HBO Max. Walgreens Boots this year.For one, Walt Dis- D LumiraDX UK...... A6 Alliance...... A6 M ney Co.delayedthe release of porateumbrella, said last Warner Bros. has opted to re- ously the world’ssecond-larg- Delta Air Lines...... A6 Walt Disney...... B2,B3 Marvel spinoff “Black Widow.” month it planned to adopt a lease during the pandemic. A est boxofficemarket—will DoorDash...... B4 Microsoft...... A1,B9 Wistron...... A14 While avid moviegoers, and hybrid distribution model with week before Labor Day week- supplant the U.S. as the fans of the DC Comics’ fran- “Wonder Woman 1984.” The end, director Christopher No- world’s top market in 2020. chise,are likely to cheer the companywill release the lan’ssci-fithriller “Tenet” The bulk of ticket sales for INDEX TO PEOPLE return of superheroes to the movie both in U.S. theaters made its debut in 41 interna- “Wonder Woman 1984” this big screen, the “Wonder and on HBO Max,inthe hopes tional markets,grossing $53 weekend came from China, Woman” sequel will almost of attracting new subscribers million. The film has grossed wherethe movie grossed $18.8 C Hartigan, Patrick...... A3 Phelan, Bill...... B8 certainly fall short of match- to the streaming platform $362.2 million world-wide,ac- million, according to Warner Cole, Rebel A...... B1 S K ing itspredecessor’s success which has struggled since cording to Warner Bros., with Bros. D Khanna, Rishi...... B8 Schwartz, Henry...... B4 at thebox office. In 2017, launching in May. more than $300 million of its Overall, however, the global Dergarabedian, Paul...B2 Kozlak, Bill...... B2 Siemer, Michael...... B8 “Wonder Woman” went on to Warner Bros.also said it total generated from interna- boxofficemarket is on paceto F M Sloan, Jeffrey...... B2 gross$412.8million in the U.S. would followasimilar strat- tional ticket sales. lose billions of dollarsin2020. Foster, Alan...... B3 T Ma, Jack...... A1 and Canada and $822.3million egy with its entire 2021 slate Theater chains in many in- Comscoreanalyst Paul Derga- G Tangen, Nicolai...... B8 N globally. of movies,amoveheavily crit- ternational markets, particu- rabedian estimates the world- Garrow, George...... A6 W Aware of the film’s limited icized by manyfilmmakers larly in Asia, haven’t suffered wide box-officetotal this year Norcross, Gary...... B2 Golub, Jonathan...... B5 Walker, Kent...... B3 box-office prospects, Warner- and theater owners. as much as their American will fall within arangeof$11.5 H P Wasilefsky, Mark...... B2 Media, which controls Warner “Wonder Woman 1984” is counterparts. Forthe first billion to $12 billion versus Halevy, Tammy...... B8 Papagni, Blair...... B2 Wasserman, Larry...... A3 Bros.underneath AT&T’s cor- the second $200 million movie time in history, China—previ- $42.5 billion in 2019. Restaurant S

Safety Net PRES TED CIA

Weakens SO AS

ContinuedfrompageB1 TRIBUNE/

business-meals deduction he AR ST

has desired for2021 and 2022. Y/ Critics have expressed concern VINSK

that a“three-martini-lunch” LA

break would encourageindoor N RO

dining during apandemic.But AA Mr.Trump,swayed by restau- rateurssuch as Wolfgang Puck, More cities and states are banning indoor dining again. said it is important forthe restaurant industry. chine supplier deferred his order sizefromexisting clients. Statesand cities that have payments forthree months. His companyhas had to bring established grant programs for Nowthe landlordisstruggling, severalrestaurantstocourt to restaurantshavebeen flooded too. “He already lost aquarter seek payment. “We’realways in with requestsfor help.Los An- of his income forthe year,” Mr. court,” he said. geles County started a$5.6 Roberts said. “I can’t go back Some bankslending to the million fund to provide grants to him at this point.” industrysay they aredoing of $30,000 to restaurantsear- As the number of tenants what they cantoprovide sup- lier this month. Demand notpaying rent has grown, port. But restaurantswith little crashed the online application many mall ownersand retail cash leftmay want to take on siteinits firstday afteritre- landlords have filed bank- an outside partner rather than ceived thousands of inquiries, ruptcy. accrue moredebt, and some the county said. It reached the “Landlords were morebe- will struggle to survive, said capof2,500 applications the nevolent and understanding, Mark Wasilefsky, head of TD firstday afterreopening. particularly early on,” said Lew Bank’sRestaurant Franchise Fi- Sales at manyindependent Kornberg, arestaurant adviser nanceGroup. Earn Extra Income restaurantsrecovered some with Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.’s “The industryisgoing to be over thesummer,but height- changed irrevocably,” he added. ened restrictions put intoplace Restaurant ownerssaid they by states in cities starting last More than 110,000 arecutting hoursand furlough- month have curbed the re- ing workers again. Some opera- Lending Your Fully bound, according to industry restaurants and bars tors areclosing individual res- datafirm NPD Group Inc.Sales have closed for good taurantstotry to focus on the at independent, sit-down res- ones with the best chances. taurantsweredown24% in No- since the pandemic. Still, the bills keep coming. Paid Shares vember compared with last Blair Papagni, who already shut year,the firsttime sinceApril one of her two restaurantsear- that year-over-year declines lier in the pandemic,isdown have deteriorated. retail tenant division. “But to two employees at her other Nearly 7% of small-business landlords have their ownreal- Brooklyn restaurant, Anella, loans to restaurantsand hotels ity.” and nowfaces thousands of Starting at $0 Commissions were in default as of October, Landlords that provided dollarsinsales taxand liquor- the greatest percentageofany rent relief to restaurantsear- license bills due. 1 sector tracked by PayNet, a lier this year arenow treating “I have to figure out what to on US listed stocksand ETFs commercial-lending-datadivi- the relief as outstanding debts do.Ijust don’t have $4,500 in sion of Equifax Inc.Commercial that must be paid, and in some the couch cushion,” Ms.Pa- lending to restaurantsand ho- cases heading to court, said pagni said. tels has declined 24%this year David J. Marmins,apartner at Bill Kozlak, the thirdgenera- compared with last, the steep- Arnall Golden GregoryLLP, tion in his family to run88- est plungeofany sector,ac- which is representing dine-in year-old JaxCafeinMinneapo- cording to PayNet. cinema company Alamo Draft- lis,isn’t ruling out bankruptcy Bill Roberts, owner of ares- house Cinema.The Texas- aftersales have plummeted $3 taurant group in the Detroit based chain is embroiled in a million this year. suburbs,said he had hoped to legalfight over rent. Canceling indoor Christmas draw down some credit from Benjamin Walker,vicepresi- decorations savedafew thou- his businesstohelp paybills dent of sales and marketing at sand dollars, and the Twin Cit- but said one of his lenderssaw BaldorSpecialty Foods, Inc., a ies institution has asked its little value in his operation food supplier to restaurantsin bank forextensionsonloan currently. NewYork City,said the com- payments,along with more Mr.Robertssaid one of his pany wasnolonger able to be loans.“I’venever been so landlordsoffered him several flexible afterlosing significant scared,” he said. months of free rent earlier this businessfromboth restaurants —Richard Rubin year,while his dishwasher-ma- and hotels and a40% drop in contributed to this article. ibkr.com/lendit shrinking number of major snappedback with several Payments players.Mr. Norcrossinpar- megadeals—especially among ticularhas been open about sectorsthat weathered thecri- wanting to continue to grow sisrelatively well such as tech- Firms Fail through acquisitions. nologyand health care—and One question likely to have theyear’s global deal volume arisen had they struck a deal trails last year’s by just 8%, ac- To Get Deal is whether it would have cording to Dealogic. passed muster with regulators, Together with AstraZeneca Interactive Brokers Rated #1 given it would merge two of PLC’s agreement to buy Alex- ContinuedfrompageB1 the largest companies in the ionPharmaceuticals Inc.for Best Online Broker 2020 by Barron’s* countries.Global Payments’s payments industry. But the $39 billion, the paymentstalks purchase of TSYS closed in ground is shifting given the underscorewhat manydeal September 2019 and was rapid rise of newerrivals such makers have been saying for meant to expand itse-com- as Adyen NV, Square Inc.and weeks—that with stock prices merce presenceinthe U.S. and Stripe Inc. high, interest ratesatrock- boost market share. Theabortivedeal is afitting bottom levels and manysec- Member -NYSE, FINRA, SIPC –*Interactive Brokers rated #1, Best Online Broker according to Both companies’ chief exec- coda to an erratic year of deal tors of the economy perform- Barron’s Best Online Brokers Survey of 2020: February 21, 2020.For more information see,ibkr.com/ utives—FIS’sGaryNorcross making.The pandemic brought ing well, the ground is fertile info -Barron’s is aregistered trademark of Dow Jones &Co. Inc. [1] IBKR Lite provides commission- free trades in US exchange-listed stocksand ETFs routed to select market makers. IBKR may charge and Jeffrey Sloan of Global mergers and acquisitions to a formorebig mergers heading non-commission related fees. For more information, see ibkr.com/liteinfo Payments—areexperienced virtual halt early in 2020 that into next year. 10-IB20-1398CH1303 deal makersand influential persisted through the second —Peter Rudegeair figuresinasector with a quarter.But activity soon contributed to this article. P2JW356000-0-B00300-1------NS

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. NY Monday, December 21, 2020 | B3 BUSINESS NEWS Google’sChief Lawyer FacesBiggest Struggle

BY ROB COPELAND Mr. Walker, a 14-year com- public foryears. Theidea that Arunner who onceran the panyveteran, has long favored this wasasecret deal is just Boston Marathon, he canbe Perhaps the most influen- providing regulatorswith wrong,” the Google spokesman competitiveand flash atemper, tial executiveatGoogle is a reams of dataand paperwork, said. Facebook declined to people who knowhim said. A man who can’t write a line of according to current and for- comment. few yearsago, Google’sinternal

code. mer employees,yet those tac- GES Likemost large companies, auditorsflaggedhim forpost-

That is Kent Walker,the tics might be wearing thin. IMA Alphabet hires scores of out- ing profane messages to the company’schief legal officer As part of theU.S.House side lawyers, especially for membersofGoogle’sinternal

and head of global affairs, JudiciaryCommittee’sprobe GETTY protracted litigation such as ultimate-Frisbee team, one of whose role putshim at the intotechnologygiants’ market an antitrust case. Mr. Walker thepeople said. He wasfrus- center of the search giant’s powerthis year,Alphabet MEDIA/ is in charge of the company’s trated that the team’sequip- antitrust affairs. It also gives turned in 1,135,398 documents, AX legal strategyand has been ment kept being removed from

himthe powertolead the de- including strategymemos, pre- AIRF deposedonbehalf of Google his office, and circulated an in- /F

fense that will determine sentations and materials pro- OD on occasion. ternal note, “Wherethe f--- are

whether one of the world’s duced in prior investigations. WO Mr.Walker is arelativerar- my cones?” dominant conglomerates is Thegovernment’sresponse ity in Silicon Valley,having Afterlaw school, Mr. BRICK

able to keep growing—or gets waswithering.“Although ES grownupinthe area. He picked Walker joined the Clinton ad-

clipped. Google produced asignificant JAM up degrees at HarvardUniver- ministration as a prosecutor. Google faces formidable le- amount of material, subcom- Kent Walker is described as a true believer in technology. sity and StanfordLaw School. Mr.Walker’s remit is un- gal challenges. Its parent, Al- mittee staff did not view this Mr.Walker is aShakespeare usually broadfor ageneral phabet Inc., was sued by fed- volume as aproxyfor quality,” petitivebehavior.One of the run ad auctions. nut—he treksevery Labor Day counsel. In addition to legal, eral prosecutorsinOctober for the subcommitteereport said. statelawsuitstook adim view “Any collaboration between to the Oregon Shakespearefes- he supervises public policy, allegedly abusing monopoly Google spokesman Jason of the effectivenessofthat ini- competitorsofsuch magni- tival—and an unabashed square, Google’s Trust and Safety or- power in itsflagship search Post said: “Wedon’t seek to tiative, flagging a Google and tude should have set off the friends say. In lawschool, he ganization, a “responsible in- engine,and last week stateat- overproduce, and we do our Facebook Inc. agreement that loudest alarm bells in terms of turned down front-row tickets novation” department, think torneysgeneral added their best to narrow requests.” prosecutorssay guaranteed antitrust compliance,” the law- to see U2 because he wanted to tank Jigsawand acharity arm ownpair of lawsuitstargeting Mr. Walker, 59, declined to specialtreatmentfor the so- suit said. catchuponhis reading,his for- that doles out $200 million in digital advertising,among be interviewed. Current and cial-media companyinGoogle- “This partnership has been mer roommatesaid. grants yearly. otherareas.Google broadly former employees—manyof denies theclaims and says it whom worked closely with will contest them in court. him—said he is atruebeliever While some of the specific in the potential fortechnology, allegations arenew,Google’s and thinks Google has been use of its power has been un- unfairly maligned. His atti- der scrutiny for at least a de- tude,they said, is that Google cade.Under Mr.Walker,who needstobetterexplain itsbe- HOWDOYOU became chief legal officer in havior, rather than change it. 2018,ithas fended off inqui- “Kent’s perspective, which ries in Australia, Brazil, Can- he imbued his legal team with, MANAGE RISK ada, France, India, Italy, Rus- is that the lawyersshould bias sia, South Korea, Taiwan and toward making newthings the U.K. without sustaining a happen, and should not be meaningfulblow. TheEuro- agents of ‘no,’” said former THROUGH pean Union made the biggest Google public-policyhead splash, levying totalfines of Adam Kovacevich. morethan $10 billion,but Among Mr.Walker’s priori- BOTH CHAOS sincethe firstofthe EU’s ties has been the expansion of three decisions against Google embedded groups of lawyers landed in 2017, the company’s across the conglomerate who ANDCALM? revenue and stock price have actaseyesand earstospot, shot up by about half. and stop,potentially anticom- ‘StarWars’ Novelists FightDisneyfor Pay

BY ERICH SCHWARTZEL

Alan Dean Foster wasinhis late20s when George Lucas, standingnear amodel of the Millennium Falcon in aware- house in Southern California,

met him to discusswriting the JOURNAL novel adaptation of his forth- REET

coming movie “StarWars.” ST Theoriginal contract called LL foranupfront payment of WA

$7,500,until Mr.Lucas tossed THE R

Mr.Foster a0.5%royalty on FO salesthat Mr.Foster,now 74 A

yearsold, says added up to sev- O’HAR eral times that initial payment.

