fortune--2020-08-13--Black Women’s Equal Pay Day highlights corporate America’s enormous shortcomings

Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Sen. Kamala Harris gives her first speech from the VP campaign trail, Shari Redstone is in control of ViacomCBS following her father’s death, and it’s Black Women’s Equal Pay Day. Have a terrific Thursday.
– The $1 million gap. Today is Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, meaning Black women had to work all of last year and this far into 2020 to earn what white men earned in 2019 alone; white women accomplished that goal four months ago.
On top of that astounding fact there’s this one: the pay gap will account for nearly $1 million in lost income over the course of a Black women’s career.
To mark the day, two leaders from LeanIn.org have written a Fortune op-ed that highlights the working experience of Black women. The pay gap, write co-founder and CEO Rachel Thomas and VP of people and managing director Raena Saddler, is “part of a much bigger problem.”
LeanIn.org and McKinsey have conducted the largest study of women in corporate America for five years now. “Year after year, the data tell the same story,” Saddler and Thomas write, “the workplace is worse for women than for men, worse for women of color than white women, and for Black women in particular, in many ways, it’s worst of all.”
They highlight a number of ways the business world shortchanges Black women; this one stuck out most to me: “59% of Black women say that they have never—not once—had an informal interaction with a senior leader at their company.”
But in addition to drawing attention to the problems, the pair also suggests steps to take toward solutions.
For one: “embrace an intersectional approach. The challenges Black women face are rooted in a combination of sexism and racism, so any attempt to support them must take both into account. For example, companies should track representation by gender and race combined and set hiring and promotion targets for women of color and Black women specifically.”
You can read their entire piece here.
Claire Zillman
claire.zillman@fortune.com
@clairezillman
Today’s Broadsheet was curated by Emma Hinchliffe.
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
- A number 2 debut. Sen. Kamala Harris gave her first speech as the Democratic vice presidential nominee yesterday afternoon. She came out swinging against her November opponents: "As somebody who has presented my fair share of arguments in court, the case against Donald Trump and Mike Pence is open and shut." CNN
- Stages of grief. Yesterday was the third anniversary of the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where protester Heather Heyer was killed. In a piece for Fortune, Heyer's mother Susan Bro shares what her daughter's death taught her about grief—and the lessons it holds for those grieving during the coronavirus pandemic. Fortune
- Redstone empire. Media mogul Sumner Redstone's death yesterday leaves his daughter, ViacomCBS chair Shari Redstone, atop the family empire. Shari Redstone will succeed her father in a seat on the trust controlling his 80% voting interest in the family's holding company. Bloomberg
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: JetBlue Airways chief sustainability officer Sophia Mendelsohn joined Cognizant as its chief sustainability officer and global head of ESG. Debra L. Lee, former chairman and CEO of BET Networks, joins P&G’s board of directors; the company also promoted Monica Turner to president of North America sales. Intent VP of engineering Blaga Lund joins Kustomer in the same role. MINI's Esther Bahne joined Quarters as CMO and co-CEO.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
- How do you spin this? A former senior director at SoulCycle, Jordan Kafenbaum, is suing the company for pregnancy discrimination. The lawsuit alleges that former SoulCycle CEO Melanie Whelan once told an employee: "Paternity leave is for pussies." SoulCycle said Kafenbaum was laid off due to restructuring, and Whelan did not respond for request for comment in this story. Refinery29
- Serving those who serve. Victoria Chamberlin, a reporter and former soldier in the Army, writes about how the military failed her when she experienced infertility. The health insurance provided to active-duty military members only covers fertility treatments if the policyholder can't conceive due to a service-related injury. New York Times
- The end of the Veepstakes. Curious about the final hours of Joe Biden's VP selection process? This is the story to read. Over the weekend, Biden interviewed Stacey Abrams and Sen. Tammy Duckworth before telling them his choice on Tuesday. Among others, all the candidates for the role had to answer one specific question: What do you think Donald Trump’s nickname for you would be? Washington Post
ON MY RADAR
Misha Nonoo: Fashion businesses are no longer a worthwhile investment Fortune
Chanel Miller explores healing with new show at the Asian Art Museum Elle
Armed and on the frontlines: Inside Zimbabwe's all-female anti-poaching army Elle
PARTING WORDS
"Voting is an act of love."
-Ai-jen Poo, co-founder and executive director of National Domestic Workers Alliance, in a Marie Claire package featuring 100 influential women on why they're voting this year.


fortune--2020-08-14--5 ways Congress can support startups to power the U.S. economy’s revival

Everything we know so far about the second round of stimulus checks

From America’s big cities like Las Vegas to its small towns like Sumter, S.C., startups power new jobs. Other businesses tend to hire consistently from year to year, but startups manufacture entirely new positions. In 2019, startups less than a year old created over 3 million jobs, and over much of the past decade, slightly under a third of new jobs were attributable to startups. Given their power in our economy, startups deserve support and attention as we work to revitalize our economies in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Understandably, COVID-19 has had a huge impact on startups. Many of them have had to lay off employees—in the tech sector alone, almost 70,000 startup workers have lost jobs. And the economic downturn has meant that it’s harder for startups, which always struggle to access capital, to get the seed funding they need.
Women- and minority-owned businesses, in particular, have difficulty getting funding. Companies with all-women founders get venture-capital funding beyond the first round just 2% of the time—compared with 35% of the time for companies with founders who are men. Black entrepreneurs are three times as likely as white entrepreneurs to say that problems finding investors have had an impact on their profitability.
We’re working in the U.S. Senate to address these issues by working on policies—many of them with bipartisan support—to help new companies get off the ground. And we’re cochairs in the Senate of this year’s Congressional Startup Day, a nationwide celebration of entrepreneurial communities that took place on Aug. 12.
Catherine has launched an Innovation State Initiative to support Nevada’s in-demand industries, including the technology sector. She has introduced the bipartisan Small Business Innovation Voucher Act to provide grants for small businesses that partner with colleges and universities to pioneer new research and development. And she’s co-led the bipartisan 21st Century Entrepreneurship Act to pair students with retired business leaders to gain skills from these experienced mentors. Catherine has also introduced legislation to increase STEM education, bridge the digital divide, and help workers who want to retrain learn new skills. Policies like these support startups by improving their Internet access and making sure they have a broad talent pool to draw from in hiring.
As a child raised in a struggling single-parent household, Tim cites ownership—whether a home or business—as the pathway to success. At a young age, he learned the importance of having an entrepreneurial spirit, which helped him to weather life’s storms and understand the importance of the independence that comes with being able to create jobs in the community. So when he became a senator, he launched the bipartisan Senate Entrepreneurship Caucus to address startup needs, which affect business development and jobs in our communities.
Tim has introduced the Enhancing Entrepreneurship for the 21st Century Act, along with his caucus cochair, which would require the commerce secretary to work with partners at all relevant government agencies to conduct a comprehensive study into the underlying hurdles that startups are facing. In 2017, as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Tim’s Opportunity Zones legislation was signed into law, which was designed to spur economic development in distressed communities.
As the American economy adjusts to and recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, we’re going to be relying on new and small businesses to do the hiring that will provide quality jobs across the country. We need to increase support for these businesses to power our growth in the future, so that America can breathe new life into its innovative, groundbreaking economy.
Catherine Cortez Masto is the senior U.S. senator from Nevada and a member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee.
Tim Scott is the junior U.S. senator from South Carolina, a member of the Senate Small Business Committee, and cochair of the Senate Entrepreneurship Caucus.


fortune--2020-08-14--Google is not cooperating with user data requests from Hong Kong authorities

Google is no longer providing user data requested by authorities in Hong Kong, the company said on Friday. The company suspended its cooperation with Hong Kong authorities on user data requests when Beijing enacted a new national security law in the region in June, and it’s maintained that position ever since.
The Washington Post on Friday reported that Google told Hong Kong police on Thursday that, going forward, it won’t directly respond to user data requests and will instead redirect authorities to the Hong Kong–U.S. Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, which requires the involvement of the U.S. Justice Department and can take weeks or months.
A Google spokesperson declined to comment on the Washington Post report and declined to say whether Google’s new policy is permanent.
“We carefully review all requests for user data and push back on overly broad ones to protect our users’ privacy,” a Google spokesperson told Fortune in a statement.
China’s government enacted a sweeping national security law in Hong Kong on June 30 that granted authorities broad new powers over Hong Kong’s Internet and user data. Google was one of several companies, including Facebook and Twitter, that announced in the days following the enactment that they had stopped processing data requests from authorities while they reviewed the law. They cited concerns that the broad powers granted to authorities by the law might infringe on user data privacy and other civil liberties like free expression.
Google said in the statement Friday that authorities outside the U.S. can seek data “through diplomatic procedures.” The shift in Hong Kong means the U.S. tech giant is now treating Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, effectively the same as mainland China in terms of processing data requests.
The national security law has worsened the already strained relationship between the U.S. and China. Washington revoked Hong Kong’s special trade status with the U.S. after the law was enacted to signal that Washington no longer viewed Hong Kong as sufficiently autonomous from Beijing.
Between 2006 and 2009, Google ran a separate version of its search engine for users in mainland China under the domain name google.cn. Google China complied with Chinese government censorship rules until 2010, when it announced it was shutting down google.cn.
At that point, Google began redirecting mainland China users to the uncensored version of the search engine available in Hong Kong. In response, the Chinese government blocked access to Google and Google-affiliated applications like Gmail, Youtube, and Blogger under China’s “Great Firewall” of Internet controls, which denies mainland users access to many U.S.-based sites.
Google and other sites restricted on the mainland are accessible in Hong Kong. Google’s decision to stop directly responding to Hong Kong authorities’ data requests signals U.S. tech firms’ changing attitude toward data privacy and protections in Hong Kong.


fortune--2020-08-14--Refuse to wear a mask in England, and it will cost you. Fines now can run as high as $4,189

