fortune--2020-03-18--Your tips for working from home…with kids

Good morning, Broadsheet readers! The Wing’s feminist mission reportedly did not always translate to its workers, the prime minister of Norway answers kids’ questions about coronavirus, and you shared your tips for working from home with kids around. Have a nice Wednesday.
– WFH/child care tips. The Wall Street Journal has declared a new normal: “working from home with kids underfoot.”
So, how’s your new normal going?
We asked you all on Monday to weigh in on the unprecedented experiment currently under way, in which work-from-home directives and school closures have isolated families together amid the coronavirus spread. Many of you responded, to offer tips or just to commiserate about the challenges posed by the situation.
As for the tips, scheduling, many of you said, is key:
E.G. says her family has tried to “automate” as much as possible by coming up with a structured day. “I’ve even mapped out all of my soon-to-be 5-year-old’s snacks each day and am packing his lunch at night. Anything to eliminate decision making during the day so my brain can focus as much as possible on work.”
The outbreak has prompted lots of offers of help, but it’s important to remember that it’s O.K. to ask for help too, even if it’s not in-person.
“Don’t underestimate the power of virtual babysitting via Facetime,” says R.S. “My parents have kept my little ones (4 and 2) entertained for half-hour stretches with my phone or iPad set up on a stand, and they just shout my name very loudly if anything crazy happens.”
And who among us could not use nifty life-hacks right now:
“Consider deputizing your kids as your official interns and giving them work. If you have a home computer, get them to open up an excel sheet or PowerPoint and let them play around. My daughter loves being ‘in office’ with me at home,” says B.D.
“I put up a sign on the back of my laptop that lets [my elementary school-age kids] know when I am on video [calls] so they know not to bother me,” writes D.O. “It works most of the time.”
These arrangements may lead to fun work-arounds and impressive parenting wins, but it all remains incredibly hard.
“As a startup founder, we are seriously impacted with our fundraising and no investor meetings,” says S.K.
Another Broadsheet reader admitted to having “underlying resentment” about being “the default one to take care of the baby.”
“I’m already burned out in general in trying to continue to expand my business,” she said, “and this whole virus is slowly taking our lives hostage.”
Indeed, nothing about this is easy, though the sudden togetherness may also present unexpected opportunities.
“My cousin in Hong Kong shared that over the six weeks of family isolation they grew closer, but there were moments of hysteria, tears, and frustration. So I guess my view is BRING IT ON! BRING IT ON!,” says L.Y.
A.B. says she’s trying to embrace that she’s now home with her 7-month-old. “[T]his will be the most uninterrupted time I’ve had with her since my maternity leave and I’m looking forward to watching her grow and develop (and maybe start to really crawl).”
No doubt we’re all flying blind through this once-in-a-generation moment. What we do have is each other and this platform, so the Broadsheet is committed to sharing advice on how to navigate.
Up next is a topic alluded to above: stress. As the pandemic continues to upend daily life, how are you coping with the stress that’s accompanying it? What outlets are best for relief? What tactics have you employed to keep it in check? Send us your best practices—to broadsheet@fortune.com—and we may feature them in a future Broadsheet.
Be well,
Claire Zillman
claire.zillman@fortune.com
@clairezillman
Today’s Broadsheet was produced by Emma Hinchliffe.
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
- Winging it. The New York Times' Amanda Hess investigates what it's like to work for The Wing; is it as much of a feminist utopia as the co-working space tries to seem for its members? The answer, according to her reporting: definitely not. Employees describe a pattern of excitement to work for a company whose values were aligned with their own and disappointment when those values weren't upheld. Former employees also criticize the leadership of CEO Audrey Gelman, who last month wrote an op-ed about her company's challenges; in this story, she says, "It’s hard to hear that people have had this experience." New York Times
- Answering kids' questions. Erna Solberg, the prime minister of Norway, gave a remarkable press conference specifically devoted to children's questions about the coronavirus crisis. She answered questions like "can I have a birthday party?" and "can I visit my grandparents?" and told her viewers, "It is OK to be scared." Reuters
- Upset in Illinois. Former management consultant Marie Newman defeated eight-term congressman Dan Lipinsky (D–Ill.) in the state's primary last night, unseating one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress. It was a rematch for Newman, who sought to oust Lipinski in 2018 but lost. The district leans heavily Democratic, so Newman, who was backed by abortion-rights and women's groups, is likely to be elected to the House. Associated Press
- The Weinstein effect. Can you believe it was only last week that Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison? In Fortune, Dan Reilly analyzes how Weinstein’s sentencing could change the entertainment industry. Advocates expect better rules protecting performers and crew members, more bystander reporting, and more diversity among those in power. Fortune
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Aura hired Anne Myong, former SVP and CFO for Walmart’s global e-commerce business as, CFO. Channel Bakers named Sarah LaVallee VP of client success.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
- Dress for success. What does "dressing for work" mean now? NYT fashion critic Vanessa Friedman and retail reporter Sapna Maheshwari discuss. Mascara and lip gloss for video calls? Slightly nicer athleisure than what you'd usually wear to the gym? Full-blown work attire? They break down the options: New York Times
- Reproductive records. Sen. Bernie Sanders writes for Jezebel about the fight for reproductive freedom, criticizing Joe Biden's record on abortion. Sanders says that he has been in favor of abortion rights since Roe v. Wade in 1972 and rehashes Biden's only very recent abandonment of the Hyde Amendment. Jezebel
- Release relief. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian woman who has been jailed in Iran since 2016 on suspicion of being a spy, was temporarily released until April 4. She's required to wear an ankle monitor and stay near her parents' house in Tehran. Iran released some people from its prisons as it attempts to control the coronavirus outbreak. BuzzFeed
- Read it and weep. Reese Witherspoon is on the cover of Vanity Fair, talking about her empire built from book adaptations. Author Ann Patchett writes the profile: Vanity Fair
ON MY RADAR
Dressing up is making me feel better The Cut
Someday, we'll look back on all of this and write a novel New York Times
The end of the Bernie Bro Jezebel
PARTING WORDS
"I’m a positive person and I don’t really focus on the potential downsides here. I wasn’t scared."
-Jennifer Haller, the first person to receive an experimental coronavirus vaccine


fortune--2020-03-18--How China bent over backward to help Tesla when the coronavirus hit

There are still more questions than answers about the costs of coronavirus testing

After the coronavirus outbreak caused a nationwide shortage of face masks in January, Chinese officials were quick to ensure that Tesla Inc. wouldn’t be left without.
China’s government helped the California-based carmaker secure the sought-after supplies that allowed it to reopen at a time when many of its competitors were still shut down. Tesla received 10,000 masks, cases of disinfectant that require a government permit, thermometers and other materials that allowed the company to restart its factory near Shanghai the first working day after the extended Lunar New Year break, according to state-run media.
The support for Tesla — which also included providing accommodation for some employees as the outbreak snowballed — is emblematic of China’s wider embrace of Elon Musk’s car venture. The billionaire has waged a charm offensive since deciding to build his first plant outside the U.S. in China, home to the world’s biggest electric-vehicle market, and has been rewarded with the support of officials even as the trade war strained relations with the U.S.
That backing is crucial for Musk’s vision to make China a centerpiece of his automotive ambitions, but also serves a purpose for Beijing, with Tesla’s new factory south of Shanghai becoming a symbol of the government’s efforts to open the economy to global competition and be the world’s EV pioneer.
“Given Tesla’s image of having advanced electric-vehicle technology and expected strong demand for made-in-China Tesla Model 3s this year, no local government anywhere in the world would neglect such a new project,” said Yale Zhang, founder of AutoForesight, a Shanghai-based consultancy.
‘All Efforts’
As Beijing pushed local authorities to get the country back to work last month, officials in Lingang singled out Tesla as an example of their success in helping the area’s industry to recover.
The management committee of Lingang “will make all efforts to help key companies including Tesla return to normal production,” Xu Wei, a spokesperson for the Shanghai municipal government, said at a briefing in February. Tesla representatives in China declined to comment on the help it received from authorities.
Tesla has been impacted along with the broader auto sector in China as the virus prompts customers to stay home, causing a historic plunge in car sales. But the support allowed the automaker to recover from shutdowns aimed at slowing the virus’ spread that virtually paralyzed industry in China. A gauge of Chinese manufacturing plunged to a record low in February, according to government data.
Dorms, Transportation
Besides the protective materials, Chinese authorities helped arrange dormitories for hundreds of Tesla employees, as well as transport to and from the plant amid the turmoil. Shanghai Lingang Human Resources Co., a government-backed agency that coordinates hiring in the area, said it has helped Tesla add more than 100 new workers since the outbreak, plus it’s assisted with virus screening and online interviews.
Authorities are also trying to ensure that Tesla’s parts suppliers in China resume production as soon as possible by providing epidemic-prevention materials, Sun Xiaohe, a local official in charge of assisting Tesla, told state media. Catering was also arranged, they reported.
While other automakers such as China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. also received masks and other support, the actions to help Tesla have been trumpeted in state media and by local government-backed outlets. Footage of locally built Model 3 sedans being assembled amid the epidemic have proliferated on TV and online.
Even before the virus, a swift regulatory-approval process enabled Tesla to start deliveries to customers in China in January, a year after it first broke ground on the factory.
“The Gigafactory project illustrated the cooperation between Tesla and the Shanghai government, and that the city has improved its business environment,” Wu Qing, deputy mayor of Shanghai, said at a ceremony that saw Tesla hand over its first China-made car.
Chinese Loans
Local banks provided financing for Tesla’s China push, including a $1.6 billion injection announced at the end of last year. The acquisition of land for the plant and a slew of local permits were cleared swiftly, and the factory was hooked to the nation’s power grid quicker than the average for other firms.
As the facility was being planned and local permits were pending, Musk visited China often for meetings with figures ranging from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. founder Jack Ma to Transport Minister Li Xiaopeng and other government officials. He met with Premier Li Keqiang in Zhongnanhai, the leadership compound next to the Forbidden City in central Beijing where the country hosts its most high-profile foreign visitors. Musk was also photographed eating steamed buns during a visit to the capital last year.
Soon afterward, Tesla obtained an exemption from China’s 10% sales tax on cars. Typically, only electric vehicles made by Chinese companies have been exempt.
“The fact that Tesla received significant government support to overcome the current crisis shows China is delivering its promises to treat foreign firms on equal footing with local ones,” said Ivan Su, an analyst at Morningstar Inc. in Hong Kong.
More must-read stories from Fortune:
—Business is finally starting to reckon with climate change
—How mainland China’s closest neighbors have kept coronavirus cases so low
—Plastic that travels 8,000 miles: The global crisis in recycling
—How the world’s most densely-populated region fought off the coronavirus
—Listen to Leadership Next, a Fortune podcast examining the evolving role of CEO
—WATCH: Rethinking your travel plans because of coronavirus?
Catch up with Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily digest on the business of tech.