They arrivedseveral timesa CAITLIN year as the original 1977block- Author Alan Dean Foster buster set box-officerecords and the novelization he wrote ters.Heand his wifeare both in went on to sell morethan one poor health, and he said the million copies. royalties could come in handy Then, in 2012, Walt Disney formedical expenses.“I’m not Co.bought Lucasfilm Ltd.—and SteveSpielberg. I’m not Steve the royalty checks stopped. King.Idon’t even have aname Now, Mr.Foster and other that startswith Steve,” he said. authorsfromDisney-purchased Thedisputebegan in the franchises areinaheated dis- summer of 2019,when Mr.Fos- putewith Hollywood’sbiggest ter’sliteraryagent, Vaughne empire, which they sayrefuses Hansen, firstasked Disney why to payroyalties on book con- he had stopped receiving royalty tractsitabsorbed in the $4 bil- checks on three novels he had lion Lucasfilm deal and other writtentied to “Alien,” the acquisitions. outer-spacehorror series pro- Theamount of money at duced by Twentieth CenturyFox, stakeisminuscule to acom- the studio Disney bought as part pany of Disney’s sizebut im- of a$71.3billion deal in 2019. portanttothe writersseeking Mr.Foster and his agent it.While Disney has mined Lu- then realized the same thing casfilm fornew movies that had occurred to his royalties have collectively grossed nearly fortwo StarWarsbooks after $6 billion at the world-wide Disney bought Lucasfilm. boxoffice, these writerssay the In response to queries about companyhas delayeddealing the “Alien” checks,aDisney at- with their complaintsand torney told Mr.Foster that the stiffed them on checks that companyhad acquired the rarely totalafew thousand rightstothese books,but not bucks apiece. the obligations to payout royal- SinceMr. Foster’s dispute ties.But in the case of “Alien,” wastaken public by the Science Ms.Hansen said, the rightsto Youcan’t controlthe changing Fiction and Fantasy Writersof Mr.Foster’s novels had been re- tide of themarkets, but we can Americaassociation, other au- assigned several times,with no thorsofbooks tied to projects interruption of royalty checks, help younavigateit. CMEGroup from Indiana Jones to “Buffy beforeDisney bought Fox. helps youmanage risk and the VampireSlayer” have come “Disney has acquired a forwardwith similar stories of house with amortgageonit. captureopportunities across all royalty checks that stopped af- They want to keep living in the majorasset classes.Wedeliver terDisney acquired the proper- house.They don’t want to pay nearlyone billion datapoints ties.Ineach case,Disney the mortgage,” Mr.Foster said. threatens to alienateanobscure Thewritersgroup says a daily,informingthe insight you but vital tentacle of the fran- similar pattern has emerged need to refine your trading chises,asthese novelizations following other Disney deals.At helped build and maintain fan least ahalf-dozenwriters strategy.For takingadvantage loyalty.The exact amount of acrossarangeofDisney-owned of opportunities in allmarket money at stake is unknown, properties have sincesaid they environments… CMEGroup. sincesales forthe books have areinthe same boat, said Mary fluctuated over time. Robinette Kowal, president of ADisney spokesman said: the ScienceFiction and Fantasy “Weare carefully reviewing WritersofAmerica. VISIT CMEGROUP.COM/ACTION whether anyroyalty payments Disney hasbegun reviewing mayhavebeen missed as are- the“Alien” case,but thereisa Derivatives arenot suitable forall investors and involvethe risk of losing sult of acquisitionintegration line of writersbehind Mr.Fos- morethan the amount originallydeposited and anyprofit youmight have made.This communication is not arecommendation or offer to buy,sell and will take appropriatereme- terwaiting foraturn at the ne- or retain anyspecific investment or service.Copyright ©2020 CME Group dial steps if that is the case.” gotiating table.The writersof Inc. Allrightsreserved. Mr.Foster says Disney is ig- the novelizations of “The Em- noring the workadayplayers pireStrikes Back” and “Return who help build intergenerational of the Jedi” have said they are connections to beloved charac- missing royalty checks,too. P2JW356000-0-B00400-1------XA

B4 | Monday, December 21, 2020 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

TECHNOLOGY & BUSINESS WSJ.com/Tech

PERSONAL TECHNOLOGY | By Nicole Nguyen Food-DeliveryFeesCan EatatYour Wallet

On the Cav- iar food-deliv- eryapp for SanFrancisco, adouble ShackBurger from ShakeShack is listed at $8.99, the same priceitcosts in-store. Yetbythe time it reaches your door,itcosts $18.91. Here’sthe breakdown of nearly $10 in added

charges: S Tax: 76 cents S NEW PRES

Deliveryfee: $1.99 G Recommended tip: $3 ZUMA

Small-order fee: $3 OOMBER

Servicefee: $1.17 /BL During the pandemic,peo- MANTEL/

ple have been willing to pay MORRIS

the deliveryupcharge as a UL PA way to exercise caution while MARSHALL VID

procuring meals and grocer- JOHN DA ies.Following the firstround GrubHub, left, has aprogram at participating U.S. restaurants wheresubscribers can get lowerprices. Amazon Prime Nowisavailable to Prime subscribers in some cities. of shelter-in-placeorders, suburbs drovethe firstprofit- bers-only savings. ACostco Cost of Convenience Shipt reduces servicefees (17% for able quarter for DoorDash spokeswoman declined to pro- Price:$99 ayear nonmembers) acrossDoor- Comparing the priceofgroceries boughtataCostcoinMountain Inc., which owns Caviar.In vide comment. Worth-it monthlymini- Dash and Caviar.The order View, Calif., with whatInstacart chargedthe customer who April, Instacart Inc.experi- Rafi Mohammed, the au- mum:One order must be at least $12, and it ordered them shows ahidden markup,inaddition to deliveryfees. enced a500% year-over-year thor of “The Art of Pricing,” Nonmember deliveryfee: only works with participating increase in groceryorders. found the same is true for Prices beforedelivery fees and taxes $10 DashPassrestaurants. (Chi- Thecompany’s contractor some restaurantsondelivery Shipt previouslyrequired potle,yes; Panera, no.) While shoppers became front-line apps.ABoston-based Italian Costcoprice an annual membership to get DoorDash is known foroffer- workersovernight. restaurant, TAnthony’s, sells $27.49 same-daydeliveryfromretail- ing meal deliveryfromnation- Charmin toiletpaper $22.99 As states renew restrictions alarge meat lovers’ pizza for total erslikeTarget, Petco, CVS wide chains,the serviceadded on indoor dining and extend $19.20.OnUber Eats, the 30 ct. and Costco—plus manylocal retailerssuch as Walgreens stay-at-home orders across same pie costs$23.90. Prices Bounty paper towels 20.99 25.09 grocerystores. Nowthe ser- and CVSearlier this year. 12 ct. the country, deliveryistop of on DoorDash and Grubhub are vice, which is owned by Tar- mind onceagain. But consum- lowerbut still elevated. Apricots 9.99 11.99 get, offersone-time passes for Uber EatsEatsPass 3lb. ersare growing wary of the Thedifferencehelps cover $10.But if youorder from Price:$9.99 amonth Kirkland Strawberries 9.69 11.59 inflated cost of delivery, and Uber’s 30% commission, said 4lb. Shipt at least onceamonth, Worth-it monthlymini- companies areoffering users JoeRastellini, the restaurant’s the subscription is worth it. mum:Three orders Thai Kitchen coconut milk 8.99 10.79 betterdeals,inexchangefor owner.“Before, Ijust had my 6x13.66 ﬂ. oz. Ordersunder $35 still incur a Nonmember deliveryfee: loyalty.What is the best way owndriversand Grubhub. $7 deliveryfee. Up to $3.99 Oreo cookies 8.59 10.29 to save money? Payattention Then, because of the pan- 52.5 oz. At eligible restaurants, you to the details. demic,Iended up adding new Amazon Prime Now getawaived deliveryfee and Cauliﬂower 5.99 7.19 Fees aren’t the only source services,and when yousign 2lbs. Price(included in Prime 5% off ordersthat meet the of extracosts. Theprices of up with them you’vegot to Greenbeans 5.99 7.19 subscription):$12.99 a $15 minimum. individual items canbepad- playball.” 2lbs. month; $119 ayear Thereisanother way to get ded too. Costco,for instance, Mr.Mohammed expectsthe Kirkland tortilla chips 4.59 5.49 Worth-it monthlymini- free deliveryfromUber Eats, doesn’t requireits Instacart priceofdeliverywill go down 40 oz. mum:Depends on your use of but it isn’t guaranteed: If grocery-deliverycustomersto afterthe pandemic.“Instead Bananas 1.49 1.79 Prime someone near youordered hold a$60-a-year member- of going to the movies or the 3lbs. Nonmember deliveryfee: food, youcan sometimes opt ship the way in-storeshop- ballpark,we’vebeen spending N/A forthe same restaurant and persmust, but it does charge that money on ordering in,” Source:Rags Srinivasan Thesame-daydeliverypro- the deliveryfee is dropped. higher prices on Instacart he said. gram from Whole Foods, Am- Think of it as an UberPool, than in itswarehouse,ontop That cost is already going Instacart’smembership now-defunct DeliveryUnlim- azon and PetFood Expressis but foryour dinner. of surcharges. down forsome through sub- waives deliveryfees forcarts ited membership,which of- available exclusively to Ama- Rags Srinivasan, apricing scription plans.You payaset of $35 or more. Benefitsalso feredno-fee deliveryfromlo- zonPrime membersinselect Grubhub+ consultant, recently deter- amount monthly or annually include free one-hour pickup calstores. With Walmart+, cities.Ordersunder $35 come Price:$9.99 amonth mined the markup of his in exchangefor reduced per- and areduced servicefee youcan order same-daygro- with a$4.99 deliveryfee.The Worth-it monthlymini- Instacart Costco order when a order costs(and sometimes (1.9% instead of the nonmem- ceries from participating local Prime subscription also offers mum:Three orders shopper mistakenly sent him faster service). Arethey worth ber 5%). Theserviceisn’t lim- stores between 7a.m. and 8 fast, no-fee shipping from Nonmember deliveryfee: the original in-storereceipt. it? Only if youorder fre- ited to groceries,either: Re- p.m.—and next-dayknick- Amazon.comand alarge li- Up to $3.99 TheInstacart order ended up quently enough. Here’show tailersincluding Best Buy and knacks from Walmart.com— braryofstreaming media, in- Earlier this year,Grubhub about $20 higher. subscription plans forthe CVSare on the app as well. without extrafees. cluding movies and music. launched this program with An Instacart spokeswoman most popular meal and gro- Free grocerydeliveryre- 100,000 participating restau- said retailersset their own cery deliveryservices work: Walmart+ quires a$35 minimum cart. DoorDash/Caviar rantsacrossthe U.S. Subscrib- prices on the platform, and Price:$12.95 amonth; $98 OrdersfromWalmart.com DashPass ersreceiveno-fee deliveryon the companynotifies custom- Instacart Express ayear don’t, but only items “shipped Price:$9.99 amonth ordersof$12 or more, and a ersinthe app whether prices Price:$9.99 amonth; $99 a Worth-it monthlymini- by Walmart” qualify. Sub- Worth-it monthlymini- free meal forpickup ($10 or arethe same or higher than year mum:Two orders scribersalso save 5centsa mum:Three orders less) everymonth. They also in-store. She noted that Worth-it monthlymini- Nonmember deliveryfee: gallon on fuel at Walmart lo- Nonmember deliveryfee: getaccesstoelitecustomer Costco memberscan enter mum:Three orders $7.95 cations and gain the ability to $1.99 to $3.99 service. Thecompanyisoffer- their membership number Nonmember deliveryfee: Walmart’snew program is scan and buy in-storeitems Themeal-deliverysubscrip- ing atwo-week free trial of intoInstacart to unlock mem- $3.99 arebranded version of the from their phones. tion waives deliveryfees and the service.

ADVERTISEMENT said he invested in the stock in at the investment firm Baillie Tesla 2013 and has added to his Gifford, Tesla’s third-biggest The Marketplace holdings since, while closing institutional shareholder,said positions in such tech behe- near-daily criticism and doubt To advertise: 800-366-3975orWSJ.com/classiﬁeds Bulls Add moths as Amazon.comInc.and thrownatTesla by short sell- Apple. ersand other detractorsused AUCTIONS BUSINESSOPPORTUNITIES He pointed to the Nasdaq to be frustrating. Shares Composite—which includes Baillie Giffordignored nay- Tesla and is up 42% this sayers and stuck with itsbelief year—compared with the S&P that Tesla would eventually ContinuedfrompageB1 500’s15% gain. grow to be morethan acar 8;A";% Model 3inSeptember—which His devotion is so strong company, pointing to itsef- he had long coveted—Mr.Zo- that in addition to two Tesla forts to expand the usage of tin said he bought five shares cars,hehas also bought eight high-poweredbatteries,solar FGCIJBE in early December for about bottles of Tesla Tequila that and autonomous driving.The $568 apiece and kept buying were marketed on the car Edinburgh-based firm’sinitial +JHHF(3J0:=:>:3 48JH ;GI (FD laterinthe month. Thestock maker’s websitethis year for $89 million investment in 2013 closed Fridayat$695.At $250 apiecebeforeselling out. has ballooned to $21.6billion, +"5$"; $85&*@ (+" times,hesaid, his wifehas Fans say the souvenirs are a not including anyproceeds questioned whether they nodtoMr. Musk’stweet on from recent sharesales. should be putting the cash to- April Fools’ Dayin2018, when The trajectory so far lines ward ahome instead. They he joked that the automaker up with abold vision Mr.Musk rent an apartment in Schwer- initially laid out to Baillie Gif- zenbach, Switzerland, a tiny ford’s executives when they town near Zurich. first met. “He said a phrase, He is happy he has held on. ‘There’s a small but growing *%,(#.&(%. )""$!.-%'.+ Mr.Zotin and other investors possibility that Tesla could be acknowledgethat Tesla shares the largest companyinthe 6%/$!+,+'9$ 8+)/$!'(/ 72($+'( '-- 9+-#, $:/(!/3 6.(,.##.(3 4/8 0'%*& have been avolatile ride,but world,’” Mr.Anderson re- "(0')/ 6%'590+(,. #((92* right nowthey arereaping the called. 4/!9%($ '- 31&7+**+'( 3 benefits. Mr.Musk and his investors’ 6+(# "'(1+#+'(3 2%+)/ 7'5.#+'(& “It’sgoing to let me retirea riches have translated to big !500 "(,21( -,( 31%5+0'4 .*&)/$$)/$/# few years earlier,” said Dave losses forothers. As Tesla’s Martin, a67-year-old engineer market value has ascended, who lives in Mendocino controversy surrounding the BANKRUPTCIES County,Calif., and spends a stockhas only intensified. couple of hoursaday reading Tesla’spolarizing nature 0.)-53 ). .&03,* .1 '"5")-.0 )-23*/",3* -0 )/3 %"5/) 5+(! 5.04.2-0-2(2*# !,"0*.0 2.$ about Tesla. An investor since has transformed the company A"- =<:"I '6F; ?<:-.I-/4 %N.I/N:I 3+ !N..3F/N9 8;A";% *-'/"8; (%$";2 !*; 1/# '<.- O30 GBP&2(((9 ,8E-/.>? M< 6!% 1:%86M"M;48 2M> 346 7?F <:31C 3+ I"- 6% 1;;>8 0,;:>'@5>?88 9=%F DM86%' H;: L)(A+++A+++ manycomparethe companyto of that 2018 tweet, investors rector at Cboe Global Markets. Apple Inc., which reshaped the were concerned about the Although short interest on .%>>M<" 96 2: 9*;J% 2<>F L&C# personal-computer,cellphone company’scash levels,and its the stock has dwindled this <7779< .?1,A-)%% THE MARKETPLACE and music industries while credit rating had been down- year,Tesla remains apopular "";/%;/%5A5A-)%6-)%6'8>K'8>K((++" ADVERTISE TODAY outperforming the broader graded.Sincethen, the stock bearish bet. Short bets total (800)366-3975 stock market. has surged1,276%. Tesla $32 billion, cementing Tesla’s “I feel likeS&P needs Tesla ended the third quarter with status as the most-shorted Formoreinformation visit: more than Tesla needs S&P,” about $14.5billion in cash, and stock in history, according to 4# "!!FEA3<;!# );<= 23;&E 83E5:A#$:(( .6;@$;E 03'!# 1@#E%-C!< 3# !+EA A!FEA<% $E;#@ !+EAEG $% <=E ?E((EA-4#

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. ***** Monday, December 21, 2020 | B5 BUSINESS & FINANCE RealPage Is Sold STREETWISE | By James Mackintosh For $9.6 Billion Here Is a Forecast for Markets:

