Week of May 11th, 2020

We’re going deep on the MLB for today’s happy hour. A little Korean baseball too. Cheers!

Traveling will look very different during the COVID-19 pandemic.

…Now they might dip into those funds. Plus: new retail sales numbers and the Americans staying away from hospitals even when they need care.

Retail sales numbers fell by more than 16% in April. For clothing retailers, they were down by 79%.

Almost a third of people in a LendingTree survey said they were withdrawing from retirement accounts

Fear of contracting coronavirus is keeping people away from routine health care visits — and even emergency rooms.

They dropped 16.4%.

It can be hard to know what you’re getting, whether it will be effective, and whether it will arrive at all.

A 16% drop in retail sales for April. Federal regulators have raised a question about the accuracy of a new COVID-19 test. Data that one vaccine from Oxford is working in monkeys. How farmers in the Northwest are doing.

Employees may face tense situations with some customers.

Workers can stay distanced in the fields, but they work in close quarters in areas where the harvest is processed.

The concern is that it could be returning false negative results.

As states ease restrictions, businesses begin making plans for reopening. And some of those plans call for the employees to enforce social distancing. Have oil prices bottomed out, with more people moving around? Pawnshops are seeing more business.

With tens of millions of people filing for unemployment since the outbreak of COVID-19, pawn shops have seen a modest uptick in business, becoming essential to some communities.

Bars and restaurants in much of Europe and Australia have started to welcome back customers. Germany heads into recession as the economy shrinks 2%. How mass transit systems around the world are trying to get back up and running.

Facilities working on coronavirus testing and vaccines appear to be targets.

This week, we’re featuring one of our favorite episodes of one of our favorite podcasts.

It could mean workers scared of COVID-19 are kicked off unemployment benfits.

Montana is calling Kai’s name ….

Amazon employees will start receiving their normal pay rates in June.

Experts expect more business and personal bankruptcies as the economic crisis intensifies.

The Marketplace-Edison Research Poll finds that 40% of those who shopped online before the pandemic now do it more.

Plus: how rural libraries are holding up, how consumer spending is changing and the tense dynamic between reopening businesses and employees who don’t feel safe coming back.

Just when libraries had figured out how to be a community space, they might have to change again.

Shows have been doing remote production, and for many of them that works. But for how long?

Recession grads make less money, and it takes 10 to 15 years to catch up in terms of income.

The dark web is also a meeting place for malware buyers, sellers and collaborators.

Some are choosing cheaper schools, taking gap years, or staying closer to home. Others are hoping that, if college is online in the fall, tuition might be lower.

Because of the COVID-19 movement restrictions, people turned to Zoom video calls, and virtual worlds to mourn loved ones. Those practices could outlast the coronavirus.

Almost 3 million more people filed for unemployment last week. Some groups are getting hit harder than others. And, British cheesemakers lost a lot of business with the closing of restaurants. Direct-to-consumer sales are alleviating some of their surpluses.

They’re eligible for assistance due to the pandemic, but a snag in the system may keep them from getting it.

Big cuts in hospitality, health care and retail sectors leave Latinas vulnerable.

Still, the number of first-time applications has now declined for six weeks straight.

Gig workers are eligible for unemployment benefits, but they might be getting less money than they should. And, Marketplace’s podcast “The Uncertain Hour” has a new season out now on public policy and “A History of Now.”

New Zealand’s finance minister unveils a “once-in-a-generation” budget to support the country’s businesses as they start reopening. Spain introduces a 14-day quarantine for all foreign visitors. British cheesemakers’ call for public support.

Hundreds of cheesemakers lost 90% of business overnight. Now they’re turning to direct-to-consumer sales.

Twenty-three states have passed temporary measures to allow officials to validate documents online.

Millions of Americans are now uninsured after getting laid off.

That’s all on this week’s Whadda Ya Wanna Know Wednesday. Clack clack clack.

And getting a mortgage is harder, too.

Prices of many goods are dropping as demand slows and people stay at home more. But does this mean deflation is here to stay?

Today we’ll break down his remarks and what Congress might do about it. Plus: why home prices aren’t falling and how children’s TV changed America.

College seniors are faced with ending the biggest chapter of their lives so far and looking for a job during a global pandemic and record unemployment.

How will we will get millions of unemployed workers back in the labor force? World War Two war might have some advice.

The last order of business for many bankrupt companies — restaurants in particular — is to put their assets under the gavel.

Fifty years ago, an experimental television program called “Sesame Street” hit the airwaves and changed America.

America’s chicken supply chain is in danger, in part because its workers are getting sick. Some are dying.

Powell cautioned that numerous bankruptcies among small businesses and extended unemployment for many people remain a serious risk.

The buffet chain Souplantation has shut down, while Round Table Pizza’s parent company says its salad bar might not return after the crisis.

