China’s rubber-stamp legislature approved sweeping national security laws in Hong Kong, defying condemnation of a move democracy advocates and residents of the former British territory warn will allow Beijing to crush free speech, freedom of assembly and a free press. Demonstrators have begun calling for independence from the mainland, while the White House has threatened unspecified action. —David E. Rovella Bloomberg is mapping the pandemic globally and across America. For the latest news, sign up for our Covid-19 podcast and daily newsletter. Here are today’s top storiesU.S. unemployment claims shrank for the first time during the coronavirus pandemic as some return to work, though millions more Americans filed for benefits and tens of millions remain jobless. U.S. Covid-19 infections continue to increase at about the same rate as the past week’s average, while Texas cases spiked. Egypt saw its biggest one day jump with 1,127 new cases while Moscow revised its death count higher. One-third of Russians polled, however, think the threat of the virus, which has killed 358,000 worldwide, is overblown. Former Vice President Joe Biden said he hopes to select his running mate by Aug. 1. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said the commission he appointed to oversee the search has already interviewed a list of potential candidates. GlaxoSmithKline said it plans to produce 1 billion doses of a vaccine adjuvant, a booster that can help any brand of shot, to support immunization against the Covid-19 pandemic.Cisco Systems is in advanced talks to buy software company ThousandEyes for almost $1 billion. It began in mid-March when Exxon Mobil and Verizon sold a combined $12 billion of bonds in one day. Others quickly followed, emboldened by the Fed, and before long, deals were being rushed out at a clip never before seen. On Thursday, that boom reached a milestone: $1 trillion worth of investment-grade corporate debt sales were brought to market in the first 149 days of the year. What can one year in one neighborhood tell us about how the pandemic will remake America? Bloomberg Businessweek is going to find out, in a commercial district of Seattle. What you’ll need to know tomorrowThis is why New York City was hit harder than anywhere in the world.Masks may become a permanent part of Big Apple culture.The Swiss say sex work is okay now, but not sports.U.S. renewables beat coal for the first time since the 19th century.A Macau gambling empire now goes to the dead king’s daughter.Doomed Pakistan jet scraped runway at 200 mph with its gear up.It’s beginning to look like Coachella may be cancelled.What you’ll want to read in Bloomberg Markets
A deadly microscopic predator sent humans into hiding and slammed the brakes on global commerce. Economic destruction like this hasn’t been seen since the Great Depression. Bloomberg Markets illustrates the coronavirus’s effect on basic metrics such as gross domestic product and unemployment, the collapse in fuel demand, the adoption of telehealth and the surge in liquor purchases. An economy, in other words, built on fear. Like Bloomberg’s Evening Briefing? 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.
How are global investors and financial regulators navigating the current financial landscape, and what’s on the horizon for global markets? Hear from U.S. Securities and Exchange Chairman Jay Clayton, Jenny Johnson of Franklin Templeton and David Hunt of PGIM on June 2 in the latest installment of our virtual series, Bloomberg Invest Talks. 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. | 