fortune--2020-03-18--The coronavirus pandemic could mark a huge shift for the fitness industry

This article is part of a Fortune Special Report: Business in the Coronavirus Economy—a look at the impact of the pandemic on more than 50 industries.
It was all there: the whitewashed brick, the crisp wooden floors, sun pouring through a wall of windows, and a host of Lululemon-clad yogis working their way through Child’s Pose. Our instructor, Matt, surveyed the room, instructing us to “rise to standing and bring our hands to heart space,” and we all prepared to go into a series of Sun Salutations. But unlike the typical yoga class, this hour-long session of CorePower had thousands in attendance, each at different points in our Forearm Flow. We were not all huddled in an impossibly chic, albeit overheated, studio in Midtown Manhattan or downtown Los Angeles—but were instead watching Matt, and four others, from the comfort of our own homes, flipping our Downward Dogs in living rooms and deepening our Warrior IIs in the kitchen.
As the coronavirus continues to invade every corner of the United States, the pandemic has led many to ditch their usual, studio-based fitness practices, fearing exposure to shared surfaces and a further spread of the virus. Workout studios boasted 64.2 million members in America in 2019, according to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association. But they have experienced significant drops in class attendance since the first case of COVID-19 was diagnosed in the U.S. at the end of January, and a growing number are opting to close their locations nationwide in the face of this crisis.
Barry’s Bootcamp announced on Sunday evening that it would temporarily shut its studios across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, Milan, and Dubai, citing the health and safety of its clients; after implementing new protocols, including capping classes at half capacity, last week, Rumble closed its studios nationwide on Monday; and CorePower Yoga did the same, stating that it intends to resume classes on March 30 but will continue to reassess.
A yogi following a class on her TV via mobile screen mirroring. Courtesy of SoulCycle
While wellness brands enter this era of uncertainty, some see it as a real opportunity. Turning to at-home and on-demand streaming services—where users can tune into their favorite classes without risking their health or that of others—these companies hope to bring communities together in the midst of isolation, provide access to movement during unprecedented stillness, and not just maintain but maybe even boost business along the way.
“We experienced an expected dip in our studio attendance starting last week during certain class times—and we know as the virus continues to take hold, we will assume that many will choose to work out from the comforts of their own home,” says Amy Martin, the executive vice president of marketing for P.volve, a popular fitness program with studios in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. In the wake of the coronavirus, the brand chose to close its SoHo location in Manhattan, but it is offering a free 30-day trial to all new members of the P.volve streaming platform, which hosts more than 150 different workout and how-to tutorials that can be done with no or minimal equipment. “Since we launched our company, it’s been so important that our clients can work out when and where they want—wellness shouldn’t be dictated by space or class times,” Martin notes. “So we are happy that our clients can work out in their home, no matter where they live, and avoid crowded areas during this time.”
Subscribe to Fortune’s Outbreak newsletter for a daily roundup of stories on the coronavirus and its impact on global business.
Other industry leaders, including Alo, a brand known for its trendy workout clothes and premium fitness and mindfulness content, have followed suit. “In response to COVID-19, we have temporarily closed our in-person studios to take all precautions necessary to safeguard the health of others,” says Paul Javid, CEO of Alo’s streaming service, Alo Moves, which has observed significant growth in the past few weeks. “Additionally, we released a set of free full-length classes on YouTube so that everyone, including our studio members, can continue their practice from the comfort of their own home, with no strings attached. We will continue to do everything we can to offer classes through other means, so that in these uncharted and stressful times, when many cannot leave their homes, anyone can find a space to explore their mindfulness and grow their practice.”
A rider on the new SoulCycle at-home streaming bike powered by Variis, streaming workouts from fitness brands such as Equinox, SoulCycle, Pure Yoga, Precision Run, Myodetox, and HeadStrong. Courtesy of SoulCycle
SoulCycle joined the growing list of closures on Monday, announcing that all of its studios across the U.S., the U.K., and Canada will shut down through April 30 at least. But, along with other Equinox-owned brands, members of SoulCycle won’t be without at-home alternatives. Last week, Equinox Media launched an early release of its new fitness platform, Variis, which will offer consumers unlimited, on-demand access to expert guidance from leading fitness brands, including Equinox, SoulCycle, Pure Yoga, Precision Run, Myodetox, and HeadStrong. The company also debuted the first-ever SoulCycle at-home bike, which will function with a $40 monthly membership to Variis. The $2,500 bike is now available for preorder, however, deliveries won’t begin until later this spring, so those seeking on-demand content right now will have to rely on the streaming platform’s other classes.
Wellness and fitness booking platforms, such as ClassPass and Mindbody, are also being forced to adapt to decreased demand in the wake of the coronavirus, but uniquely, they are more at the mercy of studios who use their services. “As a company dedicated to helping people feel their best, ClassPass is taking the threat of COVID-19 seriously, and we are monitoring updates from the CDC and WHO in every country where we are present,” says Zach Apter, the brand’s chief commercial officer. The company will continue to waive all coronavirus-related cancellation requests through the end of March, and all unused credits will roll over until June to ensure that members have the flexibility to take necessary precautions. ClassPass users can also choose to pause their accounts, and all unused credits will be available for use upon reactivation. “In the most affected areas, we have temporarily paused all active accounts,” Apter adds, “and we will continue to monitor the evolving situation.”
The transition from in-person studio classes—where equipment and space are abundant and a collective, group mindset thrives—to streaming workouts in a crowded apartment or home has proved less than seamless for many consumers, but they recognize how necessary such actions are.
“In-studio fitness is my life,” says Lauren Craddock, a 24-year-old New Yorker, who works in digital media. “I have a hard time working out alone and at my own direction, so I frequent yoga and Pilates studios in New York City weekly.”
Following along with stretching exercises demonstrated on a smartphone. Courtesy of SoulCycle
As the coronavirus has become more and more serious, though, she decided to start working out from home, ordering a yoga mat and ankle weights online to ease the transition. “The big change of heart for me came from having worked at a boutique fitness studio and knowing that despite their best efforts, those places are not often cleaned as well as one would hope,” Craddock explains. “And in New York, these studios are often in tight spaces that aren’t the best places to be during a pandemic.” In her jump to at-home classes, the studio devotee has turned to the experts, which by and large include Instagram influencers.
“Towards the end of last week, we made the joint decision to opt out of in-studio workouts,” says Elizabeth Endres, half of the duo behind health and wellness site Sweats and the City, which regularly reviews various workout classes. “Although the majority of our business involves reviewing classes and supporting these studios and instructors, we quickly realized how important it was to lead by example and participate in flattening the curve. We’ve been trying our best to support our community in a way that encourages social distancing but also promotes their mental and physical well-being while at home.”
Endres and her cofounder, Dale Borchiver, believe the silver lining in this dire situation is how readily available streaming and on-demand workouts are. After noticing the demand from many of their followers, they shared a list of discounts and free trials currently on offer for online fitness classes and advised their fans on the best ways to cancel or pause memberships at popular gyms and platforms. “Now more than ever,” Borchiver says, “it’s important to maintain a sense of connection and community, and we’re all having to evolve in the ways that we do so.”
More must-read stories from Fortune:
—How coronavirus is affecting the global concert industry
—The coronavirus is mutating: Chinese scientists find second strain
—Some of the most extreme ways companies are combating the coronavirus
—How Europe is adapting to the coronavirus outbreak
—China’s box office was supposed to surpass North America’s this year.
—Growing coronavirus threat weighs on Apple
—Nearly half of American travelers are reconsidering their international trips because of the coronavirus
Subscribe to Fortune’s Outbreak newsletter for a daily roundup of stories on the coronavirus and its impact on global business.


fortune--2020-03-18--SoftBank survived WeWork, but the coronavirus credit rout is turning investors against Masayoshi Son

SoftBank survived WeWork, but the coronavirus credit rout is turning investors against Masayoshi Son’s empire

