fortune--2020-06-07--How do you move a technology conference with 30,000 attendees online?

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Each June since 2017, CognitionX, a London-based market research and conference business, has hosted one of the world’s largest annual gatherings devoted to the impact of artificial intelligence and other new technologies on society and business.
Last year, more than 20,000 people attended the three-day CogX “festival of A.I. and emerging technology” in London’s King Cross district, where they listened to 687 speakers participating in talks and panel discussions held on 12 different stages.
But how do you hold such a massive gathering in the midst of a pandemic? “We looked into it,” Charlie Muirhead, the serial technology entrepreneur who is CognitionX’s founder and chief executive officer, says. “We prepared a full health and safety plan of what would have been required to hold it this year as a physical event, with social distancing. But the conclusion was: We couldn’t do it.”
This became especially apparent, Muirhead says, after the U.K. government announced that while it was beginning to ease the country’s lockdown, non-essential businesses would not be allowed to resume operation until mid-June, while hospitality businesses—such as bars and restaurants—would not be allowed to reopen until July at the earliest.
Muirhead and his CogX team debated whether to postpone the event until later in the year. But they worried about scheduling clashes with other local tech-related events, such as London Tech Week, that have also been shifted from the summer to the autumn.
In the end, CogX decided to move online as a virtual event. Plenty of other companies with events businesses, including Fortune, have tried to hold virtual events. But CogX’s ambitions, in terms of the number of participants and how closely it wanted the digital experience to mimic its past live events, were unique.
In fact, CogX planned to expand both the number of attendees—catering to an online audience of up to 50,000 people—and the amount of content in the festival. This year’s CogX, which kicks off in London on Monday morning, will feature 18 different virtual “stages” and 324 hours of simultaneous programming on topics ranging from the future of work to technology and ethics to cybersecurity.
“If we were going to do it, we wanted to do it big,” Muirhead says, noting that CogX has already livestreamed the festival for the past few years, enabling it to build a global audience.
Fulfilling this ambition has required CogX to create a bespoke virtual summit platform by integrating six different pre-existing livestreaming and digital conference software programs into a single front-end user interface. “Suffice it to say, there was no off-the-shelf solution that could do all of this,” Muirhead says.
The end result is, he says, is an attempt to recreate—as much as possible—the kinds of networking opportunities and interactions that physical, live events offer.
This year’s CogX includes a virtual expo where participants meet with representatives from technology companies, along with virtual one-on-one meetings that participants will be able to schedule through the conference platform. There will also be about 100 different side events, hosted by CogX’s sponsors and partners, that will take place on the CogX software platform over the course of the three days.
CogX has developed an A.I.-powered matchmaking system that recommends to attendees others whom they might benefit from connecting with during the festival. The conference is also offering a concierge service that will help book meetings for attendees, for an additional fee.
CogX created a tiered pricing scheme, ranging from some free tickets that people can apply for online, to a premium Global Leadership Summit pass, which attendees have to apply for and which provides access to a separate “festival within the festival.” This Summit is aimed at C-suite executives, startup entrepreneurs, government officials, non-profit leaders, and prominent academics, Muirhead says. The talks and discussions for these 4,500 passholders will be held according to the Chatham House Rule, meaning no one can be quoted by name, in order to facilitate as candid and open a dialogue as possible, he says.
CogX chose “How do we get the next 10 years right?” as the theme of this year’s festival. That theme was broad enough to encompass a range of global challenges, from the coronavirus pandemic to climate change, Muirhead explains. And while CogX began focused largely on artificial intelligence, the conference has been broadening its agenda to take in the impact of technology on society overall.
Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will be headlining the festival with a keynote address on Monday. Other speakers are set to include former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair and former U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power. There will also be prominent venture capitalists, such as Skype co-founder Niklas Zennstrom, and Nicola Mendelsohn, who is Facebook’s vice president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
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fortune--2020-06-08--China raises the stakes in defending Huawei in the U.K.

On racial equity , how can companies show they mean what they say ?

Chinese telecom manufacturer Huawei Technologies launched an advertising campaign in U.K. newspapers on Monday to celebrate 20 years of operations in the country, as the company’s future there looks increasingly uncertain.
The flurry of ads come ahead of next month’s report from Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) that will evaluate the risk Huawei poses to national security. The last assessment, carried out earlier this year, found Huawei to be a “high-risk vendor.”
If the new report elevates Huawei’s risk status, it could give Conservative politicians the leverage they need to push for the country’s complete ban on the company. China’s ambassador to the U.K., however, has warned Beijing could retaliate against Britain if Huawei is blocked, threatening to open a new front in the China-U.K. rift.
Leaders in 5G
Huawei is widely touted as the global leader in 5G technology. The company has filed over 3,100 patents for 5G tech and claims to have secured over 90 contracts for 5G installations globally. Despite its successes, Huawei faces significant pushback from governments in the EU, the U.K., and, particularly, the U.S.
The NCSC’s current investigation into Huawei’s risk level was prompted by the U.S. Commerce Department’s decision last month to block Huawei from purchasing semiconductors that use American technology in any stage of production.
Since 2018, the Trump administration has placed increasingly tight restrictions on Huawei’s access to U.S. technology. The U.S. views Huawei as a security risk, alleging the telecom manufacturer could harvest sensitive data from mobile networks and relay information to Beijing. Huawei denies the accusation.
Washington has pressured its allies to ban Huawei from domestic networks and attempted to throttle Huawei’s access to U.S.-made components. Its most recent salvo—blocking Huawei’s access to U.S.-made chips—means Huawei will likely have to rely on semiconductors made in China.
The NCSC said it is “looking carefully” at how the change in U.S. policy could affect Huawei’s risk level. The security agency warned in January that Huawei posed a “high risk,” adding that the manufacturer’s “cybersecurity and engineering quality is low and its processes opaque.”
Nevertheless, the U.K. government decided to green-light Huawei’s involvement in the rollout of a national 5G network in March, but it adopted the NCSC’s recommendation of restricting the company to a 35% market share. At the time, a group of Conservative backbenchers lobbied unsuccessfully to cut Huawei out completely.
Tit for tat
As the NCSC contemplates Huawei’s threat level, Huawei vice president Victor Zhang told the BBC the sudden advertising push this week is designed to cut through the “noise” of news surrounding the company and to provide the U.K. public with facts about Huawei.
“We believe the U.K. will definitely review [Huawei’s access] based on the facts and the evidence, because the U.K. will take its own interests very seriously,” Zhang said. Citing an “independent report,” Zhang claims removing Huawei equipment entirely would set the British economy back 7 billion pounds (roughly $8.8 billion).
China’s ambassador to the U.K. Liu Xiaoming, has warned that blocking Huawei could cost the U.K. much more. According to The Times, Liu told a private group of business leaders that the pending decision on Huawei’s involvement was “a litmus test of whether Britain is a true and faithful partner of China.”
Liu warned that severing ties with Huawei could prompt Beijing to pull Chinese investment from major British infrastructure projects—including the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant and the costly High Speed 2 railway. U.K. officials dismissed Liu’s comments as “saber rattling,” but Beijing has appeared to act in defense of Huawei before.
Swords drawn
Following the December 2018 arrest of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver, two Canadian citizens living in China were promptly detained and accused of spying by Chinese authorities. Meng remains under house arrest in her Vancouver mansion; her most recent appeal against extradition was stuck down in court last month. Meanwhile, the two Canadians are being held without trial. Canadian canola exports were also denied entry to China following Meng’s arrest. The trade spat is ongoing.
Over the weekend, HSBC chairman Mark Tucker reportedly told Downing Street that the London-headquartered bank could face reprisals in China if Huawei is banned from the U.K. The bank found itself at the center of controversy last week after HSBC’s Asia-Pacific chief executive Peter Wong pledged support for Beijing’s plan to impose a national security law over Hong Kong.
Businesses operating in the Hong Kong special administrative region have been pressured to back the contentious legislation. HSBC was called out by Hong Kong’s former chief executive C.Y. Leung for not offering support earlier. Leung, who is a member of Beijing’s highest political advisory body, said, “HSBC’s China business can be replaced by banks from China or other countries overnight.”


fortune--2020-06-08--Hong Kong eases travel restrictions—but only for its business elite

