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El PSG de Mbappé vapulea al Barça (1-4) P34 35 CHAMPIONS
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Muere Joan Margarit, un fenómeno bilingüe de la poesía P29
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El PP se va de Génova para huir de su pasado corrupto Casado anuncia la salida de El partido creará un equipo El líder de la oposición la formación de su sede, cuya de control interno y un canal atribuye el mal resultado en reforma investiga la justicia de denuncias anónimas Cataluña al ‘caso Bárcenas’ ELSA GARCÍA DE BLAS, Madrid Pablo Casado anunció ayer que el PP abandonará el edificio del número 13 de la calle de Génova, en Madrid, sede central del partido desde 1983. La decisión obedece, explicó, a que no pueden se-
guir en un inmueble cuya reforma está siendo investigada por fraude fiscal. El presidente del PP había declarado en 2018, preguntado por esas obras: “Lo que nos va a hacer reconectar con nuestro electorado no es cambiarnos
1996. Aznar celebraba con Rajoy, Cascos, Botella y Rato en el balcón de Génova 13 la primera victoria en unas generales. / ÓSCAR MORENO (EFE)
al edificio de enfrente”. Casado comunicó también la creación de un departamento de control interno y un canal anónimo de denuncias “con absolutas garantías”. En su estrategia de romper con el pasado del partido, el líder
popular avanzó que sus dirigentes dejarán de dar explicaciones del caso Bárcenas, al que atribuyó buena parte de su mal resultado en las elecciones catalanas del domingo. PÁGINAS 14 A 17 EDITORIAL EN LA PÁGINA 10
2004. Una multitud se concentró frente a la sede para exigir explicaciones sobre la autoría de los atentados del 11-M. / GORKA LEJARCEGI
Y
30
El cierre de las fronteras de Alemania crea tensión en la UE Nueve países de la zona Schengen limitan el tránsito por la pandemia B. DE MIGUEL / E. G. SEVILLANO Bruselas / Berlín Alemania encabeza el cierre de fronteras interiores en la UE por temor a las nuevas variantes del coronavirus, un movimiento que genera tensión con sus países vecinos, donde se forman largas colas de transportistas, y que pone otra vez en cuestión la zona Schengen de libre circulación. Nueve de los 27 países que suscribieron el acuerdo han comunicado a la Comisión Europea restricciones del tránsito: son Alemania, España, Portugal, Bélgica, Finlandia, Hungría, Austria, Noruega y Dinamarca. PÁGINAS 24 Y 25
Juan Carlos Monedero, imputado por cobrar de Neurona J. J. GÁLVEZ, Madrid El juez del caso Neurona, Juan José Escalonilla, citó ayer como investigado a Juan Carlos Monedero, cofundador de Podemos, bajo sospecha por un abono de 26.200 euros de la consultora mexicana Neurona, supuestamente vinculado a la posterior contratación de la empresa por el partido de Pablo Iglesias. Monedero niega toda ilegalidad. PÁGINA 20
2016. Tras la última victoria electoral del PP en unas generales, Rajoy salía al balcón con su esposa, Elvira Fernández. / CRISTÓBAL MANUEL
PABLO ORDAZ, Madrid El 13 de la calle de Génova fue el número de la suerte durante la década prodigiosa del PP. Aquel edificio en pleno centro de Madrid se convirtió en el símbolo del éxito y del poder de un partido que, entre 1996 y 2004, ganó dos elecciones generales consecutivas. Fue poco después, en 2006, cuando el PP compró a Mapfre por 36 millones un edificio en el que se había instalado de alquiler
2019. El retrato de Pablo Casado, que se estrenó como cabeza de lista en las elecciones de abril, cubría la fachada de la sede. / SAMUEL SÁNCHEZ
El PP festejaba en 2008 la compra de la sede que había reformado con su caja b
Una “casa propia” tras la década prodigiosa en febrero de 1983. Y durante los dos años siguientes —de 2006 a 2008—, el despacho de arquitectura de Gonzalo Urquijo ejecutó la
reforma tras pactar con Luis Bárcenas que una parte de las obras se pagaría en b a cambio de una rebaja del 10%. Hay una graba-
ción del 20 de junio de 2008 en la que Ángel Acebes, entonces secretario general, despide con honores al extesorero Álvaro Lapuerta: “Con la compra de nuestra sede nacional de Génova, 13, hemos pasado de ser los inquilinos a ser sus propietarios. Por fin tenemos casa propia”. En las imágenes se ve cómo Bárcenas, que acababa de ascender a tesorero con la jubilación de Lapuerta, se mueve inquieto en su asiento. PÁGINA 19