Investors are growing increasingly skittish about the stability of Masayoshi Son’s empire.
Son’s SoftBank Group Corp., one of Japan’s most indebted companies, had been chipping away in recent years at concerns about its ability to carry that burden. As the founder remade the telecom company into a tech investor, analysts reassessed the debt in terms of the value of SoftBank’s shareholdings, a gauge that had made its balance sheet appear more manageable.
But the coronavirus pandemic is threatening to undo that progress, as it pulls down equity markets and triggers the worst sell-off in credit markets since the 2008 financial crisis. It’s sparked a dramatic surge in the price of insuring against defaults around the world, including SoftBank’s. The company’s credit-default swaps have spiked to the highest in a decade.
“SoftBank has refinancing needs and constantly faces new fundraising needs, so it would be difficult to access funds if the current credit market turmoil continues,” said Hiroyuki Nishikawa, an analyst at S&P Global Ratings. The base scenario still remains that SoftBank has cash reserves to repay debt for the next two years, he added.
There has been no change in SoftBank’s financial policy of focusing on loan-to-value and having enough liquidity on hand to cover two years worth of bond repayments, the company said in an emailed statement. SoftBank said it is curbing new investments to match the current environment and acknowledged that fundraising costs are likely to rise going forward.
S&P cut its outlook on the group to negative late Tuesday, citing the broad market declines and the conglomerate’s plans for a share buyback. SoftBank shares plummeted 11% in Tokyo on Wednesday, the largest decline since 2012.
Indeed, its stock has plunged 38% in the last month. Its market value of 6.78 trillion yen ($63.5 billion) is now less than that of SoftBank Corp., the domestic telecom operation that sold shares to the public last year. SoftBank Group still owns about two-thirds of the unit, which on Wednesday rose 1.4%.
“No other company in Japan is as indebted and as exposed to the economic downturn as SoftBank,” Amir Anvarzadeh, a market strategist at Asymmetric Advisors Pte. in Singapore, who is short on SoftBank, wrote in a note to clients. It seems that Son’s “run of good luck has finally come to an end and his shoot-from-the-hip investment style is blowing up the group.”
The company is more vulnerable because of missteps at the Vision Fund, the $100 billion investment vehicle that Son set up to become the new centerpiece of his empire. The founder used the money to take stakes in scores of marquee startups, including WeWork and Uber Technologies Inc.
But WeWork flopped in its effort to go public last year and fueled broader concern about the prospects for other money-losing startups. SoftBank engineered a $9.5 billion bailout for WeWork and had to take enormous writedowns on the value of its portfolio.
Then last month, activist investor Elliott Management Corp. disclosed a stake in SoftBank, arguing its shares were undervalued and that Son should buy back as much as $20 billion. SoftBank said on March 13 it would spend up to 500 billion yen ($4.7 billion) buying shares.
S&P responded by cutting its outlook for SoftBank, saying the decision “strongly underscores its aggressive financial management.” SoftBank shares, which typically rally with a buyback, have dropped about 18% since the announcement.
The company has traditionally enjoyed strong support from individual bond investors in Japan, thanks to the ubiquity of its brand in the country. The SoftBank name is on one of the largest wireless carriers, Japan’s leading web portal and the champion Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks baseball team. The question is whether this bedrock will hold if the current market turmoil persists. SoftBank has about 2.3 trillion yen of bonds and loans coming due in the next three fiscal years.
Son has argued that he has more than enough assets to cover the debts. The company’s most liquid investments, its stakes in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and the SoftBank Corp. unit, are worth about 13 trillion yen and 4.6 trillion yen respectively. Chipmaker Arm Holdings Plc, owned entirely by SoftBank Group, is worth 2.7 trillion yen by the company’s own calculations.
”Clearly the bond market is worried, but we keep coming back to the Alibaba stake, which can more than cover SoftBank’s outstanding debt,” said Dan Baker, an analyst at Morningstar Investment Management Asia Ltd. “Selling during this turmoil means they would have to do it at a lower price, which might make it a last resort.”
SoftBank is taking steps to preserve cash. This week, the company told shareholders of WeWork that it could withdraw from an agreement to buy $3 billion of stock in the embattled co-working business.
Son has said that he wants to keep SoftBank’s loan-to-value ratio, a key metric looking at its net interest-bearing debt against the value of investments, below 25%. S&P said that the gauge would likely be about 30%-35% in the coming year or so.
“The announced buyback is a reminder that all strategic decisions will be taken by Masa Son, who in the face of market uncertainty continues to put SoftBank equity over creditors, without so much as a nod to risk management,” analysts at CreditSights including Mary Pollock wrote in a note.
More must-read stories from Fortune:
—Business is finally starting to reckon with climate change
—How mainland China’s closest neighbors have kept coronavirus cases so low
—Plastic that travels 8,000 miles: The global crisis in recycling
—How the world’s most densely-populated region fought off the coronavirus
—Listen to Leadership Next, a Fortune podcast examining the evolving role of CEO
—WATCH: Rethinking your travel plans because of coronavirus?
Catch up with Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily digest on the business of tech.


fortune--2020-03-18--The coronavirus outbreak is widening the gap between Chinese and U.S. economies

This is the web version of CEO Daily. To get it delivered to your inbox, sign up here.
Good morning.
Coronavirus has replaced trade wars as the top topic of conversation for global business leaders. But the end result may be the same: further “decoupling” of the Chinese and U.S. economies. Fortune’s Clay Chandler—a long-time analyst of U.S.-China business relations—takes a look at the state of that relationship for the April edition of Fortune magazine. Digital subscribers can read his analysis online today here.
A couple of takeaways:
— Companies are actively moving to diversify their sourcing, regardless of the pause in the trade fight. Electronics retailer Best Buy, for instance, says it will reduce products made in China to 40% of the cost of goods it sells, down from 60%. CEO Corie Barry said the virus “was one more piece of evidence that will continue to put pressure on diversifying supply lines.”
— Many of the Chinese students enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities face travel restrictions that have prevented them from returning for their spring semester.
The irony, of course, is that as of this week, there are, for the first time, more cases of Covid-19 reported outside of China than within it. Indeed, the Chinese are now putting foreign travelers in quarantine to prevent new outbreaks at home. Meanwhile, tit-for-tat actions between the two countries continue: the latest was China’s decision yesterday to expel journalists working for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. None of that helps the global economic outlook.
Other news yesterday: Marriott, hard hit by the virus-related drop in travel, said it will furlough tens of thousands of employees. Expect a steady stream of those kinds of announcements in the weeks to come, starting with the travel and oil industries—the first to be hit—but spreading to others. Fair to assume that budget conversations are going on in most companies this week, as the outlook dims.
And one last item: Since August of 2017, America’s big cap companies have repurchased a staggering $1.25 trillion in shares. Was that a smart use of their money? Well, it doesn’t look like it right now, with the market having lost all its gains since then. Particularly troubling are the big buybacks by the airlines, who, having given back all their cash, are now looking for a government bailout. You can read Shawn Tully’s analysis here.
More news below.
Alan Murray
@alansmurray
alan.murray@fortune.com
TOP NEWS
Markets fall
It was all looking good in Asia, until it wasn't. Towards the end of the day there, markets suddenly slipped into the red, with the Hang Seng down 4.2% and the Nikkei 225 down 1.7%. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 is down more than 4% at the time of writing. The S&P 500 may have gained 6% yesterday but futures look ugly. Volatility, volatility, volatility. Wall Street Journal
Government interventions
The stock-market drops follow more government interventions to mitigate the coronavirus fallout. The U.K. is putting $400 billion into the effort, mostly in the form of government-backed loans and guarantees, and the U.S. intends to deploy $1 trillion, including direct payments to households and businesses, as well as corporate loans from the Fed. Fortune
Recession scale
Deutsche Bank researchers now estimate—with an appropriate lack of certainty—that the world is about to tip into a very severe recession indeed: "The quarterly declines in GDP growth we anticipate substantially exceed anything previously recorded going back to at least World War II." (For more on the form it might take, Fortune has a recession Q&A.) DB Research
Hedge funds
Emerging markets-focused hedge funds Pharo Management and Autonomy Capital have taken significant hits this month (13% and 17% respectively) due to fears of coronavirus-induced economic damage, plus the impact of the oil price war. Financial Times
AROUND THE WATER COOLER
Changing tack
If you're wondering why the U.S. and U.K. have both drastically changed their approaches to fighting the pandemic in the last couple days, the answer lies in new forecasts by researchers from Imperial College London. In short, a strategy of slowing the virus's spread rather than suppressing it, China style, would probably kill 260,000 people in the U.K. and 1.1 million in the U.S. in the coming months. So, social distancing it is then. And when will that be over? Unfortunately, the tactic may need to be repeatedly deployed until a vaccine is found, and intrusive surveillance could become even more a part of life than it already is. New York Times
WeWork bailout
SoftBank's planned bailout of WeWork may not go ahead, according to the Journal. Apparently SEC and Justice Department probes into the business give SoftBank what it believes is an out under the $3 billion share-purchase deal it struck last fall. This is all separate from the $5 billion lifeline SoftBank agreed to give WeWork directly. WSJ
Joementum
Joe Biden is closer to the Democratic nomination for November, following big wins in the Florida, Illinois and Arizona primaries. Ohio officials postponed that state's primary, which was also due to take place Tuesday, due to the conflict between voting and social distancing. CNN
Online concerts
Musicians such as John Legend and Coldplay's Chris Martin are "touring" online as a replacement for the physical gigs they can no longer play. Estimates suggest the live music industry could lose something like $5 billion during the outbreak. CNBC
This edition of CEO Daily was edited by David Meyer.


fortune--2020-03-18--This crucial measure signals that stocks are nearing ‘buy’ territory