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said England can resume the paused easing of lockdown rules, with theaters, casinos and beauty parlors allowed to reopen—but warned there will be tougher penalties for people who break social-distancing restrictions.
The government is trying to balance its desire to restart the economy with the risk of sparking a new surge of coronavirus infections. Parts of northern England remain under tighter localized restrictions after outbreaks.
In plans announced late Thursday, the government said that from Aug. 15:
Indoor performance venues can open
Wedding receptions can take place with up to 30 guests at a sit-down meal
Indoor play centers, bowling alleys, skating rinks and casinos can open
Beauty salons, tattoo parlors, spas and barbers can offer “close contact” services
Sporting events will also start testing how to bring in spectators, starting with the World Snooker Championship this weekend.
But to enforce social-distancing rules, fines for not wearing a mask—currently 100 pounds ($130)—will now double with each repeated offense, to a maximum of 3,200 pounds ($4,189). And new fines will be introduced for hosting or facilitating gatherings of more than 30 people.
“Most people in this country are following the rules and doing their bit to control the virus, but we must remain focused and we cannot be complacent,” Johnson said in an emailed statement. “That is why we are strengthening the enforcement powers available to use against those who repeatedly flout the rules.”
The extent to which Johnson’s government was caught out in the early stages of the virus was revealed earlier Thursday by a survey showing that 3.4 million people in England, or 6% of the population, have had coronavirus. That’s more than 12 times as many as the government was able to identify at the time, partly because of a shortage of testing capacity.
The government has now built that capacity up, and is testing a new contact-tracing app aimed at helping to identify people exposed to the virus. The goal is to be able to isolate individuals at risk without once again freezing the entire economy.


fortune--2020-08-14--Can COVID-19 be transmitted through frozen food? An expert has some answers

In recent months, a number of reports have associated frozen food shipments with the transmission of COVID-19. Just this week, authorities in China found COVID-19 on the packaging of chicken wings imported from Brazil. New Zealand is also investigating whether its first local coronavirus case in over three months was imported along with frozen food.
Hong Kong University’s head of Public Health Laboratory Sciences, Professor Leo Poon, is an expert on novel coronaviruses and has served as a consultant for the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization. Fortune interviewed Poon about the risk of food transmitting COVID-19 to humans.
Fortune: How much of a transmission risk does food pose?
Professor Leo Poon: We don’t know whether there’s a risk or not. So far there’s no clear, documented evidence to show that COVID-19 can be transmitted by contaminated food. We know there are some suspicious cases, like the outbreak in a market in Beijing in June, but is the food itself a source for infection? We don’t know. They found evidence of the virus there, but it could have been traces of a dead virus that simply contaminated the food so, so far, there’s no evidence. There is a risk, but there’s no evidence, and compared to other means of transmission, the risk from food is much lower.
Are some foods riskier than others?
Frozen products are more a risk. [Editor’s note: See more on freezing food below.] Grains, for example, are not very risky because they are shipped at room temperature. At room temperature a virus can only survive on a contaminated surface for a few days so, by the time grains are shipped to the market, the virus should already be dead.
What steps can consumers take to lower the transmission risk posed by food?
For the general public, the best thing to do is try to maintain good hand hygiene. Washing hands might help to reduce the risk of transmission when buying, for example, chicken in the market. At home, consumers might like to wash raw meat with water to reduce the amount of virus [if any] on the food and then wash their hands once they’ve finished preparing the meat. Maintaining hand hygiene would be the upmost importance.
Does cooking food kill the coronavirus?
Viruses are very sensitive to heat. If you cook food properly then even if there’s a possibility of an infectious virus inside, it should be inactivated by the heat. In tests we’ve found that COVID-19 loses its infectious quality if submitted to a temperature of 70 C. or 158 F. for five minutes. So properly cooked food should be safe for eating.
Does freezing food kill the coronavirus?
If you freeze COVID-19, there’s some evidence to suggest it can survive in frozen samples for quite some period of time.
The virus likes the cold. We did an experiment in the past that showed the virus can survive at least two weeks at 4 C. or 39.2 F. At below freezing, it could survive even longer than that. The virus basically likes cold but not heat.
Is there any evidence the coronavirus is spread by ingesting food?
So far there’s no clear evidence to show humans can absorb the virus from consuming contaminated food. There is a risk but no one has assessed it properly yet. However, even so, the risk is much lower than other known transmission modes, such as human-to-human transmission through coughing.


fortune--2020-08-14--Chicken wings with traces of COVID reignite questions about food-borne transmission risks

Officials in China’s southern metropolis Shenzhen reported Thursday they had found traces of COVID-19 on a batch of chicken wings imported from South America. Media reports soon claimed chicken wings had “tested positive” for coronavirus, stoking fears the virus has found its way into the world’s food supply. The World Health Organization says, however, that’s not a concern.
“We have no examples of where this virus has been transmitted as a food-borne [disease], where someone has consumed a food product [and become infected],” WHO head of emerging diseases unit Maria van Kerkhove said during a regular press briefing Thursday.
Although COVID-19 is a zoonotic virus, meaning it originated in an animal before transferring to humans, it likely didn’t do so through consumption. As Van Kerkhove points out, if the virus was in our meat supply it would be killed when the meat is cooked. Raw food, like sushi or even runny eggs, poses more of a risk, but so far the virus has not been found inside those products.
The original outbreak of COVID-19 at a market in Wuhan more likely occurred because humans had close contact with both live and dead animals and didn’t take proper hygiene precautions, such as washing their hands.
Still, a recent flurry of incidents connecting coronavirus outbreaks with food markets has caused concern. In June Beijing shut down a seafood market after a cluster of COVID-19 cases were traced to one of the stalls there. Officials speculated the virus had been imported along with fish from Europe, prompting a sudden boycott of Norwegian salmon.
This week, New Zealand reinstated a nationwide lockdown after a COVID-19 cluster emerged in Auckland. The island country had gone 102 days without a single local transmission case before the cluster emerged. Local authorities are investigating whether the virus could have been imported along with frozen food since one of the patients worked at a cold storage unit.
Chinese officials also suspended meat imports from three Ecuadorean companies this week after COVID-19 was found on packages of frozen prawns. Samples taken from inside the packages and from the prawns themselves tested negative for coronavirus.
“The results show that the container and the packaging of these companies are under the risk of becoming contaminated by the novel coronavirus. Experts said that while this does not mean they can transmit the virus, it shows that the management of food safety is not ideal,” Bi Kexin, director general of China’s Import and Export Food Safety Bureau, said about the suspect prawn imports.
In the case of the Shenzhen chicken wings, too, COVID-19 was found only on the surface of the chicken and the packaging of the meat—not inside the chicken itself. The COVID-19 virus can stay alive on any surface for a period of time, including on plastic food packaging. Professor Leo Poon at Hong Kong University says that at room temperature the virus can survive on a surface for several days, but at 4 C (39.2 F) it can last up to two weeks. “Below freezing, it could survive even longer than that,” Poon says.
The potential for COVID-19 to be transported worldwide through refrigerated shipping units could complicate virus containment measures, but the theory has yet to be confirmed. According to Bi, Beijing has turned up only six positive COVID-19 samples from close to 223,000 taken from frozen imports. Workers handling the food shipments face risks, but Van Kerkhove says the WHO has issued guidance on how “people handling these products can work safely,” such as by washing their hands.
In China, health authorities are advising consumers to take extra precautions while purchasing frozen imports, but WHO Health Emergencies Programme executive director Michael Ryan advocates calm.
“People should not fear food or food packaging,” Ryan says. “We will continue to track findings like this but…there is no evidence that the food chain is participating in the transmission of this virus.”


