Stocks Rally, Starship Explodes, APEC Winds Down: Your Saturday US Briefing

It’s been an action-packed week here in San Francisco, with the global gang from APEC enlivening the city (and sparking a much-needed street cleaning). President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping chatted amiably on the sidelines, a good sign. Xi said China wants friendship with the US and that his nation won’t fight a war with anyone, among his clearest remarks yet proclaiming a desire for peaceful ties between the world’s two largest economies. Bloomberg columnist Hal Brands isn’t convinced.

Another bit of upside from the APEC meeting is that we may see less fentanyl hitting our shores. Biden and Xi agreed that Beijing will crack down on companies that make the chemicals that are its raw ingredients. The ubiquitous street drug that’s 50 times more powerful than heroin has been driving record rates of fatal overdoses stateside. Biden also said the US and Mexico were working to address the challenges posed by fentanyl trafficking as well as migration and border security.