La Iglesia inscribió 20.000 templos y 15.000 fincas tras la reforma de Aznar ÍÑIGO DOMÍNGUEZ, Madrid La Iglesia católica inmatriculó 20.014 templos y otras 14.947 fincas entre 1998 y 2015, cuando una reforma del Gobierno del PP de Aznar permitió que se registraran bienes con una certificación eclesiástica, según el primer informe del Ejecutivo sobre este polémico procedimiento. PÁGINA 27 EDITORIAL EN LA PÁGINA 10
FINANCIAL TIMES NEWS PROVjDER OF THE Y EAR
W E D N E S D A Y 17 F E B R U A R Y 2021
UK £2.90 Channeí Islands £3.20; RepubllC o f ¡reland € 32 0
Martin Wolf
Biden's big bet
Twitter storm
The G20 m usí lead a campaign to vaccinate the world - opinión , p a g e 23
The presidenta $1.9bn stimulus pian is a global gamble - big r e a d . pag e 21
India tightens grip on social media platforms — c o m p a n ie s , p a g e 10
M vanmar pain Junta hardens
Briefing ►Grenfell daddingrisk was not disdosed The Grenfell inquiry heard that in a safe ty test more tlian a decad e before the bla ze cladding used on the tower bumt 10 times faster than a sister prod uct but continuedtobesold untilafterthe tragedy- p a c e i
online Controls A demonstrator holds up a placará of deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyl in Yangon yesterday during protests againstthismonth’s militaiy coup. The ruling junta cut Lntemet Services for tlie second consecutive day, as a civil disobedience campaign continued despite the deployment of troops in mainciües across the country. State-controlled Norwegjan telecoms operator Telenor, a big investor in Myanmar since 2013, has publicly criticised a cyber security bilí that would give tlie generáis sweeping power over digital content. ‘T in worried that tlüs situation in dae country is notcomingto a peaceful resolution,” said Sigve Brekke, Telenor’s chief exeaitive
►Warp Speed chief to head biotech roll-up The fonner GSK research chiefwho became Donald Trump’s vaccines tsar is to head a ventare that is rolli ng up smaller biotechstotakeonBig Pharina. PAGE9; UPSTAfUS. PAGE 11; ANJANA AHUJA, PAGE 23
►Woodford’s proposed retara stirs anger A plan byNeil Woodford to relauníh himself as a tnouey manager hassparked a fur ious response fforn investors who suffered b ig losses when liis key fund collapsedin2019.- p a g e n
►Macron aims for gradual Salí el pullout
Security bilírap p ed oage 4 W/eir» Chsn Nain g/EPA-EF E/Shjrter stcx k
Emmanuel Macron will not immedlately cut back on France’s 5,000 troops fightinglslamist rebels in west Africa but saidthat the long-term goal was to reduce OperationBarkhane toavoid“infinite war”.—page a
►Regulator imperils $9bn eBay ads tie-up
Surging commodity prices deliver cash bonanza for mining investors *■Hotspot in growth after panclemic lows * BHP, Rio and Glencore promise big payouts N E IL H U M E
NATURAL RESOURCES EDITOR
The mining Lndustry underlined its sta tus as one of the hottest spots in a global economy battling back from the pandemic after BHP declared a record dividend and Glencore said that it would resume payouts to investors. A blistering rail in the pnce of commodities írotn their Covid lows in March is fuelling speculation that the world may be in the first leg of a supercyde, fanned by robust appetite in China and expected denrand from elsewhere as govemments plan large infrastructure projeets to help revive growth. BHP, the world’s largest miner, said yesterday that it would pay an interim dividend of S5.lbn as profits hit a sevenyear high. As Glencore’s longstanding
clnef executive Ivan Glasenberg bows out, theconunodities tradersaid thatit would resume its payout with a $1.6bn retum, after scrapping its annual divi dend in August. With their debts under control, tlie world’s biggest miners — which domí nate the production of everything from steelmaking ingredient iron ore to copper and platinum - are optitig to return cash to shareholde rs ratlier t han stake it on risky new projeets or big takeovers. Driven by a strong recovery in Cliina and supply disraptions in several markets, including copper and iron ore, the mining sector is enjoying the most benign conditions in moretlian a decade. “It is looking strong,” Glasenberg said yesterday, after Glencore reported better than expected annual results.