fortune--2020-08-14--Why HP is pushing for boardroom equality

This is the web version of CEO Daily. To get it delivered to your inbox, sign up here.
Good morning. David Meyer here in Berlin, filling in for Alan.
As we head into a much-deserved weekend, I’d like to draw your attention to a couple of worthwhile reads.
The first is this LinkedIn post from HP CEO Enrique Lores, following an appearance before the California Senate yesterday by HP’s strategy chief, Kim Rivera. Rivera was there to express the company’s support for a state bill that would force firms to diversify their boards.
Here’s what Lores had to say on the matter:
“It’s an important piece of legislation. I urge the legislature to adopt it and Governor Newsom to sign it into law. But we shouldn’t have to rely on the Governor’s pen to make our boards more diverse. Business leaders should be doing that on our own.
“This isn’t just the right thing to do. Study after study has shown how gender and ethnic diversity can help power innovation and strengthen a company’s performance. For example, McKinsey has found that companies with more women and more ethnic diversity at the executive level are more profitable, and they’ve also found that companies with more diverse boardrooms enjoy significantly higher earnings and returns on equity.”
HP itself certainly walks the talk; as Lores noted in his post, its board is 58% minorities, and 42% women. “Yet, we also know we have a lot more work to do—as a company and industry—to finally shatter the barriers that have prevented true equality and fairness for far too long,” he wrote.
And speaking of McKinsey studies, here’s a new report from the consultancy on the outlook for corporate travel. It suggests business travel will take longer to recover than leisure travel will, and it’s crucial for travel players to understand which segments will return first.
According to McKinsey, the earliest revival for business travel will be for in-person sales and client meetings. Internal meetings, conferences and events won’t be significant drivers until “well into 2021” or later, while “some travel for internal purposes will be permanently replaced by virtual meetings and collaboration.”
More news below.
David Meyer
@superglaze
david.meyer@fortune.com
TOP NEWS
App showdown
Fortnite developer Epic Games decided to force Apple's hand on the contentious issue of the smartphone firm's 30% revenue cut for in-app payments. Epic launched a direct purchase plan for items in the hugely popular game. So Apple pulled Fortnite from the App Store. Google did the same in its app repository. Now Epic is suing both companies. Not great timing for Apple, given how regulators in Europe and the U.S. are currently taking a close look at its control of the iOS ecosystem. Fortune
Israel and UAE
The United Arab Emirates has agreed to formal diplomatic ties with Israel, in a U.S.-brokered deal that will see Israel suspend further annexation of Palestinian territories. It should be noted that political pressure back home had effectively already put such annexations on ice. Nonetheless, the deal is a significant policy win for President Trump, and one that has been welcomed by Joe Biden. Here's a good analysis of the drivers and implications. New York Times
Michigan road
Michigan plans to build "the world's most sophisticated roadway"—specifically, a corridor between Detroit and Ann Arbor that will be reserved for autonomous vehicles. Infrastructure startup Cavnue is leading the project, with the backing of Ford, GM and Alphabet's Waymo. A key part of the plan is the development a common software standard that will be used by cars, shuttles and trucks, allowing governments to charge for access to the road, in order to subsidize transport. Fortune
iQiyi probe
The Securities and Exchange Commission has launched a probe into potential fraud at Chinese streaming service iQiyi. According to "activist research and due-diligence firm" Wolfpack Research, the Nasdaq-listed Netflix rival inflated its 2019 revenue by as much as $1.98 billion, while also overstating user numbers and expenses. iQiyi's shares fell more than 18% after news of the investigation broke. CNBC
AROUND THE WATER COOLER
Trump and USPS
President Trump has now plainly said he is holding up U.S. Postal Service funding in order to stymie universal mail-in voting in the November elections. But could his plan backfire? According to history professor and former postal worker Philip Rubio, Trump's "political sabotage" and the recent managerial actions of his Postmaster General, Trump donor Louis DeJoy, could spark outrage among those who still rely on the USPS for essential deliveries. Politico
Yale admissions
Yale University has been discriminating against Asian-American and white applicants in favor of Black applicants, according to the Justice Department, which said: "Yale rejects scores of Asian American and white applicants each year based on their race, whom it otherwise would admit." Yale claims the Justice Department reached its conclusions "before reviewing and receiving all the information it has requested." If Yale doesn't reform its admissions practices within two weeks, the department says it will sue. Wall Street Journal
Jobs action
Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (and an advisor to the Democrats), writes for Fortune that millions of workers will lose their jobs unless Congress passes a relief package. She writes: "Many of the 55 million who filed for unemployment have stayed afloat because of the $600 enhanced unemployment benefit Congress included in the CARES Act. But that program ended on July 31, and economists from across the spectrum are warning that we’re headed for disaster unless Congress acts." Fortune
Rewarding hospitals
Hospitals' and health systems' work to advance population health, reduce disparities and inequality, and impact the social determinants of health, should be routinely assessed and rewarded. That's according to physicians and health-policy experts Kyu Rhee, Joshua Sharfstein and Rachel Thornton, writing for Fortune. "We can begin to incentivize a commitment to community health and equity if we embed it into our evaluations of hospital performance," they write. Fortune
This edition of CEO Daily was edited by David Meyer.


fortune--2020-08-14--The S&P 500 is on its best bull run in 87 years. Here’s why

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.
Happy Friday, Bull Sheeters. Solid U.S. labor data couldn’t save the Dow and S&P 500 from finishing in the red yesterday. But the benchmark S&P 500 is still up more than 50% since its March lows as it nears a new all-time high. Alas, U.S. futures point to a flat open today.
Let’s check in on the action.
Markets update
Asia
The major indexes are mostly higher, with the Shanghai Composite leading the way, up 1.2% in afternoon trade.
leading the way, up in afternoon trade. China’s industrial output continues to crank into high gear, rising 4.8% YOY in July. Elsewhere, China’s retail sales were flat.
continues to crank into high gear, rising YOY in July. Elsewhere, China’s retail sales were flat. There are just 48 total active coronavirus cases, but New Zealand isn’t taking any chances. It’s extending a lockdown in Auckland as a 102-day streak of being COVID-free was snapped a few days ago.
Europe
The European bourses were down at the open with travel and energy stocks leading the way lower. The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 dropped 1.6% two hours into the trading session.
were down at the open with travel and energy stocks leading the way lower. The benchmark dropped two hours into the trading session. Daimler shares fell 1.4% in mid-morning trade after the company agreed to pay more than $2 billion to settle with U.S. regulators a diesel emissions case. That leaves Fiat Chrysler and Ford Motor Co. still under investigation for suspected similar polluting behavior.
shares fell in mid-morning trade after the company agreed to pay more than to settle with U.S. regulators a diesel emissions case. That leaves Fiat Chrysler and Ford Motor Co. still under investigation for suspected similar polluting behavior. It’s being hailed as the biggest diplomatic development in the Middle East in a generation (and not only by President Trump)—In a U.S. brokered deal, Israel has agreed to halt annexation in the West Bank, and Israel and United Arab Emirates have agreed to begin normalizing relations.
U.S.
U.S. futures are mixed with the Nasdaq looking to extend yesterday’s gains. Of the three major exchanges, only the tech-heavy Nasdaq could finish in positive territory yesterday. That’s despite better-than-expected news in the U.S. labor market.
are mixed with the Nasdaq looking to extend yesterday’s gains. Of the three major exchanges, only the tech-heavy Nasdaq could yesterday. That’s despite better-than-expected news in the U.S. labor market. There will be no CARES Act II this month. The Senate is now in recess until Sept. 8, dashing the markets’ hopes for an expedited new fiscal stimulus package .
this month. The Senate is now in recess until Sept. 8, dashing the markets’ hopes for an expedited . Apple, at the start of the year, was sitting on a $207 billion cash hoard, and yet it too can’t resist tapping the bond market. It’s a sign of just how cheap borrowing costs are these days. The iPhone maker issued $5.5 billion in bonds with a 40-year maturity.
Elsewhere
Gold is down nearly 1% as trade in the shiny yellow stuff grows more volatile.
is down nearly as trade in the shiny yellow stuff grows more volatile. The dollar is up slightly.
is up slightly. Crude is down 1%, with Brent trading below $45/barrel.
By the Numbers
<1 million. Woohoo! For the first time since March, the weekly jobless claims number came in below 1 million yesterday—to a better-than-expected 963,000. That’s still well above the pre-pandemic level of 695,000, but we’re definitely happy to see some much needed improvement in an otherwise brutal labor market. The markets cheered the news, and, for a brief moment, all three indexes turned positive on the news. But there’s still plenty of reason for concern. “We’ve not yet seen the light at the end of the tunnel for millions of workers,” Glassdoor Senior Economist Daniel Zhao said in a note shared with Fortune. “With no sign yet of a new relief package, the question is whether sheer momentum can keep pushing the economic recovery forward in this historically deep crisis.”
~18%. Tesla bulls have driven up shares in the e-vehicle maker by 247 points in the past two trading sessions. That’s since the company announced it would be executing a five-for-one stock split. That represents nearly an 18% jump. And it’s a few fractions of a percentage from hitting a fresh all-time high.
51. The S&P 500 has been flirting with closing at a fresh all-time high all week. It actually hit a new peak on Wednesday, but then quickly faded. Still, the benchmark index is less than 1% from achieving that milestone. It may not be today, but with these markets, it’s a matter of days. The Wall Street Journal had an interesting take on the historic S&P bull run, saying, “It has been only 123 trading days since the S&P 500 set its last high. A new record would be the fastest recovery from a bear market in history. Moreover, in the 100 trading days since the March 23 low, the index is up 51%—its best 100-day spurt since 1933.” 87 years ago.
***
Postscript
As I warned the other day, this post is a sort of shaggy dog story.
Around dawn on a raw, grey morning in November a few years back, I met with a couple of local characters at a bar in downtown Amandola. The plan had been set up days earlier: Alberto and Marcello would take me truffle hunting for an article I’d later write.
When I mentioned The Guardian, they agreed to show me one of their favorite spots. Amandola is one of those few places on earth where the prized white truffle, the tuber magnatum pico, grows in the wild. The taste often invades my dreams.
After a round of coffees and cornetti, we jumped in our cars. I followed them up a familiar windy road out of town. We climbed up a hill, down another, up a third. After about 10 minutes, we arrived at our destination. “Here!?,” I exclaimed. “Right here?” I was convinced they were pulling a let’s-mess-with-the-new-guy gag.
“That’s my house,” I pointed. We were parked almost in my driveway.
They had a good laugh, and insisted it was no prank. In the woods across the street, Marcello explained, he had recently come across his biggest find in years. Actually, he corrected, it was Dora who sniffed them out. And at that, he introduced me to Dora, a docile, shaggy pooch that he patted affectionately. She featured prominently in the article I wrote that day.
I’d never seen a dog like Dora before. With her solid, angular build, she looked like a bad-ass poodle. She had a prominent nose and a mop head of curls that nearly covered her eyes. Dora, Marcello explained, was a Lagotto Romagnolo.
The Lagotto is one of Italy’s oldest dog breeds. They became popular with duck hunters in the marshy Po Valley region centuries ago. The Renaissance master Andrea Mategna even painted a Lagotto into one of his most famous paintings, L’incontro.
In recent years, the Lagotto has become a favored breed among truffle hunters. They have a powerful olfactory sense. They’re smart as a whip, and skilled diggers. And, they show great restraint when they hit upon an underground cache of white truffles. This is key. A large specimen, unblemished by dog or man, can fetch huge sums on the open market.
So when the conversation in our house turned to getting a dog, I thought about the lovable, sporty Dora, and suggested a Lagotto. Immediately, my wife and kids called me out.
“You want a truffle dog!,” they insisted. “You want a dog to take into the woods, and dig in the mud for stinky truffles.”
Busted. Truth is I’ve long harbored the fantasy of getting my truffle hunters license. That certificate, a spear-like spade and a truffle dog are all I need to make it a reality, I’ve thought more than once. If you have to survive the winter months in lockdown, it’s best to do so with a pungent stash of truffles—and a decent wine collection. (I have the latter.) In good times, truffle-hunting is a hobby that could earn decent returns. Do you know what truffle brokers pay for these warty, mushroom-like organisms?
(Dear reader, don’t overpay for your Italian truffles. Truth is they lose their scent and flavor rapidly. By the time they get shipped from Italy, make it through customs, and land on your plate in Vegas or Macau or midtown Manhattan, they’ve all but lost their magic.)
I’d all but given up on my pipe dream of becoming a tartufaio (a “truffle-hunter,” in Italian) when my wife last month spotted online an ad featuring the picture of a little white ball of curls. It was a Lagotto puppy. The owner bought her from a breeder with the intention of embarking on his own truffle trade. When my girls saw the photo, they were sold. I said nothing.
On our trip home from Sicily, we made a pitstop, to a town in the mountains south of Rome. As we pulled up to the house, I reminded everybody of the plan: we were here just to give the Lagotto pup a look. “Let’s not get attached,” I said. “This is merely research. We’re not buying a dog today. We’re not even thinking about buying a dog today.”
Nobody listened.
When the puppy heard the girls, she came bounding around the bend, tail wagging in overdrive. They swooned in unison. I was about to remind them not to fall in love-at-first-sight when the little Lagotto headed straight to me. She plopped herself down at my feet, and looked up through her moppy curls.
“What are we going to do?,” my wife asked.
“How can we not get this dog,” I responded.
Pathetic. I had broken all the rules I had laid down just moments earlier. It’s a puppy; that’s usually what happens.
And that’s the story of Scilla—named by T.—and the Lagotto Romagnolo.
She’s still getting accustomed to this new world in casa Warner. My father-in-law calls every night to enquire if she’s sniffed out any truffles yet. When I tell him no, he impatiently grumbles that I’m off to a bad start. Not the first time he’s said that to me.
But otherwise, everyone’s content. She loves the mountains and the water (she dove into a river and paddled around for a bit before catching cold), and, alá Mategna, she’s become the star of our camera roll. Here’s a shot of Scilla in the Sibillini mountains above our house in Amandola.
Scilla in Monti Sibillini National Park. Original photo: Bernhard Warner.
Have a nice weekend, everyone. I’ll see you here on Monday.
Bernhard Warner
@BernhardWarner
Bernhard.Warner@Fortune.com
***
Today's read
M&A fever, decoded. "How can you spot the next megadeal before it happens?," Fortune's Jeremy Kahn writes. "Well, newly published research suggests it pays to keep careful tabs on the stock sales of top execs." That's right. When the executive team starts to dramatically sell off their stake it could mean a big deal is on the horizon, new research shows.
Some of these stories require a subscription to access. There is a discount offer for our loyal readers if you use this link to sign up. Thank you for supporting our journalism.
Market candy
The cost of virtual fandom
In most places around the world, die-hard sports fans cannot get into the arena or stadium to see their favorite team, but a likeness of themselves can. It's called becoming a "virtual fans," and it will cost you nearly as much as the real thing, Fortune's Rey Mashayeki writes.