BY MIRIAM GOTTFRIED were one of the platforms that AND CARA LOMBARDO did that,” RealPageChief Exec- 2021 Will Be Hard to Predict utiveSteve Winn said. Private-equity firm Thoma Mr.Winn previouslyran Bravo LP has struck adeal to Computer LanguageResearch We know Both Treasury yields and 10-yearU.S.Treasury yield is to consider the corporate buy property-management- Inc., amaker of taxsoftware, nowthat as thecorporatespread above bond market. Usually in are- Actual software provider RealPage which he sold to Thomson Reu- Wall Street an- Treasurysare down this year, cession the Fedslashes inter- Inc. for$9.6billion, in one of ters Corp.in1998.Hebought alystswere even forthe lowest-rated Consensus 12-month forecast est ratesand Treasuryyields thelargest recent leveraged back aunit of the companythat publishing fall, but this is morethan off- junk bonds. 5% buyouts. focused on real-estatesoftware their 2020 set forjunk bonds by inves- Thoma Bravoispaying and built it intowhat is now forecaststhe virus that would ICE BofA CCC-rated U.S. tors demanding afatterpre- $88.75asharefor the company, RealPage. Thecompanyhas upend them all wasspreading corporatebond yield mium yield aboveTreasurys a31% premium to RealPage’s grownboth organically and in Wuhan, China. Jonathan 4 to coverthe risk of default. RECESSION closing priceFridayof$67.83, through aflurryofacquisitions, Golub wasparticularly un- 50% This year not only have officials at the firms said. completing 12 deals in the past lucky: On Jan. 21, Mr.Golub, Treasuryyields fallen, but the Based in Richardson, Texas, three years. Credit Suisse’schief U.S. eq- 40 3 risk premium—the spread RealPageprovides atechnology Software has been among uity strategist, upgraded his over equivalent-maturity platform used by ownersand the most resilient sectorsdur- prediction forthe S&P 500 to Treasurys—is down too. As a managers of rental properties. ing the pandemic as businesses end the year at 3600. 30 result, the yield on the junki- 2 Tenantsmight paytheir rent or have demonstrated they will Discounting the threat of est CCC-rated bonds has fallen submit amaintenancerequest keep paying foritevenasthey Covid-19 that day wasaneasy 20 below9%, well down from using RealPage’ssoftware.The cut other costs. That hasal- mistaketomake, and one I 11.8% at the start of the year. companyalso keeps abig data- lowedThoma Bravo, atechnol- made too. But imagine he had 1 The equivalent of this base of real-time lease transac- ogyspecialist, to be among the spottedthe epidemiological 10 lower yield for stocks is a tions,allowing it to forecast year’s most activeprivate-eq- consequences,and correctly higher valuation. If you think wheremarketsare heading. uity deal makers. RealPageis recognized that the economy 0 0 one is overdone, the other Itsshares areupnearly 25% itsbiggest acquisition. would plungeintothe deepest 2005 '10'15 '20 probably is too. this year. Based in SanFranciscoand recession in centuries.Surely 2006'10 '15'20 Mr. Golub is concerned “Wewereable to do quite Chicago, Thoma Bravomanages no one would have concluded Source:Ice Data Indices, LLCvia St.Louis Fed Source:Consensus Economics via FactSet about short-term market ex- well during the pandemic be- morethan $70billion, includ- that his bullish S&P forecast cess, but his prediction is for cause therewas arush by our ing $22.8billion it finished wasway toocautious,and the central banks and govern- ernment aid, one would ex- the S&P to hit 4050 by the industrytogovirtual, and we raising in October. S&P would be morethan 100 ments, alongside arecognition pect European marketstobe end of 2021 (others are more pointshigher than he ex- that the U.S. stock market boosted too. Yetdespiteeven bullish, including Goldman pected by December? doesn’t reflect the economy. lowerlong-term bond yields Sachs at 4300). The world “Wethought therewas no Much of the money than in the U.S. and plenty of will move to a post-Covid IT Executives Foster environment that could be poured into consumers’ fiscal spending,Britain’sFTSE normal midcycle growth pe- worsethan 2008-9,” Mr. pockets by Washington 100 is down 11% this year in riod, he predicts. Earnings Golub says.“This [2020] poured back out into sav- dollar terms,while France’s will rise and valuation multi- Teamwork Remotely made the Great Financial Cri- ings—and the Federal Re- CAC40indexisbarely up. ples will pull back. sis look likeanappetizer.And serve’s extraordinary actions Both suffer from their paucity yetthe market did so well.” to push down interest rates of exciting tech disrupters, he danger is that the BY SARA CASTELLANOS motely.Morethan 85% of the Dozens of investorsand and bond yields encouraged unlikethe S&P 500,up15%, bizarreyear we have employees arecurrently work- bank strategistsput out pub- those savings into risky as- or the Nasdaq-100,up46%. T had leavesalegacythat Chief information officersin ing from home.“We experi- lic prognostications forwhat sets to find a return. Of course,telling astory af- preventsanormal recovery. 2020 have had to managethe enced asea changeinwork lo- would happen in the markets, Money alone didn’t do it, terthe fact is easy.Mr. Golub Thereisahugehangover of effectsofthe coronavirus pan- cation almost overnight,” said but 2020’scombination was though: The structure of the says fornexttime,investors debt, deep uncertainty about demic by quickly rolling out Ms.Bessant, one of 45 IT exec- so unusual it wasmissed by U.S. stock market was vital need to realizethat policy howconsumer and office- technologyand overseeing new utives who responded via email everyone,sofar as Ican tell: to this year’s performance. makershavelearned from worker behavior might have waysofworking that will likely to TheWall Street Journal’san- afar weaker economy, far Technology and other dis- 2008 that it is best to come changed, and manysmall continue through next year. nual end-of-year questionnaire weaker earnings, but signifi- ruptive growth stocks were up with aquick and over- businesses clinging on by In addition, manyCIOs have to discussremotework and cantly higher stock prices,at the big winners from lower whelming response to acrisis. their fingernails.The market also takenonthe added re- other issues. least in the U.S. bond yields as so much of “It means that in the fu- doesn’t seem to be reflecting sponsibility of ensuring em- Thetechnologyteam at Ac- their profit lies far in the future the downside risks those risks in itsvaluation, ployees and teams feel con- centure PLC oversawatransi- ytheir nature, once- ture; many were also around recessionary events because of the wild success of nected to each other,despite tion to remotework that in- in-100-year eventsare boosted by lockdowns en- are mitigated and that Big Tech and similar disrup- beingphysically far apart. cluded an increase in audio and B couraging life to move on- means the stock market hardtopredict. But the tivestocks.Fundamentals CathyBessant,chief opera- video calls.“Covid-19 has fun- real lesson of 2020 is that line. Sectors vulnerable to should trade with a slightly might matternextyear,orit tions and technologyofficer at damentally changed howwe even correctly predicting fun- the pandemic such as travel, higher multiple,” he says. might again all be about fiscal Bank of America Corp., said work,” said CIO Penelope Prett. damentals just isn’t enough. leisure, oil and retail malls Another way to under- and monetarysupport. Either her team delivered morethan Her team sent morethan What matteredthis year were crushed, despite the stand the weirdnessofstocks way,itwill almost certainly 90,000 laptops this year to em- 80,000 desktopcomputersto wasn’t earnings, but the speed fiscal and monetary support. being so expensiveatatime not turn out the way anyone ployees so they could work re- employees’ homes world-wide. and scale of the response by If it wasonly about gov- when the economyissoweak is forecasting today.

BARRON’S INSIGHTS –ONTELEVISION. Every week on Barron’s Roundtable our editors and writers help you anticipate marketshifts, take informed risks, and makesmarter investmentdecisions.

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B6 | Monday, December 21, 2020 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. MARKETS DIGEST

Dow Jones Industrial Average S&P 500 Index New to the Market Last Year ago Last Year ago 30179.05 s132.68, or 0.44% last week Trailing P/E ratio 29.27 21.16 3709.41 s45.95, or 1.25% last week Trailing P/E ratio * 42.08 25.23 Public Offerings of Stock High, low, open and close for each of P/E estimate * 24.84 18.99 High, low, open and close for each of P/E estimate * 26.25 19.58 the past 52 weeks Dividend yield 2.04 2.23 the past 52 weeks Dividend yield * 1.63 1.83 IPOs in the U.S. Market All-time high All-time high 30303.37, 12/17/20 3722.48, 12/17/20 None expected this week

Current divisor 0.15198707565833 Lockup Expirations 30000 3750 Below, companies whose officers and other insiders will become eligible 65-day moving average to sell shares in their newly public companies for the first time. Such 28000 3500 sales can move the stock’s price.

Lockup Offer Offer amt Through Lockup 26000 3250 expiration Issue date Issuer Symbol price($) ($ mil.) Friday (%) provision Dec. 22 June 25, ’20 Albertsons Companies ACI 16.00 1250.2 –2.4 180 days Dec. 23 June 26, ’20 Ebang International Holdings EBON 5.23 106.3 –13.4 180 days 24000 3000 200-day moving average June 26, ’20 Agora API 20.00 297.5 128.9 180 days 200-day moving average June 25, ’20 Fusion Pharmaceuticals FUSN 17.00 125.3 –27.4 180 days Week's high 22000 2750 June 25, ’20 Akouos AKUS 17.00 212.5 8.9 180 days DOWN UP June 26, ’20 PolyPid PYPD 16.00 50.0 180 days Monday's open Friday's close –32.6 t 20000 2500 Dec. 24 Sept. 25, ’20 Amesite AMST 5.00 15.5 2.0 90 days Friday's close Monday's open Sources: Dealogic; Dow Jones Market Data

t 65-day moving average Other Stock Offerings Week's low 18000 2250 Secondaries and follow-ons expected this week in the U.S. market Bars measure the point change from Monday's open 16000 2000 None expected this week D J F M A M J J A S O N D D J F M A M J J A S O N D Off the Shelf Primary NYSE weekly volume, in billions of shares t “Shelf registrations” allow a company to prepare a stock or bond for

market t Composite 36 Track the Markets sale, without selling the whole issue at once. Corporations sell as 24 Compare the performance of selected conditions become favorable. Here are the shelf sales, or takedowns, 12 global stock indexes, bond ETFs, over the last week: 0 currencies and commodities at Takedown date/ Deal value Issuer/Industry Registration date ($ mil.) Bookrunner(s) D J F M A M J J A S O N D wsj.com/graphics/track-the-markets Mirum Pharmaceuticals Inc Dec. 14 $75.0 JPM, SVB Leerink, Evercore Inc *Weekly P/E data based on as-reported earnings from Birinyi Associates Inc.; †Based on Nasdaq-100 Index Healthcare Aug. 3,320 Arvinas Inc Dec. 15 $400.0 GS, Piper Sandler Major U.S. Stock-Market Indexes Nasdaq Composite Healthcare Dec. 14,320 Latest Week 52-Week % chg s 377.77, or 3.05% Ocular Therapeutix Inc Dec. 15 $80.1 Jefferies, Piper Sandler High Low Close Net chg % chg Low Close (l) High % chg YTD 3-yr. ann. last week Healthcare Dec. 14,320 Dow Jones GrafTech International Ltd Dec. 14 $77.8 MS Chemicals June 18,319 Industrial Average 30343.59 29849.15 30179.05 132.68 0.44 18591.93 l 30303.37 6.1 5.7 6.8 Castle Biosciences Inc Dec. 15 SVB Leerink, R W Baird & Co, Transportation Avg 12828.04 12330.96 12566.07 -106.31 -0.84 6703.63 l 12803.02 15.3 15.3 6.1 $266.8 12725 Healthcare Dec. 14,320 Canaccord Genuity 0.25 l Utility Average 877.09 852.68 857.26 2.16 610.89 960.89 -2.4 -2.5 4.8 SharpSpring Inc Dec. 16 $15.0 Needham & Co LLC, Total Stock Market 39023.10 38071.87 38854.83 653.13 1.71 22462.76 l 38947.55 17.9 17.6 11.8 Professional Services Feb. 2,318 Lake Street Capital Markets LLC Barron's 400 851.02 824.65 848.18 24.20 2.94 455.11 l 848.18 15.6 15.8 5.8 12550 Phathom Pharmaceuticals Inc Dec. 16 $94.5 Jefferies, Evercore Inc, Healthcare Nov. 10,320 Guggenheim Ptnrs, BMO Cptl Mkts Nasdaq Stock Market Endra Life Sciences Inc Dec. 15 $5.0 Fordham Financial Mgmt Inc 12375 Nasdaq Composite 12809.60 12432.71 12755.64 377.77 3.05 6860.67 l 12764.75 42.9 42.2 22.2 Healthcare Dec. 28,318 l New Fortress Energy Inc Dec. 15 $279.6 MS Nasdaq 100 12793.47 12426.25 12738.18 362.77 2.93 6994.29 12752.06 46.8 45.9 25.1 Utility & Energy March 5,320 12200 S&P iQIYI Inc Dec. 17 $700.0 GS, BofA Securities, JPM 11 14 15 16 17 18 Telecommunications Dec. 15,320 500 Index 3726.70 3645.84 3709.41 45.95 1.25 2237.40 l 3722.48 15.2 14.8 11.3 December iQIYI Inc Dec. 17 $800.0 GS, BofA Securities, JPM MidCap 400 2309.73 2233.98 2287.26 47.32 2.11 1218.55 l 2297.91 10.7 10.9 6.3 DJ US TSM Telecommunications Dec. 15,320 SmallCap 600 1122.80 1083.05 1108.16 21.57 1.99 595.67 l 1116.74 8.3 8.5 5.4 s 653.13, or 1.71% SCYNEXIS Inc Dec. 17 $85.0 Guggenheim Partners, Healthcare Sept. 11,320 Cantor Fitzgerald & Co Other Indexes last week Gamida Cell Ltd Dec. 17 $65.0 Piper Sandler, Evercore Inc, Russell 2000 1992.72 1913.86 1969.99 58.29 3.05 991.16 l 1978.05 17.8 18.1 8.3 Healthcare Nov. 14,319 JMP Securities LLC NYSE Composite 14529.88 14214.04 14467.82 112.53 0.78 8777.38 l 14516.73 4.2 4.0 4.2 VistaGen Therapeutics Inc Dec. 18 $58.0 Jefferies, W. Blair LLC Healthcare Sept. 30,319 Value Line 570.04 555.52 566.13 6.89 1.23 305.71 l 568.7 2.6 2.5 0.2 38800 Asure Software Inc Dec. 18 $18.9 Roth Cptl Ptnrs NYSE Arca Biotech 5924.66 5661.71 5918.43 376.02 6.78 3855.67 l 6142.96 14.5 16.8 12.5 Computers & Electronics April 2,318 NYSE Arca Pharma 690.21 673.25 686.11 -3.29 -0.48 494.36 l 691.7 4.7 5.0 7.7 38450 KBW Bank 95.42 92.61 93.49 -0.70 -0.74 56.19 l 114.12 -17.4 -17.5 -4.6 Public and Private Borrowing PHLX§ Gold/Silver 149.79 135.26 144.90 6.29 4.54 70.12 l 161.14 48.5 35.5 21.1 38100 Treasurys PHLX§ Oil Service 47.33 44.62 44.89 -1.338 -2.89 21.47 l 80.99 -41.4 -42.7 -31.0 PHLX§ Semiconductor 2792.07 2723.89 2764.74 60.66 2.24 1286.84 l 2816.27 49.1 49.5 29.3 Monday, December 21 Thursday, December 24 CBOE Volatility 24.82 21.52 21.57 -1.74 -7.46 12.10 l 82.69 72.4 56.5 31.3 37750 Auction of 13 and 26 week bills; Auction of 4 and 8 week bills; 11 14 15 16 17 18 announced on December 17; settles on December 24announced on December 22; settles on December 29 §Nasdaq PHLX Sources: FactSet; Dow Jones Market Data December

