Great Migration
What You Need To Know
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The World
In Senate testimony (watch live), CDC Head Dr. Robert R. Redfield said that “we’re not out of the woods yet,” while Dr. Anthony Fauci indicated a vaccine against the new coronavirus “might take some time” to come to market. (New York Times, Reuters)
The pandemic and remote work boom are accelerating a “Great Migration” from expensive and tax-heavy coastal regions and major cities into more affordable states in the U.S. South and West. The “forced transition” to remote work among white-collar firms will lead employers to reevaluate their approach to real estate and workforce location. (Bloomberg)
The Western States Pact, signed by governors from five Western states, called on the federal government for $1 trillion in aid. (San Jose Mercury News)
In the New York Fed’s latest Survey of Consumer Expectations, Americans’ outlook for the job market and their personal finances suffered substantial deterioration. Meanwhile, consumer prices in April took their biggest drop in history going back to at least 1957. (Wall Street Journal, CNBC)
South Korean exports plunged 46.3% in the first 10 days of May, sparking fears of a second hit to China’s economy. Meanwhile, China’s central bank will intensify policies that will help companies, boost jobs and increase domestic demand. (South China Morning Post, Caixin)
Saudi Aramco, the world’s top oil exporting company, reported a 25% fall in first-quarter net profit. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is tripling its value-added tax rate. (Reuters, Business Insider)
The Supreme Court is hearing arguments on whether President Trump can block the release of his financial records. Listen live here. (New York Times)
Poll finds bipartisan support for many governors, but not those who embraced reopening. (Washington Post-Ipsos poll)
Colleges acceptance rates may go higher as schools aggressively court Class of ‘24 applicants. Meanwhile, University of California President Janet Napolitano recommends suspending the SAT and ACT tests as an admissions requirementuntil 2024 and possible elimination after that. (CNBC, Los Angeles Times)
Economy
AutoNation, the country’s biggest new-car dealership chain, said auto sales improved. Many are buying cars to reduce their use of public transit or shared transportation. (New York Times)
George Soros called the pandemic “the crisis of my lifetime” in an interview addressing China, the U.S., global economy and more. (Project Syndicate)
The New York Fed will buy corporate-bond exchange-traded funds, a notable expansion of its efforts to support the economy and financial system. (Wall Street Journal)
The biggest U.S. mall owner, Simon Property Group, plans to have roughly 50% of its properties reopened again within the next week. (CNBC)
A MIT study aims to answer question, which types of businesses are most worth the risk of reopening? The authors rank businesses and public locations by weighing the danger they present for continued transmission against their economic and social benefit. (Spoiler: It doesn’t look so great for hair salons and barbershops.) (Marker)
Technology
Facebook is helping launch a new political advocacy group to combat U.S. lawmakers trying to rein in the tech industry, arguing that Silicon Valley is essential to the U.S. economy and the future of free speech. (Washington Post)
Disney will stream the Broadway blockbuster “Hamilton” on Disney+ service on July 3, a year before its planned theatrical release. Meanwhile, cord-cutting hit a record high as businesses reduced cable and satellite bills. (Wall Street Journal, Axios)
Uber has approached Grubhub with a takeover offer and could reach an agreement as soon as this month. (Bloomberg)
Tesla CEO Elon Musk dared officials to arrest him and reopoened a Tesla factory in defiance of county orders. (TechCrunch)
Smart Links
The office is dead. Get ready for the commercial real estate apocalypse. (Marker)
Doctors treat Parkinson’s with a novel brain cell transplant, a medical first. (STAT News)
Owners approve 82-game MLB season to start in July. Premier League stars won’t train because of coronavirus fears. (ESPN, Daily Mail)
Our weird pandemic behavior is screwing with AI models. (MIT Technology Review)
Air travel is going to be very bad, for a very long time. (The Atlantic)
Apple’s rumored over-ear headphones have a name: AirPods Studio.(9to5Mac)
Good News
Nirvana and Foo Fighters musician Dave Grohl wants rock concerts: “I don’t know when it will be safe to return to singing arm in arm at the top of our lungs, hearts racing, bodies moving, souls bursting with life. But I do know that we will do it again, because we have to.” (The Atlantic)
Mary Fierros, an original “Rosie the Riveter” from World War II, turned 100 and got a parade. (San Jose Mercury News)
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