Week of June 29th, 2020

Cheap gas and travel uncertainty has vacationers turning to the car. Plus: the story of Janet’s List and the continuously rising cost of cord-cutting.

Janet Oganah is the founder of Janet’s List, which brings awareness to businesses by women of color in the United Kingdom.

YouTube TV now costs $65 a month, almost double its launch price just a few years ago.

AAA predicts trips on planes, cruises, buses and trains will be down 75% to 85%.

Some say forced arbitration favors employers in racial discrimination cases.

Change is in the air for Native American representation in both the arts as well as the football field. Also, we examine how something called forced arbitration can have a negative impact on Black and brown workers. 

While activists call for redirecting police funding, overtime compensation can exceed cities’ budgeted amounts. Sometimes officers are paid in comp time.

Critics ask why it took so long.

Some businesses owners struggling with COVID-19 restrictions asked for the pay hike to be delayed.

Kimberly Adams talks to Megan Devine, psychotherapist and author of “It’s OK That You’re Not OK,” about grieving the old economy.

The U.K. relaxes some of its COVID-19 travel restrictions. Also, minimum wage increases have already started in some places despite the pandemic. We also talk to psychotherapist and author Megan Devine about the ties that bind grief to the economy.

Pubs in England open on Saturday in an easing of lockdown rules. Édouard Philippe, the French Prime Minister, has resigned.

Jes Burns

School closures have made work almost impossible for many parents, but classrooms present health risks.

With, you know, all of this.

Many of the companies participating in the boycott of Facebook are huge brands with enormous budgets.

Plus: The ongoing ad boycott at Facebook, arts organizations’ turn to streaming and the June jobs report.

The show must go on — somehow — for theater and other live productions in order for their companies to survive financially.

One woman’s fight against Silicon Valley’s racial pay gap. Plus, why it’s so hard for Black workers in tech to get ahead.

Employment remains below pre-pandemic levels, and as recently reopened businesses re-close, more job losses are on the way.

The diffusion index, a measure of the breadth of job gains across industries, jumped for the second month in a row.

More than three months into the pandemic, we check in with Chicago musician Seth Shulman.

Some are getting breaks on commercial and residential rent, but it won’t last forever.

In other words, these June numbers might not tell the whole story as the U.S. sees unprecedented numbers of COVID-19 infections.

Nearly 5 million people found work in June, and the unemployment rate dropped to about 11%. But, there’s already concern about a July setback. Plus, reimagining the economy with Darren Walker, the president of the Ford Foundation.

Researchers found that 28% more deaths may have been related to COVID-19.

A study in JAMA strongly suggests we are undercounting the number of COVID-19 deaths. It could change how policy planners and hospitals operate. And, the philanthropic Ford Foundation is borrowing money during the pandemic, so it can give more away.

“We begin first by asking the question: Why is there so much inequality in our society?” Darren Walker says.

FedEx and DHL have reportedly suspended Chinese import shipments to India. Food delivery workers in Brazil protest over pressure from delivery apps. Ukraine’s central bank governor resigns blaming “systemic political pressure.”

Just this week, Facebook made it easier for creators to offer subscriptions.

Plus, a little “M*A*S*H” trivia.

Today, we’ll dig into the workforce survey and what you should make of it. Plus: How enforceable are interstate travel restrictions?

New York, Connecticut and New Jersey have imposed quarantines on visitors from 16 states. Enforcing pandemic safety rules can be a delicate task for businesses.

Some fear that Britain’s massive state intervention to combat the economic effects of the pandemic could stifle the country’s entrepreneurial spirit.

The investment bank wants boards to include more people from chronically underrepresented groups.

Kai Ryssdal talks with Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman, CEO of the Sadie Collective.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said it might have been undercounting the number of workers classified as “unemployed on temporary layoff.”

We took a tour of the distribution center for thredUP, the world’s largest resale website.

During the COVID-19 pandemic essential workers have relied on public transit, just as services are being cut.

The second quarter was a blockbuster for stocks. Americans remain banned from traveling to Europe. Can you care for your children while working from home? And, Florida citrus sales are up during the pandemic. 

Florida State University has amended its policy, saying employees while on the clock at home can’t also be caring for their children.

Congress and the Trump administration have not yet agreed on a plan for distributing the unused $130 billion remaining in the program.

The deadline has passed for small businesses to submit applications to the Paycheck Protection Program, but an extension is already in the works. Melbourne suburbs go back into lockdown in Australia today. How climate change threatens Canada’s maple syrup.

It’s made with sap harvested from sugar maple trees — and those trees may be threatened by rising temperatures.