Subscribe to Fortune’s Outbreak newsletter for a daily roundup of stories on the coronavirus outbreak and its impact on global business.
Peter Kraus spent decades at Goldman Sachs, helped pilot Merrill Lynch through the financial crisis, and for over seven years headed asset management colossus AllianceBernstein. Now, as CEO of newly launched Aperture Investments, he’s living through the coronavirus crash, his sixth financial crisis. In times of extreme turbulence, Kraus turns to what he considers the most reliable guide to pinpointing when stock prices shift from frothy to cheap. It’s a wonkish-sounding yardstick called the “equity risk premium,” or ERP.
“Determining the new ERP caused by fear in the market gives you the best point estimate for where people should say, ‘The market is cheap,’” Kraus told Fortune. He adds that with coronavirus fears prompting the 12% fall in the S&P on “Mad Monday” (a.k.a. March 16), “we’re almost there.”
The equity risk premium has been called the holy grail of investing by academic economists––and it’s the lodestar for Kraus as well. It’s simply the difference between the expected return on stocks and the what investors can garner holding supersafe U.S. treasuries. The ERP is the cushion required to compensate shareholders for the rough ride of owning equities—for weathering the wild, unforeseeable swings that can wipe out years of gains in a matter of weeks. A Rob Arnott of Research Affiliates notes, it could be renamed “the equity fear premium.”
As Kraus points out, the ERP is a volatile number. It’s low in times of economic calm and stability, and it spikes when investors view danger ahead. When the ERP jumps, investors are signaling that they’ve suddenly awakened to a much more fitful, unpredictable world. Hence, they demand extra juice from equities, because looming strife in the economy threatens to hammer what looked like a steady, strong parade of earnings.
That extra margin for safety can come only from one reaction: a drop in equity prices that raises the dividend yield, increases the number of shares companies can purchase with each $1 million in buybacks, and hence, boosts what folks can pocket in the future once the storm passes.
Kraus reckons that over the past several decades, the ERP has averaged around 3%. But, he adds, it fell far too low during the recent boom. “Over the last nine months, the market was too comfortable and complacent, and too expensive, showing low volatility for a long period,” he says. “That made me very nervous.” He adds that prices kept soaring while earnings rose only slightly, causing price/earnings ratios to expand, so that what investors could expect from stocks kept shrinking. “As a result, the ERP kept coming down,” he says. “That was a sign that the markets were fragile.”
The shift from exhilaration to near terror has swelled the ERP, says Kraus, and that explains much of the S&P 500’s 30% drop since mid-February. “The ERP by my calculation is now around 6%,” he explains, twice the historical average. Kraus uses that 6% estimate as a building block to determine when prices look reasonable, based on the jump in the fear factor the ERP reflects. The 10-year Treasury yield has recently careened to all-time lows of below 1%, but Kraus chooses that as a good bet on where the number will settle.
Here’s how Kraus does the math. The new, fatter, total return investors now expect from equities consists of the 6% risk premium plus the 1% projected yield on the 10-year, for a total of 7%. Given that, the market’s P/E ratio should be 14.3. That sure would promise a much more lucrative future for shareholders than the P/E of 24, and 4.2% return it posits, that reigned just a month ago.
Kraus forecasts that S&P earnings per share will drop 25% in each of the next two quarters compared with the year-ago periods. But he foresees a rebound to $160 per share in 2021, 14% above the level for 2019. Earnings of $160 and a multiple of 14 would put the S&P at 2240. At the close on March 16, the index registered 2386, just 6.5% above that level. Kraus predicts that only a slight decline would turn stocks into a bargain based on the future returns of 6 points over Treasuries that today’s gun-shy investors demand.
Kraus concludes that pessimism is too rampant, and as a result, at 2240, stocks would be even cheaper than investors reckon. He says that in 2008, the ERP jumped to 9%, and investors who bought then booked the best returns of the past half-century. Today’s 6-point ERP, he believes, will shrink as confidence returns, boosting multiples well above his estimate of 14.3 as the most likely benchmark. “The economic effect of this crisis is likely to be much more short-lived than the Great Recession,” he says. “My estimate is around six months to nine months.” If the ERP then returns to 3%, shareholders would see prices above the February peak.
This writer agrees with Kraus’s view that the ERP has jumped, and finds 6%, using his methodology, to be a good estimate. As Kraus says, it’s a good bet that as the hurricane passes, the ERP shrinks. The big issue will be earnings. The 2019 numbers were an all-time high, and that suggested a profits bubble. It might take a terrific economy to hoist them 14% higher a year from now, and if that doesn’t happen, it will be tough for markets to regain anywhere near their early-2020 highs. But Kraus’s rigorous analysis points to a plausible outcome. It’s good to hear reassuring words from a veteran who’s seen it all.
More must-read stories from Fortune:
—How to prepare your personal finances for a coronavirus recession
—The Fed made a bold move to calm shaky markets. But is it enough?
—Why return CEOs are usually bad news for a company’s stock
—Dormant PayPal Credit accounts are coming back to hurt credit scores
—Listen to Leadership Next, a Fortune podcast examining the evolving role of CEO
—WATCH: What’s causing the looming recession
Subscribe to Fortune’s Bull Sheet for no-nonsense finance news and analysis daily.


fortune--2020-03-19--Tesla Will Idle Plant After Days-Long Duel With Authorities

Don ’ t get cut off by the coronavirus .
Here ’ s the ( mostly ) free tech you @ @ @ @ @

Tesla Inc. will idle production at its lone U.S. assembly plant, choking off the supply of cars to customers as the quarter comes to a close.
The decision announced in a statement Thursday followed several days of public pressure on Tesla by local police, city managers and health officials about the carmaker continuing to run the factory despite a county shelter-in-place order. Tesla said the facility will stop production at the end of March 23.
“Despite taking all known health precautions, continued operations in certain locations has caused challenges for our employees, their families and our suppliers,” Tesla said in the statement.
Tesla shares fell as much as 9.7% in late trading. The stock had rebounded during the regular session after plunging 44% over the course of the prior six trading days.
Last month, Tesla took advantage of its then-soaring stock by raising $2.3 billion in an equity offering. That sum, combined with the $6.3 billion cash that was on the balance sheet at the end of last year, “is sufficient to successfully navigate an extended period of uncertainty,” the company said.
Tesla’s solar plant in Buffalo, New York, also will suspend production. Hourly employees at both factories will receive their normal pay through Monday, and then the company will provide paid leave while operations are suspended, according to an internal email.
“It’s the right thing for Tesla to do. They should have done this sooner,” Gene Munster, managing partner of Loup Ventures, said by phone. “Tesla will survive.”
More must-read stories from Fortune:
—This famed economist doesn’t think we’re headed for another Great Recession
—South Korea has the most comprehensive coronavirus data. What it’s taught us so far
—10 questions about the 2020 election during the coronavirus pandemic, answered
—Here’s where Goldman Sachs predicts the stock market will bottom out
—Listen to Leadership Next, a Fortune podcast examining the evolving role of CEO
—WATCH: The greatest designs of modern times
Subscribe to Fortune’s Outbreak newsletter for a daily roundup of stories on the coronavirus outbreak and its impact on global business.


fortune--2020-03-19--A wobbly Thursday on Wall Street ended with solid gains as coronavirus concerns ease slightly

Subscribe to Fortune’s Outbreak newsletter for a daily roundup of stories on the coronavirus outbreak and its impact on global business.
Stocks capped a wobbly day on Wall Street with solid gains Thursday, reflecting cautious optimism among investors that emergency action by the U.S. government and central banks will cushion the global economy from a looming recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The swings in the market were markedly less volatile than recent days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained almost 200 points, or 0.9%. The S&P 500 rose 0.5% after bouncing between a gain of 2.9% and a loss of 3.3% early. That would be a notable change in normal times, but the index has had eight straight days where it bounced up or down between 4.9% and 12%.
In another sign that shell-shocked investors were becoming a little more willing to hold riskier assets, stocks of smaller companies rose far more than the rest of the market. Those stocks had taken some of the heaviest losses since the sell-off began in early March.
Markets have been so volatile because investors are weighing the increasing likelihood of a recession on one hand against huge, emergency efforts to prop up the economy on the other. Markets got more of each on Thursday.
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits jumped by 70,000 last week, more than economists expected, in one of the first signs of layoffs sweeping across the country. Wide swaths of the economy are grinding closer to a standstill, from the travel industry to restaurants, as authorities ask Americans to stay home to slow the spread of the virus. Another weak manufacturing report, this time in the mid-Atlantic region, added to the worries.
But the world’s largest central banks announced their latest efforts to support financial markets and the economy. The European Central Bank launched an expanded program to buy up to 750 billion euros ($820 billion) in bonds, and the Bank of England cut its key interest rate to a record low of 0.1%.
The Federal Reserve unveiled measures to support money-market funds and the borrowing of dollars as investors in markets worldwide hurry to build up dollars and cash. The dash for cash has strained markets, and sellers of even high-quality bonds say they’re having difficulty finding buyers at reasonable prices. Many of the Fed’s moves, which are getting revived after being used in the 2008 financial crisis, are aimed at smoothing out operations in such markets.
“Every day there’s another announcement of what the stimulus is going to look like, but what seems to be apparent is the recognition of some in the administration that funding is going to have to be larger, more significant than initially expected,” said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial.
Investors also appeared encouraged by reports that China is set to ramp up stimulus spending after the province where the virus first emerged showed no new infections on Wednesday.
The price of U.S. crude oil notched its biggest one-day jump on record Thursday, climbing nearly 24%. With the gain, oil recouped nearly all its losses from the day before. Traders likely bid up oil prices following published reports saying the U.S. may intervene in an oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia that’s helped knock oil prices into a steep skid this month.
Still, the market will likely remain volatile until investors see more economic data that shows just how badly the outbreak is hurting the economy.
“They’re doing what they can, and I’m not sure what else they can do,” said Sal Bruno, chief investment officer at IndexIQ.
The Dow rose 188 points, or 0.9%, to 20,087. It had been down as much as 721 points earlier and as high as 543. The Nasdaq, which is dominated by tech giants such as Apple, gained 2.3%. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks surged 6.8%.
The S&P 500, which drives movements for most 401(k) accounts more than other indexes, is down roughly 29% since its record exactly a month ago and close to its lowest point since late 2018.
Major indexes started the day lower, then rose before and during a late morning news conference led by President Donald Trump to give updates on the outbreak. The gains were mostly gone in early afternoon trading as the indexes turned mixed. The indexes snapped back into the green by mid-afternoon, however.
European stocks swung from gains to losses and back to gains. Asian markets dropped following the brutal 5.1% loss for U.S. stocks the prior day.
Ultimately, investors say they need to see the number of new infections stop accelerating for the market’s extreme volatility to ease.
The total number of known infections has topped 220,000 worldwide, including nearly 85,000 people who had recovered. The death toll has crept toward 10,000.
For most people, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, and those with mild illness recover in about two weeks. Severe illness including pneumonia can occur, especially in the elderly and people with existing health problems, and recovery could take six weeks in such cases.
Until the number of new cases peak, investors will struggle with uncertainty about how much to pay for a stock, bond or commodity when they don’t know how long the economic downturn will last. Many economists expect a sharp drop in the economy, but they disagree on how long it will take to bounce back.
The hope is that all the emergency actions by central banks and spending by governments can provide support for the economy in the meantime and soften the blow. The Trump administration has pitched lawmakers on a program that could flood $1 trillion into the economy, including checks sent directly to households.
The New York Stock Exchange said late Wednesday that it will temporarily close its trading floor and moving to all-electronic trading beginning Monday after two employees tested positive for coronavirus. The exchange has also started medically screening all personnel who enter the building. Much stock trading has gone electronic in recent years, and there are far fewer floor brokers than there used to be.
More must-read stories from Fortune:
—This famed economist doesn’t think we’re headed for another Great Recession
—These estimates of how much COVID-19 will hurt the economy are terrifying
—With the markets in turmoil, the ECB readies a bond-buying bazooka
—Here’s where Goldman Sachs predicts the stock market will bottom out
—Listen to Leadership Next, a Fortune podcast examining the evolving role of CEO
—WATCH: What’s causing the looming recession
Subscribe to Fortune’s Bull Sheet for no-nonsense finance news and analysis daily.


