The World
The coronavirus may have infected 10 times more Americans than reported, the CDC said the day after the nation’s largest reported daily total. TX Gov. Abbott hit pause on plans to continue to reopen Texas and suspended elective surgeries in its largest counties. How the Virus Won: The NYT analyzed travel patterns, hidden infections and genetic data to show how the epidemic spun out of control. Meanwhile, cellphone data shows Americans moving around at near pre-pandemic rates, while in Canada, 81% of COVID-19 deaths were in long-term care – nearly double the OECD average. (Reuters, New York Times, Austin American-Statesman, Reuters, Harvard Gazette, Globe & Mail)
The number of workers seeking jobless benefits held steady at about 1.5 million — the same each week so far in June — signaling a slow job market recovery as states face new infections. Meanwhile, gold prices spiked to their highest level in nearly 8 years. (Wall Street Journal, CNN)
61% of Americans believe racial inequality at work needs to be addressed, including 73% of Democrats, 60% of independents and 43% of Republicans. (CNBC All-America Economic Survey)
UK Trade Secretary Liz Truss hit out at America for "unfair" trade practices as the FTSE 100 plunged more than 3% yesterday amid fears of new transatlantic tariffs. Meanwhile, world trade volume plunged 12.1% in April. On an annualized basis, it has now fallen by more than $2 trillion in just 1 month. (The Telegraph, Axios)
Chinese fighter jets have entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone seven times in the last two weeks, prompting the island to scramble warplanes to warn them off, as the U.S. Senate passed a bill to punish China for the Hong Kong national security law. Meanwhile, Indian fighter jets roared over a flashpoint Himalayan region as part of a show of strength following what military sources say has been a Chinese takeover of contested territory. (Bloomberg, South China Morning Post, SBS)
Economy & Finance
64% of investors expect a U-shaped or W-shaped recovery, according to BofA Securities' global fund manager survey. Just 18% expect something V-shaped. Economists’ consensus is for a "reverse radical" recovery — a backwards square-root sign, where there's a sharp drop, a relatively small bounce back, and then a long period of subpar growth. (Axios)
New research finds listed private equity could improve risk-adjusted returns for private wealth investors. (Private Equity Wire)
Consulting industry revenue is set to decrease drastically in the global and European markets by the close of 2020. However, consultants working with private equity will be less badly impacted. (Consultancy.UK)
A Labor Department proposal will require retirement-plan fiduciaries to choose investments “based solely on financial considerations” and is aimed to slow the interest in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing. (Barron’s)
The pound is becoming an emerging market currency, as Brexit has permanently altered investors’ views on sterling, according to Bank of America analysts. Meanwhile, Canada became the first triple-A-rated sovereign entity to lose its rating because of the economic downturn. (Financial Times, Wall Street Journal)
While traditional plays for increasing revenue are back in focus, returning to this traditional playbook right now could come back to bite CEOs: “The evidence suggests that many of these efforts—despite growing amounts of data and advances in analytics—will unintentionally lead to reductions in cash flow and shareholder value at a time when cash is critical. Companies that avoid the pitfalls of traditional revenue growth management (RGM) strategies can minimize their risk.” (Chief Executive)
Technology
Huawei loses out as Singapore’s biggest telecom operators Singtel and StarHub have chosen Ericsson and Nokia as their main 5G network provider. (South China Morning Post)
Melinda Gates and MacKenzie Bezos are collaborating to boost gender inequality: Gates’ Pivotal Ventures issued a $30 million challenge to identify ideas to grow the “power and influence” of women in the U.S. and foster the systemic change needed to make that happen. Bezos is backing the challenge. (Barron’s)
Late-stage valuations for U.S. startups have risen in the first half of 2020. The median valuation for Series C or later-stage financings increased to a new high of $120 million in 1H20, from $80 million for 2019. Propelling the rise, tech unicorns like DoorDash, Instacart and Stripe raised capital to sustain growth and to protect themselves from economic uncertainty. (The Information)
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said the company could cut its spending on Amazon Web Services as it seeks to streamline its budget. (CNBC)
TV broadcaster E.W. Scripps Co. is shopping podcasting service Stitcher around, amid a surge of interest in the podcasting industry from companies such as Spotify and Sirius XM. (The Information)
Smart Links
Jack Ma dethroned as China’s richest man. (Bloomberg)
Outpatient visits rebound, but specialties like pediatrics lag. (HealthcareDive)
Boston bans government use of facial recognition technology. (Buzzfeed)
College athletes experience positive long-term life outcomes at greater rates than non-athletes. (Gallup)
Sweden’s coronavirus failure started before the pandemic. (Foreign Policy)
Far-UVC light safely kills airborne coronaviruses. (Science Daily)