The World
More than 47,000 U.S. coronavirus cases were announced, the most of any day, as 81% of American adults said they are “very” or “somewhat” concerned about the pandemic. Eight states announced single-day highs, and Tuesday was the fourth time in a week that the U.S. posted a new single-day case record. California officials are increasingly alarmed that the July 4th weekend will overwhelm hospitals. Meanwhile, the Senate voted to extend the PPP loan program by five additional weeks. Goldman Sachs said that a national mandate requiring face coverings would salvage roughly $1 trillion of economic activity. (New York Times, Reuters/Ipsos poll, Los Angeles Times, Finance 202)
Fed Chair Powell told Congress that the U.S. economy’s path remains “extraordinarily uncertain.” Meanwhile, after an initial V-shaped plunge and partial rebound, U.S. activity has since flat-lined, resembling the reverse image of the square root symbol (√). In the UK, the Bank of England said Britain is on track for a V-shaped recovery. (Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, The Times)
U.S. private payrolls rose by 2.369 million in June, while May’s number saw a stunning revision, going from an initially reported loss of 2.76 million to a gain of 3.065 million. Hospitality industry workers saw the biggest gain, with 961,000 hires, while small businesses overall added 937,000. (CNBC)
The U.S. has bought up virtually all the stocks for the next three months of remdesivir, one of the two drugs proven to work against Covid-19, leaving none for the UK, Europe or most of the rest of the world. (The Guardian)
Canada extended its COVID-19 international border closures and mandatory quarantine order. Sweden announced that it will launch an inquiry into its handling of the pandemic before the summer. (Reuters, Deutsche Welle)
Thousands gathered in Hong Kong in anger over Beijing's national security law, as the city marks 23 years since its handover from British to Chinese rule. More than 300 were arrested as police fired rubber bullets, pepper balls. Meanwhile, Britain confirmed its citizenship offer for 3m Hongkongers. (South China Morning Post, The Times)
The Business Roundtable is wading into the policing reform debate, calling on Congress to pass bipartisan policing restructuring before the August recess. (Washington Post)
Americans are deeply unhappy with the state of the nation: The share of the public saying they are satisfied with the way things are going in the country has plummeted from 31% in April, during the early weeks of the coronavirus outbreak, to just 12% today. (Pew Research Center)
Economy & Finance
Global deal-making dropped to lowest level in more than a decade: Companies have struck just $485bn worth of deals since the beginning of April, down more than 50% from the same period last year when close to $1tn deals were agreed. The fall was particularly sharp in the U.S., where overall acquisitions collapsed almost 90% from a year ago, to $75bn. (Financial Times)
Business sentiment among Japan's large manufacturers has plunged to the lowest level in more than a decade, the Bank of Japan's latest Tankan quarterly survey showed. (Nikkei Asian Review)
The revamped trade pact between the U.S., Canada and Mexico that takes effect today was meant to create a kind of fortress North America, boosting the region’s competitiveness - but cracks are already starting to show in the foundation. (Reuters)
Buyout firms aim to score big in sports: As sporting franchises return to action, private equity groups are looking for bargains among the teams and leagues battling with the impact of lockdowns. (Private Equity News)
Mortgage demand fell for the second straight week, signaling a potential slowdown in the housing recovery. (CNBC)
Technology
Facebook said it was banning users and content tied to the boogaloo network and designating it a “dangerous organization.” As part of the ban, the social network said it was removing 220 Facebook accounts, 95 Instagram accounts, 28 Pages and 106 groups, as well as 400 other groups that hosted similar content. (The Information)
The Federal Communications Commission officially designated Huawei and ZTE national security threats. That means that companies cannot use an $8.3 billion government subsidy program, known as the Universal Service Fund, to purchase, maintain or support any equipment or services from the two Chinese telecommunications giants. (CNBC)
YouTube TV is getting another price hike, making its live TV streaming service less competitive with the cable TV services it aims to replace. The company announced today its service would now cost $64.99 per month. (TechCrunch)
Smart Links
Telecommuting exposes fault lines in COVID-19 economy. (MIT Sloan)
Gene-editing shot could protect against heart attacks. (OneZero)
Wearable-tech glove translates sign language into speech in real time. (UCLA)
Netflix to move some cash to Black-owned banks. (Bloomberg)
Plastic recycling from Europe is being dumped in Asian waters. (Science Daily)
Even when women outnumber men, gender bias persists among science undergrads. (Science Daily)