International Stock Indexes Commodities and A Week in the Life of the DJIA Latest Week 52-Week Range YTD Currencies Alook at how the Dow Jones Industrial Average component stocks Region/Country Index Close %chg Low Close High %chg did in the past week and how much each moved the index. The DJIA World MSCI ACWI 639.80 1.58 384.04 • 641.89 13.2 Last Week YTD gained 132.68 points, or 0.44%, on the week. A$1change in the price Close Net chg % Chg % chg of any DJIA stock =6.58-point change in the average. To date, a MSCI ACWI ex-USA 323.22 1.50 200.33 • 324.72 7.1 $1,000 investment on Dec. 31 in each current DJIA stock component MSCI World 2666.30 1.69 1602.11 • 2674.87 13.1 DJ Commodity 725.56 24.46 3.49 12.96 MSCI Emerging Markets 1268.36 0.85 758.20 1272.96 13.8 would have returned $32,681, or again of 8.94%, on the $30,000 • TR/CC CRB Index 166.45 5.20 3.23 -10.41 investment, including reinvested dividends. Americas MSCI AC Americas 1454.34 1.58 850.77 1458.35 16.5 • Crude oil, $ per barrel 49.10 2.53 5.43 -19.59 Canada S&P/TSX Comp 17534.63 –0.08 11228.49 • 17944.06 2.8 The Week’s Action Natural gas, $/MMBtu 2.700 0.109 4.21 23.34 Pct Stock price Point chg $1,000 Invested(year-end '19) Latin Amer. MSCI EM Latin America 2466.39 2.29 1382.94 • 2983.71 –15.5 chg (%) change in average* Company Symbol Close $1,000 Gold, $ per troy oz. 1885.70 45.90 2.49 24.10 Brazil Sao Paulo Bovespa 118023.67 2.52 63569.62 • 119527.63 2.1 3.52 7.32 48.16 McDonald’s MCD $215.08 $1,116 Chile Santiago IPSA 2881.23 2.97 2045.49 3567.90 –13.63 • U.S. Dollar Index 89.94 -1.04 -1.14 -6.69 3.47 4.25 27.93 Apple AAPL 126.66 1,740 S&P/BMV IPC 43873.81 0.60 32964.22 • 45902.68 0.8 3.07 1.66 10.92 Dow DOW 55.66 1,083 WSJ Dollar Index 85.13 -0.83 -0.96 -4.95 EMEA Stoxx Europe 600 395.90 1.48 279.66 • 433.90 –4.8 2.90 3.91 25.73 Travelers TRV 138.86 1,042 0.8158 -0.0098 -1.19 -8.51 Stoxx Europe 50 3096.29 0.59 2383.14 • 3539.12 –9.0 Euro, per dollar 2.53 1.12 7.37 Cisco CSCO 45.44 980 Eurozone Euro Stoxx 395.68 1.74 261.53 421.34 –2.0 103.32 -0.70 -0.67 -4.90 • Yen, per dollar 2.50 5.33 35.07 Microsoft MSFT 218.59 1,401 Euro Stoxx 50 3545.74 1.72 2385.82 3865.18 –5.3 • U.K. pound, in dollars 1.35 0.0304 2.30 2.04 2.46 5.07 33.36 Visa V 211.31 1,132 Austria ATX 2713.69 3.10 1630.84 3229.37 –14.8 • 2.25 5.01 32.96 salesforce.com CRM 227.43 1,398 Belgium Bel-20 3657.33 0.21 2528.77 • 4198.31 –7.5 52-Week Low Close(l) High % Chg 2.23 5.90 38.82 Home Depot HD 270.45 1,268 France CAC 40 5527.84 0.37 3754.84 • 6111.24 –7.5 1.85 2.53 16.65 Procter & Gamble PG 139.04 1,141 Germany DAX 13630.51 3.94 8441.71 • 13789.00 2.9 DJ Commodity 433.70 l 725.56 13.61 Greece Athex Composite 800.06 2.70 484.40 • 948.64 –12.7 1.38 2.40 15.79 3M MMM 176.42 1,037 TR/CC CRB Index 106.29 l 187.39 -10.05 Israel Tel Aviv 1471.80 –0.06 1171.21 • 1751.79 –12.6 1.27 1.58 10.40 IBM IBM 125.85 988 Italy FTSE MIB 21976.12 1.26 14894 • 25478 –6.5 Crude oil, $ per barrel -37.63 l 63.27 -18.76 1.02 1.56 10.26 Johnson & Johnson JNJ 154.51 1,088 Netherlands AEX 625.25 1.76 404.10 • 629.23 3.4 Natural gas, $/MMBtu 1.482 l 3.354 15.98 0.93 1.67 10.99 Caterpillar CAT 180.96 1,262 Portugal PSI 20 4763.03 0.43 3596.08 5435.85 –8.7 0.89 2.14 14.08 Goldman Sachs GS 242.13 1,079 • Gold, $ per troy oz. 1474.70 l 2051.50 27.87 Russia RTS Index 1402.50 –0.73 832.26 • 1646.60 –9.5 0.73 0.39 2.57 Coca-Cola KO 53.74 1,004 South Africa FTSE/JSE All-Share 59788.12 0.63 37963.01 60544.30 4.7 • U.S. Dollar Index 89.82 l 102.82 -7.93 0.48 1.09 7.17 Amgen AMGN 228.49 974 Spain IBEX 35 8037.40 –0.32 6107.2 10083.6 –15.8 • 0.39 1.31 8.62 UnitedHealth Group UNH 338.38 1,170 Sweden OMX Stockholm 762.58 0.78 478.95 764.42 12.0 WSJ Dollar Index 84.97 l 97.02 -6.03 • 0.18 0.11 0.72 Verizon VZ 60.46 1,028 Switzerland Swiss Market 10523.86 1.27 8160.79 11263.01 –0.9 Euro, per dollar 0.8150 l 0.9352 -9.63 • –0.09 –0.13 –0.86 Nike NKE 137.28 1,368 U.K. FTSE 100 6529.18 –0.27 4993.89 7674.56 –13.4 • Yen, per dollar 102.37 l 112.11 -5.61 –0.40 –0.48 –3.16 JPMorgan Chase JPM 119.08 885 Asia-Pacific MSCI AC Asia Pacific 196.52 0.85 121.5 • 197.4 15.2 U.K. pound, in dollars 1.15 l 1.36 4.08 –0.71 –1.05 –6.91 Walmart WMT 145.95 1,249 Australia S&P/ASX 200 6675.50 0.50 4546.0 • 7162.5 –0.1 –1.61 –2.83 –18.62 Walt Disney DIS 172.89 1,195 China Shanghai Composite 3394.90 1.43 2660.17 • 3451.94 11.3 –2.02 –0.84 –5.53 Walgreens WBA 40.69 721 Hong Kong Hang Seng 26498.60 –0.03 21696.13 • 29056.42 –6.0 Real-time U.S. stock Honeywell HON India S&P BSE Sensex 46960.69 1.87 25981.24 • 46960.69 13.8 quotes are available on –2.14 –4.59 –30.20 210.04 1,214 Japan Nikkei Stock Avg 26763.39 0.42 16552.83 • 26817.94 13.1 WSJ WSJ.com. Track most- –2.26 –2.72 –17.90 American Express AXP 117.51 961 Malaysia FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI 1652.49 –1.91 1219.72 • 1684.58 4.0 .COM active stocks, new –4.13 –3.43 –22.57 Merck MRK 79.53 902 Singapore Straits Times 2848.98 0.97 2233.48 • 3281.03 –11.6 highs/lows, mutual –4.56 –2.27 –14.94 Intel INTC 47.46 813 South Korea Kospi 2772.18 0.08 1457.64 • 2772.18 26.1 funds and ETFs. –4.59 –10.58 –69.61 Boeing BA 219.75 679 Taiwan TAIEX 14249.96 –0.08 8681.34 • 14390.14 18.8 All are available free at –5.69 –5.26 –34.61 Chevron CVX 87.19 764 Source: FactSet; Dow Jones Market Data WSJMarkets.com *Based on Composite price. DJIA is calculated on primary-market price. Source: Dow Jones Market Data; FactSet. Consumer Rates and Returns to Investor Benchmark Yields and Rates U.S. consumer rates Selected rates Treasury yield curve Forex Race Currencies A consumer rate against its 30-year mortgage, Rate Yield to maturity of current bills, Yen, euro vs. dollar; dollar vs. U.S.-dollar foreign-exchange rates in late New York trading benchmark over the past year notes and bonds major U.S. trading partners Bankrate.com avg†: 2.87% US$ vs, US$ vs, Fri YTD chg Fri YTD chg East Boston Savings Bank 2.50% 2.50% Country/currency in US$ per US$ (%) Country/currency in US$ per US$ (%) 30-year ﬁxed-rate 10% 4.00% Boston, MA 800-657-EBSB Vietnam dong .00004324 23125 –0.2 t mortgage One year ago 2.00 Americas MidWestOne Bank 2.50% Euro s Europe 3.00 t 5 Argentina peso .0121 82.7654 38.2 Iowa City, IA 800-247-4418 1.50 Brazil real .1960 5.1025 26.9 Czech Rep. koruna .04689 21.327 –5.9 s 2.00 First National Bank 2.63% 0 Yen Canada dollar .7821 1.2786 –1.6 Denmark krone .1648 6.0693 –8.9 1.00 10-year Treasury Waverly, IA 319-266-2000 Chile peso .001379 725.30 –1.9 Euro area euro 1.2258 .8158 –8.5 Tradeweb ICE Colombiapeso .000292 3419.50 4.2 Hungary forint .003428 291.71 –1.2 t note yield 1.00 –5 s Teachers Federal Credit Union 2.63% Friday Close 0.50 Ecuador US dollar 11unch Iceland krona .007834 127.65 5.4 Farmingville, NY 631-698-7000 t WSJ Dollar index Mexico peso .0501 19.9451 5.4 Norway krone .1167 8.5691 –2.4 0.00 0.00 –10 Uruguay peso .02361 42.3550 14.0 Poland zloty .2742 3.6471 –3.9 J F M A M J J A S O N D Charter Bank 2.75% 1 3 6 1 2 3 5 7 10 20 30 2020 2020 Russia ruble .01362 73.429 18.3 Eau Claire, WI 715-832-4254 Asia-Pacific 2020 month(s) years Sweden krona .1211 8.2569 –11.8 Australian dollar .7621 1.3122 –7.9 Switzerland franc 1.1322 .8832 –8.7 maturity China yuan .1530 6.5370 –6.1 Sources: Tradeweb ICE U.S. Treasury Close; Tullett Prebon; Dow Jones Market Data Turkey lira .1311 7.6290 28.2 Yield/Rate (%) 52-Week Range (%) 3-yr chg Hong Kong dollar .1290 7.7524 –0.5 Ukraine hryvnia .0357 28.0500 18.5 Interest rate Last (l)Week ago Low 0246 8High (pct pts) India rupee .01359 73.586 3.1 UK pound 1.3531 .7390 –2.0 Corporate Borrowing Rates and Yields Indonesia rupiah .0000709 14110 1.6 Federal-funds rate target 0.00-0.25 0.00-0.25 0.00 l 1.50 -1.25 Japan yen .009679 103.32 –4.9 Middle East/Africa Spread +/- Treasurys, Prime rate* 3.25 3.25 3.25 l 4.75 -1.25 Kazakhstan tenge Bahrain dinar Yield (%) in basis pts, 52-wk Range Total Return .002383 419.64 9.9 2.6521 .3771 0.01 Libor, 3-month 0.24 0.22 0.20 l 1.96 -1.39 Bond total return index Last Wk ago Last Low High 52-wk 3-yr Macau pataca .1251 7.9911 –0.3 Egypt pound .0637 15.7090 –2.1 Money market, annual yield 0.20 0.20 0.19 l 0.58 -0.14 Malaysia ringgit .2475 4.0405 –1.2 Israel shekel .3090 3.2363 –6.3 U.S.Treasury,Barclays 0.600 0.5707.84 5.08 New Zealand dollar Kuwait dinar Five-year CD, annual yield 0.58 0.59 0.58 l 1.41 -0.91 .7137 1.4011 –5.7 3.2880 .3041 0.3 U.S. Treasury Long,Barclays 1.560 1.49016.15 9.54 Pakistan rupee .00625 160.100 3.3 Oman sul rial 2.5976 .3850 –0.01 30-year mortgage, fixed† 2.87 2.94 2.86 l 4.22 -1.01 Aggregate,Barclays 1.170 1.170n.a. 39 127 7.37 5.24 Philippines peso .0208 48.078 –5.2 Qatar rial .2719 3.678 0.9 15-year mortgage, fixed† 2.39 2.50 2.37 l 3.57 -0.92 Singapore dollar .7532 1.3276 –1.4 Saudi Arabia riyal .2665 3.7520 0.02 Fixed-Rate MBS,Barclays 1.300 1.320n.a. 28 132 4.06 3.71 Jumbo mortgages, $510,400-plus† 2.89 2.92 2.87 l 4.36 -1.37 South Korea won .0009095 1099.52 –4.8 South Africa rand .0688 14.5442 3.9 High Yield 100,ICE BofA 3.791 3.874 344 271 10183.707 5.018 Five-year adj mortgage (ARM)† 3.19 3.22 2.85 l 4.59 -0.55 Sri Lanka rupee .0053277 187.70 3.5 Muni Master,ICE BofA Close Net Chg % Chg YTD % Chg New-car loan, 48-month 4.02 4.04 4.02 l 4.50 0.69 0.879 0.897 28 -12 41 5.311 4.521 Taiwan dollar .03550 28.169 –5.8 Thailand baht .03351 29.840 0.3 WSJ Dollar Index 85.13 0.16 0.19 –4.95 Bankrate.com rates based on survey of over 4,800 online banks. *Base rate posted by 70% of the nation's largest EMBIGlobal,J.P. Morgan 4.351 4.424 326 277 662 5.931 4.824 banks.† Excludes closing costs. Sources: FactSet; Dow Jones Market Data; Bankrate.com Sources: J.P. Morgan; S&P Dow Jones Indices; Bloomberg Barclays; ICE Data Services Sources: Tullett Prebon, Dow Jones Market Data P2JW356000-0-B00700-1------XA

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Monday, December 21, 2020 | B7 CLOSED‑END FUNDS