“Supply is getting tighter. China [ has] been veiy sti-ong post-Covid.” “ If infrastructure spending starts happening in tlie US then, yeali, you are going to have a nice commodity boom.” Rio, the biggest iron ore producer, is forecast by analysts to declare a final dividend o f $5.2bn when it reports results today, taking its retums over the pastfinancialyearto $7.8bn. The price of iron ore has soared alinost 85 per cent in thepast year, hitting a nine-year higli of $175 a tonne Ln Deceraber before easing. Copper, used inhousehold wiiingand appliances, has surged 80 per cent from March lows to a nine-year high above $8,400 a tonne. Mike Henry, BHP chief executive, said the group had a “ very constructivo” Out look for the fundamentáis of the com-
A BHP iron ore freight train in Australia: the world’s biggest miner will pay an interim dividend of $5.lbn as profits lut a seven-yearliigh
modities market, as more of the global economy rebounds from Covid-19 and the shi ft uno cleauer energy accelerates. “The energy transitionthat will occur will also be commodity intensive,” Henry said. The hefty payouts have already been rewarded by shareholde rs. BHP, which is Usted in London and Sydney, recently overtook Royal Dutch Shell and Unilever as the b iggest compa ny in the UK, with a market capitalisation of $l70bn. Its shares have more than doubled from their pandemic lows inMarch, JPMoigan reckons that Rio Tinto and BHP could emerge as the two biggest corporate dividend payers in Europe thisyearif commodity prices hold. Inslde Business pa ge 9 Lex pa g e 2 4
Some employers draft ‘no jab, nojob’ contracts as business left to go it alone K A T E B EIO LEY . G EO R G E P A R K E R . D E L P H IN E S T R A U S S . A lI C E H A N C O C K A N D SID V E N K A T A R A M A K R I S H N A N
China looks at curbing rare earths to spike US guns A s S ln o -U S re latlo n s w orsen, B eljing Is
British compan ies are looldngat d rawing up “110 jab, no job” contracts for employees, as the government said that it was “up to businesses" if they wanted workers or custoiners to hold coronavirus vaccination “ passports”.
look in g at lim ltin g th e e x p o rt o f rare e arth m lnerals cru cial in The m aklng of A m e rican F-35 flg h te r je ts an d other so p h istlcated w eaponry. C h ina Controls m ost o f th e s u p p ly o f m lnerals used by w estern d e fen ce goup s. Som e o ffid a ls warn th a t re strictin g e xpo rts c ou ld b a ck flre on China, since it w ould m o tíva te to re lg n rtvals to ralse their ow n rare e arths p ro d u ctio n ca p ad ty . Curbs explored ►p a g e 4 Ja n a n G a n e sh ►p a g e 23
Law firms said some companies, ranging from care-home operators to large niulünatíonal groups, were considering employment contracts requiring new and existing staff to havevaccinations. Boris Johnson has said the government will not bring in domestic j ab pass ports but Nadhim Zahawi, vaccines mimster, acknowledged some gioups mightpress 011 with their ownschemes. “ It’s up to businesses what they do, but we don’t yet have the evidente o f the
effect o f vaccines on transmission,” Zahawi toldtheBBC. Ministers fear such passports could lead to discrímination against people who caiuiot or will not receive a Covid19 jab. They want to avoid any impression that people are being coerced into being vaccinated. Officials expect the documents to be tested in the courts. Barchester Healthcare, which rans morethan200 carehomes, has said that it will not hire new staff who refuse a vaccine on non-medical grounds. Pknheo Plumbers has also annoimced a “no jab, no job” policy for new hil es. Law firms, which declined to be named, said some companies were also looking at requiring existing employees to have coronaviras jabs. Most employ ers are wary o f any mandatory requirement for staff to be vaccinated, which would mean handlingsensitive medical
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data and mightleavethemopen to legal challenge ondiscriminationgrounds. The CBI business group said that there was no case for compulsión. It said that rapid, mass Covid-19 testing was the key to ma king worlcplaces safer. One City o f London lawyer said that the introduction of clauses in contracts requiring workers to have vaccinations would be risky' but were more likely to be d efensible in sectors such as care, dlie to the prevalenceof vulnerable patients. Another City lawyer said that some multinational groups, including one large energy compony, were considering such clauses. The weddings sector has offered to trial vaccine passports but others in the hospitality industry, including trade body UKHospita lity, are criticalof tlie idea Vaccines supply dlp pago 2 Anjana Ahujapage23
