The latest special-purpose-acquisition-company excitement focuses on firms like cybersecurity firm IronNet Inc. that suffered significant investor withdrawals ahead of going public by closing SPAC mergers. High withdrawals leave the companies going public with less cash to put into their businesses and can make it harder for them to meet the growth projections they made as part of the deals with so-called blank-check companies.
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Economy Week Ahead: Consumer Spending, Inflation, Manufacturing
The Commerce Department's monthly report on U.S. consumer spending highlights this week's economic data.
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Cargo Piles Up as California Ports Jostle Over How to Resolve Delays
Nike Inc. doesn't have enough sneakers to sell for the holidays. Costco Wholesale Corp. is reimposing limits on paper towel purchases. Prices for artificial Christmas trees have jumped 25% this season.
Despite mounting shipping delays and cargo backlogs, the busiest U.S. port complex shuts its gates for hours on most days and remains closed on Sundays. Meanwhile, major ports in Asia and Europe have operated round-the-clock for years.
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In a Troubled U.S.-China Relationship, Moments of Pragmatism Emerge
Behind-the-scenes dealings that freed a Chinese executive from U.S. prosecution removed a stumbling block between the nations and demonstrated a little-noticed pragmatic dimension to the relationship.
The U.S. and China are at loggerheads on numerous fronts, from technology and human rights to Beijing's territorial claims; the United Nations secretary-general this month termed the nations' relationship as "completely dysfunctional."
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Debt-Limit Standoff Could Force Fed to Revisit Emergency Playbook
A crisis-management playbook Federal Reserve officials created years ago could guide their response this fall if the federal government can't pay all its bills because of a political standoff over raising the federal debt limit.
The options include the Fed buying Treasury securities in default on the open market and selling Treasurys owned by the Fed to counteract potentially severe strains in financial markets, according to the transcript of an October 2013 conference call.
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Logistics Operators Raise Pay, Enlist Robots to Meet Holiday Demand
Warehouse operators are throwing every tool they can at increasingly urgent efforts to hire seasonal workers as they brace for an expected flood of holiday goods amid competition for scarce labor from deep-pocketed rivals.
Logistics providers are boosting pay, adding flexibility to shifts, blanketing social media with recruitment ads and even shipping in more robots to help workers field surging e-commerce volumes. They are also jockeying with titans like Amazon.com Inc., Walmart Inc. and United Parcel Service Inc. that are dangling inducements, from signing bonuses to assistance with college tuition, as they push to bring on hundreds of thousands of workers ahead of the holidays.
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Bitcoin Miners Eye Nuclear Power as Environmental Criticism Mounts
Bitcoin miners, under fire for their sizable environmental footprint, are forging partnerships with owners of struggling nuclear-power plants with electricity to spare.
The matchups have the potential to solve key issues facing each industry, executives and analysts say: Electricity-hungry bitcoin miners want stable and carbon-free power, while nuclear plants facing competition from cheaper power sources need new customers.
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Center-Left Wins Narrow Victory in German Elections
BERLIN-Germany faces weeks and perhaps months of uncertainty as Sunday's narrow victory for the center-left in national elections left open the shape and agenda of its next government and offered little clarity about who would succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel.
At least initially, the world's fourth-largest economy and the European Union's biggest member could find itself without strong leadership, then with a weakened government in the following four years.
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Congress Heads Into Tumultuous Week Pressured by Converging Deadlines
WASHINGTON-A slew of high-stakes deadlines will collide on Capitol Hill this week, setting up potentially chaotic negotiations against the backdrop of expiring government funding and the threat of a possible U.S. default.
Even by the standards of a Capitol used to operating under pressure, this week's maelstrom of legislative and fiscal crosscurrents is setting the stage for an extraordinary sprint. Democratic leaders are trying to shepherd two complicated legislative packages: a roughly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and a sprawling healthcare, education and climate package whose proposed $3.5 trillion price tag and contents are still under intense debate within the party.
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WHO Seeks to Revive Stalled Inquiry Into Origins of Covid-19 With New Team
The World Health Organization is reviving its stalled investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 virus as agency officials warn that time is running out to determine how the pandemic that has killed more than 4.7 million people world-wide began.
A new team of about 20 scientists-including specialists in laboratory safety and biosecurity and geneticists and animal-disease experts versed in how viruses spill over from nature-is being assembled with a mandate to hunt for new evidence in China and elsewhere.
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Covid-19 Panel of Scientists Investigating Origins of Virus Is Disbanded
Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs said he has disbanded a task force of scientists probing the origins of Covid-19 in favor of wider biosafety research.
Dr. Sachs, chairman of a Covid-19 commission affiliated with the Lancet scientific journals, said he closed the task force because he was concerned about its links to EcoHealth Alliance. The New York-based nonprofit has been under scrutiny from some scientists, members of Congress and other officials since 2020 for using U.S. funds for studies on bat coronaviruses with the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a research facility in the Chinese city where the first Covid-19 outbreak occurred.
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Write to sarka.halas@wsj.com
TODAY IN CANADA
Earnings:
Aurora Cannabis 4Q
Economic Indicators:
Nothing major scheduled
Expected Major Events for Monday
05:00/JPN: Jul Indexes of Business Conditions - Revision
08:00/ITA: Aug Foreign Trade non-EU
08:30/UK: Aug Capital issuance
12:30/US: Aug Advance Report on Durable Goods
14:30/US: Sep Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey
23:01/UK: Aug Zoopla House Price Index
All times in GMT. Powered by Kantar Media and Dow Jones.
Expected Earnings for Monday
Adamis Pharmaceuticals Corp (ADMP) is expected to report $-0.04 for 2Q.
Allied Healthcare (AHPI) is expected to report for 4Q.
Aurora Cannabis Inc (ACB,ACB.T) is expected to report for 4Q.
Concentrix Corp (CNXC) is expected to report for 3Q.
Escalon Medical (ESMC) is expected to report for 4Q.
Espey Manufacturing & Electronics Corp (ESP) is expected to report for 4Q.
Fonar Corp (FONR) is expected to report for 4Q.
Natural Alternatives International Inc (NAII) is expected to report for 4Q.
Perpetua Resources Corp (PPTA.T) is expected to report for 3Q.
Pioneer Bancorp Inc (PBFS) is expected to report for 4Q.
S&W Seed (SANW) is expected to report $-0.16 for 4Q.
iBio Inc (IBIO) is expected to report $-0.04 for 4Q.
Powered by Kantar Media and Dow Jones.
ANALYST RATINGS ACTIONS
Allogene Therapeutics Raised to Outperform From Market Perform by Raymond James
BJ's Restaurants Raised to Buy From Hold by Jefferies
CenterPoint Energy Raised to Overweight From Sector Weight by Keybanc
Cheesecake Factory Raised to Buy From Hold by Jefferies
Chuy's Holdings Raised to Buy From Hold by Jefferies
Dave & Busters Raised to Buy From Hold by Jefferies
Hexcel Cut to Neutral From Buy by Seaport Global
Infinera Cut to Neutral From Buy by MKM Partners
Red Robin Raised to Buy From Hold by Jefferies
Roku Cut to Equal-Weight From Overweight by Wells Fargo
SL Green Realty Raised to Neutral From Underperform by B of A Securities
Spire Inc Raised to Buy From Neutral by Mizuho
Tenable Holdings Raised to Buy From Hold by Berenberg
Valley National Bancorp Raised to Neutral From Sell by Citigroup
Vornado Raised to Neutral From Underperform by B of A Securities
This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
09-27-21 0612ET