Hong Kong is lifting restrictions on travel to mainland China—but only for premier business executives. And the easing of mandatory quarantine rules only works one way.
On Monday, the city’s financial services secretary Christopher Hui Ching-yu relaxed travel restrictions for executives at the top 480 companies listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, providing more leeway to firms whose corporate travel between the mainland and Hong Kong has been curtailed by 14-day mandated quarantines as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The companies getting the free pass include Chinese tech giants like Alibaba and Tencent, state-owned enterprises like the Chinese oil giant Sinopec, and the international bank HSBC. In total, the 480 firms represent roughly 95% of the total market capitalization of the 2,107 companies listed on Hong Kong’s exchange.
In a Monday press release, the Hong Kong government said that two directors or executives per company will be eligible to travel from mainland China to Hong Kong every month for “essential business activities” such as board meetings, seeing clients, and signing documents. Executives arriving in Hong Kong from mainland China will be exempt from the city’s mandatory two-week quarantine. Yet Hong Kong executives must still undergo quarantine upon reaching the mainland, though the Hong Kong government is working with authorities there to remove this requirement by way of predeparture COVID-19 testing, according to the release.
“We want to open the border step-by-step, and it will be better to allow a limited number of people first, before expanding it further,” Hui said in an interview with the Hong Kong newspaper Sing Tao Daily. “It is, however, an important step to allow large companies to resume cross-border business travel to handle their business activities.”
Hong Kong has largely contained the virus. Revitalizing the economy of the global financial hub hinges, to a great degree, on reopening its borders to foreign business personnel and tourists, even as the pandemic maintains its grip elsewhere.
A nudge for the economy
The new measure will prove a small relief to the Hong Kong economy that’s been battered by the pandemic as well as a year of pro-democracy protests. In 2019, Hong Kong fell into its first depression in a decade owing, in large part, to months of social unrest. The pandemic slowed the economy further, with output contracting by nearly 9% in the first quarter of 2020, compared with the same period in 2019.
The policy also reflects the interdependence of the two economies. Mainland China is Hong Kong’s largest trading partner and accounts for 51% of its total trade volume. Hong Kong is mainland China’s fourth-largest trading partner, but the city is more important for its financial markets. Hong Kong’s relatively open and free markets in comparison to the mainland’s make it particularly attractive to Chinese companies looking to access foreign capital, and Chinese companies make up roughly half of all companies listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange.
The Guangzhou-Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link has been largely unused as the coronavirus pandemic has limited travel. Harry Wai—NurPhoto/Getty Images
Hong Kong has recorded 1,107 coronavirus cases and four deaths from the virus since the onset of the pandemic in January, and the city has gradually reopened its economy over the past few months as local spread of COVID-19 has subsided. Hong Kong has recorded just over 100 cases in the past two months after reaching 1,000 cases on April 11.
Restaurants, bars, offices, and schools have all reopened in Hong Kong, though social distancing guidelines still mandate capacity limits in places like movie theaters and ban gatherings of more than eight people.
Yet even as Hong Kong has relaxed many outbreak-era rules in the city, it’s kept in place travel restrictions for nonresidents.
Hong Kong announced last week it is extending compulsory quarantines on travelers from mainland China, Macau, and Taiwan until at least July 7 and to Sept. 18 for travelers from any other country.
This means that even as some business travel resumes, Hong Kong’s tourism sector (which contributes roughly 5% to the city’s annual economic output) will likely lag behind.
A time of increased tension
The gradual reopening of the vital business travel corridor comes as the relationship between the mainland and Hong Kong shifts, with Beijing set to impose a new national security law in Hong Kong.
Beijing says that the law, which was passed on May 28 at the country’s annual Two Sessions conference, will prevent and punish acts of terrorism, secession, and foreign interference that jeopardize China’s national security, but critics say it will erode Hong Kong’s relative autonomy and independence from the mainland that has helped it flourish as an international business center.
The Chinese government is expected to release text of the law by August.
In recent days, large companies in Hong Kong and international banks like HSBC and Standard Chartered have voiced support for China’s new measure, even as some foreign businesses look to scale down operations in the city because of the law.
In the Sing Tao interview on relaxing the restrictions for cross-border business travel, Hui voiced support for China’s national security law. “The social unrest that started a year ago shows there is a need for a security law to bring stability, and to strengthen the confidence of the business sector,” Hui said.


fortune--2020-06-08--On racial equity, how can companies show they mean what they say?

New Zealand says it ’ s eliminated all coronavirus cases and is resuming normal life

This is the web version of CEO Daily. To get it delivered to your inbox, sign up here.
Good morning.
Last week’s flood of CEO statements on racial justice marked a dramatic change in CEO behavior from the past. But still, at the end of the day, the statements were just words, prompting one critic to tell the New York Times this weekend: “It’s complete B.S. It’s performative.”
So what can companies do to show they mean what they say? FSG managing director Mark Kramer, who partners with Fortune on our Change the World list, offered ten ways companies can put their racial-equity talk into action–including a commitment to pay-equity, a living wage, adequate health care, and making election day a paid holiday so everyone can vote. His suggestions are worth reading here.
I think the bigger issue here is one raised by Business Roundtable Chairman Doug McMillon in his statement establishing a special committee to advance “racial equality and justice solutions.” He put Education and Workforce at the top of the group’s list of priorities. Fixing our broken education system, of course, is primarily a governmental responsibility. But creating new training programs that provide pathways to good jobs for people of color is something businesses can and should do. A lot of good work has been done in this area over the last five years, but the time has come to scale those efforts. Watch that space to see if last week’s talk turns into lasting action.
Separately, Friday’s encouraging employment report has rekindled the debate over what shape the recovery might take. Fortune’s Anne Srader explores the possibilities–U, check mark, Nike swoosh, square root symbol, etc.–here. Spoiler alert: it won’t be a V.
More news below.
Alan Murray
@alansmurray
alan.murray@fortune.com
Many companies are speaking out against racial injustices right now. But how do they fare in their own workplaces? Black employees in the corporate world, we want to hear from you: Please submit your anonymous thoughts and anecdotes here.
TOP NEWS
All clear
New Zealand is removing all its social distancing requirements because, the government says, it has successfully eliminated the novel coronavirus. Strict border controls remain, though, and people will still need to maintain records of who they've met and where they've been. New Zealand's seven-week lockdown, which ended May 14, was one of the strictest in the world. Fortune
Shipping forecast
The shipping industry has warned that the global economy is in peril, due to a mounting crisis over staffing. Up to 400,000 crew are currently stranded at sea or at home by coronavirus travel restrictions, and many crew have worked emergency extensions to their agreements, raising worries over fatigue and safety. Those emergency extensions expire June 16. International Chamber of Shipping head Guy Platten: "You cannot keep working people indefinitely. Some have been on their ship for more than a year. The longer this issue goes on the greater risk to the supply chain." Financial Times
Worst month
April was the worst-ever month for the German economy, which saw industrial output plummet by 17.9% month-on-month. The production drop in the crucial auto industry was particularly marked (70% MoM) and even the construction sector shrank a little. On the plus side, the lifting of lockdowns should see economic activity and industrial output rebound for May and June—though external demand remains a problem. ING Think
Quarantine pushback
Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary has called the U.K.'s new two-week quarantine rules for new arrivals a "political stunt." Airlines are generally against quarantines of this sort, because they are a disincentive to getting back in a plane, but O'Leary's point is that the U.K.'s version was unenforceable and not even a proper quarantine. O'Leary: "You could be in Sainsbury's, you could be on the beach, you could be on the golf course in the unlikely event the Home Office calls you–all they will have is a mobile number." That may be, but the rules are backed by criminal law, and those getting caught flouting them will be in serious trouble. BBC
AROUND THE WATER COOLER
Equity valuations
Are the markets defying gravity right now? Probably—but, as Fortune's Shawn Tully writes, there is a possibility that we're just entering an era of super-high valuations, because interest rates will stay low for a long time to come. Tully writes: "You can invent a plotline that gets the market to today's heady valuation and makes room for gains from here. But that's like watching one of those cinema thrillers where you can't imagine how the hero can escape, yet he ducks the gunfire and somehow manages to declare victory." Fortune
Out of control
A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll has found that 80% of Americans feel the country is spiraling out of control—and also that people are twice as likely to be troubled by the actions of police in the death of George Floyd than they are about violence at some of the ensuing protests. WSJ
SpaceX priority
Elon Musk has told SpaceX's employees that Starship, its next-generation rocket that is supposed to be fully reusable like a commercial airplane, is now their highest priority (apart from anything that could reduce the risk of the return of the astronauts SpaceX launched for the first time barely a week ago.) "We need to accelerate Starship progress," Musk wrote in an email. CNBC
Moving online
How do you move a conference with tens of thousands of attendees online? Ask the organizers of the CogX A.I. and emerging technology show in London, who are using the forced situation as an opportunity to expand both the number of attendees and the amount of content in the festival. The show takes place today, featuring 18 virtual "stages" and 324 hours of simultaneous programing on a variety of topics. Fortune
This edition of CEO Daily was edited by David Meyer.


