A year into the pandemic, the U.S. may be close to emerging from the economic hole dug by the coronavirus, and on the path to its biggest expansion in decades. President Joe Biden set July 4 as a goal for the country to begin returning to normal, with all adults eligible for vaccines by May 1. After the passage of his $1.9 trillion rescue bill, qualifying Americans may see their $1,400 payment as early as this weekend, though an estimated 8 million people were left out at the last minute. The coming rebound, however, worries some stock investors who have to recalibrate due to rising treasury yields. Still, millions remain without work and the pandemic continues to rage. In Europe, Italy is considering a return to lockdown as infections rise, and Hong Kong just sent hundreds of people into quarantine after an outbreak hit banks and gyms. Bloomberg is tracking the progress of coronavirus vaccines while mapping the pandemic globally and across America. What you’ll want to read this weekendThe AstraZeneca vaccine is facing a series of setbacks after Thailand, Italy and Denmark temporarily halted its use following reports of possible blood clots. European regulators still back administering the vaccine. In the U.S., where more than 100 million doses have been administered, an online platform emerged to match vaccine seekers with leftover shots. A group of hackers breached thousands of security cameras, gaining access to live feeds inside a Tesla warehouse, hospitals, police departments, prisons and schools. Separately, Microsoft is warning of a new threat against unpatched networks following a recent global attack on its business email software allegedly perpetrated by hackers backed by the Chinese government. Anyone can get famous on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, but it turns out that it’s harder to make a living that way if you’re Black. New data exposed precisely how White and male some U.S. companies are, and big tech companies are importing India’s caste legacy to Silicon Valley. New York City restaurants, with indoor dining slowly resuming despite warnings from medical experts that it’s too soon, saw millennials coming back to order pricey wine. As New York state’s laser hair removal salons gear up for summer business, hoping to make up for lockdown losses, they may soon see expensive licensing and education requirements for the very first time. Empty tables await diners at a restaurant in Manhattan on March 1. Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty Images North America A digital certificate of Beeple’s artwork was sold for $69 million, blasting crypto art records. The art market of non-fungible tokens, or NFT, is all about the hype, Bloomberg columnist Leonid Bershidsky writes in Bloomberg Opinon. What you’ll need to know next weekAngela Merkel’s party could tumble in Germany state elections. WHO set to release report on coronavirus origins. Biden’s team will meet with Chinese officials in Alaska. Fed Chair likely to reaffirm nontightening policy stance. Sotheby’s plans to auction a Ming dynasty bowl found at a yard sale.What you’ll want to read in Bloomberg EqualityImpax Asset Management moved swiftly last year to zero in on women’s job losses as Covid-19 swept across the U.S. Money managers at the firm reached out to corporate executives, asking them about their labor practices, with a particular focus on issues such as paid leave and flexible-work arrangements. Now, Impax is among investment managers seeking to highlight that the inequalities exacerbated by the coronavirus aren’t just a critical social problem, but also bad for business. Like getting Weekend Reading? Subscribe to Bloomberg.com for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and gain expert analysis from exclusive subscriber-only newsletters. Bloomberg New Economy Conversations with Andrew Browne: Big Pharma joined with governments to deliver coronavirus shots in record time. The successful moonshot could spur future research into other affordable drugs to treat global diseases. Join us March 23 at 10 a.m. ET when Katalin Karikó, senior vice president of Covid vaccine pioneer BioNTech, and others discuss Vaccine Miracles and the New Promise of Science. Register here. 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. |