Listed are the 300 largest closed-end funds as 52 wk 52 wk Prem12 Mo Prem12 Mo Prem12 Mo measured by assets. Closed-end funds sell a limited Prem Ttl Prem Ttl Fund (SYM) NAV Close /Disc Yld Fund (SYM) NAV Close /Disc Yld Fund (SYM) NAV Close /Disc Yld number of shares and invest the proceeds in securities. Fund (SYM) NAV Close /Disc Ret Fund (SYM) NAV Close /Disc Ret Western Asset Hi Yld D O HYI Loan Participation Funds Unlike open-end funds, closed-ends generally do not NA 15.23 NA 7.4 Putnam Muni Opp PMO 14.04 13.52 -3.7 4.7 buy their shares back from investors who wish to cash EtnVncEqtyInc EOI 16.74 16.15 -3.5 9.1 Gabelli Multimedia GGT 7.96 8.00 +0.5 13.8 Other Domestic Taxable Bond Funds 1WS Credit Income NA NA NA 6.0 in their holdings. Instead, fund shares trade on a stock RiverNorth Mgd Dur Mun I RMM 19.43 17.42 -10.3 5.7 EtnVncEqtyIncoII EOS 21.02 21.56 +2.6 29.4 Highland Global Alloc HGLB 10.13 6.79 -33.0 -17.2 Apollo Tactical Income AIF AlphCntrc Prime Merid In 9.66 NA NA NS exchange. NA signifies that the information is not NA 14.29 NA 7.2 Western Asset Mgd Muni MMU NA 12.79 NA 4.2 available or not applicable. NS signifies funds not in EVRskMnDvsEqInc ETJ 10.06 10.50 +4.4 23.2 India Fund IFN 22.35 19.97 -10.6 7.7 Ares Dynamic Crdt Alloc ARDC NA 14.21 NA 8.9 Angel Oak Str Crdt:Inst 22.87 NA NA 7.9 existence for the entire period. 12 month yield is Westn Asst Mu Def Opp Tr MTT NA 20.73 NA 3.2 ETnVncTxMgdBuyWrtInc ETB 14.50 15.06 +3.9 0.7 Japan Smaller Cap JOF 10.49 9.03 -13.9 5.4 Axonic Alternative Inc NA NA NA 3.5 computed by dividing income dividends paid (during BlackRock Mlt-Sctr Inc BIT 18.30 17.02 -7.0 8.7 Single State Muni Bond the previous 12 months for periods ending at month- EtnVncTxMgdBuyWrtOpp ETV 14.35 15.35 +7.0 12.5 LazardGlbTotRetInc LGI 19.58 17.73 -9.4 18.3 BlackRock Tax Muni Bd BBN 25.22 26.87 +6.5 5.0 Blackstone/GSO FR EI D 23.70 NA NA 5.7 end or during the previous 52 weeks for periods BlackRock CA Mun BFZ 16.02 14.03 -12.4 3.3 EvTxMnDvsEqInc ETY 12.67 12.40 -2.1 7.3 MS ChinaShrFd CAF 25.13 21.87 -13.0 11.6 DoubleLine:Oppor Crdt Fd DBL Blackstone/GSO FR EI I 23.67 NA NA 5.9 ending at any time other than month-end) by the NA 19.09 NA 7.1 BR MH CA Qly Fd Inc MUC 15.99 14.75 -7.8 3.9 latest month-end market price adjusted for capital EtnVncTxMgdGlbB ETW 10.22 9.64 -5.7 2.1 MS India IIF 24.63 20.75 -15.8 3.0 Duff&Ph Util Cor DUC 9.57 9.99 +4.4 5.9 Blackstone/GSO FR EI T 23.63 NA NA 5.5 gains distributions. Depending on the fund category, BR MH NJ Qly MUJ 16.03 14.33 -10.6 4.8 EVTxMnGblDvEqInc EXG 9.26 8.73 -5.7 7.1 New Germany GF 23.74 20.42 -14.0 35.6 EVLmtDurIncm EVV Blackstone/GSO FR EI T-I 24.21 NA NA 5.4 either 12-month yield or total return is listed. 13.66 12.36 -9.5 9.8 BR MH NY Qly MHN 15.16 13.88 -8.4 4.2 Source: Lipper First Trust Energy Inc G FEN 13.00 11.15 -14.2 -42.9 Templeton Dragon TDF 24.07 22.06 -8.4 46.5 Franklin Ltd Dur Income FTF Blackstone/GSO FR EI U 24.67 NA NA 5.4 9.47 9.00 -5.0 10.8 BR MuniYld CA MYC 16.36 14.60 -10.8 3.5 Friday, December 18, 2020 First Tr Enhanced Eq FFA 18.27 17.25 -5.6 7.6 Templeton Em Mkt EMF 19.55 17.90 -8.4 19.6 J Han Investors JHI Blstn Commnty Dev 10.06 NA NA 3.4 18.27 17.20 -5.9 7.8 BR MuniYld CA Qly MCA 16.17 14.85 -8.2 4.0 52 wk FirstTrMLPEner&Inc FEI 7.00 6.06 -13.4 -42.4 Wells Fargo Gl Div Oppty EOD 5.45 4.79 -12.1 -3.0 KKR Income Opportunities KIO NA 14.35 NA 10.5 BNYM Alcntr Glb MS Cr Fd 101.06 NA NA 6.9 Prem Ttl BR MuniYld MI Qly MIY 15.87 14.42 -9.1 4.2 Gabelli Healthcare GRX 13.66 11.78 -13.8 10.0 Prem12 Mo MFS Charter MCR CLIFFWATER CL FD;I 10.53 NA NA 5.1 Fund (SYM) NAV Close /Disc Ret 8.91 8.42 -5.5 8.1 BR MuniYld NJ MYJ 16.10 14.16 -12.0 5.1 Gab Utility GUT 4.08 7.99 +95.8 18.7 Fund (SYM) NAV Close /Disc Yld Nuveen Taxable Muni Inc NBB NA 23.05 NA 4.8 CNR Strategic Credit 10.47 NA NA 7.8 General Equity Funds BR MuniYld NY Qly MYN 14.54 13.07 -10.1 4.1 GAMCOGlGold&NatRes GGN 4.01 3.52 -12.2 -6.0 U.S. Mortgage Bond Funds PIMCO Corp & Inc Oppty PTY NA 17.85 NA 9.1 FedProj&TrFinanceTendr 10.00 NA NA 2.8 Adams Diversified Equity ADX 19.75 17.13 -13.3 15.0 EVCAMuniBd EVM 12.82 11.63 -9.3 4.0 J Han Finl Opptys BTO 27.80 29.01 +4.4 -11.4 BlckRk Income BKT 6.21 6.07 -2.3 6.7 PIMCO Corp & Inc Strat PCN NA 17.30 NA 8.3 FS Global Crdt Opptys D NA NA NA 8.5 Boulder Growth & Income BIF 13.38 11.08 -17.2 -1.7 Eaton Vance NY Muni Bd ENX 13.59 12.36 -9.1 4.1 Nuv Dow 30 Dyn Overwrite DIAX NA 14.85 NA -9.8 Invesco HI 2023 Tgt Term IHIT 8.82 8.42 -4.5 7.2 PIMCOHilnco PHK NA 6.08 NA 11.1 Schrdrs Opp Inc;A 25.71 NA NA 1.1 Central Secs CET 39.07 31.80 -18.6 1.6 InvCaValMuIncTr VCV 13.72 12.99 -5.3 4.1 NuvCorEqAlpha JCE NA 13.97 NA 4.2 Investment Grade Bond Funds PIMCO IncmStrFd PFL NA 11.21 NA 9.7 Schrdrs Opp Inc;A2 25.70 NA NA NS CohenStrsCEOppFd FOF 12.72 12.20 -4.1 -0.4 InvPAValMuIncTr VPV 14.26 12.49 -12.4 4.7 Nuveen Nasdaq 100 Dyn Ov QQQX NA 25.49 NA 14.2 BlRck Core Bond BHK 16.42 16.35 -0.4 4.9 PIMCO IncmStrFd II PFN NA 9.87 NA 9.8 Schrdrs Opp Inc;I 25.72 NA NA 1.1 EVTxAdvDivIncm EVT 24.58 23.65 -3.8 1.5 InvTrInvGrNYMu VTN 14.40 12.69 -11.9 4.3 Nuv Real Est JRS NA 8.37 NA -12.4 BR Credit Alloc Inc BTZ 15.66 14.96 -4.5 6.7 Putnam Mas Int PIM 4.49 4.15 -7.6 8.6 Schrdrs Opp Inc;SDR 25.76 NA NA 1.2 GabelliDiv&IncTr GDV 24.61 21.28 -13.5 4.6 Nuveen CA AMT-F Qual MI NKX NA 15.53 NA 4.0 Nuveen Rl Asst Inc & Gro JRI NA 13.48 NA -18.1 Insight Select Income INSI 22.46 21.54 -4.1 3.9 Putnam Prem Inc PPT 4.97 4.59 -7.6 9.1 Invesco Sr Loan A 6.25 NA NA 4.4 Gabelli Equity Tr GAB 5.76 6.43 +11.6 18.8 Nuveen CA Val NCA NA 10.58 NA 3.0 NuvS&P500DynOvFd SPXX NA 14.87 NA -1.5 InvescoBond VBF 21.15 20.85 -1.4 3.6 Wells Fargo Multi-Sector ERC 12.99 12.10 -6.9 9.7 Invesco Sr Loan C 6.27 NA NA 3.7 GeneralAmer GAM 43.54 36.76 -15.6 5.5 NuvSP500BuyIncFd BXMX NuveenCAQtyMuInc NAC NA 15.02 NA 4.1 NA 12.54 NA -0.9 J Han Income JHS 16.30 15.66 -3.9 4.6 World Income Funds Invesco Sr Loan IB 6.25 NA NA 4.6 JHancockTaxAdvDiv HTD 22.76 21.73 -4.5 -14.2 ReavesUtilityIncome UTG 32.33 32.93 +1.9 -3.7 Nuveen MD Qual Muni Inc NMY NA 13.88 NA 4.1 MFS Intmdt MIN 3.94 3.81 -3.3 8.9 Abrdn AP IncFd FAX 4.92 4.45 -9.6 7.8 Invesco Sr Loan IC 6.25 NA NA 4.5 Liberty All-Star Equity USA 7.31 6.84 -6.4 12.8 Tortoise Enrgy Infra Crp TYG NA 21.12 NA -70.0 Nuveen MI Qual Muni Inc NUM NA 14.57 NA 3.8 Western Asset Inf-Lk Inc WIA NA 13.76 NA 2.9 BrndywnGLB Glb Inc Oppts BWG NA 12.58 NA 7.0 Invesco Sr Loan Y 6.26 NA NA 4.6 Liberty All-Star Growth ASG 7.91 8.74 +10.5 53.7 Income & Preferred Stock Funds NuvNJ Qual Muni Inc NXJ NA 14.24 NA 4.5 Pioneer Sec Inc Western Asset Inf-Lk O&I WIW NA 12.07 NA 3.4 EtnVncStDivInc EVG 13.85 12.40 -10.5 7.2 9.66 NA NA NS Royce Micro-Cap Tr RMT 11.69 10.00 -14.5 27.9 CalamosStratTot CSQ NA 15.84 NA 26.4 Nuveen NY AMT/Fr Qual MI NRK NA 13.32 NA 4.2 High Yield Bond Funds Westn Asst IG Def Opp Tr IGI NA 22.19 NA 3.8 MS EmMktDomDebt EDD 7.33 6.34 -13.5 7.4 Royce Value Trust RVT 18.47 16.23 -12.1 18.7 CohenStrsLtdDurPref&Inc LDP 25.90 25.70 -0.8 4.3 Nuveen NY Qual Muni Inc NAN NA 14.18 NA 4.3 Griffin Inst Access Cd:A NA NA NA 6.1 Loan Participation Funds PIMCO Dyn Crd & Mrt Inc PCI NA 21.05 NA 12.2 Source Capital SOR 44.91 40.40 -10.0 9.1 CohenStrsSelPref&Income PSF 26.74 27.29 +2.1 -6.0 Nuveen OH Qual Muni Inc NUO NA 15.50 NA 3.4 Griffin Inst Access Cd:C NA NA NA 6.1 Apollo Senior Floating AFT NA 14.27 NA 6.9 PIMCO Dynamic Income PDI 24.69 26.60 +7.7 11.5 Tri-Continental TY 32.95 29.31 -11.0 10.6 FirstTrIntDurPref&Inc FPF 24.31 23.60 -2.9 6.2 Nuveen PA Qual Muni Inc NQP NA 14.13 NA 4.5 Griffin Inst Access Cd:F NA NA NA 6.2 BR Debt Strategy DSU 11.56 10.14 -12.3 8.2 PIMCO Income Opportunity PKO 23.49 25.18 +7.2 9.1 Specialized Equity Funds JHanPrefInc HPI 19.91 19.71 -1.0 -5.9 Nuveen VA Qlty Mun Inc NPV NA 15.90 NA 3.5 Griffin Inst Access Cd:I NA NA NA 6.1 BR F/R Inc Str FRA 13.84 12.10 -12.6 7.8 PIMCO Stratg Inc RCS NA 6.92 NA 9.7 Aberdeen Glb Prem Prop AWP 5.89 5.17 -12.2 -11.6 JHPrefIncII HPF 19.55 18.63 -4.7 -8.6 PIMCO CA PCQ NA 18.31 NA 4.5 Griffin Inst Access Cd:L NA NA NA 6.2 BlackRock Floatng Rt Inc BGT 13.43 11.87 -11.6 7.7 Templeton Em Inc TEI 8.89 7.88 -11.4 7.7 Adams Natural Resources PEO 13.97 11.59 -17.0 -22.9 HnckJPfdInco III HPS 17.51 17.14 -2.1 -3.5 PIMCOCAMuniII PCK NA 9.01 NA 4.2 PIMCO Flexible Cr I;A-2 9.21 NA NA 9.8 Blackstone Sr Fl Rt Tm BSL NA 14.30 NA 8.0 Templtn Glbl Inc GIM 6.09 5.48 -10.0 4.5 AllianzGI AI & Tech Opps AIO 27.74 25.75 -7.2 37.5 J Han Prm PDT 13.63 14.43 +5.9 -11.9 Pimco CA Muni III PZC NA 10.30 NA 4.4 PIMCO Flexible Cr I;A-3 9.21 NA NA NS Blackstone Strat Cr BGB 14.29 12.59 -11.9 9.3 WstAstEmergDebt EMD NA 13.95 NA 8.8 GI DivInt&PremStr NFJ 15.22 13.29 -12.7 8.6 LMP CapInco SCD NA 12.04 NA -12.3 52 wk PIMCO Flexible Cr I;A-4 9.21 NA NA 10.1 Eagle Point Credit ECC NA 10.13 NA 15.8 Western Asset Gl Cr D Op GDO NA 17.98 NA 6.7 ASA Gold & Prec Met Ltd ASA 26.06 21.84 -16.2 73.4 Nuveen Pref & Inc Opp JPC NA 9.33 NA -2.9 Prem Ttl PIMCO Flexible Cr I;Inst 9.21 NA NA 10.9 EtnVncFltRteInc EFT National Muni Bond Funds Fund (SYM) NAV Close /Disc Ret BR Enh C&I CII 18.93 17.54 -7.3 10.2 Nuveen Fd JPS 14.40 13.24 -8.1 6.7 PionrILSBridge NA NA NA 0.0 NA 9.54 NA 2.1 AllBerNatlMunInc AFB 15.40 14.00 -9.1 4.2 BlackRock Energy & Res BGR 8.40 7.16 -14.8 -31.0 Nuveen Pref & Inc Term JPI EV SenFlRtTr EFR 14.18 13.00 -8.3 7.0 General Equity Funds WA Middle Mkt Dbt NA NA NA 7.8 NA 24.01 NA 1.0 BlckRk Inv Q Mun BKN 16.66 16.85 +1.1 4.2 BlackRock Eq Enh Div BDJ 9.26 8.35 -9.8 -7.0 Nuveen TxAdvDivGr JTD EVSnrIncm EVF 6.77 6.33 -6.5 6.3 Specialized Equity Funds WA Middle Mkt Inc NA NA NA 8.7 NA 13.83 NA -11.7 BlackRock Muni 2030 Tgt BTT 26.76 25.10 -6.2 2.9 BlackRock Enh Glbl Div BOE 12.19 10.67 -12.5 5.1 TCW Strat Income TSI 5.58 5.58 0.0 0.6 FT/Sr Fltg Rte Inc 2 FCT 12.75 11.66 -8.5 9.7 Bluerock Total Inc+ RE:A 29.18 NA NA 1.4 Other Domestic Taxable Bond Funds BlackRock Muni BFK 14.69 14.93 +1.6 4.4 BlackRock Enh Intl Div BGY 6.46 5.80 -10.2 8.3 Convertible Sec's. Funds FT/Sr Fltg Rte 2022 TgTr FIV 9.43 8.98 -4.8 2.9 Bluerock Total Inc+ RE:C 27.77 NA NA 0.6 Am Beacon Apollo TR:T 10.40 NA NA 1.7 BlackRock Muni II BLE 15.12 15.40 +1.9 4.6 BlackRock Hlth Sci Tr II BMEZ 30.25 29.50 -2.5 NS AdvntCnvrtbl&IncFd AVK 19.00 16.42 -13.6 18.2 Highland Income HFRO 13.03 10.27 -21.2 10.2 Bluerock Total Inc+ RE:I 29.74 NA NA 1.6 Am Beacon Apollo TR:Y 10.45 NA NA 2.5 BlckRk Muni Inc Qly BYM 15.87 14.78 -6.9 4.0 BlackRock Hlth Sciences BME 45.13 48.67 +7.8 23.3 GI Conv & Inc NCV 6.19 5.67 -8.4 11.1 InvDYCrOpp VTA 11.60 10.43 -10.1 8.7 Bluerock Total Inc+ RE:L 28.93 NA NA 1.1 Am Beacon SP Enh Inc:T 9.62 NA NA NS BR MuniAssets Fd MUA 14.36 14.41 +0.3 4.3 BlackRock Res & Comm BCX 8.48 7.24 -14.6 -0.2 AGI Conv & Inc II NCZ 5.55 5.01 -9.7 9.1 InvSnrIncTr VVR 4.44 3.89 -12.4 6.8 Broadstone Rl Est Acc:I 9.60 NA NA -4.8 Am Beacon SP Enh Inc:Y 9.69 NA NA 3.3 BR MuniEnhanced MEN 12.47 11.74 -5.9 4.1 BlackRock Sci&Tech Tr II BSTZ 38.03 36.02 -5.3 86.9 AGI Dvs Inc & Conv ACV 34.43 32.41 -5.9 42.0 Nuveen Credit Strat Inc JQC NA 6.20 NA 16.5 Broadstone Rl Est Acc:W 9.59 NA NA -5.0 BR Credit Strat;A 10.44 NA NA NS BR MuniHoldings Qly MFL 15.11 13.90 -8.0 3.9 BlackRock Sci&Tech Trust BST 51.39 53.00 +3.1 71.1 AGI Eqty & Conv Inc NIE 30.78 28.00 -9.0 28.3 NuvFloatRateIncFd JFR NA 8.76 NA 7.4 CIM RA&C A 25.47 NA NA NS BR Credit Strat;Inst 10.44 NA NA 5.1 BR MH Qly 2 MUE 14.24 13.10 -8.0 4.3 BlackRock Utl Inf & Pwr BUI 23.42 24.16 +3.2 15.5 CalamosConvHi CHY NA 14.31 NA 35.1 NuvFloatRteIncOppty JRO NA 8.63 NA 7.4 CIM RA&C C 25.34 NA NA NS BlackRock Mlt-Sctr Oppty 87.06 NA NA 8.6 BR MuniHoldngs MHD 17.24 15.94 -7.5 4.5 CBRE ClrnGlbRlEst IGR 7.92 6.72 -15.2 -6.6 CalmosConvOp CHI NA 13.61 NA 34.4 Nuveen Senior Income NSL NA 5.20 NA 7.9 CIM RA&C I 25.50 NA NA NS BlackRock Mlt-Sec Opp II 91.57 NA NA 8.3 BR MuniVest Fd MVF 9.87 9.05 -8.3 4.4 ClearBridge MLP & Midstm CEM NA 18.40 NA -65.1 World Equity Funds PionrFltRate Tr PHD 11.22 10.84 -3.4 6.3 CIM RA&C L 25.42 NA NA NS Carlyle Tact Pvt Cred:A NA NA NA 8.2 BR MuniVest 2 MVT 15.50 14.43 -6.9 4.4 ChnStrInfr UTF 24.44 25.81 +5.6 7.3 Aberdeen Emg Mkts Eq Inc AEF 9.39 8.18 -12.9 10.1 High Yield Bond Funds GS Real Est Div Inc:A 9.76 NA NA -2.5 Carlyle Tact Pvt Cred:I NA NA NA 9.1 BR MuniYield Fd MYD 15.16 14.12 -6.9 4.7 Cohen&SteersQualInc RQI 12.90 12.15 -5.8 -9.8 Aberdeen Tot Dyn Div AOD 10.21 8.80 -13.8 7.6 AllianceBernGlHiIncm AWF 12.93 11.71 -9.4 6.9 GS Real Est Div Inc:C 9.74 NA NA -3.3 Carlyle Tact Pvt Cred:L NA NA NA 8.6 BR MuniYield Qlty MQY 16.59 16.43 -1.0 4.1 Cohen&Steers TotRet RFI 12.95 13.27 +2.5 -0.8 Calamos GloDynInc CHW NA 9.71 NA 25.3 Angel Oak FS Inc Trm FINS 18.51 16.62 -10.2 7.4 GS Real Est Div Inc:I 10.19 NA NA -2.3 Carlyle Tact Pvt Cred:M NA NA NA NS BR MuniYld Qlty2 MQT 14.58 13.74 -5.8 4.1 CohenStrsREITPrefInc RNP 23.31 21.89 -6.1 0.5 China CHN 32.93 30.00 -8.9 43.5 Barings Glb SD HY Bd BGH NA 14.98 NA 9.7 GS Real Est Div Inc:L 9.76 NA NA -2.7 Carlyle Tact Pvt Cred:N NA NA NA 9.1 BR MuniYld Qly 3 MYI 15.26 14.12 -7.5 3.9 Columbia Sel Prm Tech Gr STK 27.41 27.63 +0.8 26.6 EV TxAdvGlbDivInc ETG 19.39 17.89 -7.7 6.0 BR Corporate HY HYT 11.91 11.47 -3.7 8.0 GS Real Est Div Inc:W 9.91 NA NA -2.5 Carlyle Tact Pvt Cred:Y NA NA NA 8.8 BNY Mellon Muni Bd Infra DMB 14.51 13.93 -4.0 4.5 DNP Select Income DNP 9.03 10.37 +14.9 -12.8 EtnVncTxAdvOpp ETO 26.66 25.14 -5.7 5.1 BlackRock Ltd Dur Inc BLW 16.94 15.95 -5.8 7.4 NexPointRlEstStrat;A 16.18 NA NA -12.5 CION Ares Dvsfd Crdt;A NA NA NA 5.7 BNY Mellon Str Muni Bond DSM 8.32 7.64 -8.2 4.7 Duff&Ph Uti&Infra Inc Fd DPG 13.16 11.52 -12.5 -13.8 FirstTr Dyn Euro Eq Inc FDEU 13.64 11.76 -13.8 -15.6 BNY Mellon Hi Yield Str DHF 3.27 2.96 -9.5 8.5 NexPointRlEstStrat;C 16.35 NA NA -12.8 CION Ares Dvsfd Crdt;C NA NA NA 5.7 BNY Mellon Strat Muni LEO 8.64 8.38 -3.0 4.9 Brookfield Real Asst Inc RA 19.89 17.89 -10.1 13.5 NexPointRlEstStrat;Z 16.34 NA NA -11.6 CION Ares Dvsfd Crdt;I NA NA NA 5.6 DWS Muni Inc KTF 12.75 11.39 -10.7 4.1 CrSuisHighYld DHY NA 2.29 NA 8.5 PREDEX;I 25.33 NA NA 0.3 CION Ares Dvsfd Crdt;L NA NA NA 5.6 EVMuniBd EIM 14.33 13.32 -7.0 4.3 IPO Scorecard DoubleLine Inc Sol DSL NA 16.32 NA 10.7 PREDEX;T 25.43 NA NA 0.3 CION Ares Dvsfd Crdt;U NA NA NA 5.6 EVMuniIncm EVN 14.24 13.22 -7.2 4.2 DoubleLine Yld Opps DLY NA 18.51 NA NS PREDEX;W 25.43 NA NA 0.3 CION Ares Dvsfd Crdt:U2 NA NA NA NS Performance of IPOs, most-recent listed first EVNatMuniOpp EOT 21.82 20.72 -5.0 3.7 First Tr Hi Inc Lng/Shrt FSD 16.46 14.63 -11.1 9.0 Principal Dvs Sel RA A 25.53 NA NA 0.9 CION Ares Dvsfd Crdt;W NA NA NA 5.6 % Chg From % Chg From InvAdvMuIncTrII VKI 12.20 11.23 -8.0 4.7 Principal Dvs Sel RA Ins 25.59 NA NA 1.2 CNR Select Strategies 11.59 NA NA 0.0 Company SYMBOL Friday3s Offer 1st-day Company SYMBOL Friday3s Offer 1st-day First Trust HY Opp:2027 FTHY 21.33 20.41 -4.3 NS Invesco MuniOp OIA 7.71 7.68 -0.4 4.9 Principal Dvs Sel RA Y 25.66 NA NA 1.4 IPO date/Offer price close ($) price close IPO date/Offer price close ($) price close IVY HIGH INCOME OPP IVH 14.55 12.84 -11.8 9.5 First Eagle Crdt Opps A 25.34 NA NA NS InvescoMuOppTr VMO 13.65 12.62 -7.5 4.7 SharesPost 100;A 35.19 NA NA 18.1 First Eagle Crdt Opps I 25.34 NA NA NS 908 Devices Seven Oaks Acquisition NeubHgYldStrt NHS 12.64 11.61 -8.1 9.4 49.00 145.0 ... 10.16 1.6 ... InvescoMuTr VKQ 13.67 12.62 -7.7 4.6 SharesPost 100:I 35.45 NA NA 18.4 MASS Dec. 18/$20.00 SVOKU Dec. 18/$10.00 New Amer Hi Inc HYB 9.82 8.52 -13.2 6.5 GL Beyond Income 0.64 NA NA NE InvescoQual Inc IQI 13.82 12.67 -8.3 4.7 SharesPost 100:L 35.01 NA NA 18.0 KKR CREDIT OPPTY;D NA NA NA NS Dune Acquisition 10.12 1.2 ... Virios Therapeuctics 10.40 4.0 –37.8 NexPointStratOppty NHF 17.44 10.54 -39.6 14.3 InvTrInvGrMu VGM 14.08 13.05 -7.3 4.7 Versus Cap MMgr RE Inc:I 27.15 NA NA NE KKR CREDIT OPPTY;I NA NA NA NS DUNEU Dec. 18/$10.00 VIRI Dec. 17/$10.00 Nuveen CI Nov 2021 Tgt JHB NA 9.17 NA 4.4 InvescoValMunInc IIM 16.78 15.40 -8.2 4.5 Versus Capital Real Asst 25.32 NA NA 1.3 Nuveen Crdt Opps 2022 TT JCO NA 8.04 NA 6.8 KKR CREDIT OPPTY;T NA NA NA NS Golden Falcon Acquisition 10.29 2.9 ... ScION Tech Growth I 10.18 1.8 0.4 MAINSTAY:MK DEFTR MUN OP MMD NA 21.48 NA 4.7 Wildermuth Endwmnt:A 13.47 NA NA -3.8 Nuveen Global High Inc JGH NA 15.22 NA 7.6 KKR CREDIT OPPTY;U NA NA NA NS GFX.UT Dec. 18/$10.00 SCOAU Dec. 17/$10.00 NeubrgrBrm NBH 15.29 14.92 -2.4 4.8 Wildermuth Endwmnt:C 12.97 NA NA -4.6 PGIM Global High Yield GHY 16.30 14.43 -11.5 8.9 Lord Abbett Cred Opps Fd NA NA NA 7.2 INSU Acquisition III 10.40 4.0 ... Corner Growth Acquisition 10.35 3.5 ... Nuveen AMT-Fr Mu Val NUW NA 16.33 NA 2.8 Wildermuth Endowment:I 13.55 NA NA -4.0 Lord Abbett Cred Opps Fd PGIM High Yield Bond ISD 16.68 14.90 -10.7 8.5 NA NA NA 7.8 IIIIU Dec. 18/$10.00 COOLU Dec. 17/$10.00 Nuveen AMT-Fr Qlty Mun I NEA NA 14.86 NA 4.5 Income & Preferred Stock Funds Lord Abbett Crd Op:U NA NA NA NS PioneerHilncmTr PHT 9.38 8.92 -4.9 8.4 MedTech Acquisition 10.36 3.6 ... BioAtla 35.00 94.4 12.8 Nuveen AMT-Fr Mu CI NVG NA 16.40 NA 4.8 A3 Alternative Cr 10.12 NA NA 3.5 Palmer Square Opp Inc 18.29 NA NA 6.0 Wells Fargo Income Oppty EAD 8.96 8.08 -9.8 8.8 MTACU Dec. 18/$10.00 BCAB Dec. 16/$18.00 Nuveen Dyn Muni Opp NDMO NA NA NA NS Calamos L/S Eqty and DI CPZ NA 17.62 NA NA Resource Credit Inc:A 10.48 NA NA 8.0 WstAstHIF II HIX NA 6.92 NA 8.4 Nuveen Enh Muni Val NEV NA 15.30 NA 4.5 Destra Multi-Altrntv;A 12.18 NA NA -5.3 Resource Credit Inc:C 10.58 NA NA 7.3 Western Asset Hi Inc Opp HIO NA 5.02 NA 7.7 Sources: Dow Jones Market Data; FactSet Nuveen Int Dur Mun Term NID NA 13.66 NA 3.7 Destra Multi-Altrntv;C 11.64 NA NA -6.1 Resource Credit Inc:I 10.50 NA NA 8.2 Nuveen Mu Crdt Opps NMCO NA 12.82 NA 5.6 Destra Multi-Altrntv;I 12.42 NA NA -5.2 Resource Credit Inc:L 10.47 NA NA 7.7 Nuv Muni Credit Income NZF NA 15.73 NA 4.8 Destra Multi-Altrntv;T 11.82 NA NA -5.9 Resource Credit Inc:W 10.47 NA NA 8.0 Insider-Trading Spotlight NuvMuniHiIncOpp NMZ NA 13.98 NA 5.3 Flat Rock Opportunity 19.72 NA NA 13.6 Thrivent Church Ln&Inc:S 10.88 NA NA 2.6 Nuveen Muni Val NUV NA 11.02 NA 3.3 Trading by ‘insiders’ of a corporation, such as a company’s CEO, vice president or director, potentially conveys Variant Altrntv Inc:Inst 26.72 NA NA 5.7 World Income Funds Nuveen Quality Muni Inc NAD NA 15.05 NA 4.4 Variant Altrntv Inc:Inv 26.72 NA NA 5.5 Destra Int&Evt-Dvn Crd:A 25.37 NA NA 4.6 new information about the prospects of a company. Insiders are required to report large trades to the SEC Nuveen Sel TF NXP NA 17.06 NA 3.2 Convertible Sec's. Funds Destra Int&Evt-Dvn Crd:I 25.38 NA NA 4.8 within two business days. Here’s a look at the biggest individual trades by insiders, based on data received by Nuveen Sel TF 2 NXQ NA 15.55 NA 3.2 Calmos Dyn Conv and Inc CCD NA 28.28 NA NA Destra Int&Evt-Dvn Crd:L 25.35 NA NA 4.4 Thomson Financial on December 18, and year-to-date stock performance of the company Nuveen Sel TF 3 NXR NA 16.74 NA 3.1 World Equity Funds Destra Int&Evt-Dvn Crd:T 25.33 NA NA 4.2 KEY: B: beneficial owner of more than 10% of a security class CB: chairman CEO: chief executive officer CFO: chief financial officer PIMCO MuniInc PMF NA 13.70 NA 4.7 ACAP Strategic:A 27.24 NA NA 52.8 National Muni Bond Funds CO: chief operating officer D: director DO: director and beneficial owner GC: general counsel H: officer, director and beneficial owner PIMCOMuniIncII PML NA 14.25 NA 5.0 ACAP Strategic:W 20.08 NA NA 53.8 PIMCO Flex Mun Inc;A-3 NA NA NA 2.1 I: indirect transaction filed through a trust, insider spouse, minor child or other O: officer OD: officer and director P: president UT: Pimco Muni III PMX NA 11.89 NA 4.6 BMO LGM Front ME;I 6.38 NA NA -23.1 PIMCO Flex Mun Inc:A1 NA NA NA NS unknown VP: vice president Excludes pure options transactions PioneerHilncAdv MAV 12.34 11.48 -7.0 4.3 CalamosGlbTotRet CGO NA 14.74 NA NA PIMCO Flex Mun Inc;A2 NA NA NA NS PioneerMunHiIcmT MHI 13.23 12.15 -8.2 4.4 Primark Priv Eq Inv:III NA NA NA NS PIMCO Flex Mun Inc;Inst NA NA NA 2.8 Biggest weekly individual trades Putnam Mgd Inc PMM 8.21 7.88 -4.0 4.8 VirtusTotalRetFd ZTR 9.28 8.84 -4.7 -1.1 Tortoise Tax-Adv Soc Inf NA NA NA 5.0 Based on reports filed with regulators this past week No. of shrs in Price range ($) $ Value Borrowing Benchmarks | wsj.com/market-data/bonds/benchmarks Date(s) Company Symbol Insider Title trans (000s) in transaction (000s) Close ($) Ytd (%) Buyers Money Rates December 18, 2020