fortune--2020-06-08--Trump continues to lose support from old-guard Republicans

Colin Powell on Sunday became the latest notable Republican or former military leader to express concern about President Donald Trump, saying he’ll vote for Joe Biden in November instead.
The former secretary of State said that by threatening last week to use active-duty U.S. troops against protesters, Trump showed he has “drifted away” from the U.S. Constitution.
“He is now the candidate, and I’ll be voting for him,” Powell, perhaps the most prominent black Republican in the U.S., said of Biden on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Powell, 83, was the top diplomat under Republican President George W. Bush and before that served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and as National Security Adviser.
He joins a number of prominent retired military officials as well as current and former lawmakers to criticize Trump, although not all have said they’ll vote for Biden. Powell has also said he didn’t vote for Trump in 2016.
Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, a long-term antagonist of Trump, has suggested he’ll write in his wife’s name in November. The New York Times reported that Cindy McCain, widow of Republican Senator John McCain, is likely to vote for Biden. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said last week’s she’s “struggling” to support Trump. And former President George W. Bush and his brother Jeb, a former Florida governor, are other possible Biden voters.
Broad Critique
Powell on Sunday aimed a broad critique at Trump’s approach to the military, a foreign policy he said was causing “disdain” abroad, and a president he portrayed as trying to amass excessive power.
“We have a Constitution and we have to follow the Constitution, and the president has drifted away from it,” Powell said. Trump also, he said, “lies about things.”
Trump responded swiftly on Twitter, mocking Powell and calling the retired four-star general “a real stiff” who got the U.S. into wars after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S.
Colin Powell, a real stiff who was very responsible for getting us into the disastrous Middle East Wars, just announced he will be voting for another stiff, Sleepy Joe Biden. Didn’t Powell say that Iraq had “weapons of mass destruction?” They didn’t, but off we went to WAR! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 7, 2020
The president followed up by calling Powell, “highly overrated,” and running through his own policy actions.
Somebody please tell highly overrated Colin Powell that I will have gotten almost 300 Federal Judges approved (a record), Two Great Supreme Court Justices, rebuilt our once depleted Military, Choice for Vets, Biggest Ever Tax & Regulation Cuts, Saved Healthcare & 2A, & much more! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 7, 2020
Similarly, on Friday, Trump said he would back any candidate, “good or bad,” against Murkowski in 2022, when she’s up for re-election. “If you have a pulse, I’m with you,” the president tweeted.
Trump’s threat to use troops against protesters has drawn high-profile criticism from several former members of his administration, including former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and former Chief of Staff John Kelly.
Mattis said in a statement on Wednesday that Trump had abused his power when a park across the street from the White House was forcibly cleared of peaceful protesters before the president staged a photo op at a nearby church damaged by arson.
“We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution,” the former defense secretary and former Marine Corps commander said.
Murkowsi told reporters that Mattis’s critique of Trump was “necessary and overdue.”
More than a week of demonstrations have been held against police brutality across the U.S. While initially they turned violent in some cities, they’ve recently been mostly peaceful. On Sunday, Trump ordered the National Guard to start withdrawing from Washington.
Constitutional Restraints
Powell said Trump needs to understand the restraints on him contained in the U.S. Constitution. He urged members of the Congress to step up, and said he’s “proud” of his former military colleagues who spoke out against Trump.
Powell also said he’s “very close” to Biden on social and political issues and would speak out for him during the election campaign.
U.S. President Donald Trump, center left, shakes hands with Colin Powell, former U.S. secretary of state, during the Ford’s Theatre Gala in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Sunday, June 2, 2019. Wire photography: Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg via Getty Images Sarah Silbiger—Bloomberg/Getty Images
A number of other former military officials — whose political leanings, if any, are often unknown — continued to criticize Trump on Sunday political talk shows.
“Many of us watched the use of active-duty military to clear peaceful protesters out of Lafayette Square, and it rang echoes of what the founders feared more than anything, which was the use of armed active-duty military against citizens,” retired Admiral James Stavridis said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
A “whole spectrum” of former military leaders “jumped and felt that shock of watching active-duty troops clear peaceful protesters. Wrong answer,” said Stavridis, former supreme allied commander of NATO. Stavridis is also a Bloomberg Opinion columnist.
“Our military should never be called to fight our own people as enemies of the state. And that quite frankly for me really tipped it over,” retired Admiral Mike Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on “Fox News Sunday.”
Mullen wrote a widely cited essay for The Atlantic magazine last week criticizing the decision to use members of the National Guard and other security personnel to clear Lafayette Square near the White House last week.
Others who’ve spoken up recently include retired Navy Admiral William McRaven, director of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. There was “nothing morally right” about the decision to clear peaceful protesters, he said.


fortune--2020-06-08--Can the markets match last week’s monster rally?

This is the web version of the Bull Sheet, Fortune’s no-BS daily newsletter on the markets. Sign up to receive it in your inbox here.
Good morning. After Friday’s blowout jobs-fueled rally, U.S. futures are climbing again. It’s a mixed picture in Asia and Europe.
Let’s check in on the action.
Markets update
Asia
Asia’s major indices are solidly in the green in afternoon trade. All major indices are higher, led by Japan’s Nikkei (+ 1.3% ).
(+ ). Huawei plans to go on the offensive to preserve its spot as the 5G vendor-of-choice in its key U.K. market . Part of its campaign will be to convince Britain (and the world) it’s not controlled by Beijing.
plans to go on the offensive to preserve its spot as the vendor-of-choice in its key . Part of its campaign will be to convince Britain (and the world) it’s not controlled by Beijing. Crude is climbing following an agreement by OPEC and its allies to extend production cuts.
Europe
The European bourses fell out of the gates. The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 opened 0.7% lower.
out of the gates. The benchmark opened lower. Could Big Pharma be getting a little smaller? Bloomberg reports Gilead and AstraZeneca , both of whom are working on COVID-19 cures , are kicking the tires on a merger. It would be the biggest healthcare tie-up ever, creating a $240 billion giant .
and , both of whom are working on , are kicking the tires on a merger. It would be the biggest healthcare tie-up ever, creating . Britain is on a collision course with airlines furious over the country’s quarantine measures for inbound travelers. It goes into effect today despite threats from BA, Ryanair and Easyjet to sue over the measure.
U.S.
The Dow , S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures point to a positive open. The Dow just came off a monster week, climbing 6.8% , its best stretch since early April. I may have to trot out that Dow 30K quiz again.
, and futures point to a positive open. The Dow just came off a monster week, climbing , its best stretch since early April. I may have to trot out that Dow 30K quiz again. Boeing and the airlines were big gainers last week. But Big Tech is still the sector everyone wants in their portfolio, especially popular with individual investors.
last week. But is still the sector everyone wants in their portfolio, especially popular with individual investors. What’s on this week’s calendar? The Fed meets Tuesday and Wednesday. It’s not expected to touch rates. We also get key data on the inflation picture with CPI and PPI reports mid-week, and the U. of Michigan consumer sentiment report on Friday.
Elsewhere
Gold is up.
is up. The dollar is flat.
is flat. Crude continues to gain ground. Brent is now above above $42/barrel.
Let’s head to the Inbox
On Thursday, before Friday’s surprise payrolls report, I shared here an Allianz investor sentiment survey that showed—to me, anyhow—a disjointed view of the future. Investors were largely pessimistic about the economy, fearing a big recession, but not so fearful that they were compelled to sit out the current markets rally. I then put the question to Bull Sheet readers: does all the doom and gloom—the pandemic death toll, the sheer number of unemployed, the great social unrest, the historic deficit spending on bailouts, the collapse in growth—factor into your investing decisions.
I got some very interesting feedback, which I’m sharing here this morning. They’ve been edited for brevity.
Stocks: the only game in town
When everything is down, particularly interest rates, is there another game in town, if not the stock market? — J.A.
In Fed we trust
I think this rally is an expression of the belief that central banks will be effective at backstopping asset prices. They will act as the almighty buyer when everyone wants to sell. So this is essentially the confidence that liquidity to exit will be present no matter what. To quote Stan Druckenmiller “when the Fed buys bonds, bonds go down & stocks go up!” — S.D.
Ignore the headlines, and stick to the plan
There are absolutely conflicting signs about the future of our economy and therefore my personal portfolio. To me it is incongruous to sustain the longest bull market in the face of radical decrease in demand due the pandemic, horrific unemployment, trade wars and unprecedented …government shortfalls and debt. On a daily basis, I resist the temptation to jump in FOMO. I take a deep breath and remember lessons learned from the dotcom crash and the GFC. Stick with my plan. For many months I have been accumulating cash every time the market jumps up by taking a little more equity off the table. Other than that, I try to ignore the business news, stick to my asset allocation and wait for the inevitable opportunity to buy when everyone else is selling. — R.R.
It’s about politics, stupid
Bottom line, I believe there is a disconnect between the current stock market recovery, and the reality of our political future. The underlying economy is strong but uncertainty is high. As the summer progresses, uncertainty will grow. Labor markets will continue to suffer. Americans are feeling very uncomfortable about what’s next, particularly in the northern and western big cities, and as the result of the demonstrations and relentlessly negative news. Politicians—particularly in an election year—seem to have one answer: Mortgage the future with borrowed money. Whether for families or countries, that solution is always temporary and can end up only one way. — S.C.
Buy, buy, buy!
Key takeaway: you don’t HAVE to hit the exact bottom to make money. I feel investors including myself may detect another dip in the market coming, but we feel strongly it won’t dip near the March 23 bottom, so if you invest now, you have a feeling that you’re guaranteed to make a profit. On the struggling economy and ‘real life GDP’ outlook? It’s simple, America will bounce back, and the timeline in the mind of the long term investor (I’m 33) is somewhat irrelevant. We know it won’t be easy but we also know we will come back. People are itching to go out and spend money even if they don’t have it. Buy Buy Buy!—D.T.
***
Postscript
The government lifted the last of the major lockdown measures on June 3, and so, as I mentioned, I’ve taken Bull Sheet on the road. I’ll explain more tomorrow, but, for now, here’s a picture of where this week’s dispatches will come from.
View of Sibillini Mountains. Original photo: Bernhard Warner
I’m pretty sure the sheep are trying to spell out, “Buy Apple.” What’d you expect? They’re sheep.
***
Have a nice day, everyone. I’ll see you here tomorrow.
Bernhard Warner
@BernhardWarner
Bernhard.Warner@Fortune.com
A note from my Fortune colleagues on a timely new initiative:
Many companies are speaking out against racial injustices right now. But how do they fare in their own workplaces? Black employees in the corporate world, we want to hear from you: Please submit your anonymous thoughts and anecdotes here. https://bit.ly/WorkingWhileBlack
As always, you can write to bullsheet@fortune.com or reply to this email with suggestions and feedback.
Correction and update, June 8, 2020: This post has been updated to include the Brent crude price as “above $42/barrel.”
Today's reads
The $173 million question. New York City will slowly begin getting back to work this week, but shops won’t open until, at the earliest, July 8. This is creating a huge hole in the city’s finances. The city’s lockdown stoppage has cost the Big Apple so far this year $63 billion, Fortune’s Shawn Tully writes, or $173 million a day. “New York’s bill per resident is twice as high as that facing the rest of America west of the Hudson River,” he notes. Is it time to rethink New York's lockdown?
Out of work. Out of whack. How could it be that so many economists were so far off in their unemployment forecasts last week? Economists thought the unemployment rate would approach 20%. The official number on Friday morning though came in at 13.3%. Before anyone does a victory dance, there are a number of anomalies to this report that make the official number sound way too good to be true.
Silencing shareholders. Social distancing rules have relegated most annual shareholder meetings to web-streamed affairs this year, effectively silencing shareholders in the age of COVID-19. My colleague Katherine Dunn and I spoke to activist shareholders across the U.S. and Europe, and we found a shareholders' rights crisis brewing.
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Market candy
Quote of the day
“We are losing the people who can tell us in first person what happened. And it’s a shame, because when we lose the historical memory we lose ourselves.”
That’s Rita Magnani lamenting the recent death from coronavirus of Gildo Negri, an Italian resistance fighter from World War II. Negri, 89, was active until his last days, giving first-person accounts of the epic fight against fascism and Nazism. The coronavirus has killed a large number of these war heroes, the last witnesses to that noble battle, and the ones who could set the record straight as dark forces in Europe try to re-cast the story. It’s a timely and powerful piece by the New York Times’ Jason Horowitz as the world remembered the 76th anniversary of D-Day this weekend.


