1. A compromise is emerging in the US debt dispute – but it is still unclear whether the danger to the global economy has only been averted for a short time

I find the advice and wisdom of so-called stock market gurus amusing, even if I prefer not to rely on them. "Pessimism is your friend on the stock market," the super-rich American Warren Buffet, for example, claimed. »Euphoria is your enemy.« In fact, many stock market participants around the world have been worried in recent weeks about the debt dispute in the USA.

The consequences of a possible imminent American national bankruptcy, which the markets have feared for weeks because of the debt dispute, would have been catastrophic for the global economy, which has been exhausted by the pandemic, inflation and war. Now the fear of the stock market people seems to be shrinking, "the signs are pointing to relaxation", as my colleagues Tim Bartz, Michael Brächer, Simon Hage and Roland Nelles report today.

The Dax reached a high for the year today.

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US President Joe Biden: "We are paying our bills"

Photograph:

Susan Walsh / AP

Democrats and Republicans are approaching each other in their negotiations despite sabotage calls from former President Donald Trump – whom colleagues funnily enough call a "wrecking ball incarnate". President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are sending signals that they could quickly reach an agreement and raise the debt ceiling once again. An appointment could be in place as early as Sunday.

"America bankrupt? It's a crazy idea," says the story of the SPIEGEL team. Despite a national debt of 120 percent, hardly anyone doubts that Washington will repay its debts. If Congress does not intervene, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is likely to run out of money in the next few weeks; Economists are puzzling over the exact timing. By January, the debt had already exceeded the legal limit of $31.4 trillion that politicians had set years ago.

With the compromise emerging today, is the "worst case" scenario now off the table, a real default by the US government because Democrats and Republicans cannot agree on a permanent increase in the debt ceiling for months? It is still "not out of the question", according to the colleagues, that the poker will go into overtime. Congress could, for example, agree on a short-term increase in the debt limit by a few months. Then the showdown is likely to repeat itself in the fall – "if the president is still called Biden and Donald Trump is in full campaign mode".

  • Read the full story here: The U.S. default has been averted – or not?

2. Doctors are worried about the fungal pathogen Candida auris – but mandatory reporting and hygiene measures can slow down the spread

Since the global pandemic triggered by the coronavirus, many people have been alarmed as soon as there is talk of pathogens for which there are no or hardly any effective drugs. This is especially true for hypochondriacal people like me. Accordingly, I was worried to read today the report by my colleague Veronika Hackenbroich on infections with the fungus Candida auris.

"The experts are very concerned that the treatment options for fungi are limited," writes Veronika. But she also quotes an expert as saying that Candida auris is "not a killer germ against which nothing can be done".

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Dangerous yeast fungus: Candida auris grows in a petri dish

Photo: Nicolas Armer / dpa

In the USA, an infestation with the fungus has already been detected in thousands of patients. In Europe, numerous infections with Candida auris have been recorded in Italy and Spain, and only twelve in Germany last year. Many patients in whom the fungus has been detected, for example in the groin or armpits, show no signs of disease at all. However, for those who have just undergone surgery, the elderly, cancer and rheumatism patients whose immune systems are suppressed, there is a risk that the fungus will spread throughout their bodies, enter the bloodstream and cause fungal sepsis.

In a recent analysis in the »Deutsches Ärzteblatt«, experts see an urgent need for action. Although there is no obligation to report this fungus in Germany, there is a "significant increase". In the long run, it is probably inevitable that Candida auris will also spread in our country. Measures such as the reporting obligation can be used to gain time until new effective drugs have been developed.

What else can be done now, apart from the obligation to report the spread of Candida auris? "The doctors and nurses simply have to remember that it could also be this fungus and then isolate the patients quickly when the result from the laboratory is there, perhaps even before," says my colleague Veronika. "The laboratories have to ensure that the test result does not remain over the weekend, but arrives quickly at the doctors. And doctors need to understand that such an outbreak with Candida auris takes place in slow motion, so to speak, compared to multidrug-resistant germs." Several weeks could pass between one case and the next. "You can't relax the hygiene measures too early."

  • Read the full story here: »How long will it take until we have such high case numbers as in the USA?«

3. Despite the export ban, goods from Germany and other Western countries reach Russia – because the authorities are overwhelmed with the control

Since Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had his troops invade Ukraine, the West has imposed extensive sanctions. For example, the sale of electronic components from the EU to Russia is completely prohibited. But apparently goods from Germany still make it to Russia.

SPIEGEL, together with international research partners, has now evaluated customs data in order to trace the trade routes.

Photos: Sergei Bobylev / TASS / picture alliance / dpa; Stefan Dinse / Shutterstock

The data leads to the conclusion that Russian arms companies are apparently also supplied with electronics from Germany, as they are also used for weapons systems, via detours such as that of Russia's neighboring country Kazakhstan. Sometimes it's about relatively simple microchips for use in drones, sometimes about more complex components that can be used to control cruise missiles.