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Britain’s antitrust bodyis tiireateningeBay’s$9.2bn deal witli Norway’sAdevhita to create tlie wo rld !s largest o nline classifieds ads group, combining the Shpock site witli Gumtree —p a g e 12: l e x . p a g e 24
►Arts sector told o f difftculties in EU talles The government has adnütted tliat it failed to open talks witli EU countriesto helptheUK’sCllbn Creative sector, wltich has been hit bypost-Brexit red tape, gain betteraccesstoworkin Euro pe - pag e 2
►Ericsson rails at Europe telecoms sector Ericsson’s chief has wamed that Eiurope has a “ nonfunctioning ” teleco ms market, leadingto a lackofSG t ech inves tment and problem sfo r groups co mpeting with the US and china - pag e io ; l ex , pag e 24
Datawatch P aren tal pressu re
The stress leve Is
A v e ra g e U K s tre ss sco re s Shops in E n g lan d b eg in
Shops fn WaÍQsbegtn
of parenfs in New tier system
Briba in soared during lockdowns in 2020. Parents with chiJdren under the age of 10 experóenced partícula rJy high levels of stress and were more
concenved about their children's Sounce: U nlversity of Oxford Co-Space Stucfy
behaviour.
Nxxx,2021-02-17,A,001,Bs-4C,E1
CMYK
Late Edition Today, mostly sunny, brisk, colder, high 32. Tonight, turning cloudy, low 25. Tomorrow, cloudy, snow, sleet later, difficult travel, cold, high 30. Weather map appears on Page B12.
VOL. CLXX . . . . No. 58,972
Bitter Cold, Stretching From Canada to the Rio Grande
Test for Biden: Can U.S. Exit Afghanistan?
WASH.
Peace Deal Calls for a Decision by May 1
By ASTEAD W. HERNDON
ROCKFORD, Mich. — When Representative Peter Meijer voted to impeach Donald J. Trump in January, making him one of 10 House Republicans who bucked their party, he bluntly acknowledged that “it may have been an act of political suicide.” This month, during Mr. Meijer’s first town hall event since that impeachment vote, some of his constituents made clear to the newly elected congressman that they shared his assessment — not that Mr. Trump had committed an impeachable act by helping incite a riot at the Capitol, but that crossing him was an unforgivable sin. “I went against people who told me not to vote for you, and I’ve lost that belief,” said Cindy Witke, who lives in Mr. Meijer’s district, which is anchored by Grand Rapids and small communities like this one in Western Michigan. Nancy Eardley, who spoke next, urged Mr. Meijer to stop saying the election had not been stolen. She said he had “betrayed” his ReContinued on Page A16
MAINE
N.D. VT.
MINN. ORE.
N.H.
IDAHO
S.D.
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WYO.
Between 0° and 32°F
This article is by Helene Cooper, Eric Schmitt and David E. Sanger.
Michigan Torn, With the G.O.P. In Trump’s Grip
FRIGID ONSLAUGHT STRETCHES LIMITS OF ELECTRIC GRIDS
A deep freeze covered much of the central United States on Tuesday. Pages A14-15.
MONT.
WASHINGTON — The previous two presidents of the United States declared they wanted to pull all American troops out of Afghanistan, and they both decided in the end that they could not do it. Now President Biden is facing the same issue, with a deadline less than three months away. The Pentagon, uncertain what the new commander in chief will do, is preparing variations on a plan to stay, a plan to leave and a plan to withdraw very, very slowly — a reflection of the debate now swirling in the White House. The current deadline is May 1, in keeping with a much-violated peace agreement that calls for the complete withdrawal of the remaining 2,500 U.S. troops. The deadline is a critical decision point for Mr. Biden, and it will come months before the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that prompted the American-led invasion of Afghanistan to root out Al Qaeda. Two decades later, the strategic goals have shifted many times, from counterterrorism and democratization to nation-building, and far more limited goals that President Barack Obama’s administration called “Afghan good enough.” Mr. Biden — who argued as vice president throughout Mr. Obama’s term for a minimal presence — will have to decide whether following his instincts to get out would run too high a risk of a takeover of the country’s key cities by the Taliban. Mr. Biden, one senior aide noted, started his long career in the Senate just before the United States evacuated its personnel from Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam; the image of helicopters plucking Americans and a few Vietnamese from a roof was a searing symbol of a failed strategy. Mr. Biden is highly aware of the risks of something similar transpiring in Kabul, the Afghan capital, if all Western troops leave, and he has privately described the possibility as haunting, aides said. But the president also questions whether the small remaining contingent of Americans can accomplish anything after 20 Continued on Page A8
$3.00
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© 2021 The New York Times Company
COLO.