fortune--2020-06-08--New Zealand says it’s eliminated all coronavirus cases and is resuming normal life

New Zealand will remove social distancing requirements after reporting zero active cases of Covid-19, indicating it has achieved its aim of eliminating the virus.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday that all remaining restrictions on people and businesses, other than strict border controls to keep the virus out, will be lifted at midnight tonight, paving the way for a resumption of normal life. The South Pacific nation earlier reported that the last of its coronavirus patients has recovered, making it one of the few countries in the world to have successfully eradicated the pathogen.
“We united in unprecedented ways to crush the virus,” Ardern said at a press conference in Wellington. “Our goal was to move out the other side as quickly and as safely as we could.”
New Zealand has pursued an explicit elimination strategy rather than seeking to merely suppress transmission of the virus. It enforced one of the strictest lockdowns in the world, asking everyone to stay at home and allowing only essential services to operate. While this has almost certainly triggered a deep recession, the government says elimination of the virus should allow the economy to recover more rapidly than many of its peers.
The seven-week lockdown ended May 14 and cabinet today decided it was safe to lower the nation’s alert level to 1, which allows the removal of the last remaining restrictions. People will only be asked to keep track of who they’ve met and where they’ve been to aid contact tracing if future cases emerge.
Moving to level 1 “is a statement that we have achieved the goal of eliminating the Covid-19 virus from this country,” said Michael Baker, Professor of Public Health at the University of Otago. “This is, however, only the first battle in what will be a long-term war against this virus. The threat from Covid-19 obviously remains while this pandemic continues across the globe.”
New Zealand recorded a total of 1,504 confirmed and probable cases of Covid-19 and 22 deaths. It hasn’t had a new case for 17 days.


fortune--2020-06-09--Beware of burning out your black employees

Why are stock prices going up when the economy is in ruins ?
Here ’ s some helpful context

Feeling it is unsafe to go outside, working day and night without breaks, seeing blatant examples of racism—a lot of society is experiencing this right now, but it’s only a small sample of the issues black Americans have always had to deal with.
Now, imagine that while you’re feeling all of these pressures, your employer asks you to lead a task force to solve racial injustice at the organization. This is what is happening to many black employees nowadays.
This is not a complaint; it’s a reality.
Don’t get me wrong: Black Americans are glad that finally after 400 years, there is mass outrage at racial injustice. Many of us have been fighting for change our entire lives, and were taught by our parents that it was our job to uplift our race. And we are glad that nonblack people want to be part of the solution.
But I want to shed light on the fact that while this is indeed a unique moment, the responsibility of dismantling systemic racism must not be placed solely on black employees by asking them to fully lead diversity and antiracism efforts.
Black people did not create these problems, so please do not expect us to resolve them alone. After all, we are exhausted.
Here are some tips to avoid black burnout while proactively improving your company’s approach to race.
First, do not inundate your black colleagues with requests to help you understand and solve racial injustice as if it is their duty. Remember that in many workplaces, we are outnumbered—and so many people are asking us for our input right now.
So if you have told your black counterpart this week either that you are now finally aware of your white privilege and want an action plan to learn about the black struggle, or if you used your last conference call to confess all of your racial sins over the years, know that chances are 100 other well-meaning nonblack people have done the same that day. Be mindful.
Second, take responsibility for your own education on racial issues. Keep in mind that black people had to use their free time to learn about other races, given that the American educational curriculum only taught a minimal amount of black history. So we do not think it’s too much to ask our professional peers to take the time to do research, read books, and watch films. Start today and learn; then feel free to ask genuine questions.
Third, human resource experts and diversity and inclusion leaders have a great opportunity to help us out. Please do not tell the entire company, even with the best of intentions, to reach out and have a “courageous conversation” with their black peers this week. We know the power of our testimonies, but like you, have our jobs to do. In addition, we are leading race relations task forces, peacefully protesting, and working to protect our families that are disproportionately dying from COVID-19 and police brutality.
Create companywide forums and Q&A sessions to educate large groups. Bring in experts, if needed, to provide actionable plans that systematically implement racial equity. Identify those of us who are open to speak, and respect those of us who do not want to talk about the situation.
Also, consider hosting pop-up “confessionals” on Zoom to allow nonblack people to share how they feel about their new level of awareness of their role in past racial inequity. Black people understand the need for nonblack people to process the upside-down world we live in.
I am able to write this because I work in an environment where my CEO and chief HR officer are leading from the front. I have not been asked to resolve race relations at work alone. I am fortunate to feel safe enough to express my emotions publicly for the first time in many years.
But the majority of my colleagues are exhausted and do not feel safe enough to express their mixed emotions. Most are tired of showing empathy and forgiveness to white managers who want to confess racist actions. They don’t want to continue being put in the spotlight on conference calls surrounded by leaders‚ yet feeling alone.
Nonblack leaders, please just be aware that while you may want to lift up black voices right now, you must be mindful of the physical and emotional bandwidth of black employees and leaders—and first take responsibility to be the change before asking black workers to lead the change. We can’t afford a mass burnout.
Najoh Tita-Reid is senior executive of marketing reinvention at Logitech.


fortune--2020-06-08--Why are stock prices going up when the economy is in ruins? Here’s some helpful context

New York City entered reopening phase 1 of 4 today .
Here ’ s what will change in each phase

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It’s the question on every investor’s mind.
Google “Why is the stock market going up?” and you get 2.8 billion answers. Yet many of them (we haven’t checked them all) ignore or minimize a significant factor. The once-a-century strangeness of this downturn has combined with the way stock indexes are calculated and an element of sheer chance to produce this apparent contradiction. Understand how that happens, and it all makes sense. Sort of.
There’s a lot to make sense of. Back in January, the economy was growing at a respectable 2.1% annual rate, unemployment was a minuscule 3.6%, and Americans were still spending more money every month, as they had been doing in a nearly unbroken 11-year rise. By all those measures, the economy is now in the worst shape since the Great Depression, with GDP plunging, unemployment officially at 13.3% (suspected by many economists to be higher), and consumption spending in free fall. Yet the S&P 500 index, the most widely cited gauge of U.S. stock performance, was recently down just 1.4% from Jan. 1. It’s up 11.2% from a year ago.
It’s disorienting. Does anyone think the business environment is 11.2% better than it was last June? With some 30 million not working, are things only 1.4% worse than they were in January? That’s the mystery.
To solve it, understand first that the S&P 500 index is weighted by market value, meaning the stock performance of extremely valuable companies like Microsoft and Apple (recently Nos. 1 and 2 by market capitalization) influence the index far more heavily than do companies like Gap and Alliance Data Systems (Nos. 499 and 500). Most stock indexes are weighted the same way. In this odd, sudden downturn, vast sectors of the economy have remained virtually unscathed so far—and those sectors just happened to be the ones that were already most heavily weighted in the index.
Market analysts sometimes mention the weighting issue fleetingly, but a close look shows that it’s highly significant in explaining the seeming disconnect between the market and the economy. S&P divides the 500 index companies into 11 sectors. Before the coronavirus hit, the four most heavily weighted sectors were information technology (such as Microsoft, Apple, and Visa), health care (such as Johnson & Johnson, UnitedHealth Group, and Pfizer), communication services (such as Alphabet, Facebook, and Netflix), and consumer discretionary (such as Amazon, Home Depot, and Nike). Not every company in those four sectors is a winner, but of the 11 sectors, those four have achieved the best stock performance this year, as homebound consumers worldwide bought more tech products, watched more TV, and ordered from Amazon, with trillions of dollars of help from government stimulus programs.
When the most heavily weighted sectors and companies outperform the others, they become even more heavily weighted, while the struggling sectors become even less weighted. Some of the results can seem ridiculous. For example, Amazon alone outweighs the entire energy sector, dominated by such giants as Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips. Energy is by far the worst performing sector year to date, but in the index, its historic decline is wiped out by Amazon’s rocketing stock.
Again, it’s only by chance that the most heavily weighted pre-coronavirus sectors should happen to be the ones that would prosper most in the pandemic. It could have been otherwise. Suppose a novel computer virus rather than a coronavirus had struck the economy, aimed at the tech giants, hobbling them. Most companies and consumers across the economy would feel the impact, but businesses would remain open, and the great majority of workers would keep working, earning, and spending. Technology stock prices would crater, however, and because the tech-dominated sectors were so heavily weighted going in, their sudden crisis would initially cause the whole S&P 500 index to drop like a cannonball. As most of the economy carried on, we’d wonder why the plunging S&P was so untethered to reality—for exactly the opposite reasons that we wonder about it today.
There’s nothing wrong with an index that’s weighted by market capitalization. It reflects how investors value America’s publicly traded companies as a whole. But the past three months remind us that a company’s or an industry’s financial value doesn’t always reflect its importance to the economy. Think of the airlines. The economy to which we’re accustomed couldn’t function without them, which is why both parties in Congress supported bailing them out. Yet even in the good times during the past year, the big four—American, Delta, Southwest, and United —were collectively worth only about $110 billion; today they’re worth a mere $68 billion. By contrast, a decidedly nonessential enterprise, McDonald’s, is worth $148 billion. Millions of consumers and employees would hate to live without McD’s, but we could manage.
Yes, a high and rising stock market with some 30 million not working seems crazy. But it has its logic. As stock indexes rise or fall in the months ahead, it’s worth remembering that indexes don’t pretend to be anything more than what they are, a gauge of investor sentiment. They don’t tell us whether investors are right or wrong, and, perhaps most important, they don’t tell us what’s ahead for individuals in this dual crisis of personal finance and human health.


