The World
The economy shed more than 20.5 million jobs in April, sending the unemployment rate to 14.7 percent — devastation unseen since the Great Depression. The health-care sector shed a record number of jobs as medical facilities halted elective procedures and doctors’ and dentists’ offices closed. (New York Times, Wall Street Journal)
Gen Z workers at small businesses have been hit hardest by layoffs, as workers under the age of 25 have experienced a 93% higher rate of layoffs than those ages 35 and older. Meanwhile, 52 percent of small businesses predict that they will close within the next six months. (HR Dive, SHRM)
US-China trade negotiators vowed to save the Phase One Deal on their first call during pandemic. China is not close to meeting US purchase demands, with supply chains disrupted on both sides. (South China Morning Post)
The Bank of England warned that the crisis will push the UK economy into worst recession in 300 years, with output plunging almost 30% in the first six months of this year. (Financial Times)
Brazil’s Economy Minister warned it could face "economic collapse" in a month's time, with food shortages and "social disorder.” (AFP)
A drop in FAFSA completions suggests students are postponing or abandoning college. (Forbes)
Finance
First, J. Crew. Now Neiman Marcus. Flashing red: J.C. Penney, Hertz and many more. A wave of U.S. bankruptcies builds toward worst run in many years. (Bloomberg)
The two-year Treasury yield settled at a record low, as traders price in the possibility that the Fed will cut its policy rate below zero. (Wall Street Journal)
Mortgage rates are at record lows, but borrowers are running into the toughest loan-approval standards in years. Lenders have implemented higher credit-score and down payment requirements, and in some cases stopped issuing certain types of loans altogether, in effect shutting down a large swath of the market. (Bloomberg)
A third of Americans didn't pay their rent or mortgage in May. (Vice)
The Bank of England has teed up the markets for another £100 billion of quantitative easing in June. (The Times)
Technology
Apple shifts some 30% of AirPod production from China to Vietnam to diversify its supply chain. (Nikkei Asian Review)
Google's parent company Alphabet abandoned a controversial plan to build a “smart city” on the waterfront of Toronto blaming “economic uncertainty.” (The Daily Telegraph)
Facebook will allow most employees to work from home through end of 2020. (CNBC)
Smart Links
Why North Dakota has the best internet in the U.S. (Vice)
Telescopes and spacecraft probe deep into Jupiter's atmosphere. (NASA)
Five best science books this week. (Nature)
New Harvard interactive tool measures economic movement in real time. (Harvard Gazette)
Geopolitics and technology threaten America’s financial dominance. (The Economist)
How V-E Day echoed around the world. (New York Times)