The World
Employment stunningly rose by 2.5 million in May and the jobless rate declined to 13.3%, far better than economists had been expecting and indicated that an economic turnaround could be close at hand. (CNBC, Wall Street Journal)
Restaurants and bars, health care employers and construction were among the sectors that drove the job market improvement. About 1.4 million people gained or took back their restaurant jobs, even as hotels continued to shed workers. About 460,000 were hired or rehired in construction, 370,000 in retail, and 390,000 in health care and social assistance. That latter boost came heavily from dentist’s offices, which took back some 245,000 workers. Unemployment for black workers continued to rise, while the Black-white economic divide is as wide as it was in 1968. (New York Times, Washington Post)
Politicians, civil rights legends and pro athletes joined family members at a Minneapolis memorial to mourn George Floyd, while new abuses are caught on camera. (Star Tribune, Washington Post)
Airlines from America to Australia are ramping up June and July flights, boosting hopes for a pickup in tourist traffic even as bigger-spending business and global travel remains sluggish. (Reuters)
The latest Brexit talks between the U.K. and EU are set to finish without a breakthrough, with both sides stuck on trade and other crucial issues after another week of difficult negotiations. (Bloomberg)
Japan's fertility rate fell for the fourth straight year, reaching its lowest level in 12 years as births fall below 900,000 2 years ahead of expectations. (Nikkei Asian Review)
State-backed hackers from China have targeted Biden campaign staffers, while Iranian hackers recently targeted Trump campaign staff email accounts, Google said. (Reuters)
Economy & Investing
Companies that protected their labor forces and supply chains during this year’s stock-market drawdown saw more net inflows from institutional investors and better returns than their industry peers. “ESG is not a fad,” said Harvard Business School Professor George Serafeim. (Wall Street Journal)
Simon Property Group, the country’s largest mall owner, filed a lawsuit against Gap over unpaid rent and other charges it says amount to $66 million. (Wall Street Journal)
The U.S. public-pension funding crisis has worsened, as funding ratios fall while the cost of provision has risen. Meanwhile, debt-repayment problems are increasing among borrowers in the rapidly growing market for private credit. (The Economist, Wall Street Journal)
Hong Kong’s monetary authority stepped into the financial market twice on Friday to rein back the local currency ahead of several blockbuster initial public offerings on the local stock exchange. (South China Morning Post)
In testimony before the Senate's health and education committee, college presidents outlined plans to reopen campuses, highlighting the need for robust testing for the virus, contact-tracing measures and social-distancing tactics. (EducationDive)
Technology
Zoom is in advanced talks with Google to use its cybersecurity service. (The Information)
Slack announced an integration deal with Amazon, amid increased competition from Microsoft Teams. Amazon employees will start using Slack, while Slack will increase use of Amazon Web Services and migrate voice and video calling features to Amazon Chime. (The Verge)
Fifty-two percent of U.S. adults say they are very concerned about fake video, up from 35% in June of 2019. (Civic Science)
As China’s access to international markets has grown more unreliable, Chinese e-commerce platforms are partnering with manufacturers to launch their own domestic brands. (MIT Technology Review)
Elon Musk blasted Amazon and its founder Jeff Bezos — tweeting it’s time to break up Amazon — after the online retail giant rejected a book about the coronavirus pandemic. (Wall Street Journal)
Smart Links
Readers flock to books about race relations. (Wall Street Journal)
NBA restarts July 31 with 22 teams; MLB players reject baseball plan. (ESPN, ESPN)
Soviet military program secretly mapped the entire world. (National Geographic)
Origin of Martian moon Phobos. (Science Daily)
What Apple learned from automation: Humans are better. (The Information)
How the Plague gave rise to British pub culture. (Atlas Obscura)