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By BRAD PLUMER
N.C.
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0° 10°
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Climate Change Is Likely to Make Catastrophic Outages Common
N.J. MD. DEL.
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Source: National Weather Service, Global Forecast System
TAMIR KALIFA FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
DAVID J. PHILLIP/ASSOCIATED PRESS
More than four million Texans were subject to rolling blackouts to ease strain on electric grids. In Houston, a church served as a warming center, and in Austin, Joel Zavala sought gas for his generator. Grids in the Southwest and Midwest also were stressed.
A Safe Zone That Can’t Protect Against Misery Despite a Push, Oregon Schools Millions Under Turkish Remain Empty Control in Syria Have By CARLOTTA GALL
AFRIN, Syria — In a tented camp on a hilltop above the city of Afrin, 300 Syrian families struggle to keep warm in the rain and mud. Displaced three times since they fled their farms near Damascus seven years ago, they survive on slim handouts and send the children out to scavenge. “The situation is very bad, rain comes into the tent,” said Bushra Sulaiman al-Hamdo, 65, lifting the ground sheet to show the sodden earth where her bedridden husband lay. “There’s not enough food, there is no assistance organization, no drinking water.” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey was widely criticized by the United Nations and
No Alternative Western leaders three years ago when he ordered Turkish troops across the Syrian border into Afrin, an action seen as opportunistic and destabilizing. Thousands of Kurdish families fled the Turkish invasion, along with the Kurdish fighters. In their place came hundreds of thousands of Syrians from other areas, who have swollen the population, taking over homes and camping on farming land. Another Turkish intervention in
2019, farther east in Syria, met still more opprobrium amid accusations of human rights violations under Turkey’s watch. But as an end to the decadelong Syrian civil war still confounds the world, Turkey has become the only international force on the ground protecting some five million displaced and vulnerable civilians. Today, the Turkish soldiers are all that stand between them and potential slaughter at the hands of President Bashar alAssad’s forces and those of his Russian allies. Turkish officials recently escorted journalists on a rare visit to Afrin, a district of northwestern Syria, where Turkey has created its own de facto safe zone along the border. The Turks were keen Continued on Page A10
IVOR PRICKETT FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
Displaced Syrian refugees are struggling in a sprawling tent camp on a hill above the city of Afrin.
INTERNATIONAL A7-11
TRACKING AN OUTBREAK A4-6
BUSINESS B1-6
By SHAWN HUBLER
Shortly before Christmas, as Oregon schools faced their 10th month under some of the nation’s sternest coronavirus restrictions, Gov. Kate Brown began a major push to reopen classrooms. She relaxed certain standards for restarting in-person teaching. She offered to help districts pay for masks, testing and tracing, and improved ventilation. Most important, she prioritized teachers and school staff members for vaccination — ahead of some older people. Her goal: to resume in-person classes statewide by Feb. 15. But today, roughly 80 percent of Oregon’s 560,000 public schoolchildren remain in fully remote instruction. And while some districts are slowly bringing children back, two of the largest, Portland and Beaverton, do not plan to reopen until at least April — and then only for younger students. Oregon’s halting efforts to return children to classrooms are being repeated up and down the West Coast. The region’s largest city school districts — from Seattle to Portland to San Francisco to Los Angeles — have remained mostly closed, even as large districts elsewhere, including Boston, New York, Miami, Houston and Chicago, have been resuming in-person instruction. And the release on Friday of guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that urge school districts to reopen has not changed the minds of powerful teachers’ unions opposed to returning students to classrooms without more strinContinued on Page A6
FOOD D1-8
Huge winter storms plunged large parts of the central and southern United States into an energy crisis this week, with frigid blasts of Arctic weather crippling electric grids and leaving millions of Americans without power amid dangerously cold temperatures. The grid failures were most severe in Texas, where more than four million people woke up Tuesday morning to rolling blackouts. Separate regional grids in the Southwest and Midwest also faced serious strain. As of Tuesday afternoon, at least 23 people nationwide had died in the storm or its aftermath. Analysts have begun to identify key factors behind the grid failures in Texas. Record-breaking cold weather spurred residents to crank up their electric heaters and pushed power demand beyond the worst-case scenarios that grid operators had planned for. At the same time, a large fraction of the state’s gas-fired power plants were knocked offline amid icy conditions, with some plants suffering fuel shortages as natural gas demand spiked. Many of Texas’ wind turbines also froze and stopped working. The crisis sounded an alarm for power systems throughout the country. Electric grids can be engineered to handle a wide range of severe conditions — as long as grid operators can reliably predict the dangers ahead. But as climate change accelerates, many electric grids will face extreme weather events that go far beyond the historical conditions those systems were designed for, putting them at risk of catastrophic failure. While scientists are still analyzing what role human-caused climate change may have played in this week’s winter storms, it is clear that global warming poses a barrage of additional threats to power systems nationwide, including fiercer heat waves and water shortages. Measures that could help make Continued on Page A15
Texans Shiver, Casting Blame As Power Fails This article is by David Montgomery, Rick Rojas, Ivan Penn and James Dobbins.
