The Wall Street Journal - USA (2020-11-16)

** MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2020 ~ VOL. CCLXXVI NO. 117 WSJ.com HHHH$4.

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year, Beijing is now rapidly

dismantling the hallmarks of

self-governance in Hong

Kong. Though the city never

achieved full democracy, even

the limited elections Mr. Lee

fought for as co-founder of

Hong Kong’s largest pro-de-

mocracy party are in doubt.

On Wednesday, Beijing

forced the expulsion of four

pro-democracy legislators

who held seats filled through

citywide elections. Officials

said the legislators were ex-

pelled for disloyalty and sug-

gested other expulsions

could follow. The move trig-

gered the resignations of

most other members of the

opposition and rendered the

chamber a rubber-stamp for

Hong Kong’s Beijing-ap-

pointed leader.

The low point for Hong

Please turn to page A

Acquiring BBVA’s U.S. opera-

tions would bolster Pittsburgh-

based PNC’s presence in fast-

growing markets in the

Southeast and West. BBVA,

which in 2007 bought Alabama-

based Compass Bancshares, has

about $100 billion of assets in

the U.S. with branches across

the Sunbelt, including a major

presence in Texas. PNC is

strongest in the mid-Atlantic,

Midwest and Southeast.

PNC Chief Executive Bill

Demchak said in September

that extending the bank’s na-

tional presence would be the

“first, second and third objec-

Please turn to page A

HONG KONG—On the

rainy night in 1997 when the

U.K. transferred Hong Kong

to China, democracy leader

Martin Lee stood on the bal-

cony of the city’s legislature

vowing to hold Beijing to its

promises. China had agreed

in the handover it would let

the former colony govern it-

self under Western-style rule

of law, including eventually

electing its own leaders.

“The flame of democracy

has been ignited and is burn-

ing in the hearts of our peo-

ple,” he said in a speech to

supporters and journalists

shortly after China’s flag was

newly raised over Hong

Kong. “It will not be extin-

guished.”

Following large and at

times violent democracy pro-

tests that rocked the city last

BYJOHNLYONS

A Hong Kong

Democracy Leader

Sees Dreams Vanish

Beijing’s growing crackdown marks twilight

for Martin Lee and his fight for city’s future

Mr. Biden, a Democrat, has

said he would wait before sign-

ing new trade deals and will

seek to rally allies behind a

more forceful policy to confront

China. However, the new Asian

agreement signals that other

countries—including U.S. allies

such as Japan and South Ko-

rea—are forging ahead in the

meantime.

The new bloc stretches

across many of the largest and

Please turn to page A

SINGAPORE—Fifteen coun-

tries including China signed a

major trade deal after years of

negotiations, posing an early

challenge to President-elect Joe

Biden as he formulates his ad-

ministration’s trade policies.

Sunday’s agreement, called

the Regional Comprehensive

Economic Partnership, or RCEP,

creates a regional bloc that cov-

ers around a third of global eco-

nomic output.

BYJONEMONT

ANDALASTAIRGALE

Asian Countries

Forge Trade Pact

SpaceX Launches Landmark Manned Flight

HIGH AMBITION: A Crew Dragon capsule, atop a Falcon 9 rocket, began the company’s first

full-fledged operational mission with astronauts aboard Sunday in a liftoff from Cape Canav-

eral, Fla. The crew of four were on a 27-hour flight to the International Space Station. A

GREGG NEWTON/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

“I’m not sure I’ll ever go into

a car dealership again,” said the

58-year-old retired investor in

Boulder, Colo. “It was fun to

have an experience that’s new

and the internet enables.”

The pandemic’s disruptions

have transformed how U.S. con-

sumers behave by accelerating

their embrace of digital com-

merce, and the changes are

likely to prove permanent, ac-

cording to businesses studying

and adapting to the changes.

A recent survey by consulting

firm McKinsey & Co. found that

about 3 out of 4 people have

tried a new shopping method

due to the coronavirus and that

more than half of all consumers

intend to continue using curb-

side pickup and grocery-delivery

services after the pandemic is

over. Nearly 70% of consumers

surveyed intend to continue

buying online for store pickup.

The pandemic collapsed into

three months a process of

adopting e-commerce that other-

Please turn to page A

Brooke Mallers recently

bought a used car online, she

uses food and grocery delivery

services more and she makes

telehealth appointments—new

habits that she expects to last

long after the coronavirus pan-

demic is over.

BYHARRIETTORRY

U.S. E-Commerce Habits Deepen

Covid-19’s

Spread

Covers All

Of Nation

With a third surge of the

Covid-19 pandemic hitting the

U.S., many public-health au-

thorities are warning the coro-

navirus is now so widespread

that it will take pervasive new

measures to contain it.