Since January, the state has been promoting orange juice, using digital ads.

The transatlantic market is profitable for airlines, and it’s a boon to other travel-related businesses.

The EU drops travel restrictions for some countries, but the U.S. isn’t on the list. Dozens of arrests have been made in Hong Kong following a new security law. Kellogg’s in South Korea introduces green onion-flavored Chex.

Platforms like Synack connect hackers with companies trying to find holes in their systems before they can be exploited.

This fall is going to be tough on colleges and universities. But it’s also an opportunity to increase budgets, cut costs and leverage technology to make higher ed as accessible as it used to be.

If Congress doesn’t do something before July 31, things could get even uglier in this economy. Plus: Why black-owned banks are undercapitalized and a conversation the CEO of Visa.

The company is being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange and seeking to reorganize.

The nation’s leading infectious disease expert made the remark at a Senate hearing on reopening schools and workplaces.

Visa CEO Al Kelly discusses the consumer economy and corporate responsibility today, amid the global pandemic and nationwide protests for racial justice.

If Congress doesn’t act, Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation is set to expire on July 31.

Bar owners say they are being unfairly singled out.

The move should help the banks make more loans in communities of color. But deposits are just one way to help the institutions.

After months without income, they’re seeing fewer patients and spending more on protective equipment.

The economic argument for wearing a mask.

America’s top two economic policymakers talk today about the past and future of special pandemic payments. Also, China’s national security law for Hong Kong. And, pressure to create a national policy for wearing masks.

Some fear that the new law will take away freedoms that make Hong Kong the only real global financial center in China.

Except for one or two exceptions: Victims of severe weather in parts of the South this past April will have until Oct. 15.

According to the Urban Institute, nearly 20% of people who rent did not pay in June.

Businesses of all kinds are facing pretty much the same mess of overlapping federal, state and local guidelines.

Housing groups say they are bracing for a wave of eviction notices. And the deadline to file your tax return this year is July 15, despite calls for another extension. Plus, what it’s like to work as a contact tracer.

China has passed a security law giving it new powers over Hong Kong. Delhi becomes India’s biggest COVID-19 hot spot. Shell warns that it’ll take a charge of up to $22 billion this quarter.

As states look for contact tracers to track potential coronavirus transmission, people with strong communication skills and an ability to work with people under stress are good candidates.

Researchers say the Trump administration’s policy of restricting immigration to improve the economy may backfire.

Marketplace reporter Andy Uhler brings us the view from Austin, Texas, as cases spike in the state. Plus: some sports talk.

Epidemiologists warn that COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have spiked in the states that reopened most aggressively.

Plus: The latest Paycheck Protection Program loan deadline and what it’s like reopening a museum right now.

Powell said the re-opening occurred sooner than expected, with hiring and consumer spending both picking up in May.

The Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana abortion law. For many women, having the procedure already requires travel and substantial financial costs.

3M has doubled production of N95 masks, but demand still exceeds supply.

The deadline for Paycheck Protection Program loan approvals is Tuesday. Some haven’t been clear about their eligibility. Others have been trying since the beginning.

As cases surge across Texas, the museums’s co-interim director reflects on reopening and the safety precautions taken.

If a surge in bankruptcies continues, will bankruptcy courts be able to cope?

Many day camps are opening, many sleepaway camps are not. Parents are trying to decide if it’s safe, and worth it.

The consensus forecast is around 3.5 million jobs added for June. Plus, the social media advertising boycott goes global. The Boeing 737 Max begins test flights. And, migrant workers’ remittances are expected to drop 20% this year.

Chief Justice John Roberts joined with his four more liberal colleagues in the 5-4 ruling.

The campaign to get companies to stop buying social media advertising already has support from companies like Verizon, Patagonia and Unilever.

Air safety regulators say Boeing can start test flights of its grounded 737 Max jets.

The new agreement extends free trade between the U.S., Canada and Mexico with a few tweaks.

Global trade may be down, but trade agreements forge ahead. This week, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement goes into effect. NBC plans to take over broadcasting the U.S. Open golf championship. And, the future of education and online learning.

Fatalities following an attack by gunmen on the Pakistan Stock Exchange building in Karachi. Amazon workers in Germany strike over COVID-19 safety fears. Fears of food insecurity in East Africa grow amid a new wave of desert locusts.

Migrants who have lost wages due to COVID-19 are struggling to send funds back home to their families in poorer countries.

Online enrollments at Coursera are up 500% from the same time a year ago, says CEO Jeff Maggioncalda.

It’s not the machines that are biased. It’s the humans who make them.