🌍 Bye bye, student debt!

Plus: How not to help drivers with gas prices Was this newsletter forwarded to you? [Sign up here]( [Quartz]( June 02, 2022 [View in browser]( Sponsored By Good morning, Quartz readers! Here’s what you need to know The US will cancel the largest amount of student debt to date. Student debt totaling about $5.8 billion [will be canceled]( for half a million people who attended the now-bankrupt Corinthian Colleges. New York is set to pass new gun restrictions. It is one of the first US states to [pass legislation]( in response to the Uvalde and Buffalo shootings. Meanwhile, a grand jury [has indicted]( the Buffalo gunman on terror and hate charges as yet [another shooting]( killed four in Tulsa yesterday. China announced a $120 billion investment in its infrastructure. It’s part of Beijing’s effort to [stimulate the economy]( following months of harsh covid lockdowns. US president Joe Biden will meet with NATO’s chief. Discussions today will focus on Russia’s [invasion of Ukraine](, which is fast approaching its 100th day. Ukrainian officials have claimed that over 260 children [have been killed]( since the start of the conflict. Sheryl Sandberg is stepping down. The Meta COO [helped grow Facebook]( from a startup into a multibillion-dollar tech giant during her 14 years on the job. Taiwan is forging stronger relations with the US and EU. The Biden administration announced a [new trade pact]( with Taiwan to strengthen bilateral ties, as annual trade talks between Taiwan and the EU kick off today (see more below). Elon Musk told Tesla executives they can’t work remotely. Staff should return to the office 40 hours a week or “we will assume you have resigned,” the CEO [said in an email]( to workers. Sponsor content by SAP Concur Business travel is making a rebound. As we return to the road and skies, a new study shows that employees and finance teams alike need help navigating this new booking and expense landscape. [Get advice]( on how to overcome the biggest roadblocks. What to watch for Annual trade and investment talks between the EU and Taiwan kick off today. Both sides want to deepen cooperation in strategic areas like semiconductors and supply chain resilience. In January, Taiwan [launched a $1 billion credit fund]( to finance Lithuanian projects following Beijing’s corporate boycott of the Baltic country. Meanwhile, the EU needs Taiwan’s semiconductor expertise to [boost the bloc’s chips industry](. [4:]( Where the EU ranks among Taiwan’s trading partners, after China, the US, and Japan [52%:]( Share of EU exports to Taiwan that fell into the “machinery and appliance” category in 2021 [38.9%:]( Percentage of Taiwan exports to the EU that were information and communications technology in 2019 [€64 billion ($64.2 billion):]( Value of EU-Taiwan trade in 2021 [1:]( Where the EU ranks among Taiwan’s sources of foreign direct investment Distributing money on the mainland In a bid to give China’s struggling economy a boost, numerous cities and provinces have in recent days taken measures to jumpstart consumer demand with consumption vouchers, spending subsidies, and limited cash handouts. It’s a good start, but it’s just [a drop in China’s economic bucket](. Here’s how the math shakes out in Shenzhen: 💸 Consumption vouchers (500 million yuan) ➕ digital currency lottery (30 million yuan) = 0.02% of the city’s GDP A more impactful countrywide option, suggested by the chief economist at brokerage Zhongtai Securities, could have looked more like this: 💸💸💸 1,000 yuan ✖️1.4 billion citizens = 1.2% of China’s official GDP In the long run, China will need to rebalance its economy from one driven primarily by infrastructure and real estate investment to one in which households get a bigger share of national GDP. Cutting fuel taxes won’t help [A post office truck idles next to a sign at a Chevron gas station in California showing the price of regular gas at $6.05.] REUTERS/Mike Blake Officials announced yesterday that drivers in New York will not pay state taxes on gasoline until the end of 2022. The US state is joining at least three others that have cut taxes to provide relief from [record-high gas prices](, brought on by turmoil in the global oil market caused by the war in Ukraine. But gas tax “holidays” are mostly just a way for politicians to ingratiate themselves to voters. In fact, drivers will be left [more exposed to future price shocks](. Like stories like these? It’s your support that helps make it possible. Grab a membership today [for 40% off](. Message from our Partner Undoubtedly the place of high-level meetings for CEOs, global funds, heads of state, and financial actors, the AFRICA CEO FORUM offers concrete solutions to move Africa’s businesses forward. Through its various initiatives, the organization works to increase the representation of women in decision-making positions, accelerate family-owned enterprise growth, and support a new generation of innovators. [Register today]( Quartz’s most popular 🗝 [Shanghai’s lockdown may have ended, but not China’s zero-covid policy]( 👩‍⚖️ [The US just brought its first case against NFT insider trading]( 🤔 [Everything we know about Daniel Defense, which manufactured the gun used in Uvalde]( 📰 [Goldman Sachs has bad news for metals investors and good news for EV makers]( 🏙 [Africa needs better cities, not more cities]( 📝 [The surprising history of business school classes for executive wives]( Sponsor content by SAP Concur Business travel is making a rebound. As we return to the road and skies, a new study shows that employees and finance teams alike need help navigating this new booking and expense landscape. [Get advice]( on how to overcome the biggest roadblocks. Surprising discoveries [A gif from Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights video, of Bush dancing around with an awesome red dress on and a red flower in her hair.] Giphy Kate Bush is more popular than Harry Styles thanks to Stranger Things. She’s [come home](, she’s so cold. Let her in your window! Poseidon’s ribbon weed is the largest plant in the world. The Australian sea grass has cloned itself for [more than 4,500 years]( to grow to about the size of Cincinnati, Ohio. The Sex Pistols and the Queen go way back. The band released “God Save the Queen” during Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee in 1977, and will [revive the punk anthem]( for her Platinum. France wants its gamers to only speak French. English terms like “esports,” officials say, are polluting the language—though similar efforts to swap “l’access sans fil à internet” in for “[le wifi](” were unsuccessful. The causes of inflation are hard to parse. Culprits people pointed to in the 1970s and 80s, like oil embargos and the Vietnam War, weren’t the full story. 🎧 Learn why in [the latest episode of the Quartz Obsession podcast](. 📈 Listen on: [Apple Podcasts]( | [Spotify]( | [Google]( | [Stitcher]( SPREAD THE WORD Over 500k readers and counting. 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