fortune--2020-06-08--Nasdaq hits record as stocks continue to soar

Wall Street’s enthusiasm about the reopening economy sent stocks scrambling even higher on Monday, and the Nasdaq composite wiped away the last of its coronavirus-induced losses to set a record.
The broader S&P 500 climbed back within 4.5% of its own record as optimism strengthens that the worst of the recession may have already passed. Stocks that would benefit most from an economy that’s growing again rose the most, including smaller companies, airlines and oil producers.
The S&P 500 rallied 38.46 points, or 1.2%, to 3,232.39 and is at its highest level since February, which a panel of economists said on Monday is the month when the recession officially began. That’s when employment set a peak before tumbling after businesses shut down across the country to slow the outbreak.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 461.46, or 1.7%, to 27,572.44. The Nasdaq composite, which is more heavily weighted to the big technology stocks that held up the best earlier this year, gained 110.66, or 1.1%, to 9,924.74.
Stocks have been rising since late March, at first on relief after the Federal Reserve and Capitol Hill pledged to support the economy and more recently on hopes that the recovery may happen more quickly than forecast.
Those hopes got a huge boost Friday when the U.S. government said that employers added 2.5 million jobs to their payrolls last month. Economists were expecting to see 8 million more lost.
States across the country are slowly relaxing restrictions on businesses meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, which is raising expectations that the economy can pull out of its coma. New York City, which has been the country’s hardest-hit, began allowing retailers and some other businesses to reopen on Monday with some restrictions.
That puts more scrutiny on economic reports this week as investors look for confirmation that Friday’s jobs report was a true inflection point and not just an aberration.
Even if the economy did hit its bottom a month or two ago, economists warn that many risks are still looming over a very long road back to full recovery. Critics are also still saying the stock market may have risen too quickly and may be setting investors up for disappointment, with the biggest risk being another wave of infections that leads to more lockdowns.
“It all starts with the virus itself, and there haven’t been any immediate rise in infections,” said Tom Martin, senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments. He’s still far from giving the all-clear.
“There’s a lot of risk that businesses and the economy don’t recover as fast,” he said. “When money starts running out in July, are we enough on a path to getting people employed and businesses open?”
Among this week’s economic highlights are reports on inflation and the number of workers applying for jobless benefits. The headliner, though, is likely the Federal Reserve’s meeting on interest rates in the middle of the week.
The Fed has already promised unprecedented amounts of support to keep markets running smoothly, but will the recent upturn in job growth mean it will pull back at all?
Treasury yields have been climbing in recent days, reflecting rising expectations in the market for the economy and inflation. The 10-year Treasury yield dipped to 0.87% from 0.90% late Friday, but it’s up sharply from 0.66% a week earlier.
Too quick a rise in yields could slow spending and the anticipated economic recovery, though. It can also be a heavy weight on the stock market.
Stocks that would benefit most from a growing economy, meanwhile, led the market on Monday to continue their recent trend.
Energy producers, banks and industrial companies were rising more than the rest of the market, and nearly 80% of the stocks in the S&P 500 were higher.
Travel-related stocks were notable standouts as investors raised expectations for a reopening economy. Norwegian Cruise Line, Carnival, Alaska Air Group and United Airlines all rose more than 14%.
Smaller company stocks also climbed more than the rest of the market, which often happens when expectations for the economy are rising. The Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks rose 2%.
But several titans were lagging behind the rest of the market, a turnaround from earlier this year when investors piled into the few companies that could hold up in a weak, stay-at-home economy. Facebook rose a modest 0.3%, while Microsoft was up 0.6% and Netflix was virtually flat.
In global markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.4% after the government reported the economy contracted at a 2.2% annual rate in the January-March quarter, not as bad as initially estimated.
Indexes in other countries were more subdued, with European markets down modestly.
Oil fell, even after major oil producing nations agreed over the weekend to extend a cut to production through the end of July to counter the blow to demand from the coronavirus pandemic.
Oil had already climbed last week on anticipation of the move, and OPEC officials did not commit to extending the cuts past July or establishing a way to enforce the production limits.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil for July delivery fell $1.36 to settle at $38.19 a barrel Monday. Brent crude oil for August delivery fell $1.50 to $40.80 a barrel.


fortune--2020-06-08--New York City entered reopening phase 1 of 4 today. Here’s what will change in each phase

The long pause is over.
After nearly three months in lockdown, New York City officially entered its first phase of reopening—a small but important step toward some semblance of normalcy.
As many as 400,000 New Yorkers may come back to work today. Trains and buses will run more often, construction sites will come alive and shops can start curbside pickup. It’s a marked shift for the world’s financial capital, which has been ravaged by the coronavirus. With over 20,000 confirmed and probable fatalities, the city’s death toll surpasses all but six countries.
Of course, it’s still too soon to declare victory. Residents are encouraged to limit socializing to small groups and avoid public transit. Face masks should be worn pretty much everywhere. Take-away cocktails and makeshift at-home haircuts will remain the norm for a while longer.
The path forward will be a cautious one, relying on vigilant testing, contact-tracing, and monitoring of new cases.
Here’s what you need to know.
What does ‘Phase One’ reopening mean?
This is the first of a four-step process that will gradually ease restrictions on business activity and people’s ability to move around and socialize in the state of New York. The progress is contingent on infection rates, hospital capacity and the state’s ability to test and trace those who may have contracted the virus. Regardless, each phase will last at least two weeks.
Some parts of the state that opened up in mid-May have already entered the second stage, as shown on this monitoring dashboard. New York City, the epicenter of the outbreak in the U.S., is the last region to meet the requirements to start reopening.
New York City’s path forward
Phase Businesses reopening Notes Date Phase one Construction, manufacturing, non-essential retail and wholesale merchants. Retail is limited to delivery, curbside and in-store pickup or drop off. June 8 Phase two Hair salons and barbershops, in-store retail, offices, professional services like finance and insurance, and outdoor dining. — N/A Phase three Restaurants and other food-service businesses open for dine-in service. New Yorkers will no longer be discouraged from using mass transit for non-essential trips. N/A Phase four Schools, museums, cinemas, theaters and other recreational businesses. Schools will remain closed for the remainder of the academic year. N/A Source: New York State
Must I still keep social distancing and avoid seeing friends?
You can see friends and others — but remain careful. A May 22 executive order from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said groups of up to 10 people can gather for any lawful reason. (It was introduced after a lawsuit challenged a prior order, which eased distancing rules for Memorial Day activities and religious services only.) But health experts still advise New Yorkers to practice social distancing and wear face protections in public.
Are trains, buses and ferries still running, and are they safe?
Unless you’re an essential worker or on an essential trip, you should refrain from riding at all. But if you must, a few ground rules apply: If possible, avoid rush hours and keep your distance. Always wear a face mask. Don’t skimp on the hand sanitizer. And once you reach your destination, wash your hands. If you’re still worried, you can always remind yourself that both vehicles and stations are now being cleaned more frequently than before the virus outbreak.
MTA subway and buses: Both will be back on their normal day schedules starting Monday, but trains still won’t run between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. Tickets can only be bought from kiosks, not from station agents. The agency plans to post staff and volunteers in some stations to give hand sanitizer and face masks to customers who need them.
Ferries: The Staten Island Ferry will run on a modified schedule — departures in both directions every half hour — during weekday mornings and evenings. At all other times, departures will be hourly. The East River Ferry will continue running at about half capacity, and daily service ends at about 9 p.m.
Metro-North and Long Island Railroad: Both expanded their limited-service schedules last month as areas outside the city began reopening. Metro-North now runs additional city-bound trains in the morning and in the opposite direction in the evening, and LIRR has increased capacity by 15%. Ticket counters remain closed, so passengers must use kiosks or the MTA app. But on the upside, off-peak fares will apply to all rides.
New Jersey Transit: Trains and buses are still operating. The concourse in New York’s Penn Station will be closed for cleaning every night between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m., but customers can still enter via the main entrance on 7th Avenue and 32nd Street. Those with paper tickets will be asked to tear those themselves to minimize hand-to-hand contact with staff.
Amtrak: The train operator has pared back its trips nationwide, but still runs regional trains in the Northeast. It also resumed its popular Acela route between Boston and Washington earlier this month — though on a reduced schedule. Customers can still buy food and drinks onboard, but there’s no seating in the dining cars.
Are stores open again?
A variety of nonessential businesses can now open up again, including retailers that sell clothes, jewelry, sporting goods, books and furniture — but customers still can’t enter. For now, retailers must stick with curbside pickup and delivery. That, combined with damage incurred during the recent protests and worries about profitability, has led some stores to keep their doors closed a bit longer.
Those that do reopen must follow a strict protocol for cleaning and sanitation, ensure proper social distancing and provide employees with face masks. The state also recommends businesses stagger workers’ schedules.
What about parks?
Many parks with green spaces have remained open while playgrounds and basketball courts have been closed. The city hasn’t yet set a date for when the shuttered areas will reopen.
When will I be able to go back to my office?
The short answer: It depends. Most companies are taking a cautious approach and they’ll likely send employees back to offices in waves rather than all at once. Even so, the governor’s plan doesn’t permit offices to reopen until Phase Two, which at the very earliest will be two weeks from now.
What happens if New York sees a surge in cases and no longer meets the state’s reopening requirements?
For now, it’s unclear how that will be handled.