fortune--2020-08-14--Johnson & Johnson just invested in a telemedicine startup. Here’s why

Investors are betting that telemedicine’s increased popularity during the coronavirus pandemic will continue after the outbreak is over.
The latest example is Thirty Madison, a startup that offers online health portals for treatment of hair loss, migraines, and acid reflux. It said on Thursday that it had raised $47 million from the venture capital arm of health product giant Johnson & Johnson along with investment firms Polaris Partners (which led the round), Maveron, and Northzone.
The investment marks a major investment in telemedicine by Johnson & Johnson’s venture capital arm. Stacy Feld, the Johnson & Johnson investment head of west North America, Australia, and New Zealand, said in an email that the investment into Thirty Madison “aligns to our overall strategy, which is to bring new health care products and solutions to the people who need them most.”
She added that the investment “reflects the broader trend of individuals seeking personalized, on-demand solutions for their chronic health care needs.” In addition, she said that “COVID-19 has accelerated certain changes in the way health care is delivered, for example, via telemedicine” and that she believes it’s not a fad.
Indeed, telehealth services are gaining a huge following during the coronavirus pandemic as both doctors and patients try to limit their exposure to the virus.
Companies offering telehealth services like Thirty Madison, founded in 2017, face a huge amount of competition from services like Teledoc, MDLive, and American Well. Many companies involved have much longer track records and deeper pockets.
Thirty Madison CEO Steven Gutentag said the startup is trying to differentiate itself from rivals by focusing on specific chronic disorders rather than offering more general services, like virtual doctor visits. Its service connects patients through portals for specific ailments with physicians, schedules virtual appointments, and orders their medications.
Amy Schulman, managing partner of Polaris Partners and a new Thirty Madison board member, said that online health services were already gaining momentum before COVID-19 because young adults are used to conducting much of their lives online.
“There’s a generation of people who will do things online that were unthinkable to my generation,” said Schulman, who once ran the consumer business for pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.
Thirty Madison makes money by selling medications and treatments through the site.
Gutentag acknowledged that patients could get their medications from elsewhere rather than his company’s health portals. But he said that one-stop for health care services makes its sites more appealing to use. He’s hoping that with many people trying online health care services for the first time because of the coronavirus, his startup’s services will stand out.
“We’ve been building toward this moment for the last three years and we’re in a position to capitalize on it,” said Gutentag.
He added that there are no current plans to license the startup’s technology so that others can create their own health portals. But he left the door open to doing so in the future.
Overall, Thirty Madison has raised a total of $70 million since its founding. It declined to comment about its valuation in its latest funding round.


fortune--2020-08-14--A new COVID outbreak threatens South Korea’s exemplary pandemic response

South Korea reported 103 new confirmed coronavirus cases Friday, nearly twice as many as the day before, raising the specter of a new wave of infections that could undermine the Asian nation’s fine-tuned and much-touted handling of the pandemic.
The situation is creating alarm as the transmission route is unknown for more than 13% of the cases — low compared with many other Asian countries but more than double the rate of about 6% in May, when there was an outbreak at Seoul nightclubs. Health officials said the latest infections, mostly linked to church gatherings, may pose a greater challenge than the previous flareup, which was quickly contained.
“We’re now in a critical situation as local infections are rising every day amid the vacation season,” said Kwon Jun-wook, deputy director of Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We see signs that cases without symptoms or with mild symptoms, undetected for some time, may have been silently spreading.”
The jump in cases comes as some of the most successful countries in containing the pathogen are now wrestling with sudden flareups — a grim reminder that the coronavirus won’t be entirely stamped out without help from a vaccine. New Zealand and Vietnam have both reintroduced strict containment measures after seeing their first cases in months.
If the latest outbreak in South Korea worsens, it would be a setback in the global Covid-19 fight. Bolstered by its success with rapid testing and contact tracing, the country has been held up as a model for democracies looking to manage the virus without having to resort to restrictive lockdowns. Once the world’s second hardest hit, South Korea touts one of the lowest infection and fatality rates among developed nations.
Of the 103 new cases, 85 were locally infected while 18 were imported, according to the CDC. Most of the local cases are linked to flareups at churches, schools and traditional markets.
The spike follows a relaxation of social distancing rules, and ahead of a three-day holiday when many are expected to visit parks, shopping centers and restaurants. South Korea has in recent weeks allowed baseball and soccer fans in the stands as well as visitors to public parks and museums.
South Korea’s prime minister said Friday the government may re-impose stricter social distancing rules in Seoul and neighboring areas if the situation worsens, and urged the public to follow virus prevention guidelines, including wearing masks and washing hands.
If the alert is raised, high-risk facilities such as clubs, pubs and karaoke bars will be required to close temporarily. Churches and restaurants will need to require masks and to maintain lists of people entering and leaving the facilities.
South Korea’s virus-prevention measures are producing a positive side-effect. The CDC reported Thursday that the country is seeing a sharp drop in other infectious diseases, aided by social distancing, handwashing and mask wearing. Cases of measles fell 97% in the year through July compared with the year-earlier period, while both whooping cough and scarlet fever declined 62%.


fortune--2020-08-14--New Zealand’s mysterious new COVID outbreak is growing

New Zealand recorded 12 new confirmed local cases of the coronavirus on Friday including some outside the largest city Auckland, as the government attempts to stamp out the nation’s first outbreak in more than three months.
The cluster of infections that began in Auckland earlier this week has grown to 30, including a probable case, and 2 in the North Island town of Tokoroa, Health Director-General Ashley Bloomfield told reporters in Wellington.
New Zealand now has 48 active cases, which includes 18 people who tested positive during the 14-day quarantine that’s mandatory for anyone returning to the country from overseas.
After eradicating community transmission, New Zealand’s 102-day Covid-free run ended this week when an initial four new cases were detected in an Auckland household, from a yet-to-be determined source. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern responded to the fresh outbreak by putting Auckland, a city of 1.6 million people and a hub of commerce, into a three day lockdown that is scheduled to end later Friday. Social distancing rules and limits on gatherings have also been reimposed on the rest of the country.
Ardern will announce whether the lockdown will be extended or escalated following a cabinet meeting later today.
Health Minister Chris Hipkins said all of the local cases were connected to the Auckland outbreak but warned that “we are not out of the woods yet.”
The current advice is that the health risk in Tokoroa remains low because the two infected people there are linked with the Auckland outbreak, but he is yet to receive the complete advice he will present to his cabinet colleagues.
Businesses and investors are wary that an extension of the restrictions would stall the economic recovery that has been underway since a seven-week nationwide lockdown that ended in mid-May. The first lockdown — a so-called alert level 4 — saw manufacturing and construction closed, tipping New Zealand into recession for the first time in 10 years. Currently Auckland is in a level 3 lockdown with people urged to stay home and consumer-facing businesses shut, while the rest of the country is at level 2.
“If this is just a scare and the alert levels are raised only briefly, then the economic implications are small,” said Dominick Stephens, chief New Zealand economist at Westpac in Auckland. “If New Zealand goes into another strict level 4 lockdown, the economic implications would be more severe.”
Still, international experience shows that losing control of the virus would be much more damaging to the economy, he said.


fortune--2020-08-14--Pinterest workers stage protest after discrimination allegations

