FirstFT: Clock ticks down on Biden’s decision for Fed chair

Joe Biden said he expected to announce his election as Federal Reserve chairman in “about four days” as pressure builds on the White House to make a decision in less than three months before Jay Powell’s term expires.

The choice is between Powell, who was appointed by Donald Trump and took over in 2018, and Lael Brainard, a governor who is backed by progressive members of the Democratic Party for her stricter stance on regulatory issues.

The president recently met with Powell at the White House, but there was no decision. The incumbent has long been the preferred candidate due to his success in guiding the economy through the Covid-19 crisis and widespread bipartisan support, which should mean a swift verification process.

However, the large nature of the ongoing debate suggests that Biden may be more seriously considering an alternative.

Thank you for reading FirstFT Americas. Here’s the rest of today’s news – Gordon

Five more stories on the news

1. USA and China agree nuclear talks Joe Biden and Xi Jinping have agreed to discuss easing tension as Washington concerns grow over Beijing’s expanding nuclear arsenal and its recent hypersonic weapon test. China has previously refused to hold nuclear talks.

• Go deeper: Experts are reacting to the announcement of talks between the US and China. “Having talks is a necessary first step, but the real question is whether the parties have anything substantial to say,” said one.

2. JPMorgan Sues Tesla for “Funding Secured” Tweet The US bank has Tesla raised $ 162 million.

3. LA’s Staples Center will be renamed Crypto.com Arena One of the most famous sports and entertainment arenas in the US is being renamed Crypto.com Arena. The Singapore-based cryptocurrency platform has agreed to pay more than $ 700 million for the naming rights to the downtown Los Angeles complex over the next 20 years, according to people familiar with the transaction.

4. Top Barclays investors alert on terms of Jes Staley’s exit Three of Barclays’ top 20 shareholders have raised concerns about the terms of Jes Staley’s exit from the UK bank. Staley resigned earlier this month after an investigation into his previous ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and received a £ 2.4 million wage bonus.

5. Start-up manufacturers of electric vehicles outperform established providers Electric vehicle maker Rivian overtook Volkswagen on market value yesterday, while rival startup Lucid overtook Ford as shares of its largely unproven deals continued to skyrocket following recent public listings.

Coronavirus digestion

Check out the FT’s third year Diversity Leaders Ranking for discussions about inclusivity in an age of more atomized work patterns.

The day ahead

Merits Target and Lowe’s are the latest US retailers to release third quarter results. The English soccer club Manchester United publishes the results of the first quarter, while in the technology sector Cisco publishes the results of the first quarter and Nvidia publishes the results of the third quarter. Nvidia’s results come a day after the UK government announced it opened a full investigation into its $ 54 billion purchase by tech giant Arm.

Economic data The Department of Commerce is expected to report that housing starts in October rose from 1.55 million units in the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.6 million units. There is also inflation data in Canada today.

Pichai meets Vestager EU competition leader Margrethe Vestager made a video call with Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google owner Alphabet. The virtual meeting takes place a week after Google lost its appeal against an EU competition fine of 2.42 billion euros for its shopping service.

Corruption process in the Vatican A landmark process of alleged corruption in the Vatican is ongoing. The case revolves around the purchase of a commercial and residential building in London’s South Kensington by the State Secretariat of the Holy See. Check out this video to keep yourself up to date.

What else we read

Fed policy has to adjust to inflation Politics is sailing towards an inflationary cliff, writes Martin Wolf. Even if the price hikes we are seeing could be temporary, there is a risk that they will become permanent – unless the management of the Federal Reserve is willing to consider where the US and world economies really stand.

• Go deeper: Robert Armstrong wrote his Unhedge column this week about rising prices in the US. Quoting any commentators who say that inflation is “getting out of hand”, he contrasts this with the passivity of the bond market and asks what is right?

Companies that move quickly to green technologies will clean up The net zero transition is an unprecedented investment opportunity for early adopters, argues John Kerry, the US president’s special envoy on climate. To achieve our COP26 goals, courageous leadership in the private sector is vital. Thank you to all of our readers who voted in yesterday’s poll. Three quarters of you thought that COP meetings no longer work.

Western brands strive for heaven in Xi Jinping’s China The country’s pursuit of an “olive green” distribution of wealth appears to be an opportunity for Western brands, albeit a complex one that will force them to bypass political and social minefields, writes Brooke Masters.

Why wearables could mean the doctor no longer knows best Smart rings and watches provide people with months of personal biometric data to see which treatments are working and which are not. These sophisticated health tools are bringing us closer to a new patient-doctor relationship, a trend that feels inevitable as fewer people trust institutions.

Iraqi women displaced by Isis find new freedoms Traditionally one of the more conservative areas of Iraq and haunted by violent Islamist militancy since the US-led invasion of 2003, society in tribal and predominantly Sunni Anbar is undergoing subtle but significant changes.

Books

Today it is Martin Wolf’s turn to recommend his favorite reading of the year. It was S. Prasad, Diane Coyle and Nudge The authors Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein all appear on Martin’s reading list for 2021.