fortune--2020-06-08--Tesla stock closes at an all-time high on bullish sales data out of China

Good news for Tesla bulls: The Elon Musk–led company just hit a new record high, closing over $949 on Monday, in part on news that the electric-vehicle maker tripled its Model 3 sales in China in May amid a boost in demand.
Sales of Tesla’s Model 3 vehicle made in Shanghai topped 11,000 vehicles in May versus 3,635 in April, according to a report by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). Telsa did not immediately respond to Fortune‘s request for comment.
That bounce back in demand, after a rough couple of months because of the coronavirus, is what Wedbush’s Dan Ives calls “a linchpin to the bull thesis moving forward.”
That bull thesis seems to be getting more traction lately, as the stock has skyrocketed over 120% year to date and is up over 340% since last summer. The stock’s previous high was $917 in February. Improving demand in China for the Model 3 “remains a ray of light for Tesla in a dark global macro,” writes Ives. Indeed, the numbers on Monday are “a very strong indicator that demand in this key region is starting to ramp after an unprecedented soft macro backdrop and pandemic over the past few months,” according to Ives, and he says, “We continue to believe EV demand in China is starting to accelerate with Tesla competing with a number of domestic and international competitors for market share.”
Moving forward, Tesla could reach sales of 400,000 units globally (down from estimates of 550,000 before COVID-19), and about 100,000 in China, Ives estimates. He notes Tesla “continues to dominate the arena,” and he believes the electric-vehicle maker is on track to deliver “well over” 500,000 vehicles in 2021—with Model 3 “leading the charge and China a key market on the other side of this dark valley.” While many Tesla naysayers have been skeptical about the company’s prospects in recent years, other famous Tesla bulls like ARK Invest’s Catherine Wood have long touted the company’s merits to investors. Wood told Fortune earlier this year that she thinks Tesla is the furthest along in collecting data on the road than other manufacturers, and back in December, Wood also predicted electric-vehicle sales would make up 30% of new-car sales by 2023. Monday’s 7% pop was more bad news for Tesla short-sellers, as in the past prominent bears like Andrew Left’s Citron Research, funds at Tom Claugus’s GMT Capital, and Crispin Odey’s Odey Asset Management have previously lost out as the company’s stock continues to climb. Also on Monday, Tesla pointed to improvements in air quality because of coronavirus-related shutdowns (which Musk previously called “fascist”) as a potential boon for electric vehicles, in a report released Monday. “It is not hard to imagine that many cities could become electric-only in the near future as they begin to witness the impact that ICE vehicles have on air quality,” Tesla said in the report.


fortune--2020-06-08--Rumors swirl about an AstraZeneca and Gilead megadeal—but it doesn’t make sense

Nothing gets biopharma investors’ blood pumping quite like the rumor of a massive corporate marriage—especially when it involves two of the world’s most prominent drugmakers.
On Sunday, Bloomberg reported that the British drug giant AstraZeneca had approached California-based biotech Gilead about a potential M&A that would amount to “the biggest health care deal on record,” per the publication.
The companies have been mum on how true those claims are. AstraZeneca and Gilead had not responded to Fortune’s requests for comment as of press time, and this post will be updated if they do. Such a deal, however, would be undeniably historic, rivaling the proposed but eventually scuttled $160 billion deal between Pfizer and Allergan in 2016.
It would also easily outpace other cash-and-stock acquisitions such as 2019’s $63 billion buyout of Botox maker Allergan by AbbVie, which manufactures the world’s bestselling drug, Humira, and the $74 billion deal between Bristol Myers Squibb and Celgene. (Of note: The proposed Pfizer-Allergan transaction was meant to shift U.S.-based Pfizer’s tax domicile to Europe and was subsequently doomed by the Treasury Department’s refusal to allow that to happen.)
An AstraZeneca-Gilead combination would create a company with more than $230 billion in market value. But the question of if it makes sense, from both a financial and life sciences innovation standpoint, is complicated.
Potential synergies
Biopharma is a curious sector on the acquisition front. Traditional Big Pharma companies—the firms which generate the most revenue across the globe, such as Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Roche, Merck, Novartis, AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Gilead, and others—aren’t always known for merging within their own ranks (with a few notable exceptions such as AbbVie-Allergan).
What tends to happen is that big pharma companies insource innovation from leaner biotechs that have a thirst for risky experimental science but lack the wide-scale manufacturing and sales capacity of the industry titans.
One perfect example, prior to its own acquisition by AbbVie, is Allergan. Under CEO Brent Saunders, the company struck dozens of deals and partnerships with smaller biotechs.
But a mega-merger needs to pay off dividends in some ways. So how would that work for AstraZeneca and Gilead?
For one thing, AstraZeneca is a long-standing specialist in cancer therapies and had an especially good year at the the 2020 American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting, the largest cancer conference in the world. Oncology is a field that Gilead has increasingly waded into under the leadership of Daniel O’Day, who took over the top perch a little more than a year ago. (Strikingly, O’Day and current AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot were once executive colleagues at the Swiss drug giant Roche.)
And then there’s the coronavirus. The fight against COVID-19 has galvanized pretty much all of the biggest names in Big Pharma—AstraZeneca and Gilead are no exception.
Gilead gained prominence for earning the first Food and Drug Administration emergency authorization for a COVID-19 treatment earlier this year for remdesivir. From a more bird’s-eye view, virus therapies (particularly HIV treatments) make up the bulk of Gilead’s revenues, approximately 75% in 2019; AstraZeneca isn’t involved in the space. And from that standpoint, diversification may make sense—but it would be a risky one seeing as the countries most heavily afflicted by HIV are low- to middle-income ones which wouldn’t be able to pay outsize prices. Generally, the overlap between the two firms when it comes to the drugs they make is slim.
But if this is an infectious diseases business play, AstraZeneca is currently working with Oxford University on a COVID-19 vaccine and claims it can produce two billion doses of it should the experimental vaccine be approved, an effort that has been bolstered by an up to $1.2 billion commitment by the United States. What remains unknown is how lucrative a coronavirus vaccine would be from a financial standpoint since companies making such treatments would be under immense pressure to offer them at minimal costs.
Cash on hand and a question of geopolitics
SVB Leerink analyst Geoffrey Porges has a simple take on the AstraZeneca-Gilead rumor mill: It just won’t happen.
“Gilead’s fortunes are improving, investor sentiment is positive, management is new, fresh, and energized, and the company’s operating and strategic performance has been strong,” Porges said in an investor note. “Most large biopharma deals arise from a position of distress, not strength, and Gilead today is far from distressed.”
What Gilead also has is a whole lot of cash on hand that may help AstraZeneca significantly. However, Gilead CEO O’Day has only been on the job for about a year and a half and has already made marked changes to its business structure, including the refocus on oncology, which raises questions about whether or not he’d be willing to engage in such a transformative deal.
There’s a geopolitical element to this, too. AstraZeneca is a British company, and therefore an acquisition of Gilead could force the latter to relocate overseas. That could be a messy ordeal given that the U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union has created supply chain problems for drugmakers in the country, AstraZeneca included.
What would the deal mean for innovation?
Biopharma often brags that innovation is the beating heart of the industry. Mega-mergers don’t necessarily lead to that.
Emerging biopharmaceutical companies (EBPs)—the firms which spend less than $200 million on R&D each year or less than $500 million in global revenues, a.k.a smaller biotechs, as defined by analytics firm IQVIA—tend to be hubs of innovation, especially in recent years.
“Our industry’s long-term success—and literally the health of humanity—depends on sustained innovation, which, time [and] again, is shown to be harder in larger organizations than smaller ones,” Michael Gilman, a scientist and biotech CEO, wrote on Twitter, adding that “it’s clear that every company’s DNA is different—and that diversity is a further driver of innovation.”
IQVIA’s numbers support that argument. The firm found that “EBPs encompass 3,212 companies in 2018 and account for 73% of late-stage research” in drug development. Furthermore, such companies were the original patent holders for 29 of the top 100 drugs in 2018, which accounted for 40% of pharmaceutical sales in the U.S.


fortune--2020-06-08--Stitch Fix’s new growth strategy: Letting non-clients shop directly, too