Pinterest delayed the planned announcement of a new board member Friday amid a virtual walkout by employees demanding change after claims of discrimination by management.
More than 350 of Pinterest’s 2,400 employees signed onto a protest and virtual job action. Because they’re already working from home, instead of walking out of offices, they signed off the company’s computer system, borrowing a protest strategy from Facebook’s employees. Pinterest didn’t want its board announcement to compete with attention on the employee protest, according to a person familiar with the matter.
“We want systemic change so that we can remain proud of where we work,” the employees wrote anonymously in a petition asking for transparency on pay and on promotion and retention of minority workers.
Earlier this week, former Chief Operating Officer Francoise Brougher said in a lawsuit that she was fired after speaking up about gender discrimination by the photo-sharing website’s male-run leadership team. Her complaint escalated criticism of the management, publicly and internally. Pinterest had already responded to the allegations of two employees on its policy team who alleged racial and gender discrimination. When those claims went public earlier this year, Chief Executive Officer Ben Silbermann called parts of the company’s culture “broken.”
Pinterest told employees it won’t retaliate against them for Friday’s protest.
“Pinterest won’t dissuade any member of our community from showing their support for improving inclusion & diversity in our company, or within the broader industry,” the head of human resources, Jo Dennis, said Thursday in a message to all employees that was viewed by Bloomberg. “At our Q&A tomorrow we will continue our conversation from yesterday, and we are excited to let you know Ben will be introducing you to our newest board member.”
The San Francisco-based company declined to comment on the planned board announcement, but has previously said it aims to add more diversity to its leadership team. Currently the board is made up of six men and two women.
“We respect and hear the employees who want to see a clear commitment to action, and we will ensure an open dialogue that leads to progress to make Pinterest the place we all know it can be,” the company said Thursday in a statement.


fortune--2020-08-14--Warren Buffett traded Goldman Sachs for gold in Berkshire Hathaway’s newly revealed portfolio

Airlines weren’t the only stocks Warren Buffett soured on during the pandemic. In addition to selling all his airline holdings including Delta and Southwest, which Buffett announced in May, the Berkshire Hathaway investor also dumped his bank stocks, closing his position in Goldman Sachs completely.
Indeed, Buffett did far more selling than buying between April and June, as Berkshire’s quarterly shareholder filing, released Friday afternoon, made clear. As the coronavirus crisis escalated, the celebrated investor added just a single new stock to his Berkshire Hathaway portfolio: Barrick Gold, a Canada-based mining company whose stock price loosely trades in tandem with the price of gold—which has surged this year (up nearly 30%) as investors have sought safe havens. Barrick itself has outperformed the precious metal, with its shares up 45% so far in 2020. Buffett’s Barrick stock is currently worth about $565 million.
Buffett clearly jumped to pull out of stocks most hurt by the coronavirus-related shutdowns. He also sold all his shares in Restaurant Brands International, the owner of fast food restaurants including Burger King and Popeyes, which struggled as customers stayed home more and regional restrictions forced dining rooms to close.
The Oracle of Omaha also dumped all of his Occidental stock during the COVID-19 pandemic—despite his sweet dividend arrangement with the energy company, under which Oxy paid a hefty 8% yield exclusively to Berkshire Hathaway after Buffett’s company backed Oxy’s acquisition of Anadarko last year. As oil prices hit record lows this spring with airplanes grounded and travel at a standstill, energy companies like Occidental have floundered; desperate for cash, Oxy had cut its dividend to its non-Buffett shareholders twice this year, to just a penny per share.
Besides dumping Goldman outright, Buffett sold shares in other banks, cutting his position in JPMorgan Chase by 61%, and trimming his holdings in Wells Fargo and PNC. This year, Goldman has been a bright star in the financial industry, outperforming its Wall Street peers thanks to robust trading profits; and though all bank stocks are in negative territory for 2020, they haven’t lost nearly as much as airlines and energy companies. Buffett may be shying away from banks in anticipation of increasing loan defaults as the economic pain resulting from the pandemic sinks in, which Wall Street CEOs have lately warned of.
It wasn’t all selling over at Berkshire’s Omaha headquarters, though. Buffett added to his position in Kroger, as well as Liberty Media and STORE Capital, a real estate investment trust.
Notable, however, is just how little Buffett bought in the second quarter of 2020. The Berkshire Hathaway investor is famous for his oft-quoted creed, from his 1986 shareholder letter: “We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful.”
Despite the seesawing market volatility of recent months, it doesn’t seem like Buffett has seen enough fear among other investors to make him feel greedy just yet. After all, much of the market is at or nearing all-time highs—though Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has fallen behind, down more than 6% so far this year. If the Oracle is right in staying cautious for now, though, investors may find themselves more fearful in the future.


fortune--2020-08-14--It’s always Black Women’s Equal Pay Day

It’s always Black Women’s Equal Pay Day

LeanIn has a must–read report on the state of Black women in corporate America, a lone Adidas employee goes on strike, professional hockey goes woke, and guess who isn’t running a Fortune Global 500 company?
But first, here’s your Black Women’s Equal Pay Day week in review, in Haiku.
Work, work ‘til August,
just to make the same money!
The EVP of
XYZ don’t know
my name; he always calls me
the other Black girl.
Work, work ‘til August,
just to make the same money!
I anchor a home,
a village, and big
ideas. In my mind I’m
the CEO. Can
you see me work,
work my way there? Or are you
standing in my way?
Take a well-earned break this weekend.
Ellen McGirt
@ellmcgirt
Ellen.McGirt@fortune.com
In Brief
The news was so bad, Sheryl Sandberg delivered it personally.
“We just found that 54 percent of black women have been laid off, furloughed or had their hours or pay reduced compared to 27 percent of white men.” It was April, the early days of the quarantine and before the George Floyd reckoning. Still, the data Sandberg’s LeanIn collects along with McKinsey were setting off alarm bells. “It is an underlying condition of this [coronavirus triggered] economic crisis to be a woman and especially a woman of color,” she told raceAhead.
The LeanIn team decided to begin surveying women in the workplace weekly to better understand how the situation was unfolding, and add to the conversation happening around the health disparities in the Black community. “We need to be talking about the economic inequality around race and gender,” she said. “We can't wait even three months to do that survey again.”
LeanIn has just published a new report called The State of Black Women in Corporate America, the result of the promise kept to zero in on this uniquely vulnerable cohort—who are so often the family breadwinners, so rarely the CEOs, or the ones picked for the high potential pools, venture capital investment or even basic advancements at work. They’re exhausted and demoralized.
The findings are sobering and shouldn’t surprise anyone who is paying attention.
Black women experience a wider array of microaggressions. Face more overt discrimination. Many have never met a senior leader or have been supported in their career goals. They’re less likely to be promoted into, and then beyond, their first leadership job, and are largely absent from the highest ranks of leadership. All of this comes in stark contrast to the kinds of political and organizing power Black women are wielding with increasing impact.
It’s time the corporate world takes note.
Hey, senior white leader, why not start today? Here’s an easy thing you can do: Meet with a junior Black woman about her work. Make it informal. Ask her opinion on something and listen to it. Find out about her goals. It doesn’t have to become part of a formal networking relationship, but these conversations can benefit both of you. For her, it’s a chance to connect, feel heard, and maybe get some insight into how it all works. And you can learn what it’s really like to be a Black woman at your company. If you’re open, empathetic, and a good listener, she will tell you more than any survey could.
On Point
Guess who isn’t leading any Fortune Global 500 company this year? It’s a depressing milestone for the storied list of the 500 largest companies operating in the global economy. Of the 13 companies run by women—let that statistic wash over you —all are white. Not a single woman of color in a world that includes Africa, Asia, Latin America…you get my point. According to my sisters at Fortune’s Broadsheet, this is the first time in six years that the number is zero. Of course, on the domestic 500, the number is similarly demoralizing; there are no Black women running Fortune 500 businesses, and only three women of color.
Fortune
Black people die sooner than white people in America This story and graphic is a brutal necessary read. There has always been an alarming race-based gap in mortality rates adjusted for age in the U.S. And, due to COVID, there will likely be the biggest uptick in white mortality rates since World War II. But data suggests that even if Black people had been unaffected by the coronavirus for some magical reason, Black deaths could still outpace white ones in 2020. “An epidemic shows in a short period of time what’s been going on for hundreds of years,” David Ansell, who directs community health equity at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, tells the New York Times.
New York Times
What happens when one of your Black employees is also your most ardent protester? The Daily podcast has the extraordinary story of Julia Bond, an assistant apparel designer at Adidas who for the last two months has been leading a daily protest in front of her employer’s office. It’s been a painful journey. Bond describes herself as Black girl from Ohio who discovered fashion—and fashion school—mostly by accident. A dream internship at Adidas soon followed, then a full-time job offer. It was a dream, until it wasn’t. She cites microaggressions and overt racist treatment in the workplace, “the culmination and compounding of all these small areas that I find myself being squashed into.” (The Confederate Flag makes an appearance at the 13:00 minute mark.) But it was the company’s post-George Floyd post—an image of the word “racism” crossed out with a red circle—that compelled her to publicly address the mismatch between her company’s words and deeds. A must listen.
The Daily
Hockey so woke The NHL joins other professional leagues in incorporating anti-racist practices and statements into their public lives, part of an overarching strategy to appeal to a younger and more inclusive audience. There’s a new initiative called the Hockey Diversity Alliance created by players to address racism in hockey. Players have demonstrated during the anthem, and #WeSkateForBLACKLIVES” has appeared on jumbo screens over the ice. The sport needs time in the penalty box after high-profile incidents of racist behavior from fans, players, and coaches alike. Akim Aliu, a former player who has gone public with his story of discrimination—which includes an NHL staffer who work blackface to mock him—is one of the players who created the new Alliance. The work continues: The NHL remains the only major North American sports league not to agree to be audited by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport. #JustDoIt
New York Times
On background
The women who made Kamala possible Melanye Price, an author and professor of political science at Prairie View A&M University in Texas, does not mince words. Kamala Harris not only stands on the shoulders of political giants like Barbara Jordan and Shirley Chisholm, she is the direct beneficiary of one of the most determined—and increasingly organized—political cohorts in U.S. history. “Ms. Harris is the embodiment of the growing political power of Black women to make demands within the Democratic Party—and the political sophistication to ensure that those demands are met,” Price writes in this opinion piece.
New York Times
Spend a little time with Dolly Parton She’s an enduring legend, a savvy brand, an effective philanthropist, and a dedicated employer operating in an otherwise overlooked part of rural America. And yet, as this wonderful profile makes clear, Dolly Parton is someone we can all agree on. Jad Abumrad was the host of WNYC Studios’ nine-part 2019 podcast Dolly Parton’s America, and had one of the best quotes in the piece. “We talked to these fervent Dolly fans, from Appalachian queer kids to Brooklyn hipsters to [conservative] people in the South. Everyone sees her as theirs." And then this: “I say this with humility and as someone who is not a believer: There’s something very Christ-like about her.”
Billboard
Spend a little time with the Oluos Ijeoma Oluo is one of my favorite writers, so I was embarrassed to only now learn that she is also one of the characters in a memoir written by her brother Ahamefule, versions of which have appeared in an off-Broadway show and in a This American Life podcast episode. Thin Skin is now an independent film which premiered this week at the Bentonville Film Festival, and the two Oluos play themselves. (I am shook by this news.) The story centers on the siblings, who grew up in Seattle with their mother after their Nigerian father left them. It looks amazing. Ahamefule, an accomplished jazz musician, provides the soundtrack to the dramatized tale. “Ahamefule is as good an actor as he is a musician, and his sister is brilliant as well,” says one reviewer, sounding a bit surprised. The trailer is here, more on the film below.
FilmThreat
This edition of raceAhead is edited by Karen Yuan.
Today's mood board
Please pay this woman what she's worth.


