P2JW069000-6-A00100-17FFFF5178F ****** WEDNESDAY,MARCH 10,2021~VOL. CCLXXVII NO.56 WSJ.com HHHH $4.00 DJIA 31832.74 À 30.30 0.1% NASDAQ 13073.82 À 3.7% STOXX 600 420.41 À 0.8% 10-YR. TREAS. À 14/32 , yield 1.545% OIL $64.01 g $1.04 GOLD $1,716.60 À $38.90 EURO $1.1901 YEN 108.49 Across the Southwest,DroughtTakes Toll on WaterSupply SoftBank What’s News Confronts Deeper Business&Finance Losses on oftBank’s Vision Fund Sinjected at least $400 million into Greensill at Greensill the end of 2020, deepen- ing the potential losses the giant tech investor faces in Investorput additional the startup’s collapse. A1 Metals tycoon Sanjeev $400 million lastyear Guptaisnegotiating astand- into U.K. firm thatfiled still agreement with Greensill to givehis companies breath- forinsolvency days ago ing spaceoverpaymentsoN billions of dollarsofdebt. B2 SoftBank Group Corp.’sVi- sion Fund injected at least Shares of tech firms and JOURNAL $400 millionintoGreensill special-purpose acquisition REET Capital at the end of last year, companies surged, bounc- ST LL according to people familiar ing back afterastreak of WA with the matter, deepening the declines that pushed some potential losses the giant tech popular SPACsdown20% THE R investor faces in the startup’s or moreinamonth. A1 FO collapse. TheNasdaq jumped 3.7%, while the S&P 500 and Dowindustrials gained 1.4% BENNETT By Julie Steinberg, Ben Dummett, and 0.1%, respectively. B1 BRIDGET Duncan Mavin Electric-car startup Lu- DRY SPELL: Parts of the Southwest, such as Mojave County, Ariz., above, are locked in one of the most extreme droughts and Maureen Farrell cid has an undisclosed com- in years, jeopardizing farms and ranches and putting new pressure on urban areas in need of water. A3 mitment to build an assem- Theinfusion of cash wasiN bly plant in Saudi Arabia. B1 addition to the $1.5billion the Vision Fund had invested in Political pressure mounted Greensill in 2019.The money, in Texas to reverse$16 billion not previouslyreported, was in powerovercharges from SwingsinTech Sector Spark used as afinancial backstop last month’sblackouts. A3 when another Vision Fund com- Walt Disney’s ESPN is pany, construction startup Kat- closing in on a long-term erra, came close to defaulting rights deal for National VolatilityinHot SPAC Market on aloan to Greensill, the peo- Hockey League games. B1 ple said. Disney said its flagship Greensill, which specialized streaming service, Dis- in making short-term cash-ad- ney+, has surpassed 100 BY AMRITH RAMKUMAR value of Ford Motor Co. Indexperformance CHANGE SINCE vance-style loans to companies, million subscribers. B4 Some popular companies FEB.12CLOSE filed forinsolvency this week Shares of technologyfirms that went public by merging 2.5% afterregulatorstook over its T-Mobile US will auto- DowJones and special-purpose acquisition with so-called SPACsinrecent banking unit and Credit Suisse matically enroll its phone Industrial Average companies surgedonTuesday, years—including online real- Group AG froze investments subscribers in an advertis- 0 +1.2% bouncing back afteraweek- estatefirm Opendoor Technol- fundscritical to the startup’s ing program informed by slong streak of declines that ogies Inc., space-tourism com- S&P500 operations. their online activity. B3 –2.5 pushed some popular SPACs pany Virgin Galactic Holdings –1.5% Greensill packaged loans to Conagraisintalks to sell down 20% or moreinamonth. Inc. and electric-car company companies intosecurities, the Hebrew National hot TheNasdaq Composite LordstownMotorsCorp.— –5.0 known as notes,that were pur- dog brand to Brazil’sJBS. B1 jumped 3.7% forits biggest ad- added 6% or moreonTuesday. chased by the Credit Suisse vancesinceNovember,trim- Those all remain down at least –7.5 funds and sold to investorsas ming arecent slide that just one 30% in the past month. Nasdaq low-risk,money-market-style World-Wide Composite dayearlier draggeditmorethan Tuesday’sswingshigh- investments. 10%belowthe high it reached in lighted the competing dynam- –10.0 –7.2% SoftBank, founded by bil- Thecoronavirus relief bill February. Shares of electric-car ics playing out in financial lionaireMasayoshi Son,isagi- under consideration by the companyTesla Inc.rebounded PleaseturntopageA2 –12.5 PleaseturntopageA8 House after passagebythe 20%, adding morethan $100 Feb. 12 March Senate would increase subsi- billion to the company’smarket SPAC pioneers finally reap Tycoon is seeking to delay dies to people who buy ACA value,orroughly twicethe the rewards................................. B1 Source:FactSet payments to Greensill........... B2 health plans,marking the biggest changes to the health lawsinceits passage. A2 Manhattan prosecutors are MigrantsSee Path ALithium Miner StakesaClaim intensifying their investiga- tion intoTrump’sbusinesses, taking aim at aWestchester To U.S. as Easier ForNation’sElectric-Car Future County,N.Y., estatethat the former president unsuccess- fully tried to develop. A4 With NewPresident Piedmont is at leading edge of efforts to build domestic supply chain LosAngeles’sschool dis- trict reached atentativedeal with itsteachersunion that In lateFebruary, Honduran AcrosspartsofMexicoand BY SCOTT PATTERSON AND AMRITH RAMKUMAR Now, the company he helped found five would allowsome studentsto teenager Elder Cruz wasde- CentralAmerica, the source of years ago to explore the region, Piedmont resume in-person learning. A6 tained by Mexican immigration most illegal immigration to the GASTON COUNTY, N.C.