Stitch Fix has thrived by often correctly guessing what items its more than 3.4 million clients will want to keep when the e-commerce company sends them a box of five pieces of clothing.
The company uses sophisticated algorithms and human stylists to choose which items to send in each shipment, called a “fix,” based on input from the client and their past purchasing behavior.
Now, with its business under pressure from the COVID-19 outbreak, Stitch Fix is looking to bolster that approach by letting anyone regardless of whether they get fixes or not shop as they would on a traditional e-commerce site. This follows an initial test launched in February that enables its active clients to buy items à la carte separately from the fixes through a service it calls “direct buy.”
The company has long been a Wall Street favorite, using technology to “personalize” suggestions for its clients far better than most traditional retailers—or other e-commerce players for that matter—have. But it has been under pressure to show it’s not destined to be a niche company with limited potential clientele. So the company’s new tactic is a big test to see if its tech can help offer a better version of conventional online shopping on top of its bread-and-butter fix model.
“If you imagine a future for Stitch Fix, it’s one where many clients may want to join for the ‘fix’ experience and then shop, and where others may want to start with the shopping experience without beginning with a fix,” Stitch Fix president Elizabeth Spaulding tells Fortune in an exclusive interview. “This is a foray into that chapter of our future.”
To stoke interest in the direct-buy offering for the broader public, which is set to be launched later this month, Stitch Fix will launch a size-inclusive collaboration with fashion influencer Katie Sturino.
Stitch Fix on Monday reported sales of $371.7 million in third-fiscal-quarter, a 9% year-over-year decline that was well below Wall Street estimates. Still, that much better than most apparel retailers. It helped that the company was quick to send customers cozy clothing and athletic wear as lockdowns began and that most physical clothing stores have been closed. According to SimilarWeb, traffic to Stitch Fix’s site rebounded quickly, rising 15% to 5.6 million visits between March and May.
Still, while the company has a unique business model, it has not been exempt from the wreckage wrought on the apparel industry by the COVID-19 outbreak. Apparel sales industrywide plunged in March before beginning to recover in April. Stitch Fix will still be dealing with enormous sales on clothing in the coming months from its competitors, even the indirect ones. And with working from home so prevalent and few new big fashion trends prompting the need to refresh wardrobes, the impetus for buying new clothes is muted. The company is feeling the heat to find more ways to drum up sales.
“A better recommendation model won’t make you buy more clothes or visit the site more often,” says Jason Goldberg, chief commerce strategy officer at Publicis.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Stitch Fix was laying off 1,400 stylists in California, or 18% of staff, replacing them with 2,000 people in lower-cost cities.
Buying directly from the site
Stitch Fix’s direct-buy service, launched in February for current clients, was a risk for the company in that it was a foray into more straight-up e-commerce. But the company says customers are taking to it: In April, 13% of female active users bought an item that way, up from 5% in February. “This is a way that people want to shop,” says Spaulding.
To aid adoption of the service, Stitch Fix is also now launching “Trending for You,” a section that gives clients what it hopes are very targeted looks based on their style profiles, rather than what they’ve purchased, gingerly expanding the universe of potential purchases.
Spaulding says direct-buy is a way to earn business from customers looking for something for a special event like a wedding or graduation that Stitch Fix algorithms don’t necessarily know is approaching, even though such events are rarely happening much these days. Now, Stitch Fix is offering this option to the general public. Casual shoppers will still have to answer a few basic questions, but the process will be less involved than creating the style profile required for a fix.
Spaulding, who joined Stitch Fix in January after 20 years at consulting firm Bain & Co., says the company’s technology will help avoid misfires in recommendations and lessens the risk that direct-buy will turn Stitch Fix into just another shopping site.
To refine its algorithms, one key tool the company has relied on has been Style Shuffle, a feature added last year that shows customers prospective products one at a time and lets them vote on each. The information collected through the tool—some 5 billion ratings have been submitted—has refined its algorithms. That helps it limit the number of items a person sees, in contrast to the endless scrolling on many e-commerce sites.
“[It’s] the fun of window-shopping, but highly curated for you; it’s like your own personal store. No two customers see the same thing,” says Spaulding. The goal is for Stitch Fix to be so on point in its suggestions for direct-buying that you don’t even want to use the search option, she says, citing Netflix as a model for the accuracy of its recommendations.
Stitch Fix president Elizabeth Spaulding Courtesy of Stitch Fix
“If they are truly better at recommendations to the extent the customer notices it and appreciates it, that’s absolutely a reason they should win customers over,” says Publicis’s Goldberg.
Still, the fix remains the centerpiece of the company’s business. Stitch Fix is about to start piloting a live styling service in which a customer has a video call with a Stitch Fix stylist and plays a more proactive role in choosing what goes in the fix, akin to a Saks Fifth Avenue or Bergdorf Goodman shopper who stays in regular contact with her favorite salesperson.
“Styling is probably something people are interested in more than ever in this environment, where you still want that high-touch and personal feel without going into a store,” Spaulding says.


fortune--2020-06-08--This is what people mean when they say they want to defund the police

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The killing of George Floyd by a white police officer has led to a radical shift in thinking about the role the police play in neighborhoods and cities across the United States. Just 14 days after four officers of the Minneapolis Police Department took part in their deadly interaction with Floyd, who had been accused of using a counterfeit $20 bill, a veto-proof majority in the the city council announced that they planned to “dismantle” the police department and build a new system of community-focused public safety.
There’s been a lot of talk around defunding, dismantling, abolishing, and reimagining what police forces look like, and a lot of confusion about what each concept actually means.
Minneapolis city council members said as much to the press on Sunday. Aside from their pledge, they explained, they were still working out the details of what the new iteration of their city’s public safety system would look like. The council plans to figure that out over the next year by consulting with members of their community and other experts.
“We recognize that we don’t have all the answers about what a police-free future looks like, but our community does,” said the council members at a community meeting. “We’re committed to engaging with every willing community member in the City of Minneapolis over the next year to identify what safety looks like for you.”
The vagueness of these terms, however, gives politicians a lot of wiggle room to use the language without defining what they’ll actually do.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced this week that he was “committed to shifting resources” and would move some money from the New York Police Department budget to focus on youth and social services, but he did not specify how much money would be shifted, where it would come from specifically, and what programs it would go to.
So, what do people mean when they say ‘defund the police’?
Defunding the police is shorthand for a divest and invest model: divesting money from local and state police budgets and reinvesting it into communities, mental health services, and social service programs.
The idea is that American communities have come to rely on their more than 18,000 police agencies to do much more than police. They’re fighting terrorism abroad, performing homeless services, working with children in schools, responding to calls for mental health crises, performing social work and welfare checks, mediating domestic disputes, and responding to drug overdoses. Often, they’re not trained to perform these tasks.
Those who call for police defunding say they would rather have some duties handled by nonviolent specialists trained in social work, education, or drug counseling.
As the police take on more work, their budgets have also grown substantially. The U.S. spends an estimated $100 billion on their police forces annually, with another $80 billion spent on incarceration. Policing typically accounts for one-third to 60% of American cities’ annual budgets.
The New York Police Department, for example, has a $6 billion budget—that’s more than spending on homeless services, housing development and upkeep, youth and community services, health and hospitals, and parks and recreation combined.
Between fiscal years 2014 and 2019, NYPD spending increased by 22%, according to New York City comptroller Scott Stringer. Personnel costs account for about 89% of the agency’s budget, he said, with a 6% increase in headcount between those years. Stringer proposed reducing the police force from 36,461 to 35,000, a number “that prevailed between 2011 and 2016, when crime continued its steady decline.”
And even though New York City is in a budget crisis which was exacerbated by an estimated $7.4 billion drop in tax revenue owing to COVID-19, the city proposed cutting the NYPD budget by just 0.3% in fiscal year 2021. The city’s proposed education budget is five times as large as the police budget, but the mayor proposed cutting 27 times from education what he is from the police department.
In a letter addressed to the city council last month, dozens of social services and civil rights organizations pointed out the disparities and asked for a change in budget priorities.
“New York City is currently spending more on policing than on health, homeless services, youth development, and workforce development combined. That’s wrong and unacceptable. Overinvestment in policing and underinvestment in public health, housing, and community needs helps explain why our city has been so devastated by COVID-19, especially amongst elders and in Black, Latinx, and other communities of color,” the letter said. “We can’t police our way out of this pandemic. Eliminating the NYPD’s role in social services, ensuring that officers who harm civilians do not continue to remain on payroll for years on end, and reducing the NYPD’s overall budget would both save the city significant resources and free up city budget dollars to be reallocated to agencies that have been starved of resources in recent years.”
The letter noted that the NYPD’s budget is not itemized by program area, and so much of what the money is spent on is unknown to most residents of the city.
There’s also big money going to politicians from police unions. A spreadsheet created by progressive activist Aaron Fernando shows that more than 50 elected officials have accepted campaign money from police and corrections unions. Police unions and related associations also donated more than $600,000 to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo during his gubernatorial runs.
Read: What U.S. police spending looks like in 3 charts
Why not just reform police and provide more training?
Many advocate for more legal oversight of what police can and cannot do, with more training as a solution. But those in favor of defunding the department argue that reform and laws don’t stop police from illegally killing citizens.
The police department in Minneapolis, where George Floyd was killed, instituted significant reforms and training programs based on President Barack Obama’s task force on policing in response to the unrest in Ferguson, Mo. The police force required bias and de-escalation training and the use of body cameras. It tightened its use-of-force standards, diversified its leadership, and started collecting demographic data. In 2015, it spent $4.75 million on a project led by procedural reformer Phillip Atiba Goff to strengthen the ties between the police and community.
Elected officials in New York City also say training has not helped.
Daniel Dromm, chair of the New York City council’s finance committee, told the New York Times last week that he didn’t think training measures were working to prevent police brutality. “The culture in the New York City Police Department has not changed,” he said. “The white shirts, the commanding officers, they kind of get it and talk the talk, but the average beat cop doesn’t believe in it, and we’ve seen this over and over again.”
According to polling, the majority of Americans support outfitting police with body cameras and training them to avoid force, but nearly two-thirds oppose cutting police funding.
Has this been done before?
Camden, N.J., a city of 75,000 which once had a murder rate more than six times the national average and 175 open-air drug markets within the city’s nine square miles, dismantled its entire police force in 2012. Murder rates declined significantly, and by 2018, the city experienced its lowest rate since 1987.
Robberies, violent crimes, and property crimes also declined.
After the police department was disbanded, chief of police J. Scott Thomson created the Camden County Police Department where he hired more officers with lower pay and placed an emphasis on community policing.
“For us to make the neighborhood look and feel the way everyone wanted it to, it wasn’t going to be achieved by having a police officer with a helmet and a shotgun standing on a corner,” Thomson told CityLab. Officers “identify more with being in the Peace Corps than being in the Special Forces.”
Most officers in the city now have GPS tracking and body cameras. There is an 18-page use-of-force policy, police are required to intervene when they see abuse of power, and the department has the authority to fire any officer who acts out of line.
Still, not everything is perfect. A report by the ACLU found that the city had a “significant increase in low-level arrests and summonses,” which can be particularly painful for residents living below the poverty line.
Will Congress do anything?
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a sweeping Democratic reform package on Monday that would ban choke holds and no-knock warrants in drug cases. The bill, titled the Justice in Policing Act, would also require police departments to send the federal government use-of-force data and would create a grant program to allow state attorneys general to independently investigate police misconduct. A racial bias training program would be instituted for all federal police officers, and they would also be required to wear body cameras. The bill does not reduce funding.
“The martyrdom of George Floyd gave the American experience a moment of national anguish as we grieve for the black Americans killed by police brutality today,” Pelosi said. “This moment of national anguish is being transformed into a movement of national action as Americans from across the country peacefully protest to demand an end to injustice. Today, with the Justice in Policing Act, the Congress is standing with those fighting for justice and taking action.”
The House will not meet until at least June 30, so there will be no vote before then, and if it does pass, the bill will most likely be blocked by the Republican-led Senate.
Where do Vice President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump stand?
President Donald Trump has referred to himself multiple times as the “law and order” President, and his administration ended many policies instituted during the Obama era to increase police accountability.
“This year has seen the lowest crime numbers in our Country’s recorded history,” the President tweeted Monday, without mentioning that the numbers coincide with shelter-in-place orders resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. “Now the Radical Left Democrats want to Defund and Abandon our Police. Sorry, I want LAW & ORDER!”
Joe Biden said on Monday that he did not support defunding the police but did think reform was necessary.
“As his criminal justice proposal made clear months ago, Vice President Biden does not believe that police should be defunded,” Biden spokesperson Andrew Bates told Axios. “He hears and shares the deep grief and frustration of those calling out for change, and is driven to ensure that justice is done and that we put a stop to this terrible pain.”
Bates said that Biden is advocating for more funding for police departments to institute programs of reform. “This also means funding community policing programs that improve relationships between officers and residents, and provide the training that is needed to avert tragic, unjustifiable deaths,” said Bates.


