🌍 Japan bans foreign travelers (again)

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Here’s what you need to know

Japan reinstated some travel restrictions. In reaction to news of a new covid-19 variant of concern, omicron, Japan will bar foreign nationals from entering the country, effective today. US president Joe Biden urged Americans not to panic, while China pledged to send 1 billion vaccine doses to Africa.

Jack Dorsey stepped down as Twitter’s CEO. CTO Parag Agrawal will step up as Dorsey likely turns his full attention to Square.

Documents show China’s leadership called for punishing the Uyghur population. The leaked speeches from high-ranking officials showed concern over too many minorities in Xinjiang.

Robinhood has given short sellers a windfall. Those who bet against the app—which meme-stock traders use to outsmart those same short sellers—have seen $253 million in mark-to-market gains.

The US is beefing up some of its bases. The Pentagon plans to improve its base infrastructure, but not add more personnel, in Guam and Australia to counteract China, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Germany saw a 6% spike in inflation this month. The European Central Bank insists it’s temporary.

What to watch for

The merger between Grab, a southeast Asia-based ride-hailing company, and Altimeter Growth Corp., a US-based special purpose acquisition company, is expected to go to a vote today. If approved, Grab will be the second Asian ride-hailing giant to list in the US this year, after Didi Chuxing went public on the New York Stock Exchange in June. How will Grab compare to Didi and US-based rival Uber?

• While Uber has veered into trying to deliver just about everything—a costly business play—Grab, which also offers delivery, has pushed into financial services such as digital wallets.
• The southeast Asia market is less saturated than that of the US or China. Grab estimates the market opportunity to be above $180 billion by 2025, up from $52 billion.
• But, like its ride-hailing counterparts, Grab isn’t profitable, and has been investing in incentives for drivers and customers.

What we should learn from omicron

The emergence of the omicron variant has led several nations to ban flights from countries in southern Africa. The knee-jerk response punishes places hard-hit by the pandemic and fails to address the real issue: If more people in poor countries were vaccinated, it would be more difficult for covid-19 to mutate and spread.

💉 Rich countries should stop hoarding vaccines. A small group of countries—the US, UK, EU, Canada, and Japan—have bought 60% of the world’s vaccines, and between a third to half  are stockpiled rather than used.

🛂 South Africa shouldn’t be punished for being transparent. The country’s prompt efforts to sequence and identify the new omicron variant allowed the world to react quickly—but the travel ban risks sending the wrong message on sharing data.

🌍 Even African countries aren’t immune to fears. Several have suspended flights from South Africa and elsewhere, or instituted other new restrictions on incoming travelers.

A different kind of public health issue

Despite a brief pandemic spike, tobacco consumption has been declining over the past few decades. That’s got tobacco giant Philip Morris International (PMI), maker of Marlboros, thinking about what comes next.

How does a company that makes billions off of nicotine addicts advance beyond it? PMI’s strategy is two-step:

1. Smoke-free tobacco products. Heated tobacco products (HTPs) have built-in appeal for the world’s billion existing smokers. PMI currently has two types of HTPs, one that uses a heating blade and one that uses induction.
2. Other smoke-free products. Imagine using an IQOS product—a stick that heats, rather than burns, tobacco—to inhale aspirin, or to treat a respiratory disease. PMI calls this phase “beyond nicotine,” and already has a few such products in the works. The company hopes to generate $1 billion in revenue from these products by 2025.

Big Tobacco’s big pivot was the focus of our most recent Company email, a weekly exclusive for members that profiles the players making waves in their industry. ✦ Try a free membership for a week.

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😔 How the Modi government wrecked India’s small businesses

🇨🇳 Will China be as unequal as the US is by 2025?

Surprising discoveries

Malawi wants Mike Tyson to be its cannabis ambassador. The former boxing champion has long been an advocate for the stuff.

Angela Merkel picked a punk song for her leaving ceremony. The Nina Hagen tune will be performed by a marching band.

A New Zealand MP cycled herself to the hospital. She was in labor, btw.

Women and men react to certain emojis differently. Notably, women have stronger negative reactions to ones like this: 😐.

The new iPhones use 98% recycled rare earths. Find out more about these very necessary metals in the latest episode of the Quartz Obsession podcast.

🎧 Listen to all this season’s episodes on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | Stitcher

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