An order addressing anti-competitive behavior, further COVID-19 vaccine developments, a coalition to promote infrastructure investments, bond signals on inflation, and an impending test of Connecticut’s economy are among the top business news items this morning.
National
President Joe Biden has signed an executive order outlining 72 actions aiming to curb anti-competitive behavior in large tech companies, labor, and other sectors. Several actions push the Federal Trade Commission to take stronger action on areas such as non-compete agreements and occupational licensing restrictions, and the order also establishes a White House Competition Council to coordinate federal efforts on responding to the growing power of larger corporations.
Pfizer and BioNTech have announced they are developing a vaccine to address the Delta variant of COVID-19 and are also pursuing the possibility of booster shots for their standard two-dose vaccine. The announcement generated some criticism from scientists, who questioned whether boosters are necessary.
The Coalition for Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment, a collaboration of business and labor groups, has been established to promote a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill expected to come before the Senate later this months. The group says that while its members disagree on certain issues, infrastructure investments are a topic that should be able to win broader bipartisan support.
Business trends
Bond market indicators are suggesting that inflation and rapid economic growth may decelerate in the near future. The yield on 10-year Treasury bonds has been falling in recent days, potentially signaling more moderation in economic expansion as well as pricing.
Connecticut
Connecticut will face a test of its labor force and economy when federal supplemental unemployment benefits expire in September, according to an article in the Connecticut Mirror. The state was still working to recover jobs lost in the Great Recession when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and some economists have forecast that the state will face a similarly lengthy recovery from the pandemic.
