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Exxon’s mea culpa is light on the culpa

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Change their minds.

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Exxon Keeps Not Earning Our Trust

Way back in 1977 — when Al Gore was just a freshman congressman, James Hansen was studying Venus' climate and Portland temperatures seldom cracked 90 degrees Fahrenheit — Exxon scientists already knew global warming was an existential problem. But as the rest of us caught on in following decades, Exxon waged total war on every effort to do something about it.  

Exxon has recently surrendered, though not without some pushing. It'll be a good while before we can trust it's on Team Not Consigning Our Children to a Fiery Apocalypse. So it certainly didn't help to hear last night of Exxon lobbyists accidentally suggesting its come-to-Jesus moment on climate may have been less than genuine. 

Exxon CEO Darren Wood immediately apologized for his mouthpieces saying the quiet parts out loud. But as Liam Denning notes, much about the mea culpa wasn't credible and smacked of the gaslighting that was once Exxon's biggest refined product. Ultimately, the climate activists now on its board may push Exxon toward a fuller rehabilitation, making it worthier of the Circle of Trust. If not, then its investors and longtime political rivals may extract a heavier price. Read the whole thing.

Further Big Oil Reading: Conoco is showing other frackers how to prepare for a low-carbon future. — Liam Denning 

Amazon Strangles Own Golden-Egg-Laying Goose

Bloomberg Opinion has had a lot to say about the question of Big Tech antitrust this week. But as Noah Smith suggested yesterday, maybe the question will eventually answer itself. Amazon, which currently milks wealth from every aspect of human existence, from cradle to couch to grave, could be the test case. Tae Kim points out its biggest earner, Amazon Web Services, has been losing a lot of ground lately:

Part of the problem could be Amazon's cloud customers are getting a wee bit annoyed by Amazon turning around and trying to steal their other business, Tae writes. For example, Target stopped using AWS when Amazon bought Whole Foods and became an even more direct competitor. Even for Clifford, bigness is not always a virtue.

A Labor Shortage Is Nothing to Fear

Labor shortages are another problem that might just take care of itself, through the magic of paying people more. Rachel Rosenthal argues we should at least give the job market a chance to sort itself out before we start making big, risky policy moves to fix it. After all, the industry-by-industry situation is all over the map:

Rachel especially wants to avoid policies that would import wage-crushing competition for American workers. But some people worry letting the market sort itself out will mean watching a wage-price spiral trigger runaway inflation. Gary Shilling dismisses this concern, saying companies will keep finding ways to be productive and protect profits, keeping inflation in check. 

Further Reading

After weeks of presenting a moderate front, the Supreme Court went full partisan in undermining the Voting Rights Act. — Noah Feldman 

The same political forces that overthrew the Shah are roiling again in Iran, in the form of increasingly disgruntled oil workers. — Bobby Ghosh 

That new presidential ranking ignores their influence on their parties' future. — Jonathan Bernstein 

The delta variant is testing Israel's herd immunity. — Zev Chafets 

Russia may deny involvement in cyberattacks, but a key dark market wouldn't exist without its help. — Leonid Bershidsky 

Decentralized finance makes pumping and dumping schemes that much easier. — Matt Levine 

Declan Kelly's downfall is a reminder that bad CEO behavior gets exposed, and private companies are no exception. — Chris Hughes

ICYMI

130 nations endorsed a global tax overhaul.

Allen Weisselberg pleaded not guilty.

Inside a $10 million gift-card cheat.

Kickers

Fungi trade commodities, probably in tiny cow-print jackets. (h/t Mike Smedley)

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Area cop plays Taylor Swift to avoid YouTube.

Not sure what to build with your Lego pile? There's an app for that.

Notes: Please send Lego plans and complaints to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net.

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