Wednesday, March 18, 2020

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Trump administration hits back after China kicks out US journalists amid coronavirus pandemic
China12 hours ago

Trump administration hits back after China kicks out US journalists amid coronavirus pandemic

China on Tuesday escalated its tit-for-tat propaganda war with the United States over who's to blame for the spread of the coronavirus by placing restrictive measures on several top media companies including The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal, prompting strong opposition from the Trump administration.

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  • Madrid nursing home sees at least 17 dead in 5 days amid coronavirus, officials say
    Madrid nursing home sees at least 17 dead in 5 days amid coronavirus, officials say
    TOGETHER WITH
    		WHOOP
    Good morning. When you’re holed up in your apartment with no end in sight, you start to count your blessings. One of those is the internet. It’s allowed us to stay connected to families, friends, colleagues, yoga instructors, religious leaders, and musical artists even while we’re physically apart. Maybe it's not so socially isolating after all? 
    The NYT’s Kevin Roose said it best: “If there is a silver lining in this crisis, it may be that the virus is forcing us to use the internet as it was always meant to be used—to connect with one another, share information and resources, and come up with collective solutions to urgent problems."

    MARKETS


    NASDAQ
    7,334.78
    + 6.23%
    S&P
    2,529.19
    + 6.00%
    DJIA
    21,237.38
    + 5.20%
    GOLD
    1,528.90
    + 2.85%
    10-YR
    1.083%
    + 34.80 bps
    OIL
    26.82
    - 6.55%
    *As of market close
    • Markets: The streak of remarkable volatility continues. Yesterday, we were on the right end of the seesaw thanks to a rising tide of government stimulus measures around the globe.
    • Economy: Retail sales fell 0.5% in February, their worst drop in a year. We will not enjoy reporting the March numbers in a month from now.
    Francis Scialabba
    The Trump administration might send $1,000 or more your way. Checks for a thousand smackeroos to some Americans could sneak into a $1.2 trillion stimulus package the president and his team are trying to push through Congress. 
    What they’re up against (deep breath): Service and travel sectors are collapsing, a recession may already be underway, and we’re in the middle of a historic stock market sell-off.
    • The stimulus bill reportedly includes ~$50 billion for the airline industry plus assistance for small businesses, among other measures. 

    The embrace of direct payments is a 180 for the administration

    Director of the National Economic Council Larry Kudlow scoffed at cash rebates as “helicopter money from the sky” earlier this month. 
    But we weren’t writing this newsletter from our friend’s cousin’s La-Z-Boy earlier this month. As more and more workers get laid off (or furloughed or temporarily laid off), they need a lifeline. 
    • Republican Sen. Mitt Romney said in a press release the payout would “help fill the gaps” between cushions like paid leave and unemployment insurance. 
    The idea has a supporter in Palo Alto. Mark Zuckerberg said yesterday that all 45,000 Facebook employees will get a onetime $1,000 bonus. 

    One notorious gang leader is feeling pretty smug 

    Businessman and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang. The chief policy proposal of his campaign was the “Freedom Dividend,” a $1,000 monthly payment to every American. 
    • Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin’s rebate would be a one-time thing, and it wouldn’t go to every American. “We don't need to send people who make $1 million a year checks,” he said. 
    Plus, Yang’s Freedom Dividend was about mitigating inequality, not a global health crisis. “I should have been talking about a pandemic,” Yang quipped to The Atlantic.
    Looking ahead...the administration hopes to have checks in the mail in the next two weeks.
            
    “I always knew that when the end came,” NYT restaurant critic Pete Wells wrote, “New Yorkers would watch it from a bar.”
    Well, if the end is near, we can confirm we’re nowhere near a bar. Of all the industries suckerpunched by coronavirus, restaurants might be in the worst shape. 
    • Some of the largest U.S. states and cities have told restaurants to close or offer takeout/delivery only. 
    • On Sunday, year-over-year OpenTable bookings were down 70% in Boston, 62% in Seattle, and 69% in New York City.  
    Zoom out: Americans now spend more at restaurants than they do at grocery stores. And there are roughly as many jobs in food service as in manufacturing, writes The Atlantic.  
    But all that's threatened when people can’t go out to eat. Without a government bailout, the industry could collapse. 
    Momofuku’s Dave Chang with the bottom line: “Remember in Avengers Infinity War when Thanos snapped his fingers and half of all life instantly disintegrated? That’s what is gonna happen to the restaurant industry unless we get some help.”
            
    Giphy
    We’ve got lots of new faces reading this, so first we want to say hi. Hi! 
    We’re not alone: Media companies are experiencing big traffic bumps as people flock to coronavirus coverage. 
    Up to 15% of daily web traffic is going to content about coronavirus, per traffic analytics firm Parse.ly. That increase is led by stories about travel restrictions, social distancing, and #FlattenTheCurve, writes Axios. And last week, coronavirus coverage beat election coverage by 15x. 
    • Consumers are also spending ~30% more time with that content over last year, per Chartbeat. 
    Media companies want to meet that demand, so they’re launching new products, from coronavirus blogs to coronavirus podcasts (CNN’s hit 1 million downloads a week after launch). 
    • Outlets including Bloomberg, NYT, and Wired made coronavirus coverage free to access while others are un-paywalling “essential” content. 
    Every country, state, and city is facing unique outbreak conditions, which has reinforced the importance of local journalism following years of budget cuts, layoffs, and closures. Local papers on the front lines, like the Seattle Times, have also seen readership and subscriptions jump.
            