fortune--2020-03-19--After two members of the House contract coronavirus, tradition-bound Congress struggles with social

After two members of the House contract coronavirus, tradition-bound Congress struggles with social distancing

Subscribe to Fortune’s Outbreak newsletter for a daily roundup of stories on the coronavirus outbreak and its impact on global business.
Leaders in the U.S. House are telling lawmakers to stay away from the Capitol until a massive stimulus package to deal with the coronavirus outbreak is ready for a vote, as members of Congress come face-to-face with the impact of the pandemic.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer notified members Thursday that the chamber won’t resume its session until the Senate is done with its work on a massive economic stimulus measure and that voting procedures will be adjusted to follow recommendations of health officials.
“No decisions have been made on exactly what these changes will be, but we will be discussing all options,” Hoyer wrote in a letter to colleagues.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have so far balked at changing rules to allow voting from outside the Capitol even as the rest of the government is telling employees to work from home and health officials tell the country to avoid gatherings.
But they are confronting increasing pressure from their ranks to let lawmakers vote remotely after two members of the House announced they contracted the coronavirus and others put themselves in self-quarantine.
Republican Senator Rob Portman of Ohio and Democratic Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois are introducing legislation Thursday to let the Senate vote from afar during national emergencies. In the House, nearly 50 lawmakers are supporting a remote-voting plan put forth by Democrat Eric Swalwell of California and Republican Rick Crawford of Arkansas.
McConnell this week rejected the idea of remote voting, instead advocating roll call votes in the chamber with fewer senators there at once to allow “social distancing.”
As concern was building last week, Pelosi told her caucus, “We are the captains of the ship. We are the last to leave.” And on a Monday conference call with House Democrats she beat back calls for remote voting.
The topic is sure to come up again Thursday when Pelosi conducts a conference call with House Democrats.
“It is a cause for concern to have us really putting ourselves and some of our vulnerable members at risk when we are asking the American people to practice safe distancing,” said Representative Ilhan Omar, one of those who signed the Porter letter. “I hope that leadership really listens to our call and makes the necessary adjustments.”
Congress is tradition-bound and there is little precedent for the kind of widespread shutdown of society being caused by the coronavirus.
During a 1918 flu pandemic, work in Congress slowed to a crawl and for a time even the House speaker and Senate majority leader were bedridden, according to the office of the House historian. During October of that year, the House did what it could in so-called “pro forma” sessions where just a few were present to formally clear legislation everyone was agreed to.
That option of getting everyone’s consent is one tool still available to congressional leaders, but it’s challenging to achieve in the current political environment.
Just this week, Representative Louis Gohmert, a Texas Republican, refused for a day to give his OK to a technical fix to a House-passed coronavirus bill that held up passage by the Senate for the measure that included paid six leave and more unemployment insurance.
Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, single-handedly triggered a six-hour government shutdown in 2018 just by saying “I object” when the Senate tried to move a bipartisan budget deal.
Joshua Huder, a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s governmental affairs institute, said the House appears to have another tool at its disposal.
A 2005 change in House rules allows the chamber to work with a “provisional quorum,” a very small number of lawmakers who can keep the chamber going. It can be triggered jointly by leaders of both parties if, after 72 hours, they can’t convene a simple majority of the House’s 435 members and the House’s sergeant-at-arms issues a “catastrophic quorum failure report.”
The rule doesn’t state a limit on how large that quorum must be, he said. “It could actually be quite small, Huder said.
In the current crisis, the need to bypass possible objections and also let all members record their position on costly and perhaps controversial bills is weighing on lawmakers as the virus spreads even in their own ranks.
Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, a Florida Republican, developed symptoms over the weekend and has been working from an apartment in Washington while in quarantine, according to a statement from his office late Wednesday. A short time later, Ben McAdams, a Utah Democrat, said that he, too, had tested positive.
Nearly a dozen others have disclosed that they have been exposed to someone else who has been diagnosed with the disease and have self-quarantined to protect others. That includes Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, House Republican Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Ben Ray Lujan, a top member of Pelosi’s leadership team.
Thursday, another House lawmaker added his name to the list. Representative Tom Cole, an Oklahoma Republican, said he was around Diaz-Balart last week “for an extended period of time” and he will seclude himself until March 27.
In a rapidly unfolding crisis, many lawmakers who a day or two ago weren’t contemplating the notion of a roll call vote from back home say it’s clear that a plan needs to come together soon.
“It’s amazing how fast things change around here, right?” said Senator Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican. “I’m anxious today to see if there’s any movement on that possibility. I don’t know how you can have two members of Congress, as far apart as Utah and Florida, have the virus, and not be seriously considering that.”
More coronavirus coverage from Fortune:
—This famed economist doesn’t think we’re headed for another Great Recession
—South Korea has the most comprehensive coronavirus data. What it’s taught us so far
—10 questions about the 2020 election during the coronavirus pandemic, answered
—6 steps to sustainably flatten the coronavirus curve
—How hackers are exploiting the coronavirus—and how to protect yourself
—Hong Kong launches surveillance operation to track suspected coronavirus patients
—Listen to Leadership Next, a Fortune podcast examining the evolving role of CEO
—WATCH: The race is on to create a coronavirus antiviral drug and vaccine


fortune--2020-03-19--Trump outbid governors on coronavirus supplies after telling them to buy their own

Subscribe to Fortune’s Outbreak newsletter for a daily roundup of stories on the coronavirus outbreak and its impact on global business.
President Donald Trump’s directive for governors to buy their own medical supplies to fight the coronavirus has run into a big problem—the federal government.
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker told Trump during a video conference on Thursday that his state three times lost out to the federal government on purchases of critical supplies, creating an awkward moment during the made-for-TV event at Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Washington.
“I’ve got a feeling that if someone has the chance to sell to you and to sell to me, I am going to lose on every one of those,” a sheepish-sounding Baker told Trump, who chuckled at the remark.
The president replied he still wants governors to seek out their own medical equipment, like protective gear for doctors and nurses as well as respirators, but acknowledged the federal government has greater buying power than any state.
“Prices are always a component of that also. And maybe that’s why you lost to the feds, OK, that’s probably why,” Trump said.
At Trump’s request, Vice President Mike Pence responded that “we want to facilitate all the states and the health care providers in your states to be able to access that supply chain as it becomes more robust.”
When New Mexico’s governor raised similar concerns later in the call, Trump said he would ask FEMA to ensure there were no conflicts with purchases in the future.
Trump earlier Thursday repeated his belief that the onus should be on the states—and not the federal government—to obtain needed equipment to combat the pandemic, saying his administration is not a “shipping clerk” for the supplies that could potentially save lives.
More coronavirus coverage from Fortune:
—This famed economist doesn’t think we’re headed for another Great Recession
—South Korea has the most comprehensive coronavirus data. What it’s taught us so far
—10 questions about the 2020 election during the coronavirus pandemic, answered
—6 steps to sustainably flatten the coronavirus curve
—How hackers are exploiting the coronavirus—and how to protect yourself
—Hong Kong launches surveillance operation to track suspected coronavirus patients
—Listen to Leadership Next, a Fortune podcast examining the evolving role of CEO
—WATCH: The race is on to create a coronavirus antiviral drug and vaccine
Subscribe to Fortune’s Outbreak newsletter for a daily roundup of stories on the coronavirus outbreak and its impact on global business.


fortune--2020-03-19--Don’t get cut off by the coronavirus. Here’s the (mostly) free tech you need to work and learn

Trump outbid governors on coronavirus supplies after telling them to buy their own