AUSTIN, Texas — Texans shivered under blankets as their electricity flickered off and temperatures inside their homes plummeted. Some awoke on Tuesday to find icicles had formed from dripping kitchen faucets. And in a Houston suburb, a woman and her three grandchildren who had been relying on a fireplace for heat were killed after the authorities said a blaze engulfed their home. As a winter storm forced the state’s power grid to the brink of collapse, millions of residents were submerged this week into darkness, bitter cold and a sense of indignation over being stuck in uncomfortable and even dangerous conditions. The strain revealed the vulnerabilities of a distressed system and set off a political fight as lawmakers called for hearings and an inquiry into the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the operator managing the flow of electricity to more than 26 Continued on Page A14
ARTS C1-6
Sex Abuse Cases Rock Greece
A Key Link to Herd Immunity
Betting Big on Batteries
Maximalist Brownies
Letting Virus Victims Breathe
Dozens of actors have accused some of the nation’s best-known performers and directors of harassment. PAGE A11
Enrolling teenagers in clinical trials for vaccines is crucial, but they are tougher to keep in trials than adults. PAGE A4
Carmakers, government agencies and investors are pouring money into research in a global race to profit from emission-free electric cars. PAGE B1
Maybe that diet could wait for another day. Melissa Clark has some mouthwatering recipes that go all out. PAGE D2
The English National Opera joined with a London hospital to offer vocal lessons to help patients recover. PAGE C1
Virus Drowns Out Samba Beat
NATIONAL A12-17
Novel Plans to Save Pensions
Brazil cancels its most famous Carnival, which had endured in years of war, hyperinflation and despotism. PAGE A7
The Officers in the Crowd At least 30 law enforcement officers took part in the rally before the Capitol riot. Many are being investigated. PAGE A13
Leveraging Senate Ties President Biden has made clear that he plans to try to capitalize on his experience and relationships on Capitol Hill to get things done. PAGE A16
Starved of cash by the pandemic, cities are using their own property as collateral to pay for benefits. PAGE B1
Homebound Pastry Chefs Microbakeries have popped up in apartment kitchens, meeting New York City’s demand for cheer and calories. PAGE D1
Drawing a Royal Picture A painter whose ancestor was an African king is examining how the past shaped his own identity. PAGE C1 EDITORIAL, OP-ED A18-19
SPORTSWEDNESDAY B7-9
Starry Semifinal in Australia As Serena Williams gets closer to tying the record for Grand Slam singles titles, Naomi Osaka is in her way. PAGE B7
Thomas L. Friedman
PAGE A18
U(D54G1D)y+z!:!%!?!#
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2021 ~ VOL. CCLXXVII NO. 38
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DJIA 31522.75 À 64.35 0.2%
NASDAQ 14047.50 g 0.3%
STOXX 600 419.20 g 0.1%
GOLD $1,797.20 g $24.40
New York’s attorney general sued Amazon, accusing it of not doing enough to protect workers in the state from the coronavirus. B1 A judge denied Citigroup’s request to claw back roughly $500 million it mistakenly paid out of its own pocket to investment firms that made loans to Revlon. B1 CVS said it would re-enter the ACA insurance marketplaces next year, as the company reported quarterly results that beat estimates. B1 Goldman unveiled a low-cost digital platform that allocates and automatically rebalances individuals’ wealth across portfolios. B1 The SEC sued Morningstar, alleging the firm allowed rating analysts to adjust financial models that resulted in better terms for bond issuers and in some cases less interest income for investors. B13 The Dow gained 0.2% to close at another record. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell 0.1% and 0.3%, respectively. B13 Alden Global Capital, Tribune Publishing’s largest shareholder, reached a deal to acquire the rest of the newspaper company. B3 Buffett’s Berkshire took stakes in Verizon and Chevron, according to a snapshot of investments held in the quarter ended Dec. 31. B13
