The World
U.S. coronavirus numbers are increasing in 39 states, as Florida reported 15,300 new cases, blowing past the previous high — 12,274 by NY on April 4 — by 24.6%. Houston’s mayor called for a 2-week shutdown to reduce spread, as 85 U.S. Defense Dept. medics will help at local hospitals. Globally, Mexico surpassed Italy to post world's fourth-highest death toll, and Disney will close Hong Kong Disneyland again as cases rise. Meanwhile, less than half of Americans always wear masks in public, while women, Democrats, and Northeasterners are most likely to always use them. (New York Times, Miami Herald, Houston Chronicle, Reuters, CNBC, Gallup)
The FDA granted ‘fast-track’ status to two covid-19 vaccine candidates developed by American drugmaker Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, raising the possibility that a successful vaccine could be put into production by year’s end or early 2021. (Washington Post)
As Phoenix set a daily heat record at 116 degrees, scientists cite 3 reasons why hopes that summer would reduce Covid-19 cases didn’t occur: Population immunity levels, how the virus is transmitted, and how people behave. (AZ Central, Wall Street Journal)
The EU is discussing new measures against China, after Germany’s president warned Beijing of “sustained, negative” ties with the West. Separately, a U.S. surveillance aircraft passed close to China’s southern province in a rare operation as Taiwan launched a major military exercise — and Hong Kong activist Nathan Law says he arrived in London. Meanwhile, China announced “corresponding sanctions” against the U.S., targeting Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, and Ambassador at Large Sam Brownback. (South China Morning Post, South China Morning Post, Nikkei Asian Review, Reuters)
Polish President Andrzej Duda won five more years in power on a socially conservative, religious platform in a closely fought election that makes renewed confrontation with the European Commission likely. (Reuters)
The world’s biggest companies are set to borrow an extra $1 trillion this year, as with the corporate sector already owing $10tn, many businesses are doubling down on new loans to survive. (The Times, Financial Times)
Economy & Finance
Trading is set to triumph in U.S. banks’ quarterly earnings, though the gains will be overshadowed by another bumper period of loan-loss provisions stemming from pandemic. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs announced its first sports endorsement with PGA Tour golfer Patrick Cantlay. (Financial Times, CNBC)
Investors seeking shelter from market turbulence have found a new haven: Chinese sovereign bonds. Foreign capital flowed into locally denominated Chinese government bonds in the second quarter at the fastest pace since late 2018, surpassing 4.3 trillion yuan ($619 billion), the highest on record. (Wall Street Journal)
For most CEOs, particularly those with operations disposed to allowing work-from-home options, the best strategy will likely follow a model that blends the resiliency and flexibility of telework while not losing the productivity gains and culture investments they’ve made building their offices over the past decade. Tips: Take a clean-sheet approach; prioritize the culture; and beware of creating haves and have-nots. (Chief Executive)
Colm Kelleher wanted to get out of Morgan Stanley before the recession hit. The former president of the Wall Street bank has new plans for the ‘final third’ of his career. (Financial Times)
Technology
Google will invest $10bn in India over the next 5-7 years as part of its ‘India Digitization Fund,’ seeking to tighten its ties to one of the last great untapped digital markets. (Financial Times, Wall Street Journal)
SiriusXM will acquire Stitcher from E.W. Scripps for $325 million, a return of more than double Scripps’ investment in podcasting. This comes less than a month SiriusXM picked up Simplecast for its podcast distribution and analytics tools. (TechCrunch)
Britain’s telecom companies may push the Government to scrap its initial targets to strip most Huawei kit from their networks by 2023 if tighter restrictions are announced this week, fearing network outages and security risks. (The Telegraph, TechCrunch)
Inside SEO: Google search upgrades make it harder for websites to win traffic, as a push for quicker answers and more ad revenue has made it more expensive for online businesses to reach consumers. (Bloomberg)
Smart Links
How Intel got blindsided and lost Apple’s business. (Marker)
Seven rules of Zoom meeting etiquette from the pros. (Wall Street Journal)
UK housebuyers look to swap cities for suburbs. (Financial Times)
Israel uses AI to flag high-risk covid-19 patients. (MIT Technology Review)
Tech execs’ salaries. (Bloomberg)
Hispanics account for more than half of total U.S. population growth since 2010. (Pew Research)
The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty: We get it lads, it’s like Succession. The BBC documentary looks into Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, his marriages and his squabbling heirs. (The Guardian)