Coronavirus
– US officials confirm full-scale investigation of whether coronavirus escaped from Wuhan lab
– Chinese Communist Subversion of WHO Undermined Global Pandemic Response
– Covid-19 is rapidly becoming America’s leading cause of death
– Can the coronavirus be spread through farts?
– Coronavirus has mutated into 30 strains and the one ravaging Europe is more deadly than the US strain, Chinese study finds
– In New York’s largest hospital system, 88 percent of coronavirus patients on ventilators didn’t make it
– Elizabeth Warren’s oldest brother has died of coronavirus
– ‘We will not have a vaccine by next winter.’ Like Spanish flu of 1918, CDC says second wave of coronavirus could be ‘even more difficult.’ Will herd immunity help?
– Trump’s disinfectant idea shocking and dangerous, doctors say
Business/Economics
– The Trickle-Up Bailout
– The Finance 202: Alarming new data show the worst might be ahead in a coronavirus economy
– Walmart to require employees to wear face masks Monday
– Record government and corporate debt risks ‘tipping point’ after pandemic passes
– Construction industry hit hard, even as states deem it an ‘essential service’
– Coronavirus job losses hit these 10 states the hardest
– Billionaire Branson Asks For Government Money To Save Virgin Atlantic, Claims He ‘Did Not Leave Britain For Tax Reasons’
– Harvard And Other ‘Well Endowed’ Colleges Face Backlash For Tapping Tens Of Millions In Stimulus Funds
– Fed’s National Activity Index Crashes Into Deep Recession Territory
– The Market Is Breaking… Everywhere
– Demand for Bank Notes in Dollars & Euros Spikes Despite Fears of Covid-19 Contaminated Cash
– Oil Crash Accelerates, Rippling to Currencies and Stocks
– Central Banks Have Pumped An Annualized $23.4 Trillion Into The Financial System
– Existing Home Sales Tumble In March, Face 40% Collapse, NAR Warns
– Treasury Yields Are Tumbling… 5Y Just Hit Record Lows
– Here Are The ‘Publicly Traded’ Companies That Quietly Got A ‘Small Business’ Bailout
– The Death of the Department Store: ‘Very Few Are Likely to Survive’
– Killed By The Coronavirus Lockdowns: 1000s Of U.S. Businesses That Were Shut Down Will Be Closed Permanently
– Here are the largest public companies taking payroll loans meant for small businesses
– Harvard says to keep stimulus grant after Trump vows it will be returned
– Market Mayhem Meets Liquidity Mismatch: “At Least†76 Mutual Funds in Europe Were “Gated†in March
– GM And Ford Are One Step Closer To Losing Billions On Used Car Price Plunge
– S&P 500 companies spent $7 trillion on buybacks and dividends and “been rewarded’ by coronavirus bailouts, says Social Capital CEO
– More Than 4 Million Workers Filed Jobless Claims: Live Updates
– US New Home Sales Have Never Dropped This Much In March… Ever
– Treasury Orders Public Companies To Repay PPP Loans Meant For Small Businesses
– Get Ready for the Return of Inflation
– Treasury gives big public companies until May 7 to return loans meant for small businesses
– US Durable Goods Orders Collapse In Early March Data
– US factory orders plunge 14.4% as economy grinds to halt
– “It’s The Perfect Storm” – SoftBank Reports Staggering $25 Billion Q1 Loss
– U.S. Fed balance sheet increases to record $6.62 trillion
– Consumer Sentiment Improved In Early April Before Crashing Again
– Major U.S. credit card issuers begin lowering customer spending limits
– The Congressional Budget Office forecasts a $3.7 trillion deficit, a 5.6% economic contraction and an unemployment rate of nearly 12% by year’s end
Government
– This is where all 50 states stand on reopening
– Massachusetts Joins New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Rhode Island’s Multi-State Council to Get People Back to Work and Restore the Economy
– Georgia Will Become First State In The US To Reopen: Live Updates
– Trump Temporarily Suspends All Immigration Into The United States
– Trump Announces 60-Day Pause On Immigration For ‘Individuals Seeking Permanent Residency’
– Mayor Lightfoot Says Stay-At-Home Order Could Go Into June
– Trump reverses course, says it’s ‘too soon’ for Georgia Gov. Kemp to reopen state
– “Most, If Not All” Of The American Economy Should Reopen By Summer’s End, Mnuchin Says
– Trump signs into law $484 billion bill that replenishes coronavirus aid program for small businesses
Military
– Pentagon to ask U.S. Congress for emergency coronavirus funds to support defense industry
World
– Riots and looting in Cape Town as Africa suffers 1,000 coronavirus deaths
– Coronavirus journey: The ‘last cruise ship on Earth’ finally comes home
– German Lawyer Who Criticized Lockdown Arrested, Taken To Psych Ward
– A million Brits are set to have their wages paid by the state as firms rush to join new compensation scheme
– US source: North Korean leader in grave danger after surgery
– Second night of riots as Paris locals react with fury over ‘racist’ police attacks on minorities during coronavirus lockdown
– Indonesia’s Palu endured a triple disaster, now coronavirus looms
– Japan to boost stimulus to $1.1 trillion as virus threatens deeper recession