fortune--2020-06-08--Tesla hails air-quality effects of shutdowns that Elon Musk called fascist

Tesla is proffering a decidedly different take on the coronavirus-related shutdowns Elon Musk called “fascist” and sued over weeks ago by suggesting they may bolster the case for banning internal-combustion engine cars.
In its 2019 Impact Report released Monday, Tesla pointed to sharp improvements in air quality in recent months tied to restrictions on business and travel aimed at containing the spread of Covid-19. The company said the drop in pollution could embolden governments that already have been making plans to eventually ban vehicles that run on fossil fuels.
“It is not hard to imagine that many cities could become electric-only in the near future as they begin to witness the impact that ICE vehicles have on air quality,” Tesla said in the report.
Tesla’s rosy view is consistent with the Energy Information Agency’s forecast in April that emissions from cars, power plants and other sources may fall 7.5% this year as a result of people sheltering at home. But it’s a 180-degree turn from comments its chief executive officer made while feuding with California officials over reopening the company’s lone U.S. car plant.
“This is fascist. This is not democratic, this is not freedom,” Musk said on Tesla’s first-quarter earnings call in April. In May, he threatened to relocate the carmaker’s headquarters and move its manufacturing out of California before flouting a local health order and restarting production. Tesla has since dropped its lawsuit against Alameda County, where its auto factory is located.
Several European cities have moved to curb use of diesel vehicles in the wake of revelations that Volkswagen rigged its engines to conceal emission of harmful pollutants. It’s now illegal to drive some diesel cars in Madrid, Paris or Brussels, while Germany has banned older diesel autos. In the U.K., Bristol will impose a complete city center ban starting next year.
In the U.S., Seattle plans to ban sales of combustion cars by 2030. California introduced draft legislation in late 2018 to eliminate fossil fuel-burning vehicles statewide by 2040. Other states have similar plans from 2050.


fortune--2020-06-08--Photos: In city squares and parks outside U.S. embassy buildings, Black Lives Matter protests go glo

Photos: In city squares and parks outside U.S. embassy buildings, Black Lives Matter protests go global

From Budapest to Birmingham, England, tens of thousands of Europeans took to the streets this past weekend in solidarity with Americans, calling for racial justice and an end to the abuse of power by police forces in the wake of the killing of George Floyd two weeks ago. They did so despite, in places, stormy weather—and in defiance, nearly everywhere, of strict social-distancing rules.
In Paris, Copenhagen, Barcelona, and Lausanne, Switzerland, demonstrators packed narrow city streets, major public squares, and iconic parks to raise their voices against racial violence and police brutality. In cities such as London and Naples, Italy, the protesters assembled outside the U.S. embassy or consulate buildings to chant George Floyd’s name and demand justice. They carried signs, in English and in the local language, denouncing racism and showing their support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Under sunny skies in Rome, a young crowd filled Piazza del Popolo, reminding others that racism is not an American problem, but a global scourge. In Brussels, protesters also used the occasion to call attention to local cases, such as that of Moïse “Lamine” Bangoura, who died in police custody in 2018.
The May 25 killing of George Floyd is forcing many in Europe to confront the continent’s troubled past with race relations. In Belgium, a former colonial power, a petition is circulating, calling on the country to take down all statues of former King Leopold II. Leopold, who ruled from 1865 to 1909, is blamed for the genocide that killed millions in the former Belgian Congo colony in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the English city of Bristol, antiracism protesters toppled the statue of former slave trader Edward Colston and threw the bronze likeness into the River Avon.
A popular joke on Twitter reads, “Protesters say statue tripped, and fell into the water.” But by Monday, it had become clear the statue incident wasn’t being treated as a joke. Police said they had opened up an investigation into the incident. Meanwhile, members of the U.K. government, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson, called it an act of “thuggery.” Home Secretary Priti Patel tweeted, “justice will follow.”
There’s no sign the global demonstrations will go quiet anytime soon. Perth, in Western Australia, is among the cities planning further street protests this weekend.
Scroll below to explore the global protests through photographs.
Spain: Thousands of people demonstrate against racism and in memory of George Floyd in Barcelona’s Plaça de Sant Jaume on June 7th. Albert Llop—NurPhoto/Getty Images Demonstrators attend a protest against police brutality on June 7 in Madrid. Juan Carlos Lucas—Nur Photo/Getty Images France: A protest against racism and police brutality in Paris on Saturday, June 6. Jerome Gilles—NurPhoto/Getty Images A protester in Paris holds a sign in memory of Breonna Taylor, who was shot and killed by police in her home in Louisville in March. Jerome Gilles—NurPhoto/Getty Images Italy: A Black Lives Matter demonstration in Rome on June 7. Matteo Trevisan—NurPhoto/Getty Images A protester at a demonstration in Turin on June 6. Mauro Ujetto—NurPhoto/Getty Images Demonstrators in Milan on June 7 protest the death of George Floyd and decry racism toward black people. Mairo Cinquetti—NurPhoto/Getty Images England: Protesters demonstrate outside the U.S. embassy in London on June 7. Justin Tallis—AFP/Getty Images Protesters in Bristol, England, push a statue of 17th-century slave trader Edward Colston into the River Avon. Colston and the slave trade played a major role in Bristol’s development. Giulia Spadafora—NurPhoto/Getty Images Scotland: In Edinburgh, protesters stand with a banner outside Holyrood Palace after a demonstration on June 7. Andy Buchanan—AFP/Getty Images. Denmark: The Black Lives Matter demonstration in Copenhagen on June 7 began in front of the U.S. embassy and moved on to Denmark’s parliamentary building, Christiansborg Palace. Nikolai Linares—Ritzau Scanpix/AFP/Getty Images) Germany: In Cologne, thousands of people participated in a protest against racism on June 7. Ying Tang—NurPhoto/Getty Images Marchers in Cologne. Ying Tang—NurPhoto/Getty Image Belgium: Protesters at an antiracism demonstration in Brussels on June 7. Kenzo Tribouillard—AFP/Getty Images The family of Moïse “Lamine” Bangoura, who was killed by police in Belgium in 2018, protest in front of the Brussels Palace of Justice on June 7. Didier Lebrun—Photonews/Getty Images Poland: Protesters in Kraków on June 7. Beata Zawrzel—NurPhoto/Getty Images Switzerland: In Lausanne, protesters hold a banner honoring Mike Ben Peter, a 40-year-old Nigerian who died after being detained by police in 2018. Fabrice Coffrini—AFP/Getty Images Demonstrators at a protest against racism and police brutality in Lausanne on June 7. Fabrice Coffrini—AFP/Getty Images Hungary: More than 1,000 people gathered at a Black Lives Matter demonstration in front of the U.S. embassy in Budapest on June 7. Attila Volgyi—Xinhua/Getty Images Portugal: A demonstration against racism, xenophobia, and fascism, in Praça da Liberdade at the center of Porto, on June 6. Rita France—NurPhoto/Getty Images More must-read international coverage from Fortune : AstraZeneca agrees to provide 1.3 billion doses of its coronavirus vaccine to developing nations at cost
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