fortune--2020-08-14--Trump’s extra $400 unemployment benefit is actually $300—and will be retroactive to August 1

Our mission to help you navigate the new normal is fueled by subscribers. To enjoy unlimited access to our journalism, subscribe today.
After stimulus talks fell apart between Republican and Democratic leaders, President Donald Trump decided to bypass Congress and signed a memorandum that would grant $400 enhanced weekly unemployment benefits to out-of-work Americans if their state picked up $100 of the tab. This week the White House clarified that states could use the federal funds to send out $300 enhanced unemployment checks, without throwing an additional $100 in.
When considering states’ financial constraints during the pandemic, it’s likely most will opt for the $300 per week. Ohio and Alaska already said they’ll do just that.
The $300 weekly enhanced unemployment benefit replaces the $600 enhanced benefit that expired the week ending July 25. The White House has already made it clear the benefit will be paid retroactive to the week ending August 1—which is critical given many states have said it could take weeks or even a month to get the money flowing.
The $44 billion allocated by Trump for the enhanced unemployment benefit is estimated to fund the weekly benefit for five weeks, or through the week ending August 29, according to a report by the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. And there still remains the possibility the memorandum will face a legal challenge.
The White House is allowing states to get around throwing an additional $100 in by counting $100 of existing unemployment insurance payments. However, that means jobless Americans who receive less than $100 per week in state benefits wouldn’t be eligible for the $300 per week enhanced benefit. The White House has yet to clarify that concern.
As of the week ending July 25, 15.5 million jobless Americans—along with another 11.9 million jobless on Pandemic Unemployment Assistance or Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation—are no longer receiving the $600 enhanced unemployment benefits.
Democratic and Republican leaders remain deadlocked in their negations for a broad stimulus, which would include extended enhanced unemployment benefits. And on Thursday Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell adjourned the chamber for recess until September 8, indicating if stimulus talks resume, it’s not likely to be before then.


fortune--2020-08-14--I’m a Black female CEO. What makes me ‘different’?

“The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.” —Steven Spielberg
As non-Black Americans and businesses are asked to reexamine themselves and the roles they play in the marginalization of Black people, I have been asked many questions by my well-meaning friends, colleagues, and professional network about how I succeeded and what makes me “different.” In other words: How did you reach the summit of the corporate world, where there are so few people who look like you?
While I am happy to answer them, my experience as a Black woman—and specifically in corporate America—does not make me a spokesperson for every Black person. My path does not guarantee that there is a one-size-fits-all recipe to success that one can point to and replicate. But hopefully I can highlight for others some of the key contributing factors.
As a female CEO of a luxury lifestyle and wellness brand (one founded by an iconic Caucasian woman, Donna Karan), my position would not be as notable if I were not Black. I am not sure who is more aware of my color—me, my employees, or my business network. I am used to being the only Black woman in the room, and as my skin color walks ahead of me, I find myself consistently disrupting stereotypes some may have about Black people.
So when I hear questions about my differences, a few thoughts come to mind.
What makes me different? I never believed any of the lies the media or history has told about me not measuring up, or any claim about what I can and cannot do because of the color of my skin. America has been built on the backs of African slaves who have contributed to its success. So, with that backdrop, why can’t I become anything I want to be?
To some, I am the exception. To me, I am one that has succeeded. I attribute my success to natural-born gifts; educational opportunities; and mentorships by amazing, successful men and women of all colors who have supported my rise up the corporate ladder. However, none of it would have happened if I didn’t have the drive or perseverance.
What makes me different? I refused to believe in the lie that I was accepted into a top university because of affirmative action. I earned my acceptance to Columbia University. I had been indoctrinated by my parents—immigrants from Eritrea, Africa, who believed in the American dream—with the belief that education and hard work were the only ways to succeed, and that the color of my skin would not be a limiting factor. My siblings and I were usually the first students at school in the morning and at the library until closing. Being an honors student and adored by teachers for my academic achievements was an important part of my future success.
A note on affirmative action: Many people may not realize that acceptance into an elite university is actually more difficult for an accomplished Black applicant, because you are competing with top Black students across the country for a limited number of spots. Certainly nothing to be ashamed of!
What makes me different? I dreamt of something bigger than what surrounded me. As a teenager, I spent my Saturdays taking courses at a federally funded program called Upward Bound at Sonoma State University. Upward Bound emphasized the exposure of underprivileged children to educational tools and social events to motivate them to attend college and seek career development opportunities. I visited museums, attended musicals like Les Misérables, and ate at five-star restaurants. This program forever changed me. I understood for the first time that just because I was from a low-income family did not mean that I could not attain success, and that these experiences could be my norm and not just a one-off. I didn’t know what I didn’t know, until I was exposed to a world that I did not realize existed.
What makes me different? I learned as a Black woman that one must have mentors and allies who believe in you and are willing to lend a hand to take you with them, especially in the workplace. I have always accepted guidance and opportunities to learn from others to further myself. I sought out mentors to maximize my professional success. Again, I didn’t know what I didn’t know, so I found people who were willing to invest in me and bring me along. Every time I was promoted, I worked not only on doing a great job at my current position but on finding people who could help me reach the next level.
On being an ally for Black professionals
From assistant to CEO, from icons to iconic companies, my mentors, allies, and supporters were instrumental in creating opportunities for growth and influence. My ability to lead and exponentially grow businesses speaks volumes about the power of investing in Black individuals where access does not come easy, if at all.
And, for those from outside the Black community who have asked how I did it and what can they do to become an ally, here are a couple of recommendations I’ve offered that I hope may be useful to others:
Examine yourself and your perception of Black people. Your ignorance is the first block that must be removed. Is what you think of Black people based on what you’ve learned from the media or on personal experience?
Equality begins with equal opportunity for everyone. I have held leadership roles within television and film, luxury retail, health care, and philanthropy, and I firmly believe it is imperative that leaders open the door for Black candidates during the hiring process and make diversity and inclusion a priority, not a line item.
It is not just about having a seat at the table, but a voice. Black voices need to be heard, and Black coworkers need to feel confident showing up as their true self, without worrying their every move is being perceived through the lens of their color.
Support your talent. Provide mentorship and career progression opportunities at different levels of management throughout the company. Hold one-on-one meetings to discuss the employee’s short- and long-term goals, share company strategies and ask for their input, invite them to sit in on decision-making meetings, etc.
Invest in youth. I encourage leaders in both the public and private sector to invest in programs and businesses that support the educational advancement of underprivileged children. Expand their horizons by creating opportunities for exposure to success and environments outside of what they see and know.
Helen Aboah is the CEO of Urban Zen.


fortune--2020-08-14--Will the pandemic kill the penny?

Will the pandemic kill the penny?

Our mission to help you navigate the new normal is fueled by subscribers. To enjoy unlimited access to our journalism, subscribe today.
U.S. lawmakers have tried repeatedly to eliminate one-cent coins in recent years, but the penny remains a stubborn—and often annoying—part of American life. But as the COVID outbreak has made people fearful of touching cash, some believe the penny’s days are finally numbered.
“I think this is going to kill the penny in 2 years,” says Arik Shtilman, the CEO of global payment company Rapyd.
Shtilman notes other countries, including Ireland and Canada, got rid of their pennies nearly a decade ago, and that governments around the world are eyeing the pandemic as an opportunity to reduce reliance on cash—a form of payment that is both inefficient, but also unhygienic.
In a recent survey, Rapyd found that a majority of Americans are reluctant to handle cash, and that 45% are in favor of eliminating the penny. Shtilman believes this trend will accelerate given how many people under 40 barely touch cash at all, let alone use pennies.
There is also a strong economic case for eliminating one-cent coins. In 2018, the U.S. Mint lost $69 million making pennies, and those costs are likely to go up in light of rising copper and zinc prices. This year, each penny is slated to cost the mint two cents—an inefficiency that could be eliminated by simply getting rid of pennies.
But while the U.S. Mint dramatically reduced coin production as a safety measure during the early days of the pandemic—contributing to a national coin shortage—it has since restored full production, and expects to mint a record 19.8 billion coins of all sorts this year.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the U.S. Mint said there are no immediate plans to get rid of pennies.
“There have been no formal discussions on this topic within the United States Mint (Mint) or the Treasury Department,” said the spokesperson. “We mint coins in accordance with legislation and based on orders from the Federal Reserve System.”
And even if lawmakers do revive the push to eliminate the penny—similar attempts failed in 1990, 2001 and 2006—they would face resistance from lobby groups with a vested interest in keeping the penny. Such lobbying was the subject of a popular 2015 satirical piece by comedian John Oliver—who labeled the penny as “garbage”— but the lobby groups appear as entrenched as ever.
In response to a query from Fortune, Mark Weller, the executive director of a group called Americans for Common Cents, said consumers benefit from coins, and claimed health concerns about coins are unfounded.
“Regarding the hygiene concerns, central banks around the world and medical experts confirm that coins are safe to use in times of the pandemic,” said Weller. Regarding the penny specifically, the copper covering the coin is antimicrobial, it kills bacteria and viruses.”
All of this suggests that, despite Americans’ growing reluctance to use cash and the increasing cost of producing pennies, the one cent coin is not going away anytime soon.
More must-read finance coverage from Fortune:


fortune--2020-08-14--Facebook joins other companies in criticizing Apple’s in-app fees