—The rolling hills Lithium Ltd., has deployed drilling rigs TwoofBiden’snominees authorities near Mexico’ssouth- U.S.,manywould-be migrants of North Carolina’s Piedmont region are an throughout the 2,300 acres it owns or con- to senior JusticeDepartment ern border with Guatemala and don’t followthe ins and outsof unlikely setting for a next-generation tech- trols to map out deposits. The company is poststold aSenatepanel they deported to Honduras. U.S. immigration policy. But nology transformation that has become a na- preparing to launch one of the first big new would seek to runanagency manyagree on one thing: It is tional priority. lithium mines in the U.S. in decades. free of partisan influence. A4 By Juan Montes in probably easier to getinwith Lamont Leatherman, a 55-year-old geolo- Lithium is an increasingly crucial mate- Mexico City and Juan Mr.Biden than with Mr.Trump. gist who grew up here, is its unlikely instiga- rial, central to the rechargeable batteries Thepresident is expected Carlos Rivera in San That perception is akey fac- tor. A decade ago, he combed the woods that power cellphones and electric cars. to nominate Lina Khan, a Pedro Sula, Honduras torinfueling the increasing near his childhood home in search of lith- These batteries are becoming a disruptive critic of big technology numbersofunaccompanied mi- ium, a soft, white metal he believed would force in the energy sector as well. Demand, companies’ market power, But that isn’t stopping the norsand families currently be crucial to the burgeoning industry of especially from vehicles, is expected to to aseat on the FTC. A4 15-year-old, an orphan who said turning up at the border.IN electric vehicles. PleaseturntopageA10 TheU.S.and China areen- he plans to tryhis luck at the January, 5,707minors, mostly gaging on climatechange, a U.S. border again in the coming teenagers, arrived at the border cautious step that could show months because “[Donald] alone,upfrom4,855 the month Chaplains whether they canwork to- Trump is no longer president of before. That number is expected gether on shared priorities. A9 the U.S. and there’sanew one,” to jump again when February even though he doesn’tknow data arereleased this week. Become Salesforce. NewYork Gov.Cuomo’s thename of President Biden. Thesurge highlightsthe dif- officereceived acomplaint “My friends have told me ficulties faced by the newU.S. Shoppers from another female employee that with the newpresident, it administration in overhauling #1 CRM. alleging inappropriatebe- will be easier to enter the what it has called Mr.Trump’s iii havior by the governor and U.S.,” said Mr.Cruz, who lives draconian immigration policies referred it to investigators. A3 in the violent Villeda Morales without sparking anew wave Mariners stuck on Ranked #1 for CRM Applications basedon slum near theHonduran city of migrantsthat leads to acri- IDC 2020H1 Revenue Market ShareWorldwide. Queen Elizabeth expressed 19.8% concern about allegations of SaN Pedro Sula. PleaseturntopageA6 cargo ships get raised by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, but said special deliveries the royal family would ad- dress them privately. A18 INSIDE BY ANNE KADET CoraDiDomenicohas JOURNAL REPORT worked as achaplain forthree WorkplaceTechnology: yearsatthe International Sea- Updating the laptopfor a farers’ Center in Port Newark, newera. R1-10 J WS N.J.,visiting with cargoships’ 5.3% R 4.8% J crewsfromaround the world. FO CONTENTS Personal Journal A11-12 3.9% WS JR. It’sanunusual job.But 3.8% Arts in Review... A13 Property Report... B6 R DO Business News.. B3,5 Sports....................... A14 FO thanks to the pandemic,her Crossword.............. A14 Technology............... B4 RA role has expanded to include a Heard on Street.B12 U.S. News............. A2-8 VA 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020H1 AL quirkydimension: seafarers’ MBARD Markets..................... B11 Weather................... A14 A. LO personal shopper. Source: IDC, Worldwide Semiannual Y Opinion.............. A15-17 World News...... A9,18 SÉ SoftwareTracker,October