Weekly Digest: Global Tax Reform, Bezos Going to Space

G-7 nations reached a historic deal on global tax reform: 

The world’s leading economies agreed to back a global minimum corporate tax of at least 15%. The reform will affect the largest companies with profit margins of at least 10%.

“We commit to reaching an equitable solution on the allocation of taxing rights, with market countries awarded taxing rights on at least 20% of profit exceeding a 10% margin for the largest and most profitable multinational enterprises,” the G7 finance ministers said in a statement.

Most U.S. stocks fell Monday amid inflation and tax concerns: 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4% as investors keep assessing inflation risks as well as the potential impact of the G7 corporate tax deal.

At the same time, the Nasdaq 100 turned higher as Biogen Inc. surged after its Alzheimer’s drug was approved, lifting other biotech stocks as well.

Yellen speaks in favor of raising rates: 

The treasury secretary actually said higher interest rates would be beneficial for the U.S. economy.

“If we ended up with a slightly higher interest rate environment, it would actually be a plus for society’s point of view and the Fed’s point of view,” she said in an interview with Bloomberg.

It's alive 😱! The economist who said the inflation is dead is now seeing signs of its rebirth:

Roger Bootle is the author of the 1996 book “The Death of Inflation: Surviving and Thriving in the Zero Era.” Back then, he argued that years of consistently high inflation rates had come to an end.

And while Bootle doesn’t think we are returning to that era, at least for now, he still argued the world might be on the cusp of something big.

“It is the start of a sea change, I have to say. That’s not to say that we’re going to go back to the strong inflationary conditions of the 70s and early 80s. But at the very least, I think we are at the end of the crypto-deflationary period that we’ve been in for the last few years,” he told Bloomberg.

It’s all your fault… Putin says Russia had no other choice but to ditch the greenback: 

The Russian president accused the US of exploiting its national currency to use it “for various kind of sanctions,” and warned that this policy may rebound on Washington.

“We don’t do this deliberately, we are forced to do it,” Putin said at a videoconference with representatives of international media organizations.

Just a reminder: last week, Russia said it would completely remove all U.S. dollar assets from its “rainy days” fund and add gold to it for the first time on record.

El Salvador president wants Bitcoin as legal tender: 

Nayib Bukele announced that next week he will send proposed legislation.

“Next week I will send to Congress a bill that will make Bitcoin a legal tender in El Salvador. In the short term this will generate jobs and help provide financial inclusion to thousands outside the formal economy and in the medium and long term we hope that this small decision can help us push humanity at least a tiny bit into the right direction,” Bukele said in a message.

🚀 Jeff Bezos is heading for the stars: 

In an Instagram post on Monday, the billionaire businessman said he, his brother, and the winner of an ongoing auction, will be aboard the Blue Origin’s New Shepard spacecraft during its first scheduled launch on July 20, the anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

“To see the Earth from space, it changes you, changes your relationship with this planet. It’s one Earth,” Bezos said in the Instagram post. “I want to go on this flight because it’s a thing I’ve wanted to do all my life. It’s an adventure. It’s a big deal for me,” Bezos wrote.

See you next week!

Photo credit: NASA Flight Opportunities