    SPONSORED BY WHOOP

    In the Still of the Night...Lies a Healthier You

    WHOOP
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    The science says it all. WHOOP sleep insights improve sleep quality and are incredibly accurate (we’re not just saying that, it’s been proven by 3rd party validation). And just in case you needed one more reason to get WHOOP, sleep is the #1 natural way to boost immunity. So uhh yeah, you should get more of that.
    Even as creative writers, we are geeking out on the data and analytics we get from WHOOP. It gives us a deep dive into our REM, heart rate variability, circadian rhythms, and much more.
    Join the ranks of fitness gurus, professional athletes, and Brew CEO Alex Lieberman.

    COMMUNICATION

    Zoom U

    Animals graduating on Zoom videoconferencing
    @leoehlers1
    From handshakes to two-ply, we’re all craving some normalcy. For the homebound and quarantined, Zoom is offering an unconventional return to socialization. 
    On Sunday, almost 600,000 people downloaded the video conferencing app, a record number. What began as an enterprise platform now houses concerts, church services, and even art exhibits.
    • Other apps like FaceTime, Skype, and Marco Polo are also doing double-time. 
    • Cisco’s Webex logged 5.5 billion meeting minutes the first 11 business days of March.
    But Zoom’s newfound popularity (and $30+ billion valuation) comes with special cultural cachet. Gen Zers have jokingly called themselves “Zoomers” for years, but in these socially distant times Zoom hosts their blind dates and birthday parties, the NYT reports. Zoom now has “hotter” brand association than incumbents like Hangouts, says D.A. Davidson analyst Rishi Jaluria. 
    Looking ahead...many universities have moved all instruction to Zoom, so in a few years when those students start working, the company should get another boost, Jaluria notes. But it’ll still need to innovate to remain a mainstay of online life after the coronavirus crisis calms.
            
    CBS on Giphy
    When Tom Brady said he was leaving the New England Patriots yesterday morning, we all let out a sigh of relief—not only because it’s the end of a era, but also because it gives ESPN something to talk about.
    The coronavirus pandemic has wiped out virtually all live sports around the world besides the Turkish Süper Lig, which we are currently watching out of desperation. Yesterday, ESPN’s programming chief shared his vision for the next few months as the network confronts a gaping hole in its schedule.
    1. Continue reporting on coronavirus’s impacts on the sports world.
    2. Dip into the archives to air classic games (but this isn’t as easy as it sounds because of complicated rights agreements). 
    3. Showcase “stunt events” and niche sports like it’s done with its “ESPN8: The Ocho” project.
    4. Potentially move up the release date of original programming. Unfortunately, the Michael Jordan doc The Last Dance isn’t ready yet.
    Looking ahead...while this spring has basically been canceled, once we beat this thing the fall sports slate could be epic.
    Tweet about 2020 sports tournaments being pushed to the fall
    @RiggsBarstool
            

    WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

    • The IRS postponed the tax filing deadline for many Americans and businesses.
    • 18% of U.S. households are experiencing layoffs or a reduction in work hours because of the pandemic, according to a new poll. 
    • Amazon is only accepting shipments of essential items at its warehouses in the next three weeks. 
    • The United Auto Workers union has asked Ford, GM, and Fiat Chrysler to pause production for two weeks.
    • Uber and Lyft have suspended their shared ride options.
    • SoftBank is backing out of part of its WeWork bailout, reports the WSJ.

    BREW'S BETS

    • MBA 2.0. Michigan Ross’ Online MBA gives you the knowledge and connections you need to achieve your career goals. As a top-ranked business school, Michigan Ross knows a thing or two about graduating successful working professionals. Now their world-class MBA is available online. Early applications are due April 13—get all the info here.*
    • Keep tabs on the world of e-commerce. WITHIN is monitoring the effects of COVID-19 on e-commerce verticals. Using data across their clients, they are tracking year-over-year trends to the pre-COVID benchmark in real-time. Check out their COVID-19 Retail Pulse dashboard here.*
    • The Brew's work-from-home survival kit: We're updating it every day. This will make your life much easier. 
    • Small businesses are hurting right now. Here are ways you can help: 
      • Shop local, whether it’s online, offline, on Instagram, etc.
      • Buy gift cards (it’ll give your favorite coffee shop much-needed cash flow)
      • Order delivery and touchless take-out
      • Write Yelp and Google reviews
      • Tip extra
    *This is a sponsored post

    FROM THE CREW

    Let's talk about something that will definitely take your mind off coronavirus: English grammar.  
    Have you ever wondered how the Brew writers compose such breathtakingly succinct yet informative sentences? Curious about our process for headlines, word choice, and commas? Well, we've decided to share more about our approach to word-wrangling with readers, and the first piece is out today. Read it here and let us know what you think.  

    THE OCHO

    Which of the following underground sporting events was not a part of the "ESPN8: The Ocho" TV lineup last year?
    1. 2019 U.S. Pizza Team Trials
    2. Listerine Gurgling World Series 
    3. 51st National Stone Skipping Competition
    4. 46th Annual Cherry Pit Spitting Championship
    5. Lawn Mower Racing

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    THE OCHO ANSWERS

    Listerine Gurgling World Series is not a thing. Sounds painful.
    March 18, 2020 Read in Browser
     
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