Dec. 10 Universal Logistics Holdings ULH M. Moroun DO 1,472 19.45 28,618 21.82 15.1 Key annual interest rates paid to borrow or lend money in U.S. and international markets. Rates below are a guide to general levels but don’t always represent actual transactions. Dec. 11 Frazier Lifesciences Acquisition FLACU J. Topper CEOI 1,000 10.00 10,000 10.35 Week —52-WEEK— Week —52-WEEK— Dec. 11 IGM Biosciences IGMS J. Topsoe DOI 111 90.00 10,000 84.28 120.9 Inflation Latest ago High Low Latest ago High Low Nov. index Chg From (%) Dec. 11 C. Topsor DOI 111 90.00 10,000 level Oct. '20 Nov. '19 Low 0.0500 0.0500 1.5800 0.0100 Commercial paper (AA financial) Dec. 11 M. Behrens DI 44 90.00 4,000 Bid 0.0800 0.0800 1.6000 0.0100 90 days 0.13 0.14 2.53 0.04 U.S. consumer price index Offer 0.1100 0.1000 1.6300 0.0500 Dec. 2 Sinclair Broadcast Group SBGI F. Smith H 300 28.72 8,616 28.64 -14.1 Libor All items 260.229 –0.06 1.2 Treasury bill auction Dec. 14-15 Amerco UHAL M. Shoen BI 5428.13-430.05 2,143 443.49 18.0 Core 269.473 0.05 1.6 One month 0.14375 0.15863 1.80475 0.12663 4 weeks Dec. 14-15 E. Shoen PI 5428.13-430.05 2,143 0.075 0.065 1.575 0.000 Three month 0.23575 0.21650 1.96050 0.20488 International rates 13 weeks 0.075 0.080 1.555 0.000 Six month 0.25850 0.24875 1.92438 0.23375 Dec. 16 Southern National Bancorp of Virginia SONA D. Zember CEO 100 11.57 1,157 11.90 -27.2 26 weeks 0.085 0.090 1.570 0.080 One year 0.33400 0.33588 2.01200 0.32763 Week 52-Week Dec. 14-16 StoneX Group SNEX G. Stevens OS 15 50.79-53.19 779 56.00 14.7 Latest ago High Low Secondary market Euro Libor Dec. 10 BancorpSouth Bank BXS J. Campbell D 19* 26.39 499 Prime rates One month -0.594 -0.582 -0.360 -0.621 Fannie Mae Three month -0.568 -0.572 -0.142 -0.572 Dec. 15-16 Acacia Research ACTG A. Tobia CEO 100 3.75-3.79 377 4.01 50.8 U.S. 3.25 3.25 4.75 3.25 30-year mortgage yields Six month -0.537 -0.536 -0.052 -0.540 Canada 2.45 2.45 3.95 2.45 30 days 1.903 1.911 3.342 1.751 One year -0.482 -0.497 0.008 -0.501 Dec. 14-15 Net 1 U.E.P.S. Technologies UEPS A. Ball DI 108 3.47-3.50 376 4.00 7.5 Japan 1.475 1.475 1.475 1.475 60 days 1.926 1.938 3.353 1.804 Dec. 14-15 M. Nkosi DI 108 3.47-3.50 376 Secured Overnight Financing Rate Policy Rates Other short-term rates 0.09 0.08 1.64 0.01 Dec. 15-16 Greif GEF.B L. Hilsheimer CFO 749.22-49.61 352 49.89 -3.6 Euro zone 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Dec. 9-10 Crown Castle International CCI J. Martin D 2* 157.02-157.90 330 153.81 8.2 Switzerland 0.00 0.00 0.50 0.00 Value 52-Week Week 52-Week Latest Traded High Low Britain 0.10 0.10 0.75 0.10 Latest ago high low Dec. 11 Enterprise Financial Services EFSC R. Sanborn DI 935.18 308 35.42 -26.5 Australia 0.10 0.10 0.75 0.10 DTCC GCF Repo Index Call money Dec. 11 State Auto Financial STFC K. Garland O 17 17.11 294 18.09 -41.7 Overnight repurchase Treasury 0.110 48.300 1.720 0.002 2.00 2.00 3.50 2.00 U.S. 0.10 0.08 1.65 -0.07 MBS 0.115 66.000 1.763 0.011 Sellers Notes on data: U.S. government rates U.S. prime rate is the base rate on corporate loans posted by at least 70% of the 10 largest U.S. banks, Dec. 9-11 Walmart WMT S. Walton DOI 1,131 146.72-148.21 166,908 145.95 22.8 Discount and is effective March 16, 2020. Other prime rates aren’t directly comparable; lending practices vary widely by location; Discount rate is effective March 16, 2020. Secured Overnight Financing Rate is Dec. 9-11 J. Walton BI 1,131 146.72-148.21 166,908 0.25 0.25 2.25 0.25 as of December 17, 2020. DTCC GCF Repo Index is Depository Trust & Clearing Corp.'s weighted Dec. 9-11 A. Walton BI 1,131 146.72-148.21 166,908 average for overnight trades in applicable CUSIPs. Value traded is in billions of U.S. dollars. Federal- Federal funds funds rates are Tullett Prebon rates as of 5:30 p.m. ET. Dec. 14-16 S. Walton DOI 822 145.52-147.47 119,910 Effective rate 0.0900 0.0900 1.6200 0.0600 Sources: Federal Reserve; Bureau of Labor Statistics; DTCC; FactSet; Dec. 14-16 J. Walton BI 822 145.52-147.47 119,910 High 0.1000 0.1000 1.6500 0.1000 Tullett Prebon Information, Ltd. Dec. 14-16 A. Walton BI 822 145.52-147.47 119,910 Dec. 14 Option Care Health OPCH E. Betten DOI 10,000 15.00 150,000 15.00 0.5 Dec. 14 T. Sullivan DOI 10,000 15.00 150,000 Cash Prices | wsj.com/market-data/commodities Friday, December 18, 2020 Dec. 14 Open Lending LPRO B. Greenberg DOI 4,836 26.88 129,985 31.81 201.8 These prices reflect buying and selling of a variety of actual or “physical” commodities in the marketplace— Dec. 14 G. Yoon DOI 4,836 26.88 129,985 separate from the futures price on an exchange, which reflects what the commodity might be worth in future months. Dec. 10 Advanced Drainage Systems WMS R. Jones DI 1,670 75.00 125,250 79.61 105.0 Friday Friday Friday Dec. 14-15 Virgin Galactic Holdings SPCE C. Palihapitiya DO 3,800 24.67-27.54 97,827 23.84106.400 Energy Aluminum, LME, $ per metric ton *2028.0 Wheat - Hard - KC (USDA) $ per bu-u 5.9425 Dec. 11 Paylocity Holding PCTY S. Sarowitz DO 400 180.50 72,200 201.79 67.0 Copper,Comex spot 3.6285 Wheat,No.1soft white,Portld,OR-u 6.4000 Coal,C.Aplc.,12500Btu,1.2SO2-r,w 54.350 Iron Ore, 62% Fe CFR China-s 164.2 Food Dec. 10-11 Arista Networks ANET A. Bechtolsheim H 247* 274.69-280.46 68,450 287.72 41.5 Coal,PwdrRvrBsn,8800Btu,0.8SO2-r,w 11.550 Shredded Scrap, US Midwest-s,m 371 Steel, HRC USA, FOB Midwest Mill-s 950 Beef,carcass equiv. index Dec. 11-15 Elastic ESTC S. Banon CEO 425 137.15-142.68 59,360 153.55 138.8 Metals Fibers and Textiles choice 1-3,600-900 lbs.-u 177.22 Dec. 9-10 S. Banon CEO 354 136.45-145.92 49,991 Gold, per troy oz select 1-3,600-900 lbs.-u 160.58 Broilers, National comp wtd. avg.-u,w 0.8178 Dec. 2-3 Sysco SYY N. Peltz DI 800 72.92-73.68 58,437 72.28 -15.5 Engelhard industrial 1883.00 Burlap,10-oz,40-inch NY yd-n,w 0.6400 Handy & Harman base 1879.75 Cotton,1 1/16 std lw-mdMphs-u 0.7441 Butter,AA Chicago 1.4550 Dec. 1-2 Datadog DDOG A. Le-Quoc PI 469 90.72-98.45 44,378 107.72 185.1 Handy & Harman fabricated 2086.52 Cotlook 'A' Index-t *82.45 Cheddar cheese,bbl,Chicago 147.50 Cheddar cheese,blk,Chicago LBMA Gold Price AM *1871.95 Hides,hvy native steers piece fob-u 45.000 161.75 Milk,Nonfat dry,Chicago lb. 115.00 * Half the transactions were indirect **Two day transaction LBMA Gold Price PM *1890.75 Wool,64s,staple,Terr del-u,w n.a. Coffee,Brazilian,Comp p - Pink Sheets Krugerrand,wholesale-e 1960.30 1.1810 Coffee,Colombian, NY 1.7335 Maple Leaf-e 1979.15 Grains and Feeds Eggs,large white,Chicago-u 0.7150 American Eagle-e 1979.15 Barley,top-quality Mnpls-u n.a. Flour,hard winter KC 15.70 Buying and selling by sector Mexican peso-e 2280.62 Bran,wheat middlings, KC-u 149 Hams,17-20 lbs,Mid-US fob-u 0.60 Austria crown-e 1850.58 Based on actual transaction dates in reports received this past week Corn,No. 2 yellow,Cent IL-bp,u 4.3050 Hogs,Iowa-So. Minnesota-u 62.41 Austria phil-e 1979.15 Corn gluten feed,Midwest-u,w 152.0 Pork bellies,12-14 lb MidUS-u n.a. Sector Buying Selling Sector Buying Selling Silver, troy oz. Corn gluten meal,Midwest-u,w 554.3 Pork loins,13-19 lb MidUS-u 0.8208 Engelhard industrial 25.8700 Cottonseed meal-u,w 428 Steers,Tex.-Okla. Choice-u 108.00 Basic Industries 212,689 21,864,799 Finance 3,325,056 84,377,890 Handy & Harman base 25.8670 Hominy feed,Cent IL-u,w 122 Steers,feeder,Okla. City-u,w 152.06 Handy & Harman fabricated 32.3340 Meat-bonemeal,50% pro Mnpls-u,w 295 Business services 1,323,112 10,471,296 Health care 7,726,749 112,116,284 LBMA spot price *£18.9100 Oats,No.2 milling,Mnpls-u 3.6175 Fats and Oils Capital goods 00Industrial 352,300 57,866,455 (U.S.$ equivalent) *25.7400 Rice, Long Grain Milled, No. 2 AR-u,w 28.38 Corn oil,crude wet/dry mill wtd. avg.-u,w 41.0000 Coins,wholesale $1,000 face-a 19351 Sorghum,(Milo) No.2 Gulf-u 6.4750 Grease,choice white,Chicago-h 0.3200 Consumer durables 35,940 45,816,642 Media 8,616,000 7,553,745 Other metals SoybeanMeal,Cent IL,rail,ton48%-u 403.00 Lard,Chicago-u n.a. LBMA Platinum Price PM Soybeans,No.1 yllw IL-bp,u 12.0850 Consumer nondurables 15,973 33,613,270 Technology 455,204 154,402,625 *1045.0 Soybean oil,crude;Centl IL-u 0.4107 Platinum,Engelhard industrial 1041.0 Wheat,Spring14%-pro Mnpls-u 6.8100 Tallow,bleach;Chicago-h 0.3775 Consumer services 4,370,065 100,818,868 Transportation 03,229,077 Palladium,Engelhard industrial 2346.0 Wheat,No.2 soft red,St.Louis-u 6.3575 Tallow,edible,Chicago-u n.a. Energy 193,281 27,685,993 Utilities 1,499 1,487,523 KEY TO CODES: A=ask; B=bid; BP=country elevator bids to producers; C=corrected; E=Manfra,Tordella & Brookes; H=American Commodities Brokerage Co; M=monthly; N=nominal; n.a.=not quoted or not available; R=SNL Energy; S=Platts-TSI; T=Cotlook Limited; U=USDA; W=weekly; Z=not quoted. *Data as of 12/17 Sources: Refinitiv; Dow Jones Market Data Source: Dow Jones Market Data P2JW356000-0-B00800-1------XA