"Why is control failing?" reads the story written by my colleagues Katharina Koerth and Maria Zholobova as well as my colleagues Benjamin Bidder, Jörg Diehl, Roman Lehberger and Michael Sauga for the current issue of SPIEGEL. They report a "swelling and billion-dollar flow of sanctioned goods coming from the West into Russia's neighboring countries." This is about more than just electronics and computer parts, but also about drones and machines, tools and lubricating oils, ball bearings and chemicals.

In the customs data that SPIEGEL has evaluated with its partners, there are clear indications that products from German manufacturers also repeatedly find their way across the Russian border. This is embarrassing for the federal government. Customs and the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control are overloaded. "It's an absurd situation," the SPIEGEL team said. "German customs officers have to keep an eye on every day to ensure that no tennis rackets and bras are sold directly to Russia. At the same time, however, there is a lack of capacity and authority to prevent the delivery of war-critical goods via Kazakhstan."

  • Read the full story here: Electronics deliveries from German companies apparently end up with Russian arms companies

And here are more news and background information on the war in Ukraine:

  • European gas price falls below 30 euros: Due to Russia's war of aggression, natural gas prices rose sharply last year. Now the energy market continues to ease. There are several reasons for this.

  • Here you will find all the latest developments on the war in Ukraine: The news update

What else is important today

  • Disney cancels plans for multi-million dollar complex in Florida: Actually, Disney wanted to build a new campus in Florida, with space for 2000 employees. Now the company is announcing the end of the project – in the midst of a feud with Governor Ron DeSantis.

  • Three more protesters executed in Iran: The number of executions in Iran has been rising for years, and the regime is increasingly cracking down on demonstrators. Now three more people have been executed – after controversial trials.

  • British Prime Minister Sunak and wife lose £200 million in assets: Apparently, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife lost an average of around £2022,500 a day with their investments in 000. Nevertheless, they remain arguably the richest residents who have ever resided in Downing Street.

My favorite interview today: »Kissing has continuously supported the spread of disease«

Enlarge imagePhoto:

Steve Prezant / Image Source / Getty Images

For the current issue of SPIEGEL, my colleague Julia Köppe interviewed the scientist Troels Pank Arbøll about the history, risks and joys of kissing. "The oldest known written kiss in human history dates back to around 2500 BC," says the researcher, for example. Although up to 80 million bacteria and germs such as the Epstein-Barr virus are exchanged within ten seconds during a French kiss, Arbøll describes kissing as useful. "It is likely that chemical messengers are transmitted via saliva and breath that reveal whether the other person is right for you. Also, kissing strengthens the relationship between partners and promotes sexual desire, which can lead to more offspring. So there are good arguments for it." In ancient Mesopotamia, by the way, public kissing was frowned upon.

  • Read the whole interview here: »Kissing has continuously supported the spread of disease«

What we recommend today at SPIEGEL+

  • Is it worth being a tyrant after all? For years, Arab countries have tried to bring down Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. Now the leaders of the Gulf are receiving him again with all honours. Why?

  • Habeck no longer shines: Robert Habeck has had a terrible year, and now he is also rid of one of his most important employees. Will it continue to go downhill for him and the Greens – or is there even an opportunity at this moment?

  • Hunters of Lost Youth: In the first 20 minutes of »Indiana Jones and the Wheel of Fate«, Harrison Ford is digitally rejuvenated by around 40 years. This looks better than ever. If only that could be said about the rest of the movie.

What is less important today

Enlarge imagePhoto: Tim Heitman / Getty Images

Star golfer in the mud hole: Tom Kim, a 20-year-old South Korean professional golfer, failed at a tournament in the USA due to a water hazard. In the opening round of the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in upstate New York, Kim sank into the Schmodder in search of a ball after his tee shot landed in a pit full of reeds, water and mud on the sixth hole. He fell, he did not find the ball. "As soon as my foot was in, there was no turning back. It was pretty confusing," Kim said – and when he learned that a video of his mishap had gone viral: "It's pretty embarrassing."

Mini concave mirror

Here you will find the whole concave mirror.

Cartoon of the Day

And tonight?

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Pola Friedrichs and Max Mauff as Lene and Metin: The premier class of comedy

Photograph:

Carolin Weinkopf / rbb

Could you take a look at the two seasons of the series »MaPa« so far, which are available in the ARD media library. My colleague Christian Buß praises the series as a phenomenon and great entertainment. The hero is a widower and father, played by actor Max Mauff, whose wife died of a brain aneurysm; now he is trying to master life with his five-year-old daughter Lene (Pola Friedrichs). »MaPa« is a »sadcom«, writes Christian, »that's the big depressed sister of the little naïve romcom. A sadcom has to make funny capital out of a sad basic situation without spreading cynicism.«

Have a nice evening.

Heartily

Yours, Wolfgang Höbel, Author in the Culture Department