Facebook joined a growing list of developers to publicly criticize Apple over its revenue-sharing policy for in-app purchases, suggesting the iPhone maker’s fee structure is hurting small businesses during a global pandemic.
The social network on Friday rolled out a paid events feature in 20 countries, offering businesses the ability to charge users for access to live video streams, like a yoga class or seminar. Facebook said that Apple didn’t agree to waive its usual 30% fee for all transactions that take place within apps on its devices, and won’t let Facebook process the payments using its own technology for iOS users.
Alphabet’s Google didn’t waive its 30% fee on its Android mobile operating system, either, though the internet search giant will let Facebook process payments through its own payment product to avoid those costs, said Fidji Simo, the executive running Facebook’s main app. Facebook won’t take a cut of revenue generated from the feature, she said.
“We went through our usual channels to suggest strongly to them to waive their fee or to let us use Facebook Pay — one of the two — and they declined,” Simo said about Apple in an interview. Simo called Apple an important partner, and said Facebook relies on Apple’s App Store to distribute its own apps, while noting that the company disagrees with Apple’s revenue structure.
“Helping small businesses recover from Covid is a critical thing that all tech companies should help with,” she said. “The reason we’re calling them out here is we hope they join us and end up waving their fees, so that’s really the goal here.”
Facebook’s complaints come a day after Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, sued Apple and Google after both companies removed Fortnite from their respective app stores over a payment dispute. Epic tried to circumvent Apple and Google’s in-app payments systems in order to lower costs by avoiding the 30% in-app fee, which was a violation of each company’s rules.
Apple takes its 30% commission for digital goods, but in many cases, does not take a cut for facilitating the purchase of services like in-person classes or ride sharing, as the company requires developers to let users pay with a credit card. Now that in-person business has gone virtual due to the pandemic, Apple’s rules allow it to charge the fee through its own payment network. These App Store charges have been a focus of regulatory inquiries about the company’s market power. At a July antitrust hearing in U.S. Congress, Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said, “we will work with people that happen to move from a physical to a virtual world because of the pandemic.”
Simo said Facebook is willing to play by Apple’s rules even if the company disagrees with them. “When developers go circumvent the rules on alternative payment methods, it doesn’t go well,” she said.
Facebook’s paid events feature was highlighted by CEO Mark Zuckerberg on the company’s first-quarter earnings call in late April, and has been in testing. Facebook is considering expanding paid events to its videoconferencing feature, called Rooms, and also to its Instagram photo-sharing app.


fortune--2020-08-14--Coronavirus scammers have stolen over $100 million. These are the schemes Americans were most likely

Coronavirus scammers have stolen over $100 million. These are the schemes Americans were most likely to fall for

They say that crisis breeds opportunity. Well, fraudsters certainly got the memo.
Americans have lost more than $100 million to fraud connected to COVID-19, the Federal Trade Commission revealed this week, with more than 160,000 fraud reports filed with authorities over everything from stolen stimulus checks to phony job offers and mortgage scams.
Personal finance website The Ascent parsed through the FTC’s numbers to document the various forms of fraud that have plagued Americans during the coronavirus pandemic. It found that phone calls were the most commonly reported method deployed by fraudsters, with nearly 9,700 cases that resulted in nearly $15 million in losses as of August 10. However, email-related fraud resulted in the largest losses, with more than 8,400 reported cases that cost Americans roughly $18 million.
Online shopping offers have been the most common source of fraud reports—with more than 24,400 instances reported, often involving phony products and services, that have cost consumers more than $14 million. Yet travel-related schemes have caused significantly more damage, with more than $35 million lost through nearly 18,700 reported instances of fraud, often involving trip-related refunds and cancellations.
Common examples of coronavirus-related fraud reported to the FTC include fake offers for at-home COVID-19 tests or vaccinations, as well as personal protective equipment (PPE). Others have fallen victim to identity theft related to fraudulent stimulus check offers, as well as scams involving mortgages, health insurance, and job opportunities.
The statistics also offer a geographic breakdown of where fraud has been particularly prevalent. While California, the nation’s most populous state, has seen the largest fraud-related losses with more than $15.6 million lost to scammers, other parts of the country have reported significantly higher instances of fraud per capita.
Maine leads the way with an average of 6.84 fraud reports for every 10,000 people, while the District of Columbia (6.7), Massachusetts (5.52), and Nevada (5.46) have all exceeded the national average of 4.9 fraud reports per 10,000 people. Meanwhile, the likes of Hawaii, Massachusetts, Montana, and Rhode Island have reported higher rates of identity theft, in particular.
As The Ascent notes, it’s hard to tell why certain states have reported higher rates of fraud than others. While certain scammers may be targeting specific geographic areas and populations, it could also be that residents in some states are more diligent about reporting fraud than others. Those in Maine, for instance, appear to be particularly savvy about avoiding scams; only 32% of Mainers who filed fraud reports indicated that they lost money through such schemes—the lowest percentage of any state, and well below the national average of 50%.
But with few signs that COVID-19 will be going away any time soon—and the possibility, however diminishing, of more stimulus help on the horizon—it appears unlikely that fraudsters looking to capitalize on the pandemic will stop targeting Americans, either.


fortune--2020-08-14--Retail spending hit pre-pandemic levels in July—but big threats remain

At first blush, it would seem consumers are back and ready to spend again: Americans’ retail spending rose in July over June, increasing for a third straight month, with consumers buying items like electronics and appliances and going out to restaurants again.
New data released on Friday from the U.S. Department of Commerce found that excluding auto-related expenditures, retail spending was up 1.2% last month, beating expectations and surpassing February, the last full month before the onset of the pandemic. The uptick comes as millions of jobs have been added in the U.S. in recent weeks and the unemployment rate is easing.
But the numbers were received by Wall Street in a muted fashion—with the Dow Jones unchanged in late morning trading—for a simple reason: plenty of uncertainty remains.
For one thing, an enhanced unemployment benefit under the Cares Act that gave some 28 million Americans another $600 per week and was a major source of stimulus expired on July 31.
“Consumers have been largely shielded from economic realities by the various stimulus and benefit programs,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail in a research note. “However, many of those advantages expired at the end of July, and August will be the first month when the chill winds of economic turmoil hits many households.” And his data suggests the pullback was nearly instant.
What’s more, with COVID-19 cases still spiking in major cities, notably in the South and Southwest, many consumers remain skittish about hitting stores amid a threat of new lockdowns.
Shoppers continued to open up their wallets for things like home improvement products as they spent on big-ticket items and refurbishing their homes.
But they are still holding back on discretionary spending on things like clothes: apparel spending was up over June but was nonetheless 20% below July 2019 levels, spelling ongoing problems for companies like Gap Inc.
A recent Coresight Research survey found that only 5% of Americans planned to spend part any stimulus money on clothing and shoes, compared to 35% for food and 11% for home improvement.
For clothing and department stores, this is supposed to be one of the busiest times of the year: back-to-school, a season that is second only to Christmas in importance for chains like Kohl’s and J.C. Penney. But this year, with all the questions surrounding the re-opening of schools, that kind of spending has been muted.
Restaurants, meanwhile, have enjoyed a surge in business because many have been able to set up more outside seating in key markets like New York and Boston where indoor dining is banned. However, it remains unclear how much they will be able to keep doing so when colder weather arrives.
And absent more stimulus, the three-month streak of consumer spending growth overall could be short lived.
“Consumer confidence fell back in July and likely stayed low in early August as the rising number of COVID-19 cases and renewed containment measures heightened both health concerns and worries about the economy,” said ING Chief International Economist James Knightley in a note.