Jerome Powell is urging Congress and the White House to spend more money to prop up the economy. Brands are reportedly cutting back spending for TV ads. County officials in Michigan have temporarily stopped foreclosing on properties for unpaid taxes.

Wayne County estimates roughly 10,000 properties were scheduled for tax foreclosure this year, including about 3,200 owner-occupied homes.

More people are at home watching, but there’s a lot of uncertainty about the future of TV programming.

That could mean higher prices for consumers, and for the restaurants that rely on the apps.

The $3 trillion bill proposes another round of direct checks to Americans.

House Democrats have a fresh stimulus bill that would double the amount of aid the government has already spent, to $6 trillion. Uber wants to buy Grubhub. Understanding the continued health insurance coverage known as COBRA.

The British economy shrank by 2% during the first three months of the year. Also, India announces $266 billion worth of stimulus measures for businesses. Shoppers in Chile share concerns about safety during the virus.

The benefit allows you to keep your former employer’s insurance plan — as long as you pay your former employer’s share of the premium

Some people are using new tools to express their grief, including those in Nintendo’s Animal Crossing.

We’re finally, finally, doing an episode on MMT. Just in time for the deficit to triple.

In the age of social distancing, are people looking for community via streaming service Twitch? According to the numbers, they might be.

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said it’s “likely” in an interview on NBC’s “Today” show.

Plus: the life of a hairstylist in a reopening state, what it would look like if a major American airline went under, and a conversation with the Twitch CEO.

As Idaho reopens, Ashley Nelson is getting back in touch with clients and hoping they will be loyal to her.

More than 200 economists have signed a letter to President Trump and congressional leaders. They say a Buy America order the Trump administration is contemplating for medical supplies would push up prices and exacerbate shortages.

How prices of many basic goods and services change usually tells us a lot about where the economy is headed.

But with high unemployment and economic uncertainty will students want to take on loans?

Hundreds of thousands of foreign students may not enroll at British schools in the next academic year.

The Federal Reserve is prepared to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in corporate bond ETFs to support businesses, and make it possible for these businesses to borrow during the Coronavirus downturn.

COVID-19 could change airports and the experience onboard planes as much as 9/11 did, according to some experts.

How will government officials respond to Elon Musk’s declaration that he’s opening up Tesla’s assembly plant in Northern California? Moods among small businesses are the lowest since 2008. Substance use treatment goes virtual during COVID-19.

The plant is situated in a California COVID-19 hot spot.

Still waiting for stimulus money? The deadline for people to get their direct deposit bank information to the IRS is Wednesday. Optimism among small business owners is down. Frugality is becoming more ingrained in the culture.

Saudi Arabia takes a hit as profits at its state-run oil firm dip. Toyota and Honda release warnings about the year ahead for automakers. The Premier League warns its soccer clubs they’ll owe TV broadcasters more than $400 million.

About 20 million Americans are still waiting.

Treatment usually involves in-person therapy and group meetings. Now, counselors are trying to adjust.

Getting popular influencers to spread your message is a key strategy, says Renée DiResta of the Stanford Internet Observatory.

It was a really busy Monday, let’s just say.

“If there’s a recession on the horizon, we’re all just going to be at the mercy of what that looks like,” said Christina Stembel, CEO of Farmgirl Flowers.

The Farmers to Families Food Box Program will begin distributing $1.2 billion in surplus food to communities across the country.

The longer you’re laid off, the more likely it is to become permament.

ProPublica’s David McSwane said brokers are trying to profit off of unprecedented demand for face masks.

Plus: 78% of the people who lost their jobs last month were temporarily laid off. Should they feel optimistic about going back to their original jobs?

A 40-year-old program for low-income Atlantans goes virtual.

An informal Twitter survey shows that safety concerns stirred by the pandemic are keeping people away.

Post-lockdown spending sprees are looking a lot less likely.

The White House and members of Congress are considering whether to push another stimulus package. Unemployment may get worse yet before it gets better. How hotels are having to rethink safety. COVID-19 puts Britain’s relationship with China under strain.

Pork supplies are down about 40% since mid-March in the U.S., but pork shipments to China have quadrupled in that same time period.

Pools, spas, housekeeping — they can make folks feel uneasy these days.

Right now, OSHA doesn’t have a blanket legal standard for protecting workers from infectious diseases.

Workers and employers want to know: When will it be safe to go back to work? And how will we know? Data emerges that shows U.S. meat is still being shipped overseas, especially to China. France begins to lift virus restrictions.

We hear from the construction and hospitality industries as the U.K. government unveils plans to exit lockdown. A look at Paris on the first day back at work after one of Europe’s longest and strictest lockdowns. Disneyland in Shanghai reopens.

The foreign minister has ruled out “business as usual” with Beijing.

Some TV shows are already being shot to mimic videoconferencing. Movies could be next.