Subscribe to Fortune’s Outbreak newsletter for a daily roundup of stories on the coronavirus and its impact on global business.
While quarantined or isolated because of COVID-19, it might seem challenging to figure out how to work, learn, stay in touch with family and friends, and, yes, weave some entertainment into an at-home schedule.
And seriously, sitting at home just watching or reading too much coronavirus news isn’t a healthy habit.
For parents, there are the added tasks of teaching kids at home and keeping them from needling one another into full-on meltdowns. Have toddlers? Keeping them entertained is its own kind of challenge.
But technology is here to help. Many companies are offering services for free or at a discount. Fortune has compiled them here to help kids and adults get through their days in isolation—without spending too much extra money.
Get work done
Jamm
Jamm sells voice and video collaboration tools for remote workers. During the coronavirus pandemic, the company is offering the service for free for the next three months.
Loom
Loom, a video-messaging service, is $5 a month through July for at-home workers, a 50% savings. The service is also helpful for teachers offering remote learning. Classroom users can access the service for free.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is offering 16 professional development videos free of charge. The lessons include tips on working remotely, maximizing productivity, and managing stress.
Keep kids’ education moving ahead
Learn how to doodle
Children’s author Mo Willems is live-streaming a doodle tutorial each weekday during the coronavirus outbreak. You can watch the doodle tutorials live at 1 p.m. ET on the Kennedy Center website.
Virtual story time
Penguin Random House Canada is offering free access to virtual story time and sing-alongs for kids. The sing-alongs are on YouTube while the readings usually take place on Facebook Live and Instagram Live. Most are for young children. Times vary.
ABCMouse
ABCMouse offers a slew of learning tools for children. The company is offering a free 30-day trial to help kids from preschool through eighth grade get ahead on reading, math, science, and art. Click here to learn more.
Adobe at Home
Schools that have Adobe Creative Cloud, which includes everything from Photoshop to Illustrator, can provide their students with the program at home for free through May 31. Learn more here.
Barbara Bush Foundation
The Barbara Bush Foundation is serving up digital classroom and at-home learning tools for free to parents who are teaching their children at home. The tools help kids learn how to read and include tip sheets from the U.S. Department of Education to help parents improve their teaching skills.
Play some games
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Game developer Ubisoft is offering free access to the open world adventure game Assassin’s Creed Odyssey through March 22. The freebie is available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PCs. Learn more.
Team Alto mobile games
Team Alto, the developer behind the wildly popular mobile games Alto’s Odyssey and Alto’s Adventure is offering free access to its games for the next week. Learn more.
Epic Games
Epic Games is serving up several of its titles for free, including first-person exploration game The Stanley Parable and Watch Dogs, which centers on a hacker seeking revenge. The company will roll out other freebies soon.
The Sims 4
The Sims 4 lets users create and live a full digital life (and there’s no COVID-19 to speak of). Origin is offering the game for $4.99—an 88% discount.
Apple Arcade
Apple Arcade, the iPhone-maker’s cloud-based game-streaming service, provides access to more than 100 titles across iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. Apple Arcade costs $5 per month after a one-month free trial.
Google Play Pass
For Android devices, Google Play Pass serves up a deep well of 350 streaming games. The service costs $5 per month after a 10-day free trial.
Exercise both body and mind
Peloton
Peloton is offering a 90-day free trial for its on-demand, at-home training app. Access both live and on-demand classes, no Peloton bike (or any bike) necessary since they also provide yoga and strength-training sessions.
AMC
AMC and its networks have extended their free trials in the wake of COVID-19. Watch content across AMC, AcornTV, Sundance Now, and others for free for 30 days. Just use code Free30.
Audible
Immerse yourself in some fiction or non-coronavirus nonfiction with audiobooks on Audible. The company bumped up their 30-day free trial to include three free titles (membership costs $14.95 per month). Not into subscribing? They’re also offering hundreds of free audiobooks for kids of all ages in seven different languages.
Sling
Streaming service provider Sling has rolled out a new Sling Free Experience that provides access to ABC News Live, as well as thousands of on-demand movies and TV shows for every age.
PBS
Baseball, Ken Burns’ documentary miniseries, offers a welcome dose of America’s favorite pastime to those mourning live sports events (as well as people who just love a good documentary). PBS is offering the series for free; stream it online or on a mobile device.
The Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera may not be able to perform for live audiences right now, but that won’t stop its performers from putting on a show. The Met has launched a free live-stream series with a new opera offered up each night.
Shudder
To watch some non-coronavirus horror, check out Shudder. The horror-movie streaming service has extended its free trial period to 30 days. Use the code SHUTIN. Yes, really.
More must-read stories from Fortune:
—Inside Xerox’s audacious quest to buy much bigger rival HP
—Uber’s CEO to investors: The coronavirus won’t kill our business
—A new iPad—and era, perhaps—arrives via press release
—Hong Kong launches a surveillance operation to track suspected coronavirus patients
—Listen to Leadership Next, a Fortune podcast examining the evolving role of CEOs
—WATCH: Best earbuds in 2020: Apple AirPods Pro vs. the Sony WF-1000XM3
Catch up with Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily digest on the business of tech.


fortune--2020-03-19--Americans advised against all overseas travel as the coronavirus pandemic escalates

Subscribe to Fortune’s Outbreak newsletter for a daily roundup of stories on the coronavirus outbreak and its impact on global business.
The Trump administration has upgraded its already dire warning to Americans against all international travel as the coronavirus outbreak spreads.
The State Department on Thursday issued a new alert urging Americans not to travel abroad under any circumstances and to return home if they are already abroad unless they plan to remain overseas.
“The Department of State advises U.S. citizens to avoid all international travel due to the global impact of COVID-19,” it said in the new advice. “In countries where commercial departure options remain available, U.S. citizens who live in the United States should arrange for immediate return to the United States, unless they are prepared to remain abroad for an indefinite period. U.S. citizens who live abroad should avoid all international travel.”
Until the upgrade, the department’s advice to U.S. citizens was to “reconsider” all international travel under what is known as a “level three” alert. The global “level four” warning was unprecedented as such alerts are generally reserved for specific countries embroiled in conflict, natural disasters or where Americans face specific risks.
However, the upgrade will likely have little practical effect because it is not mandatory and there are now limited transportation options for international travel. The only way to ban Americans from going abroad would be to invalidate the use of U.S. passports for such travel, a bar that is currently in place only for North Korea.
In addition, the main impact of State Department travel alerts is to cause insurance companies to increase premiums or cancel travel policies for group and individual tours, many of which had been scrapped even before the alert was raised to level three earlier this week.
The department has already advised Americans that many U.S. embassies and consulates abroad are operating with reduced staff and hours due to the COVID-19 outbreak and that services for Americans in need of assistance are limited.
More coronavirus coverage from Fortune:
—This famed economist doesn’t think we’re headed for another Great Recession
—South Korea has the most comprehensive coronavirus data. What it’s taught us so far
—10 questions about the 2020 election during the coronavirus pandemic, answered
—6 steps to sustainably flatten the coronavirus curve
—How hackers are exploiting the coronavirus—and how to protect yourself
—Hong Kong launches surveillance operation to track suspected coronavirus patients
—Listen to Leadership Next, a Fortune podcast examining the evolving role of CEO
—WATCH: The race is on to create a coronavirus antiviral drug and vaccine
Subscribe to Fortune’s Outbreak newsletter for a daily roundup of stories on the coronavirus outbreak and its impact on global business.


fortune--2020-03-19--Cannes Film Festival is officially postponed due to coronavirus pandemic

Subscribe to Fortune’s Outbreak newsletter for a daily roundup of stories on the coronavirus and its impact on global business.
France’s Cannes Film Festival, arguably the world’s most prestigious film festival and cinema’s largest annual gathering, has postponed its 73rd edition due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Organizers of the French Riviera festival, scheduled to take place May 12-23, said Thursday that they are considering moving the festival to the end of June or the beginning of July.
“Several hypotheses are being studied to preserve the festival, the main one of which would be a simple postponement,” the festival said in a statement. “As soon as the development of the French and international health situation will allow us to assess the real possibility, we will make our decision known.”
Organizers had been extremely reluctant to cancel Cannes. For weeks, its organizers deflected questions and tried to push through its selection process. But as the pandemic spread through France, it became all but inevitable that a massive gathering like Cannes would be canceled. On Saturday, France’s Prime Minister Édouard Philippe ordered the closure of all restaurants, cafes and cinemas in France to increase social distancing and combat the virus.
Other major film festivals, including South by Southwest and the Tribeca Film Festival, have already been scuttled. But some hope held out that Cannes, taking place closer to summer, might yet survive.
Cannes has greater ramifications for the film industry, which annually convenes on the Cote d’Azur not just for the festival’s gala screenings but for the world’s largest movie market. Every year, countless production and distribution deals are hatched in Cannes. Film executives fly in from all over the world and gather at the Marche du Film in the basement of Cannes’ hub, the Palais. Every country with a film industry erects a pavilion at Cannes’ international village.
The postponement is also especially painful for Cannes since it’s coming off a particularly successful 2019 edition. Though recent years have seen intensified criticism of the festival’s gender inclusivity and increased competition from other festivals like the Venice Film Festival, the 2019 Cannes featured the eventual Oscar best picture winner, Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite,” as well as Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood,” Pedro Almdovar’s acclaimed “Pain & Glory” and Celine Sciamma’s celebrated French drama “Portrait of a Lady on Fire.” “Parasite” won Cannes’ Palme d’Or before its Oscar victory.
But the international flavor of Cannes has worked against it this year. Because of the global spread of the novel coronavirus, even a virus-free France would have difficulty drawing — and keeping healthy — filmmakers, executives and press from around the world.
Cannes, founded in 1939 while Europe was on the cusp of war, has been altered by tumult before. It began as an alternative to the Venice Film Festival, which then had become under the sway of Benito Mussolini. Its inaugural festival was canceled after its opening gala, the premiere of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” The next day, Germany invaded Poland.
Cannes also came to a stop, famously, in 1968. Then, filmmakers including Jean Luc-Godard, François Truffaut, Louis Malle and Roman Polanski took to the stage of the Palais to declare the festival over in solidarity with the student and labor strike coursing through France.
This time, Cannes hopes to stave off cancellation and return in the summer. The festival concluded its announcement: “A très bientôt” — “See you very soon.”
More must-read stories from Fortune:
—Filmmakers must make a choice as coronavirus forces festivals online
—How Harvey Weinstein’s sentencing could change the entertainment industry
—As coronavirus spreads, is this weekend’s historically low box office Hollywood’s new normal?
—Don Cheadle on Black Monday, Wall Street in the Trump era, and hope about the climate change fight
—How Netflix’s Lost Girls upends the conventions of serial killer movies
Follow Fortune on Flipboard to stay up-to-date on the latest news and analysis.


