| When summer fades in the U.S. and Europe, the subsequent Covid-19 resurgence could be worse than the first wave as people shelter together from the cold, lessons from Australia show. The same aggressive measures that President Donald Trump and Republican state governors ignored have helped authorities in places like Vietnam beat back the virus. Mumbai’s poorest areas may have one of the highest levels of herd immunity worldwide, while Hong Kong, now under a "national security law" imposed by Beijing, delayed a legislative election for a year, citing the coronavirus as a reason. Trump’s trial balloon about unconstitutionally postponing his own country’s election was shot down by everyone. What you’ll want to read this weekend The pandemic has ravaged business worldwide. The U.S. economy suffered its sharpest downturn since records began, but White America got a head start on the government’s small-business relief program. Germany had the worst slump in half a century as the virus sent the euro-area economy into a deep recession.
As the economy slumped, big tech grew even bigger and that landed Robinhood traders a win. The antitrust scrutiny shouldn’t just focus on the “Fab Four,” Noah Smith writes in Bloomberg Opinion. In China, regulators are said to be weighing an antitrust probe into Ant Group’s Alipay and Tencent’s WeChat Pay. In the U.S., Microsoft and others are mulling buying TikTok, but Trump said he wants it banned anyway.
With tens of millions of Americans unemployed, a massive rush to freelancer sites has resulted in everyone getting paid less. Some people are worried they’ve got too much in cash, and small business owners are relying on their personal credit cards to survive. One thing’s for sure: work-life balance has changed forever.
From pets to sex to celebrity bad behavior, Bloomberg Businessweek tells the shocking secrets of what happens aboard private jets. For anyone wanting to pay a little more and go a little higher, Virgin Galactic has already sold 600 tickets for its jaunt into space. Meanwhile, NASA launched its latest Mars rover, which will try to make oxygen on the red planet.
It looks like the world is falling out of love with beef, and that’s good for the planet. Walmart begins selling Impossible Foods’ plant-based burger in over 2,000 stores. But if you still crave a Sweet and Smoky Cheeseburger, here’s a recipe from George W. Bush’s former chef. What you’ll need to know next week SpaceX astronauts return to Earth in a triumph for Elon Musk. The earnings flood continues with Uber, Disney and Bristol-Myers. The Bank of England holds what could be a crucial meeting. Samsung releases its 5G pocket foldable phone in a virtual event. The U.S. July jobs report could show a gain, but don’t be fooled. What you’ll want to read in Businessweek For the economy, anyway. The pandemic spawned predictions that stay-at-home orders would eventually deliver a baby bump. Yet far from having more kids than usual, Americans are expecting fewer. The U.S. could see 500,000 fewer births next year, which will have economic repercussions long after the crisis is over. Like Bloomberg’s Weekend Reading? Subscribe to Bloomberg All Access and get much, much more. You’ll receive our unmatched global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. The best in-depth reporting from Asia Pacific and beyond, delivered to your inbox every Friday. Sign up here for The Reading List. Download the Bloomberg app: It’s available for iOS and Android. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. Learn more. | 