New infections surpassed

177,224 on Friday, setting a

daily record that eclipsed the

highest daily case counts of

previous peaks in the spring

and summer. The number of

new infections was lower Sat-

urday at 166,555, while new

deaths numbered nearly 1,300,

according to data compiled by

Johns Hopkins University. The

number of people hospitalized

with Covid-19, meanwhile,

reached 69,455 on Saturday,

according to the Covid Track-

ing Project.

In earlier surges, infections

were concentrated in cities

such as New York and Chicago,

or populous states like Florida

and Texas.

Many of the outbreaks then

were linked to travelers re-

turning from overseas or so-

called superspreading events

such as conferences, weddings

and rallies.

Now, it is everywhere. Peo-

ple are becoming infected not

Please turn to page A

BYBETSYMCKAY

ANDERINAILWORTH

Johnson Takes Masters Trophy

U.S. golfer Dustin Johnson won the Masters golf tournament

at Augusta, Ga., on Sunday with a record low score.A

ROB CARR/GETTY IMAGES

Hot Ticket: Your Family’s

Thanksgiving

iii

Gatherings capped at 10 create angst

BYCHARLESPASSY

Shortly after New York Gov.

Andrew Cuomo announced last

week that private gatherings in

the state would be limited to 10

people for pandemic-related

safety concerns, Talia Reese did

the math and realized her

Thanksgiving plans might be as

ruined as a roast turkey gone

completely dry.

Ms. Reese, a resident of

Great Neck, a suburb of New

York City on Long Island, usu-

ally goes with her husband and

two children to join other rela-

tives at her parents’ home

nearby for a gut-busting gath-

ering, turkey and all. But at last

count, the list of this year’s at-

tendees numbers 13.

“Watch my mother disinvite

us. She’s extremely compliant,”

said Ms. Reese, a professional

Please turn to page A

 Infections ravage nursing

homes in rural U.S.................. A

 Rise in cases stretches

hospitals in Italy...................... A

 Issues with masks, bubbles

test small firms......................... B

 Western demand bolsters

Asian economies................... A

PNC Financial Services

Group Inc. is in talks to buy

the U.S. arm of Spain’s BBVA

for more than $11 billion, ac-

cording to people familiar with

the matter, in one of the larg-

est bank tie-ups since the fi-

nancial crisis.

A deal would create the

fifth-largest retail bank in the

U.S., with more than $550 bil-

lion in assets, a giant in an in-

dustry that has been slow to

consolidate. It could be an-

nounced as soon as Monday,

the people said.

BYCARALOMBARDO

ANDLIZHOFFMAN

PNC Nears

$11 Billion

Bank Deal

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CONTENTS

Arts in Review... A

Business News....... B

Crossword.............. A

Heard on Street... B

Markets....................... B

Opinion.............. A15-

Outlook....................... A

Personal Journal A11-

Sports....................... A

Technology............... B

U.S. News............. A2-

Weather................... A

World News............ A

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All Rights Reserved

>

What’s

News

Fifteen countriesincluding

China signed a major trade

deal after years of tricky nego-

tiations, posing an early chal-

lenge to President-elect Biden

as he formulates his admin-

istration’s trade policies.A

Many public-healthau-

thorities are warning the

coronavirus is now so

widespread in the U.S. that

it will take pervasive new

measures to contain it.A

Covid-19 deathsamong

vulnerable nursing-home res-

idents are surging again, with

the virus increasingly spread-

ing to rural facilities.A

The GSA’s delayin offi-

cially acknowledging Biden’s

victory could hinder the next

administration’s coronavi-

rus response, the president-

elect’s top adviser said.A

A judge invalidated

Trump administration rules

narrowing the program that

protects immigrants living

in the U.S. since childhood

without legal permission.A

Two programsthat ex-

panded jobless benefits expire

on Jan. 1 unless lawmakers can

break a deadlock over a fresh

round of pandemic relief.A

Peru’sMerino quit six days

after taking office as presi-

dent, following deadly protests

against his government.A

P

NC is in talksto buy

the U.S. arm of Spain’s

BBVA for more than $

billion in a deal that would

create the fifth-largest U.S.

retail bank, with more than

$550 billion in assets.A

The pandemic’sdisrup-

tions have accelerated U.S.

consumers’ embrace of

digital commerce.A

Investors in bondsbacked

by consumer loans are reap-

ing a windfall as households

spend less and save more

against the backdrop of a

still-ailing U.S. economy.B

Berkshire Hathaway’s

biggest purchase this year

has been its own stock.

Until recently, Warren Buf-

fett eschewed buybacks.B

Mall developer Taubman

agreed to accept a price cut

in its takeover by Simon in

a move that will allow the

companies to avoid a

drawn-out legal battle that

was set to start Monday.B

When Trump leavesthe

White House in January, he

will face some of the deep-

est financial and legal chal-

lenges in his family busi-

ness empire in decades.A

Hicks has held talks

about acquiring and invest-

ing in fledgling pro-Trump

cable channel Newsmax.B

Business&Finance

World-Wide

JOURNAL REPORT

Encore: How Covid-

will change aging and

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