B8 | Monday, December 21, 2020 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. MARKETS Norway Adds More Active Investing

New CEO Tangen ment should be to the strategy The Norwegian oil fund's process-oriented and rigorous. of the sovereign-wealth fund. return sinceinception He studied interrogation in an grapples with public Espen Henriksen, a finance eliteRussian-languagepro- scrutiny and nudges professor at BI Norwegian 30% gram in the Norwegian intelli- School of Business, said it is gence service. fund from passive role puzzling that ahedge-fund “Nicolai is willing to payup managerwas chosen to run 15 forquality,” said Lawrence

BY JULIE STEINBERG the engine room of a de facto JOURNAL Cunningham, whowrote a

index fund. REET book on investing with AKO

Nicolai Tangen made his That discussion waspart of 0 ST Capital portfolio managers. name picking stocks in the awide-ranging furoroverMr. LL The firm has returned an an- world of hedgefunds.Now he Tangen’s appointment, which WA nualized 11% since 2005 in its THE

is sparring over an active ap- attractedthe most public at- –15 R flagship strategy. proach to running the world’s tention in the fund’shistory, FO Chatswith 140oil-fund em-

largest sovereign-wealth said Camilla Bakken Øvald,an ANG ployees beforehestarted fund—historically abastion of economist who has written a TV (“one of the great characteris- –30 passive investing. book on the fund. GJES tics of Scandinavians—they Mr. Tangen—three months Problems firstarose when 2000 ’05 ’10 ’15 ’20 tell youthe truth,” he said)

in as chief executiveofNorges it emergedMr. Tangen, 54 Note:2020dataisfor the ﬁrsthalf of the year ANDREA have prompted Mr. Tangen to BankInvestment Management, yearsold, had offered his pre- Source:Norges Bank InvestmentManagement There was wide debate when Nicolai Tangen was hired. initially focus on the fund’s the arm of the Norwegian cen- decessor,Yngve Slyngstad, a performance, communication tral bank that operates the plane ride home from aglitzy $744.2 million, according to financial-advisoryfirm in Oslo. Wirecard AG, which, coupled and talent development. fund—says activemanagement seminar Mr.Tangen hosted in The Sunday Times Rich List. Mr.Tangen on Fridaywrote with Financial Times coverage, Thefund has benefited boostsinvestment returns and November 2019.Mr. Tangen Mr. Tangen said he aims to that since2014, activemanage- caused them to sell holdings. from its70% allocation to lays the groundwork forinter- hadinvited Mr.Slyngstadto makethe fund as much money ment has earned an extra66 When Wirecard in June said stocks during the year’s acting with companies.Purists the event, which featureda as he canwithin amandate billion kroner forthe Norwe- cash had gone missing,the swerving markets, despitea saystock picking,one form of Sting performance, ayear and given by the MinistryofFi- gian people.The fund’sactive fund minimized itslosses by 3.4% lossinthe firsthalf.Its activemanagement, is awaste ahalf beforethe job came nance. Portfolio managerscan management includes stock unloadingremaining shares second-quarter performance of money and that returns at open,but questions were makesmall tweaks to holdings picking and other strategies. before their value plunged. wasits best, boosted by equi- the 10.838 trillion Norwegian raised over the pair’s interac- in 800 of the morethan 9,000 Thefund has returned an Diego López, managing di- ties added during the spring kroner fund, equivalent to tions.Mr. Slyngstad later apol- listed companies in which the annualized 5.8% since1998 rector of consulting firm selloff.Itwas up 4.3% in the $1.265 trillion, would hold up ogized for accepting the ride. fund invests. Therest aregov- and exceeded itsbenchmark Global SWF, said Mr.Tangen’s third quarter. fine without it. Thecentral bank said Mr. erned by an index. Thefund by roughly 0.25 percentage hedge-fund background could Mr.Tangen is acclimating Established in the 1990s to Slyngstad had no part in hir- can’t invest in most private point. Anything over the signal amoreagile and less to the public realm. Newly invest revenue from oil discov- ing Mr. Tangen. companies. benchmark constitutes an ac- risk-averse strategy. prolific on LinkedIn, he re- eries,the oil fund, as it is Then there was the central “Activemanagement has tive return. That meansusing moreof vealed last month he had con- known, is nowvalued at three bank’s willingnesstolet Mr. giventhe fund considerable Thefund will further divest the tracking error,fund-watch- tracted, and then recovered times the country’sannual gross Tangen keep his 43% stake in extrareturn and is aprerequi- itself from companies on envi- erssay,which refers to the de- from, Covid-19.Healso offered domestic product and safe- AKOCapital LLP,the invest- sitefor engagement with com- ronmental, social and gover- viation from the benchmark to buy Cokes forsuccessfuljob guards wealth forthe future. ment firm he founded. An out- panies,” Mr. Tangen said. nancegrounds,Mr. Tangen portfolio return. Othersexpect applicants. The fund wants to “Norwegians really feel it’s cry over potential conflicts of In recent days he has ex- said,offering an example of Mr.Tangen to increase stock hirefromall religious back- theirmoney,and they really interest and the hedge-fund changed words in the Norwe- active management. It will picking and limit betsbased grounds, so drinks need to be care who runs it,” Mr.Tangen industry’suse of taxhavens gian presswith critics who say also increase its use of exter- on macroeconomic environ- nonalcoholic,hewrote.De- said in an interview. forced him to transfer the the costs are excessive. nal asset managers. mentsortied to factorslike spitethe internal emphasis on Nowthe years-old debate staketohis charitable founda- “You could eliminate stock Activemanagement has growth. diversity,Mr. Tangen said the has bubbled up again, with Mr. tion and liquidatehis personal picking and reduce costs and paid offfor the fund in the People who know Mr. Tan- fund won’t divest itself from Tangen himself weighing in. fund investments. Mr.Tangen youwouldn’t have areturn past. Portfolio managerslast genfromhis time at AKOCap- companies on that basis. Thecoreofthe dispute: how has an estimated net worth of that would be anyworse,” said year discovered irregularities ital, the $21 billion firm named —Jem Bartholomew integral active asset manage- £550 million, equivalent to Halvor Hoddevik, who runs a at German payments company afterhis children, said he is contributed to this article.

