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6 Minutes or Less: Poverty in Coronavirus Age
This newsletter-only feature will be available only to paid subscribers: I ask a thought leader or expert to educate/enlighten/explain an issue via audio in 6 Minutes or Less.
Issue: People living in NYC’s poorest neighborhoods are “dying from coronavirus at more than double the rate of more affluent neighborhoods,” Politico reported. Globally, an estimated 2 billion people are at risk of “abject poverty, according to the NY Times.
Question: What does it mean to live in poverty in the age of coronavirus?
Guest: Lauren Sandler is an award-winning journalist based in Brooklyn, and the author of This Is All I Got, a book of narrative nonfiction about a young homeless mother in New York.
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The World
The U.S. economy shrank even faster than initially estimated in 1Q20, with GDP falling at an annual rate of 5%. Economists expect a worse outcome this quarter. Meanwhile, breaking precedent, the White House won’t release formal economic projections this summer that would forecast extent of downturn. (CNBC, Washington Post)
New jobless claims declined to a seasonally adjusted 2.1 million last week from 2.4 million the prior week. Total initial claims since March topped 40 million. The Fed’s Beige Book survey suggests a significant number of the overall job losses will be permanent. (Wall Street Journal, Finance 202)
The Paycheck Protection Program largely missed the neediest businesses it aimed to save with its first round. Per a S&P Global report, 63% of the PPP’s initial $350 billion in forgivable loans went to sectors less effected by the shutdowns. The loans also skewed toward larger businesses. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said the House and Senate are close on a PPP loan extension. (Finance 202, Bloomberg)
China passed legislation to extend the country's opaque national security law to Hong Kong, as the National People’s Congress annual session closed. The law would prohibit acts of secession, subversion, terrorism or conspiring with foreign influences in Hong Kong. (Nikkei Asian Review, South China Morning Post)
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s post-NPC press conference did not address ongoing anti-government protests in Hong Kong, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s announcement that Washington no longer considered Hong Kong autonomous from Beijing, the China-India standoff, the Belt and Road Initiative or China’s relations with Europe. (South China Morning Post)
The China-India border dispute is getting more serious. (Economist)
The U.S. is ending sanctions waivers that allow Russian, Chinese and European companies to work on sensitive Iranian nuclear sites, dealing another major blow to the Iran nuclear deal and raising the prospect of covert advances in Tehran’s nuclear program. (Washington Post)
During a second night of violent protests in Minneapolis, one person died after being shot by a store owner. Many businesses were looted and some were in flames early today. Mayor Jacob Frey asked the governor to consider calling in the National Guard and called for a fired officer's arrest in George Floyd's death. (Star Tribune)
From City Lab:
After Trump's attacks, Republicans are much more skeptical than Democrats their ballots will count if cast by mail and less confident they will be able to vote in November’s election if their state switches to all-mail voting. (Reuters/Ipsos poll)
Only about half of Americans say they would get a COVID-19 vaccine: 31% weren’t sure if they’d get vaccinated. Another 1 in 5 said they’d refuse. (Associated Press-NORC Poll)
The UK suffers the highest death rate from coronavirus, ahead of US, Italy, Spain and Belgium. The U.S. reached 100,000 dead. (Financial Times)
Economy
Paul Krugman is pretty upbeat about the economy. Nouriel Roubini says the economy may be headed for a decade of depression. (Bloomberg, New York Magazine)
American Airlines to cut 30% of management and administrative staff. Popeyes U.S. same-store sales soar more than 40%. (Wall Street Journal, CNBC)
The UK is not Europe’s top destination for foreign investment for the first time in more than two decades after being overtaken by France. (The Times)
Most CNN employees will not return to their offices this year. (Hollywood Reporter)
Technology
Zuckerberg and Dorsey clash as Trump order looms: Tensions escalate between Facebook and Twitter founders ahead of US president’s threatened action. (Financial Times)
Chinese rival launches TikTok challenger: Kuaishou, the $30 billion startup that’s the second-largest social video app in China, launched Zynn, an app that allows users to upload, edit and share short videos. Within a month of its start, the app has become the topmost downloaded iOS app in the U.S. (The Information)
Amazon plans to offer permanent jobs to about 70% of the U.S. workforce it hired temporarily to meet consumer demand during the pandemic — some 125,000 warehouse employees. (Reuters)
COVID-19 is “the perfect storm for the diffusion of false rumour and fake news.” Researchers use explosion coronavirus misinformation to study how misinformation works. (Nature)
Smart Links
Mount Everest height may change. (Outside)
Dinosaur-dooming asteroid struck Earth at ‘deadliest possible’ angle. (Imperial College London)
People who compare themselves with others spend longer on Facebook. (New Scientist)
Will coronavirus finally kill off global supply chains? (Financial Times)
The epic battle against misinformation and conspiracy theories. (Nature)
Champagne sales expect to sink by 1/3. (Reuters)
Good News
Appalachian Trail reopens to day-trippers. (Washington Post)
Premier League to restart on 17 June with Man City v Arsenal. (BBC)
Rarely heard narwhal vocalizations. (Science Daily)
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