fortune--2020-08-14--The 5 best zingers from Epic’s lawsuit against Apple

Our mission to help you navigate the new normal is fueled by subscribers. To enjoy unlimited access to our journalism, subscribe today.
Video game giant Epic Games filed a landmark lawsuit against Apple on Thursday, accusing the iPhone maker of using its App Store policies to violate antitrust laws. Epic claims Apple’s 30% commission on all app-related sales is the result of an illegal monopoly, while Apple says its policies are good for consumers and don’t hurt competition.
Epic’s lawsuit came as a bold legal gambit but also as the pinnacle of a carefully planned public relations campaign intended to embarrass Apple and tarnish its brand. The same day it filed the lawsuit, Epic published a video parody of one of Apple’s most famous commercials.
Meanwhile, the legal complaint is full of lines designed to embarrass Apple in the court of public opinion. While plaintiffs’ lawyers often include some over-the-top zingers to make their case, the Epic complaint does this particularly well.
Here are five examples where Epic’s lawyers stick it to Apple.
Apple as the aging monopolist: In the following passage, Epic’s lawyers paint Apple as an uncool sellout that has betrayed its onetime rebel values:
Apple has become what it once railed against: the behemoth seeking to control markets, block competition, and stifle innovation. Apple is bigger, more powerful, more entrenched, and more pernicious than the monopolists of yesteryear.
Apple as the greedy middleman: In making the case against the 30% commission that Apple charges for all app-related purchases, Epic’s complaint characterizes the company as a “middleman” that unfairly taxes both consumers and sellers:
Apple also harms app developers’ relationship with their customers by
inserting itself as a mandatory middleman in every in-app transaction…Consumers…are forced to pay higher prices and suffer inferior customer service from Apple, the unwelcome middleman.
Apple as the hypocrite: Epic’s lawyers turn Apple’s own words against it, contrasting the company’s professed support of competition with its recent actions:
In describing the App Store for iOS, Apple claims to “believe competition makes everything better and results in the best apps for our customers.” Epic agrees.Competition in the iOS App Distribution Market would make everything better, and that includes better distribution services, better privacy and security safeguards, lower pricing, and access to apps that Apple currently and unfairly restricts.
Apple as the bully: In a neat phrase, Epic underscores how app makers have no leverage in asking for better terms when using Apple’s App Store:
Because Apple has a monopoly over the distribution of iOS apps, app developers have no choice but to assent to this anticompetitive tie; it is Apple’s way or the highway.
Apple as sinister overlord: In the complaint’s best zinger of all, Epic refers again to an iconic Apple commercial from 1984. The ad, which was directed by Ridley Scott and is one of the most famous TV commercials of all time, depicts the introduction of Apple’s Macintosh computer as an opportunity to free humanity from Orwellian tyranny. Here is Epic’s riff on the ad:
As such, Epic respectfully requests this Court to enjoin Apple from continuing to impose its anticompetitive restrictions on the iOS ecosystem and ensure 2020 is not like ‘1984.’
These clever lines won’t be the deciding factor in whether a court rules that Apple broke antitrust law, and some legal experts have already suggested the case could be a tough one for Epic to win. But these zingers give an additional boost to Epic in its public relations battle with Apple—which could prove just as important as the legal one.
More must-read tech coverage from Fortune:


fortune--2020-08-14--‘A game of chicken’: How much Fortnite’s risky gambit could end up costing Apple

Fortnite creator Epic Games is trying to storm Apple’s App Store fortress, but some analysts aren’t convinced the titan will be overthrown that easily.
On Thursday, Epic Games, the creator of wildly popular game Fortnite, filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple after the tech giant removed the app from its platform because Epic disregarded payment policies in the App Store.
The lawsuit is a bold (but not necessarily unusual) move against Apple’s long-challenged App Store policies.
And analysts like Wedbush’s Dan Ives aren’t exactly understating the concerns here: “It’s a big deal because Epic is striking when the iron is hot and going after Apple in light of all the antitrust woes around the App Store and the 30% fee,” he tells Fortune. “But ultimately, the App Store is fortress-like.”
Hit to revenue?
In a “draconian,” worst-case-scenario, Ives sees the lawsuit—and potential discounting of Apple’s App Store 30% fee—resulting in a 3% to 5% hit to Apple’s services revenues, which he believes will amount to $60 billion for fiscal year 2021—so, in theory, as much as a $3 billion hit, though Ives considers a 1% to 2% hit more likely. That’d be “more than a thorn in Apple’s side,” as well as a concern for investors, because “it would throw uncertainty around the App Store [which is] a crown jewel they’ve built at the heart of the iPhone ecosystem,” suggests Ives.
Ultimately, however, that worst-case-scenario may be unlikely due to the fact that it would take several things to fall into place to happen, and Apple investors view it as a “pretty contained issue,” argues Ives.
Epic, flush with $1.8 billion in new funding, is ready for a fight, but Ives points out that while the lawsuit is being battled, Fortnite won’t be on the App Store, and current users won’t be able to update the game. “It’s a pretty risky gamble, it’s a game of chicken,” for Epic, he adds.
Meanwhile, Apple has been able to largely defend itself from previous challenges to its App Store fees and supremacy, including from the likes of Spotify and Netflix.
“That’s ultimately been a losing path for those who have challenged Apple,” Ives adds.
Antitrust worries
The bigger headwind for Apple investors, say analysts, is the heightened scrutiny and antitrust threat from Congress and the European Union hanging over the behemoth’s head right now.
While the concern is definitely real, analysts like Ives argue that this latest lawsuit a la Epic comes a bit too early to have a huge impact. “Until we get into the fall and ultimately depending on if it’s a Biden presidency or if the Senate goes blue, then antitrust really starts to gain steam,” he offers. “As of now, [the Epic Games lawsuit] was a calculated move, but I think Apple feels very comfortable fighting this.”
And even if other developers got riled up to take on the tech titan themselves in their own lawsuits, Ives says he can “count on one hand” the platforms that’d have the power to realistically take on Apple, and notes that Epic is unique in its strength backed by 350 million users for its battle royale game. Still, investors should understand that developers and app players are “watching this closely to see how it plays out in the court system, and if it’s a successful challenge, … That would have a massive ripple effect,” he suggests.
A ‘shrug of the shoulders’ for investors
As for Apple’s stock, which just hit a record high and is trading handily above $450, even a lawsuit and bubbling antitrust worries aren’t likely to dampen investors’ appetites, suggests Ives.
“I think it’s a shrug of the shoulders, it’s a headline for 24 to 48 hours,” Ives argues. “I think most Apple investors just move forward, and that’s why you’ve seen the reactions have been pretty muted.” So far on Friday, the stock is down less than 1% as of midday trading.
Adds Ives: “I don’t think [Apple CEO Tim] Cook lost any sleep last night.”


fortune--2020-08-14--What’s the backup plan if a COVID-19 vaccine comes up short?

A vaccine could be the savior against the coronavirus—and scientists are marshaling all their resources to find one. Over the past few weeks, eight vaccine candidates have progressed to advanced clinical trials.
But despite encouraging early data, some researchers and pharmaceutical experts have indicated that the predictions of a vaccine by early 2021 may be too optimistic, and arrival may still be a long way off. We need to start planning accordingly.
Add to this the concern that even if a vaccine is approved and manufactured quickly, many people won’t line up to take it. A new survey from WebMD found that only 42% of respondents said they planned to get a COVID-19 vaccine in the first year—and only 26% said they would get vaccinated in the first three months. Nearly 60% of respondents are either unsure they’ll get vaccinated or say they don’t plan to get it at all.
Additionally, even doctors haven’t reached a consensus on whether they’ll push their patients to get vaccinated. A new Medscape poll of more than 7,000 health care professionals (free registration required) found that only about half would recommend that patients get a vaccine when it’s first made available. Many respondents expressed concerns about the vaccine’s safety, fearing that adverse effects would outweigh the risk of COVID-19.
Wariness about vaccines isn’t unique to COVID-19. Less than 50% of Americans got the flu shot from 2018–2019. Thirty percent of seniors haven’t received the vaccine to protect against pneumonia. Even though the shingles vaccine is more than 90% effective, only 30% of people who meet criteria to receive it have done so.
Some Americans suggest that we shouldn’t open schools until there’s a vaccine, or say they don’t feel comfortable returning to an office setting until there’s widespread vaccination. But that reality is some way off. Now is the time for us to move beyond an all-or-none approach where we put our lives on hold while we await a vaccine.
In order to do that, we must be transparent and have difficult conversations about risk. We need to address the tradeoff between a potential decrease in infection rates during a lockdown and potential business failures, job loss, and the impact of continued social isolation on substance abuse and mental health.
For example, CDC Director Dr. Robert R. Redfield recently spoke about the public health consequences of keeping kids out of school—including a recent increase in teen suicides and drug use. Particularly vulnerable communities may face possible food insecurity, academic delay, and even parental stress leading to child abuse.
We must also find ways to live with COVID-19. That requires more accurate, faster diagnostic tests, more robust research to understand how the infection spreads, as well as wider adoption of technologies to help with contact tracing. We need to let science lead the way.
We’re all hopeful that a COVID-19 vaccine is truly just around the corner. But please, let’s plan for the possibility that it won’t be the golden key to unlock us from our quarantines.
Hansa Bhargava, M.D., is senior medical director of WebMD. John Whyte, M.D., M.P.H., is chief medical officer of WebMD.


fortune--2020-08-14--What to watch this weekend on Netflix, HBO, and more

Between traditional television, video-on-demand releases, and a growing number of streaming services, it can be hard to keep up with what one should watch week to week. Fortune is here to help you keep track of new releases as well as the occasional older title worth checking out. Take a look at this weekend’s notable arrivals, a couple you may have missed earlier in the week, and what else is coming soon:
Netflix
“Project Power,” starring Jamie Foxx (right), Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Dominique Fishback, comes to Netflix on Aug. 14. Also pictured: Rodrigo Santoro. Skip Bolen—Netflix
Project Power: The new take on the superhero genre—which involves people taking pills to develop powers—stars Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Dominique Fishback. It arrives on Netflix Aug. 14. Read Fortune’s interview with Fishback, as well as filmmakers Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost, here.
Glow Up: Ding dong! The second season of this U.K. makeup competition will be available to watch stateside on Aug. 14.
All four seasons of The Legend of Korra also arrive on the streamer Aug. 14, along with Teenage Bounty Hunters, the fourth season of 3%, and animated superhero adventure Fearless.
On TV
From left: Courtney B. Vance, Jonathan Majors, and Jurnee Smollett star in “Lovecraft Country” on HBO. Elizabeth Morris—HBO
Horror series Lovecraft Country, produced by Jordan Peele and J.J. Abrams and starring Jonathan Majors and Jurnee Smollett, will premiere on HBO Aug. 16 at 9 p.m. ET (and will be available to stream on the HBO and HBO Max apps).
The fifth season of The Circus: Inside the Craziest Political Campaign on Earth returns to Showtime on Aug. 16 at 8 p.m. ET.
Discovery channel’s Shark Week comes to its conclusion on Aug. 16.
Apple TV+
Jason Sudeikis stars in “Ted Lasso,” premiering Friday, Aug. 14, on Apple TV+. Apple TV+
Ted Lasso: Jason Sudeikis plays the title character in this new comedy series, which arrives on Apple TV+ Aug. 14. Sudeikis portrays a college football coach from Kansas who has to coach a professional soccer team in England.
Boys State: The documentary, which took the U.S. Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, comes to Apple TV+ on Aug. 14 and will give viewers a glimpse into what happens when 1,000 Texas high school senior boys gather to build their own government.