Still, it wasthe most money Commercial loans and Number of FDIC-insured banks IOU. Small-businesscredit-card Smaller owner ScottWood had man- mortgages on bank Those measures largely suc- andcommercial-loan balances aged to getfromJPMorganin balancesheets ceeded. Junk-rated companies at BankofAmericaCorp., ex- years. Thebank repeatedly issued morethan $430 billion cluding PPP loans,wereabout $3 trillion 8,000 Businesses turned down the brewery’s re- of speculative-grade bonds be- 8% loweratthe end of Septem- questsfor ahigher limit on its Small loans* tween the start of the year and ber than they were at theend small-businesscredit card.And to businesses mid-December,arecord, ac- of 2019,despitelowerdefault LackCredit when Mr.Wood approached the Big loans 6,000 cording to LCD,aunit of S&P rates, according to securities bank about funding an expan- 2 to businesses Global Market Intelligence. filings. Thebank’sSBA lending, sion last year,hegot nowhere. Companies whose businesses excluding PPP and other disas- ContinuedfrompageB1 Mr.Wood had plans fora were upended by travel restric- terloans,isrunning 30% below earlier this year. newlocation in the Big Easy’s 4,000 tions and stay-at-home orders, whereitwas this time last Lendersevencurtailed loans Mid-City neighborhood—com- such as cruise-line operator year,Chief ExecutiveBrian made under the Small Business pletewith ataproom and res- 1 Carnival Corp., were only able Moynihan said at aconference Administration’straditional taurant. He lined up investors 2,000 to sell bonds to investors after this month. lending program, in which the and aproperty developer to the Fedintervened to unclog “You had to tighten in the government bearsmost of the coverabout one-thirdofthe themarket. middle of the crisis,” he said. default risk. roughly $2 million cost and TheFed’stools were lessef- Wells Fargo&Co.halved its Credit can’t save businesses askedJPMorgantolend him 0 0 fectiveinensuring credit credit line to Rishi Khanna’s that aren’t viable.But without the rest. 2007 ’10 ’15 ’19 2007 ’10 ’15 ’20† flowedtosmall businesses. software-outsourcing company it, firms that persevered JPMorgan, he said, guided Fewsmall businesses met during the last financial crisis. *Amounts under $1 million †Through Sept. 30 through the pandemic could him to apply foranSBA loan Sources: Analysis of FDIC data by Rebel Cole (Commercial loans and mortgages); the criteria to borrow under ISHIR Inc.’sborrowing limit lack the funding to rehirelaid- sincehis personal credit score FDIC (Number of FDIC-insured banks) theMain Street Lending Pro- has barely budged since, de- offworkers, preventing the la- andCourtyard’sincome were gram, a$600 billion effort spiteannual revenue that is bor market from healing itself morethan enough to qualify. serve’s12regional banks.For committees. from the Treasuryand Fedto nowordersofmagnitude more andhampering the economic Aftermonths of negotiations, firms with $100,000 or lessin “The small-dollar loans, encouragelending to medium- than his roughly $29,000 credit recovery.After the last reces- JPMorganasked Mr.Wood or annual revenue,the figure which is what Main Street size businesses.SeparateFed line. sion, alack of credit forced oneofhis investorstoperson- dropped to 24%. small businesses need, arenot facilities targeting PPP loans A$45,000 PPP loan gotthe smaller firms to reducetheir ally guarantee the entire$2 Small businesses have his- financially viable and not cen- andsecuritizations of small- companythrough the pan- employment growth by as million project, not just the torically turned to small banks terofthe platefor” big banks, businessloans freed up partsof demic’searly months.When much as 10.5 percentagepoints amount it would finance. Mr. fortheir funding needs.Banks said TammyHalevy, asenior bank and investors’ balance businesspicked up in the fall, relativetolargerones that had Wood decided not to movefor- with lessthan $10 billion in as- adviser at Public PrivateStrate- sheets, but that didn’t ulti- Mr.Khanna approached Wells moreborrowing options,ac- ward. setsheld nearly 53% of small gies. mately result in morenew again about increasing the cording to research by Federal “The bottomline is that un- loanstobusinesses at the end Bank-industrygroups also credit being extended to credit line.New clientswanted Reserve economist Michael Sie- lessyou come intothe game of 2017, even though they rep- point to postcrisis changes to smaller firms. as long as 90 days to pay mer. stacked, you’renot playing,” resented only 17%ofall bank- capital requirements, citing FedChairman Jerome Pow- ISHIR’sinvoices.Heneeded a “We’venever really fixedthe Mr.Wood said. ing-industryassets, according economists’ findingsthat banks elltold CongressinSeptember loan to bridgethe gapand, po- access to capital problem to AJPMorganspokeswoman to the Federal Deposit Insur- that aresubject to the Fed’san- that the central bank’sap- tentially,tohiremoreworkers. small business,” said Bill declined to comment. anceCorp.’smost recent small- nual stresstestsreducesome proach of focusing on bond- Wells declined his request, Phelan, general manager of Small businesses employed businesslending survey. forms of small-businesscredit market interventions allowedit as did JPMorgan, with which PayNet, adivision of Equifax nearly 61 million people in But consolidation in the significantly morethan banks to act quickly whereitcould be ISHIR also had acredit line.Mr. Inc.that tracks commercial 2017, or about 47%ofthe pri- banking industryhas resulted that aren’t. most effective. “The evidence Khanna turned to the Texas lending.“It probably has been vate-sector workforce,accord- in manyfeweroptions forcom- When policymakersand suggeststhat most creditwor- community bank that helped alleviatedbyPPP,but that ing to the most recent data panies seeking smaller loans. central banks moved to contain thysmall and medium-sized ISHIR securethe PPP loan. won’t last forever.” available from the Census Bu- Between the end of 2007 and the pandemic’seconomic fall- businesses cancurrently get Wells Fargomakes “every It took weeks this spring for reau. Despitetheir importance September 2020,the number of out, they focused on shoring up loans from private-sector finan- direct loan we responsibly can the CourtyardBrewery in New to the economy, they have long FDIC-insured banks fell 41% to the credit marketsthat serve cial institutions,” he said. to support customers’ credit Orleans to secureabout struggled to obtain financing. 5,033. biggerbusinesses.The Federal In the current environment, needs,” aspokesman said in an $34,000 in PPP funds from its Only 35% of small businesses Smaller firms tend to keep Reserve and TreasuryDepart- though, lendersare finding it email. JPMorgandeclined to bank,JPMorgan. Because of the with at least one employeeand sparser financial recordsand ment committedupto$750bil- moredifficult to assessthe comment. way the bank processed appli- annual revenue between have morevariable growth tra- lion to purchase corporate creditworthinessofsmall busi- Banks’treatmentofISHIR cations early on, itslargercus- $100,000 and $1 million had re- jectories,making them awk- bonds and syndicated loans and nesses when traditional mea- “hasn’t been bothering me until tomers had abetterchanceof ceived bank funding in the past ward fits forbig banks’ bureau- billions moretosupport the sures,likeaprior year’s taxfil- the pandemic,” Mr.Khanna getting approved than smaller five years, according to an cracies,uniform underwriting market forcommercial paper,a ingsoranowner’s credit score, said.“NowIneed my help. ones. April survey of the Federal Re- systemsand centralized credit kind of short-term corporate have lesspredictivepower. Whereare you?”

THE TICKER | Market events coming this week

Monday 3rd qtr. sec. est. Mort. bankers indexes Paychex 0.66/0.72 Earnings expected* up 33.1% Purch., previous up 2% Refinan., prev. up 1% Estimate/Year Ago($) 3rd qtr., third est. Thursday FactSet Research up 33.1% Systems 2.59/2.43 U.Mich. consumer index Heico 0.41/0.62 Earnings expected* Dec., prelim. 81.4 Durable-goods orders Estimate/Year Ago($) Dec., final 80.7 Oct., previous up 1.3% Tuesday CarMax 1.18/1.04 Nov., expected up 0.6% Cintas 2.19/2.27 New-home sales Consumer Confidence Neogen 0.31/0.31 Oct., previous 999000 Initial jobless claims Nov., previous 96.1 Nov., expected 990000 Previous 885000 Dec., expected 97.8 Expected 900000 Wednesday Personal spending Existing home sales Oct.,previous up0.5% Short-selling reports Oct.,previous 6.85mil. EIA status report Nov., expected Previous change in stocks in Ratio, days of trading volume of Nov.,expected 6.75mil. millions of barrels down 0.3% current position, at Nov 30 Crude-oil stocks NYSE 2.8 GDP Deflator down 3.1 Personal income Nasdaq 1.9 3rd qtr. sec. est. Gasoline stocks up 1 Oct., previous up 3.6% Distillates up 0.2 down 0.7% Friday 3rd qtr., third est. Nov., expected up 3.6% EIA report: natural-gas down 0.3% Christmas Day

/REUTERS Previous change in stocks in Gross domestic product billions of cubic feet Earnings expected* U.S. bond and stock

CAREY Percentage change, annual rate down 122 Estimate/Year Ago($) markets are closed

NICK * FACTSET ESTIMATES EARNINGS-PER-SHARE ESTIMATES DON’T INCLUDE EXTRAORDINARY ITEMS (LOSSES IN PARENTHESES)  ADJUSTED FOR CarMax is expected to post earnings on Tuesdayof$1.18 ashare, compared with $1.04 ayear earlier. STOCK SPLIT NOTE: FORECASTS ARE FROM DOW JONES WEEKLY SURVEY OF ECONOMISTS P2JW356000-0-B00900-17FFFF5178F

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Monday, December 21, 2020 | B9 ON HEARDTHESTREET

FINANCIAL ANALYSIS &COMMENTARY

U.S. nonfinancial firms,change from ayearearlier Netdebt, change from ayearearlier How Virus Reshaped 30% RECESSION 15% RECESSION Liquid assets U.S. nonfinancial Balance Sheets 20 10 corporations 10 5 After the 2008 crisis, house- this year: Their liquid assets were Debt* holds and firms spent years re- up 25% in the third quarter. On a 0 0 building their finances in what net basis, debt was down 7.9%. economist Richard Koodubbed a Relative to GDP, it remains well “balance-sheet recession.” Debt below 2007 levels. –10 –5 U.S. households levels have jumped again this time Backthen, companies and fami- round, but on closer reading, the lies started along processofde- books tell a more positive story. leveraging that slowedthe eco- –20 –10 Due to Covid-19, the borrowings nomic recovery.Inthe U.S.,ittook 2005 ’10 ’15 ’20 2005 ’10 ’15 ’20

of U.S. nonfinancial companies nine yearsfor households to consis- *Debt securities and loans were 8.5% higher at the end of tently increase their net debt again. Source:Federal Reserve September than a year earlier, This process is now happening when they were already above the at an accelerated pace. Car maker Another is that the public sector quarter results thanks to a jump in ment, made up of firms ratedjust 2009 peak both in absolute levels Ford, for example, drew on credit absorbed the hit. Despitethe surge truck sales. Some pandemic win- one step above“speculative,” is and as a percentage of gross do- facilities in March and was down- in joblessness, expanded unemploy- ners like Microsoft and Johnson lowerthan in 2019,figures by S&P mestic product. Some publicly- graded into “speculative” territory ment benefitsand other govern- & Johnson—the only two U.S. Capital IQ suggest. Even with backed programs won’t need to be by ratings firms. Yet as the year ment outlays have boosted incomes. companies with a top AAA rating— yields at all-time lows,their paper paid back in full, but many inves- progressed it improved its net- On average, families haven’t been have both increased liquid assets seems agood alternativetogov- tors are still worried. cash position relative to 2019. forced to take on extradebt or run and paid down obligations. ernment debt. They can afford to relax. Bal- One reason is that most of the down their financial portfolio hold- Investorscan bet against abal- Whether future income state- ance sheets are about assets as money raised didn’t ultimately need ings, Feddatashows.Nor areprop- ance-sheet recession in the U.S. ments from U.S. Inc. will be as well as liabilities. to be spent. Debt issuancewas erty and asset prices tanking,hit- and the global economy, even if strong as the market expects re- Flow-of-funds data recently front-loaded in the spring and hasn’t ting households’ net worth as they they don’tbelieveinapost-pan- mains to be seen, but at least its published by the Federal Reserve been as strong since,figures by Dea- did in 2008.Soconsumershave demic boom,through the corpo- balance sheet shouldn’t be a big shows that companies have accu- logic show. Thecash is starting to kept spending when they could. rate-bond market. concern. mulated even more cash than debt be used to paydividends again. Ford reported bumper third- Thenet debt of itsbiggest seg- —Jon Sindreu China’s World Bank Challenger Has Fallen Short of Predictions

Disbursed lending by international In a little over a month, the World Bank Group’s constituent big checkbook: It is the ADB’s broiled in a series of commercial ﬁnancial institutions in 2020 Asian Infrastructure Investment parts: The International Bank for joint-largest shareholder. In com- and territorial disputes with Bei- International Monetary Fund Bank will be five years old. Back Reconstruction and Development, parison, China’s large-scale finan- jing this year. then, the nascent China-organized the International Development As- cial interventions sometimes The best argument for the AIIB $41.7 billion multinational lender was described sociation and the International Fi- amount to less than the thunder- is that it is a more narrowly fo- World Bank as a challenger to the Asian nance Corp. together hold more ous headlines years earlier cused multilateral lender, which 26.6 Development Bank and even the than $600 billion in assets. suggested. doesn’t differ all that much from World Bank. Despite a surge in lending this The AIIB was assembled when the existing institutions. But in European InvestmentBank But after half a decade in opera- year—the AIIB is well-capitalized China’s international relations that case it also can’t be a major 25.4 tion, the reality doesn’t quite and was able to manage a consid- with many countries were much source of Chinese government in- match the hype. erable increase—it made up less warmer. The U.K. and Australia fluence or a vehicle to encourage Asian Dev. Bank The AIIB reported $30.78 billion than 5% of the new lending dis- joined the AIIB against the protes- the use of the yuan, as some 11.3 in assets at the end of September. bursed by international financial tations of the U.S. after visits by breathless explanations suggested Even combined with the $19.32 bil- institutions, and even less of the President Xi Jinping to both five years ago. Asian InfrastructureDev.Bank lion of the New Development Bank, approved figure, according to data countries. Whatever the AIIB’s future 6.7 another Chinese-led multilateral compiled by the Center for Strate- Such support today is difficult holds, becoming the muscular fi- African Dev. Bank bank, that is still less than a fifth gic and International Studies. to imagine. China’s relations have nancial sponsor of Chinese influ- of the Asian Development Bank’s As in many areas of Asian com- soured with many developed coun- ence abroad that some imagined 3.5 $250.8 billion. mercial and economic diplomacy, tries. The second-largest capital is unlikely. Source:Centerfor Strategic &International Studies Both are overshadowed by Japan speaks quietly and carries a subscriber, India, has been em- —Mike Bird

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B10 | Monday, December 21, 2020 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

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