– China’s fiscal revenue plunges 26.1% as virus ravages economy
– Netanyahu and rival Gantz clinch Israel power-sharing dealrm-emergency-governmen
– Israelis Just Showed the World What a Socially Distant Protest Looks Like
– Rampage leaves 18 dead in Canada’s worst mass shooting
– Once safer than gold, Canadian real estate now facing its acid test
– Official unemployment numbers don’t show the true crisis for workers affected by coronavirus
– Germany Cancels Oktoberfest Over Coronavirus Fears
– Migrant Areas of Paris Hit With 3rd Consecutive Night of Riots
– Japanese PMI Collapses To Record Low, Signals 10% Crash In GDP
– New coronavirus outbreak in northern China puts city of 11 million on lockdown
– Eurozone economy suffers ‘unprecedented’ collapse
– Debt Monetization Creeps Closer by the Day in New Zealand
– NZ central bank governor says not ruling out negative interest rates
– BOJ To Launch Unlimited QE, Double Corporate Bond Purchases
– “Unprecedented Damage To The Euro Zone” – European PMIs Hammered By Record Collapse
– When $8 Trillion in Global Fiscal Stimulus Still Isn’t Enough
– Ecuador’s Death Toll During Outbreak Is Among the Worst in the World
– In Pictures: Lockdown adds to India’s slum dwellers’ woes
– Germany requires everyone to wear a face mask as coronavirus spreads
Local
– Georgia to allow some shuttered businesses to reopen amid pandemic
– Georgia mayors blindsided by Brian Kemp’s decision to let businesses reopen
– ‘There’s nothing essential about going to a bowling alley,’ says Keisha Lance Bottoms
– Georgia’s Covid-19 reopening pits white governor against black mayors
– “I’m being forced to choose between my health and my jobâ€: Georgia’s controversial reopening plan, explained
– ‘Wuhan Plague’ plaques found on Atlanta businesses, streets
Social
– Hundreds swarm Florida beaches following reopening amid pandemic
– ‘This Government Is Lucky’: Coronavirus Quiets Global Protest Movements
Unemployment
– More than HALF of Los Angeles workers are now unemployed just one month into coronavirus lockdowns
– Coronavirus Sends One-Fifth of Workers to Unemployment Line in Some States
– States Burn Through Cash for Unemployment Payments
– Coronavirus furloughs begin for more than 100,000 Disney, Best Buy, CarMax workers
– ‘Florida Is a Terrible State to Be an Unemployed Person’
Personal finances
– Who Has Enough Cash to Get Through the Coronavirus Crisis?
Media
– Here’s why you should care coronavirus is obliterating the media
– The Coronavirus Is A Media Extinction Event
– News Media Outlets Have Been Ravaged by the Pandemic
– Fighting COVID-19 goes hand-in-han
– “A Darwinian Momentâ€: The Coronavirus Is Blowing Up the Media Landscape
Education
– “The Hit Is Huge”: Colleges Brace For ‘Fatal’ Blow Of Next Fall As Face-To-Face Instruction Uncertain
Weather
– California, rest of the West sinking into a rare mega-drought, scientists say
– California and West suffering worst ‘megadrought’ in centuries, study of tree rings shows
– Southern States Face Giant Hail and Tornadoes for the Second Weekend in a Row
– Severe weather may target one region of US for several weeks
Oil
– Historic Oil Crash Sends Canadian Oil Prices Negative
– U.S. oil tumbles toward biggest one-day drop in history, off more than 38% near expiration as crude’s woes continue
– Oil market in ‘super contango’ underlines storage fears as coronavirus destroys crude demand
– In a historic plunge, the U.S. oil May benchmark fell 300% to a negative $37.63 a barrel
– Singapore giant oil trader Hin Leong failed to declare $1.14 billion losses
– Oil export price for Mexico’s Pemex dips into negative territory
– World’s Biggest Oil ETF Suspends Sales Of Creation Baskets: “This Shock Is Real… Be Very Careful Out There”
– The Third Largest Oil ETN Is Liquidating
– “Yesterday Was Scary, Today Is A Lot More Scary”: Black Gold Bloodbath As ‘Paper’ Oil Plunges Everywhere
– ‘I’m Just Living a Nightmare’: Oil Industry Braces for Devastation
– USO Oil ETF To Execute 1-For-8 Reverse Stock Split
– About 150-years of oil-price history in one chart illustrates crude’s spectacular plunge below $0 a barrel
Precious metals
– “Lethal For Bullion Banks” – The Looming $600 Trillion Derivatives Crisis
Food
– Mile-Long Line Of Cars Waiting … In Between Luxury Hotels
– It’s Not Just Toilet Paper, Seed Shortages Spread As Locked-Down Americans Turn To Growing Their Own Food
– Schools Transform Into ‘Relief’ Kitchens, but Federal Aid Fails to Keep Up
– Meat Prices Suddenly Surge As Food Processing Plants Shut Down, With 1000s Of Tons Left To Spoil
– Food-Shortage Fears Well-Founded? Tyson Closes Nation’s Largest Pork Plant Over COVID Concerns
– Five threats to US food supply chains
– Coronavirus pandemic ‘will cause famine of biblical proportions’
– Coronavirus-driven CO2 shortage threatens US food and water supply, officials say
– The Meat Number That Makes Even Naysayers Worry About Shortages
– Missouri Pork Plant Workers Say They Can’t Cover Mouths to Cough
– Grocers Hunt for Meat as Coronavirus Hobbles Beef and Pork Plants
Op-ed
– Why it’s not so crazy that stocks are rising even though 26 million people are out of work