World-Wide Millions of homes in Texas were without power for a second straight day after historically cold winter weather caused a failure of the state’s electricity grid, triggering a public-health emergency in the nation’s second most populous state. Swaths of the U.S. were suffering the effects of a farreaching winter storm. A1, A6 The Biden administration extended a federal moratorium on home foreclosures for three months and expanded assistance for people behind on mortgage payments during the pandemic. A3 Trump criticized McConnell in a lengthy statement after the Senate minority leader’s condemnation of Trump’s actions leading up to the riot at the Capitol. A7 The NAACP, on behalf of Rep. Bennie Thompson (D., Miss.), filed a lawsuit against Trump and Giuliani, accusing them of conspiring to incite the Capitol riot. A7 A hacker claims to have stolen files belonging to the global law firm Jones Day and posted many of them on the dark web. A3 The administration is reviewing U.S. policy toward the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which is designed to carry Russian natural gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea. A8
EURO $1.2106
YEN 106.05
Bitcoin Trades Above $50,000 In a First
BY PAUL VIGNA AND CAITLIN OSTROFF
NO PARADE: Crowds packed Bourbon Street in New Orleans for Mardi Gras a year ago, left, before the pandemic struck. This year, right, the French Quarter on Tuesday was deserted as Covid-19 restrictions and frigid weather kept revelers away.
Deep Freeze Wallops Texas, Leaving Millions in Cold, Dark BY RUSSELL GOLD AND KATHERINE BLUNT Millions of homes in Texas were without power for a second straight day after historically cold winter weather caused a failure of the state’s electricity grid, triggering a public-health emergency in the nation’s second most populous state. Across the state, temporary shelters filled up and fears rose
Lumber Prices Soar in Boom A building boom during the pandemic has lifted lumber prices, defying the normal winter slowdown in wood-product sales. Lumber futures have climbed 49% in the past three weeks, to more than twice the price a year earlier. B13
of a mounting death toll from the cold. The grid operator said it continued to try to restart power plants hobbled by the weather, but it warned that full restoration could take days longer. Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, called for an investigation into what caused a failure of the state’s power supplies, as between two and three million Texans remained without electricity on Tuesday evening.
The power crisis came as a far-reaching winter storm brought snow, ice and record low temperatures to swaths of the U.S., with dangerously cold wind chills from Arctic air expected to linger over the Great Plains and Mississippi Valley through midweek, the National Weather Service said. At least 15 people had died nationwide as of late Tuesday, according to the Associated
Lumber-futures price*
Housing units authorized by building permits†
$1,000 per 1,000 board feet
2.5 million
800
2.0
600
1.5
400
1.0
200
0.5
Press. Shelters and hotels in Texas filled up as residents sought refuge from the cold. In Houston, the George R. Brown Convention Center reached capacity at noon on Tuesday as city Please turn to page A6 Farmers and ranchers are thrown into crisis.................... A6 Heard on the Street: Don’t blame wind power................ B14
Xi’s unease with investors added to concerns over financial risk, Ma comments BY LINGLING WEI
0
0 2017
’18
’19
’20
’21
2001
2010
2020
*Random Length front-month contracts †Seasonally adjusted annual rate Sources: FactSet (futures); U.S. Census Bureau via St. Louis Fed (Housing units)
Teachers, Parents Split on Reopen BY KRIS MAHER AND JENNIFER CALFAS MT. LEBANON, Pa.—Patrick Cozzens had never spoken up at a school board meeting until he stood in front of a crowd of angry parents earlier this month to read a statement his 16-year-old daughter helped him to write. “I’ve watched her go from a child that has loved school, thrived at school her entire life, to one now, using her
INSIDE
own words, who just doesn’t care anymore,” he said, his voice breaking. “What are you focused on? Get our children back!” Dozens of parents who live in the affluent community outside Pittsburgh erupted in applause, and the president of the school board rapped his gavel for order. Other parents, some via Zoom, and at least one teacher opposed a plan introduced by the superintendent to return the town’s 5,300 stu-
Died: Arne Sorenson, 62, CEO of Marriott. B1
BUSINESS & FINANCE Citigroup loses bid to claw back funds related to Revlon loans. B1
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U.S. NEWS A hacker claims to have stolen files belonging to the global law firm Jones Day. A3
dents to classrooms full-time in March, up from two days a week at most currently. “The thought of returning to a full in-person day amid a global pandemic is so overwhelming that it could honestly bring me to tears,” said Emily Rindels, a fifth-grade teacher in Mt. Lebanon, who teaches about half of her students at a Please turn to page A4 Biden wants more schools open five days a week......... A4