fortune--2020-03-19--Netflix is reducing streaming bit rates in Europe to relieve networks strained by coronavirus pandem

Netflix is reducing streaming bit rates in Europe to relieve networks strained by coronavirus pandemic

Subscribe to Fortune’s Outbreak newsletter for a daily roundup of stories on the coronavirus and its impact on global business.
Netflix Inc. agreed to reduce its streaming traffic in Europe by about 25% for the next month, an attempt to relieve networks strained by the coronavirus pandemic.
The move follows discussions between European Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton and Netflix Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings.
“Netflix has decided to begin reducing bit rates across all our streams in Europe,” the Silicon Valley-based company said in a statement Thursday. “We estimate that this will reduce Netflix traffic on European networks by around 25% while also ensuring a good quality service for our members.”
The virus outbreak has shuttered schools, businesses and restaurants in much of the region, sending millions of people home — where they’re using services like Netflix. The amount of time people spent streaming spiked by more than 20% worldwide last weekend, including more than 40% in Austria and Spain.
The surge has regulators to pressure companies to lessen the load.
“I welcome the very prompt action that Netflix has taken to preserve the smooth functioning of the internet during the Covid-19 crisis while maintaining a good experience for users,” Breton said. “Mr. Hastings has demonstrated a strong sense of responsibility and solidarity. We’ll keep closely in touch to follow the evolution of the situation together.”
More must-read stories from Fortune:
—Filmmakers must make a choice as coronavirus forces festivals online
—How Harvey Weinstein’s sentencing could change the entertainment industry
—As coronavirus spreads, is this weekend’s historically low box office Hollywood’s new normal?
—Don Cheadle on Black Monday, Wall Street in the Trump era, and hope about the climate change fight
—How Netflix’s Lost Girls upends the conventions of serial killer movies
Follow Fortune on Flipboard to stay up-to-date on the latest news and analysis.


fortune--2020-03-19--Italy’s coronavirus death toll is now higher than China’s

Subscribe to Fortune’s Outbreak newsletter for a daily roundup of stories on the coronavirus outbreak and its impact on global business.
Italy surpassed China as the country with the most coronavirus deaths, as its number of fatalities reached 3,405 and the pandemic’s global spread accelerates.
With Europe now the epicenter of the outbreak, Italy has 41,035 total cases of the virus, civil protection officials said on Thursday. This includes 4,440 who have recovered from the illness. The country has been under a nationwide lockdown since earlier this month.
The number of deaths over the past day fell to 427 on Thursday from 475 on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, no new infections were reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the outbreak began, and new cases have slowed to a trickle across China, a dramatic plunge from the height of an outbreak that has killed more than 3,000 there. Epidemiologists warn the country could face subsequent waves of infections.
While the pandemic is spreading rapidly through Spain, France and other European countries, the disease has taken the heaviest toll on Italy.
There, the first cases were detected in late January among two Chinese tourists, but the virus then went undetected for about three weeks until a man in the northern region of Lombardy was diagnosed with the virus.
By that time the pathogen may already have been spreading, and the country reported its first deaths on Feb. 23. Since then the flareup has been even more rapid than in China, despite ever tighter restrictions on people’s movement across Italy after an initial quarantine of the towns at the heart of the outbreak proved inadequate.
Despite the devastating impact of containment measures on the economy, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Thursday that he he will extend a nationwide lockdown beyond its original March 25 deadline. Schools, which had been scheduled to reopen April 3, will stay closed longer than originally planned.
With the caseload surging, hospitals in Lombardy — which includes Italy’s economic and financial capital of Milan — have been overwhelmed. Intensive-care beds are running short and strapped medical professionals are having to make triage decisions about whom to treat with life-saving equipment, according to docotrs on the front lines.
One ray of hope may be that the rate of new confirmed coronavirus diagnoses has slowed in recent days. Italy, like some other European countries, has scaled back testing as the virus spreads, so more new cases may also be going undetected.
Europe overtook China in the total number of cases on Wednesday, with more than 80,000 diagnoses in each region. The official tally may vastly understate the actual infections, though. Health authorities in the U.K. have said the actual number of cases is probably more than 20 times the reported figure.
More coronavirus coverage from Fortune:
—This famed economist doesn’t think we’re headed for another Great Recession
—South Korea has the most comprehensive coronavirus data. What it’s taught us so far
—10 questions about the 2020 election during the coronavirus pandemic, answered
—6 steps to sustainably flatten the coronavirus curve
—How hackers are exploiting the coronavirus—and how to protect yourself
—Hong Kong launches surveillance operation to track suspected coronavirus patients
—Listen to Leadership Next, a Fortune podcast examining the evolving role of CEO
—WATCH: The race is on to create a coronavirus antiviral drug and vaccine
Subscribe to Fortune’s Outbreak newsletter for a daily roundup of stories on the coronavirus outbreak and its impact on global business.


fortune--2020-03-19--60,000 homeless could end up infected with coronavirus, California governor says

Subscribe to Fortune’s Outbreak newsletter for a daily roundup of stories on the coronavirus outbreak and its impact on global business.
As worries about the spread of the coronavirus confine millions of Californians to their homes, concern is growing about those who have no homes in which to shelter. Gov. Gavin Newsom estimates up to 60,000 homeless could end up infected.
California has more than 150,000 homeless people, the most in the nation, and as the rest of the state’s residents are being told to stay apart and to frequently wash their hands, the homeless are living just as they did before the outbreak.
The virus is spread by coughing and sneezing and could easily sweep through homeless encampments where people live live close together and hygiene is poor or nonexistent.
There is one confirmed death of a homeless person in California so far. Newsom said the person died in Santa Clara County, just south of San Francisco. Newsom and the county health department provided no details about the person
Newsom on Wednesday said it’s possible 60,000 homeless people could contract the virus and overwhelm the state’s health care systems and announced spending of $150 million on efforts to shield that population from the virus.
“I hope you get a sense of the seriousness we’re taking the issue of homelessness,” Newsom said.
Two-thirds of the money will go directly to local governments for spending on homeless services and $50 million will be used by the state to buy 1,300 travel trailers and lease hotel rooms for emergency housing.
The trailers will be used for homeless people requiring isolation after testing positive for the virus or who are showing symptoms. California also has identified 950 hotels that could lease rooms to local governments for the homeless.
In Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that the city, through the Red Cross, will provide 6,000 emergency beds at recreation centers, including 1,600 by week’s end.
Los Angeles has about 27,000 of the county’s 60,000 homeless people. Garcetti said the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority will be asked to identify 4,000 people most at risk from the virus.
People in shelters who have virus symptoms will be taken to receive medical care, Garcetti said.
The city hasn’t confirmed any virus cases among homeless people, who are difficult to test and treat because they may move frequently or refuse medical care.
The city has set up hundreds of hand-washing stations and mobile toilets at homeless encampments and the City Council voted Tuesday to suspend an ordinance requiring homeless people to take down their tents during the day so that transients can at least shelter there.
California has at least 870 confirmed cases and 16 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. More than 11,900 people in California are self-monitoring after returning from overseas.
Meanwhile, the pandemic continued to affect virtually every facet of Californians’ lives as businesses shut down, either because they weren’t considered “essential” under shelter-in-place health orders or for lack of customers as streets turned into ghost towns.
Newsom said that the state had received 80,000 claims for unemployment on Tuesday, compared to the usual rate of about 2,000 per day.
Newsom last week urged people over 65 and those with underlying health conditions to stay inside, limited gatherings to 250 people and called for the shutdown of bars, movie theaters, fitness centers and other gathering places, and for restaurants to only serve to-go orders.
With virtually all children out of school because of closures, Newsom suspended standardized testing this spring. And with the economy shedding jobs he waived certain reporting requirements for businesses making mass layoffs.
Newsom said he will not issue a statewide lockdown on people’s movements, preferring to allow local governments to make those decisions. Many have enacted tighter restrictions.
Residents of the county of Sacramento and city of Fresno began living under a shelter-in-place order Thursday similar to actions taken by at least 15 northern counties. The entire San Francisco Bay is part of the area covered by the restrictions affecting more than 10 million people.
Residents have been told to stay home except for essential shopping trips and to jobs in health care and other industries deemed critical.
Palm Springs enacted similar restrictions. Los Angeles, San Diego and other major population centers in Southern California have urged people to remain at home as much as possible.
Newsom said nearly 99% of the state’s K-12 schools are shuttered and could remain so for the rest of the school year.
More coronavirus coverage from Fortune:
—This famed economist doesn’t think we’re headed for another Great Recession
—South Korea has the most comprehensive coronavirus data. What it’s taught us so far
—10 questions about the 2020 election during the coronavirus pandemic, answered
—6 steps to sustainably flatten the coronavirus curve
—How hackers are exploiting the coronavirus—and how to protect yourself
—Hong Kong launches surveillance operation to track suspected coronavirus patients
—Listen to Leadership Next, a Fortune podcast examining the evolving role of CEO
—WATCH: The race is on to create a coronavirus antiviral drug and vaccine


fortune--2020-03-19--Monetizing fear? The future of anti-rape technology—and its decade of failure

