The World
New U.S. virus cases have gone up 80 percent in the past two weeks. Alarmed by the Sun Belt spike, NY and NJ are reconsidering their pace of reopening, and Los Angeles County projects possibly running out of hospital beds in 2 to 3 weeks. Nationally, while 48% say the situation is getting worse, up 11 points in one week, 39% say they "always" social distance, which has held steady for past three weeks. Meanwhile, the EU will open its borders to visitors from 15 countries tomorrow, but not those from the U.S., Brazil or Russia. (NYT, NYT, Los Angeles Times, Gallup, NYT)
As Capitol Hill and the White House remain divided about the necessity of pumping out more federal money, Fed Chair Jerome Powell stressed the importance of keeping the contagion contained in remarks prepared for House testimony today. (Finance 202, Washington Post)
UK’s Boris Johnson will announce a £5 billion programme of accelerated capital spending, a move that echoes Franklin D Roosevelt’s New Deal. Meanwhile, in their first face-to-face meeting since the pandemic’s start, German Chancellor Merkel and French President Macron said they will negotiate a rapid recovery package agreement for the 27-nation bloc that leaves no country behind. (The Times, Associated Press)
President Xi Jinping signed the national security legislation Beijing has tailor-made for Hong Kong into law. The UK, EU and NATO expressed concern and anger over the law, which is being placed in Hong Kong's mini-constitution, criminalizing sedition and effectively curtailing protests. The U.S. suspended regulations allowing Hong Kong to import U.S. tech. (South China Morning Post, BBC, SCMP)
A new strain of flu — carried by pigs — that has the potential to become a pandemic has been identified in China by scientists. (BBC)
Privacy study: People in Germany place the highest value on privacy globally. Across countries, people place the highest value on keeping financial and biometric information private — balance and fingerprint data in particular. Location privacy turned out to be among the least valuable to people. Women value privacy more than men do; older people value privacy more than younger people. (Social Science Research Network)
Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden told potential donors to his campaign that his administration would end most of President Donald Trump’s multitrillion-dollar tax cuts – even though “a lot of you may not like that.” (CNBC)
Economy & Finance
China is preparing to allow its largest commercial banks to enter into investment banking, bond, and stock deal-making, as investment banking fees soared to a record $57bn in 1H20. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs will maintain dividends despite the Fed’s capital demands, as the bank says it can meet extra cushion needs after stress tests. (Bloomberg, Financial Times, Financial Times)
U.S. companies are filing for bankruptcy at their fastest rate since 2013, as the International Labour Organization said employment will not return to pre-pandemic levels in 2020. Meanwhile, U.S. consumer confidence rose more than expected in June as the Conference Board’s index reached 98.1. European stocks wrapped up their best quarter in five years. (Financial Times, Reuters, CNBC, CNBC)
The employment-population ratio — the number of employed people as a percentage of the U.S. adult population — plunged to 52.8% in May, meaning 47.2% of Americans are jobless. “To get the employment-to-population ratio back to where it was at its peak in 2000, we need to create 30 million jobs,” Deutsche Bank’s chief economist said. (CNBC)
Risk: How can small businesses be preserved following the crisis? Three Wharton Risk Management and Decision Processes Center scholars propose a forward-looking public-private partnership that would provide protection against catastrophic losses from business interruption. The partnership would turn to the private market for covering the first layer of losses, with the public sector providing protection against losses that stress the financial capabilities of insurers. (Brink News)
Technology
Almost a third of the world’s biggest brands will suspend spending on social media or are likely to do so, according to a survey of top advertisers that reveals the scale of the revolt facing Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter. Microsoft, Ford, and Pepsi joined the Facebook ad boycott. Full list here. (Financial Times, Hollywood Reporter)
Facebook is changing its algorithm and will update the way news stories are ranked in its News Feed to prioritize original reporting. It will also demote stories that aren't transparent about who has written them. (Axios)
The New York Times exited its partnership with Apple News, as news organizations struggle to compete with large tech companies. Starting yesterday, Times articles no longer appeared alongside those from other publications in the curated Apple News feed. (NYT)
Uber is in discussions to buy Postmates for about $2.6 billion, the latest in a rapid-fire series of moves to consolidate the food-delivery industry. (WSJ)
Pinterest hired outside lawyers to investigate the company’s workplace culture following complaints from former employees who say they faced racial discrimination. The investigation will be led a WilmerHale attorney who previously served as Associate Deputy AG during the Obama administration. (Bloomberg)
Smart Links
It’s Chief Justice Roberts’ court. (NYT)
FDA outlines conditions for approving a Covid-19 vaccine. (Wall Street Journal)
Group streaming is the new craze. (Axios No. 7)
The South Pole is warming 3x faster than the rest of the planet. (Science Alert)
Wearable-tech glove translates sign language into speech in real time. (UCLA)
Broadway will remain closed through the rest of the year. (NYT)