Skating Fans Up Their Game In Backyard Rink Building i
Bitcoin surged above $50,000 for the first time on Tuesday, doubling in less than two months as the digital currency continues its torrid run higher. Bitcoin traded as high as $50,584.85, before closing at $48,642.45, according to CoinDesk, up 0.95% for the day and 68% for the year, with a total market value in circulation close to $909 billion. The $50,000 level is an “emotional level for people in the space,” said Brian Melville, the head of strategy at trading firm Cumberland. But it is also a simple result of supply and demand, he said. From August through December, about 150,000 new bitcoins were minted, he estimated. The firm calculated that about 359,000 bitcoins were bought in the same period, and that imbalance has continued in 2021. “It’s a really important metric to watch,” he said. That buying demand has brought not only a price rally, but growing acceptance and Please turn to page A2
China Blocked Ant IPO After Uncovering Who Stood to Gain
Recessions
France’s National Assembly approved a bill that Macron and his supporters in Parliament have framed as a response to the spread of “Islamist separatism.” A9
Personal Journal A11-12 Property Report... B6 Sports....................... A14 Technology............... B4 U.S. News............. A2-8 Weather................... A14 World News...... A9,18
HHHH $4.00
Cryptocurrency closes below high, up 68% for year with $909 billion in total circulation
RICHARD B. LEVINE/ZUMA PRESS
itcoin surged above $50,000 for the first time on Tuesday, doubling in less than two months as it continues a torrid run higher. The digital currency traded as high as $50,584.85 before closing at $48,642.45. A1
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FROM LEFT: RUSTY COSTANZA/ASSOCIATED PRESS; GERALD HERBERT/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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OIL $60.05 À $0.58
Empty Streets Mark Fat Tuesday This Year in New Orleans
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CONTENTS Arts in Review... A13 Business News...... B3 Crossword.............. A14 Heard on Street. B14 Markets.................... B13 Opinion.............. A15-17
10-YR. TREAS. g 30/32 , yield 1.298%
WSJ.com
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When China’s leader Xi Jinping late last year quashed Ant Group’s initial public offering, his motives appeared clear: He was worried that Ant was adding risk to the financial system, and furious at its founder, Jack Ma, for criticizing his signature campaign to strengthen financial oversight. There was another key reason, according to more than a dozen Chinese officials and government advisers: growing unease in Beijing over Ant’s complex
ownership structure—and the people who stood to gain most from what would have been the world’s largest IPO. In the weeks before the financial-technology giant was scheduled to go public, a previously unreported central-government investigation found that Ant’s IPO prospectus obscured the complexity of the firm’s ownership, according to the officials and government advisers, who had knowledge of the probe. Behind layers Please turn to page A10 Beijing’s TV and movie censorship stirs ire............... A18
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First-timers and veterans are obsessed with keeping ice smooth; ‘homebonis’ BY KIM MACKRAEL On a crisp morning at the end of January, Chelsea Parkin crouched beside the shallow pool of ice and slush in her backyard, put her ear close to the surface, and listened. She was sure the water underneath was escaping through a hole somewhere. The 8-foot-by-19-foot rink her husband had constructed for their daughter a week earlier remained thin and patchy, despite nightly attempts to fill it with fresh water. When Ms. Parkin eventually discovered the main source of the leak,
she soaked through three pairs of mittens while picking her way through phyllo-pastry-like ice so she could patch a hole in the woven blue tarp underneath. While intrepid Canadians and residents of northern U.S. states have long created iceskating rinks in their backyards, pandemic restrictions and winter boredom have led to a boom this season. Stircrazy homeowners have tackled the project for the first time, and some veteran rinkbuilders are taking it into high gear. Please turn to page A2
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