In 2011, Nancy Schwartzman started developing a mobile application to move the psychology of bystander intervention into an increasingly online world. Technology aimed at preventing rape had long put the onus on the individual, but what if an entire community could take responsibility for preventing sexual assault?
By 2012, she had created Circle of 6, an app in which users enter six of their most trusted contacts. Should a risky situation arise, users can tap an icon to send a text saying, “Call and pretend you need me. I need an interruption.” Another function sends GPS coordinates with a message saying, “Come and get me. I need help getting home safely.” The app, originally created for campuses, is now available to everyone for free—with some 350,000 downloads since its launch.
It might not be a perfect fit in all situations, but it capitalized on the micro-communities that women and young people already rely on, diffusing dangerous situations with the help of others. At the same time, it created an opportunity for dialogue about the far-reaching problem of sexual assault, as friends downloaded the app and asked to be in each other’s circles.
“This is survivor-led technology. This is a solution built by folks who know what it’s like and who know what the threat model is,” Schwartzman, now CEO of Circle of 6, says.
If Circle of 6 was a promising start to the decade, much of what followed has been a parade of failure. In 2013, we saw anti-rape underwear. The middle of the decade witnessed One Scream, a voice-activated app that sends for help if it hears you screaming. There have been wearable alarm systems, female condoms with teeth, and roofie-detecting nail polish.
After the #MeToo movement in 2017, a rush of technology emerged as tech newcomers have looked to what role they can play—and how they can profit—amid the current reckoning surrounding sexual violence.
As Schwartzman explains: “The mentality of ‘I’m going to disrupt the shopping industry’ can’t just be applied to rape.”
By understanding where these products went wrong, the next generation of tech wunderkinds might be able to do better.
“Move fast and break things,” disrupt, revolutionize, and monetize
What happens when the tech innovators of Silicon Valley—itself a hotbed of gender discrimination—take a shot at solving the most intimate form of violence? The tech world overwhelmingly seems to approach rape in the same way it tackled food delivery or ride sharing, as though looking for a silver bullet.
Whether a product came out in 2010 or 2019, wearable tech in particular has frequently worked off the assumption that potential victims will be fighting off an assailant who’s a complete stranger. This tech can take the form of an alarm, a panic button, or any kind of wearable weapon unlikely to be used with a friend or partner. Products like Xantus, a bracelet that detects common date-rape drugs, or “Safe Shorts,” which emit a 140-decibel alarm if someone tries to remove them, have surfaced in the past few years alone. They rely on the “stranger danger” model, in which potential victims are on their guard and ready to fight.
But data consistently disproves the idea that most assaults take place late at night, when someone is arbitrarily set upon by a shadowy perpetrator. Around eight in 10 rapes are committed by someone known to the victim, according to statistics from the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN). The U.S. Department of Justice suggested that this number is even higher when it comes to children and college students, putting it closer to nine in 10.
Before putting out a product, creators need to ask: “Is it going to work in all situations? Is it going to give people a false sense of security? And how realistic is the situation it’s designed to address?” Scott Berkowitz, the founder and president of RAINN, tells Fortune.
Invi, a skunk odor–emitting bracelet that went on sale in 2017, was seemingly created with this exclusive (and where it concerns the majority of sexual assaults, statistically rare) scenario in mind. When threatened, wearers break a single-use canister on the approximately $78 bracelet to release a foul smell (it’s unclear how the smell would affect its wearer). This type of accessory seems to put the pressure on wearers to prevent their own assault, ignoring the fact that victims might be reluctant to fight back against an assailant who is a friend or partner.
When faced with the potentially problematic aspects of his invention, Invi’s founder Roel van der Kamp tells Fortune he was trying to “raise awareness” about sexual assault. Van der Kamp says he consulted sexual violence experts in the development of his product, but by his own assessment he had little sense that rape was such a prevalent problem, until he started doing research in 2012.
“As a guy, I was a bit amazed that it also happens a lot in our societies, but at the same time, you don’t hear a lot of people talking about it,” he says, noting that the #MeToo movement has changed that.
Indeed, the “Me Too” movement has brought discussions of consent to the fore. Enter a whole array of products using the language of sexual openness in increasingly problematic ways. Consent apps in particular such as Legal Fling or uConsent form a kind of digital handshake agreement on what two sexual partners are willing to do, from kissing to anal sex. While the apps don’t constitute a legally binding contract, they do provide documentation that could be used against a rape victim in court.
“I think there’s a gendered assumption that only people who are the target of sexual assault will have apps,” says Brenda Smith, a professor of law at American University focusing on the intersections of gender, crime, and sexuality.
Consent apps in particular reveal one of the frequent traps of tech-based assault prevention: an attempt to erase the gray area instead of looking for dynamic solutions. Going through a laundry list of sexual acts is neither a natural nor a practical way to solve this problem, according to Smith.
“The nature and the fluidity of sexual interactions make it very difficult to have the app as the savior,” she says.
A victim problem, a woman problem
While the technology behind some of these products and initiatives might be distinctly 21st century, the philosophy behind them isn’t always so far removed from the dark ages of chastity belts, according to sexual violence experts.
“Feminism has become a way to sell us a whole range of things,” says Fiona Vera-Gray, a professor at Durham Law School in the U.K., who studies sexual violence against women and girls. “The fact that women and girls feel responsible for protecting ourselves from sexual violence becomes the motivation for the creation of products that are then sold back to women and girls.”
Sexual assault, these products seem to imply, is a victim problem. More specifically, it’s a woman problem, something that happens when women put themselves at risk, rather than a systemic issue that individuals are often powerless to prevent. It takes male assailants out of the equation and erases other constituencies from the question—transgender people, children, and the elderly, for example.
The most promising technologies are—like Circle of 6—taking the focus off the individual, while aiming to educate the community at large.
Callisto, a nonprofit that has expanded rapidly in the past few years to help college students document assault, is set to double the number of campuses where it operates by fall 2020. The program allows students to create a report of their assault, with the app connecting survivors of the same assailant through their Title IX office—even if the assaults occur years apart.
Survivors are often reluctant to report for a whole host of reasons—from fear of not being believed, to the protection of their identity, to uncertainty about the legal definition of rape—but knowing that there are multiple victims often gives survivors the strength to report. The fact that Callisto connects survivors of the same assailant to a Title IX office—rather than to each other or to a legal option—both protects against false reports, while cushioning the barriers to coming forward. Since then, apps have taken a similar approach and updated it for the workplace or for a broader user base. Apps such as tEQuitable and AllVoices have cropped up recently to tackle the issue of workplace harassment and misconduct in particular.
“#MeToo has shown, in a disturbing way, that women are frequently not believed unless two or 10 or 60 of them come forward together,” says Sejal Singh, a Harvard Law student and former policy coordinator for Know Your IX, a national campaign to end gender-based violence in schools. Singh has advocated for Callisto in her work with universities, saying, “Callisto enables people to come forward together and to have each other’s back.”
JDoe, another reporting app, matches survivors to lawyers—a service that law firms pay $10,000 to $500,000 per year to access. The lawyers on JDoe come exclusively from civil firms, meaning that any claim filed through them cannot end in jail time for the perpetrator—but rather in damages, of which the firm takes a sizable cut. When I ran a test report through the app, it referred me to a personal injury lawyer.
To be fair, criminal charges are extremely rare for rape cases. Prosecutors take on approximately 10 cases for every 1,000 rapes, and even fewer result in felony convictions, according to data from the FBI and the Department of Justice. But JDoe’s claim to hold “repeat offenders accountable once and for all” seems at least a little misleading, since these types of lawsuits do not have the power to take a perpetrator off the street.
Other tech solutions in the future might look less like an app or a gadget and more like existing software programs. Companies like Thorn, which aims to defend children from sexual abuse, have started licensing a series of assets from Microsoft, including algorithms, to help root out child sex abuse online. The technique, available for free, crawls chat histories in order to rate how likely it is that a particular person is “grooming” a potential victim. It then sends those reports to a human moderator who can take action.
As we look toward 2020, experts say anti-rape technology must take a community-oriented approach. That means education and support systems that extend as far as possible before the potential moment of assault—and in the immediate aftermath too. The most revolutionary technology will never be limited to gadgetry, or an app, so much as the spread of participation and shared responsibility in ending sexual assault. These technologies aren’t simple, nor do they promise an easy fix. Instead, they offer dynamic access to support, resources, and open lines of communication.
“There absolutely is a place for tech,” says Professor Vera-Gray. “But it’s about tech being involved with your local rape crisis center, your local women’s refuge, and talking to them about how you as a company can use your profits, and use your expertise, and use your knowledge to end violence against women—rather than how you can monetize women’s fear of sexual violence.”
More must-read stories from Fortune:
—What the world’s biggest economies are doing to fight coronavirus and recession
—Will donors of color invest in white presidential candidates?
—Big business rallies behind Joe Biden
—How swing state economies have performed since the 2016 election
—Listen to Leadership Next, a Fortune podcast examining the evolving role of CEO
—WATCH: What happens to leftover campaign funds once a candidate drops out?
Get up to speed on your morning commute with Fortune’s CEO Daily newsletter.