This week’s addition of another 3 million to the jobless roll brings the two-month unemployment claim total to 36.5 million and highlights the “rolling shock” nature of the pandemic’s economic fallout—even as some businesses have begun reopening – NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg

And those job losses are disproportionally hitting the poorest Americans hardest. New figures out from the Fed suggests that “[f]ully 39 percent of former workers living in a household earning $40,000 or less lost work, compared with 13 percent in those making more than $100,000” – NYTimes and WSJ

Yes, the coronavirus undoubtedly pushed J Crew and Neiman Marcus into bankruptcy. But let’s not overlook the role that private equity played in pushing them to the brink – NYTimes

McDonald’s is out with a 59-page guide for its franchisees “outlining procedures for safely reopening the fast-food chain’s dining rooms across the country” that may be a something of a blueprint for other restaurants and retail establishments cautiously welcoming customers back indoors – NYTimes

World Trade Organization chief Roberto Azevedo abruptly resigned on Thursday, “adding another element of uncertainty to commerce in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and escalating trade conflicts” The WTO has been hamstrung since last year by the White House, which “has refused to approve nominees to fill vacancies on a crucial appeals panel that rules on trade disputes” – NYTimes

Nissan Motor’s U.S. chief, Jose Luis Valls, is making his own unexpected departure after just a year on the job. Valls is the “latest in a string of executive departures at the Japanese car maker in the wake of the arrest of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn in 2018” – MarketWatch

Boeing CEO David Calhoun’s recent prediction of the demise of a major US airline in coming months didn’t exactly win him any friends among his company’s top customers – WSJ and MarketWatch

Checking in on Amazon’s French experiment, where the notoriously union-averse company is facing a lawsuit by a French worker’s union that prompted Bezos & Co. to shutter its French warehouses and furlough (with pay) 10,000 employees until Monday. Now, the suit’s heading to the French supreme court, testing “Amazon’s ability to sidestep the demands of workers who are fulfilling the surge in orders the pandemic has produced for Amazon’s business” – NYTimes

“Father of the CMBS” Ethan Penner on the devastation Covid-19 is poised to wreak on the commercial mortgage-backed securities market – Law360

A little love for you ManU fans out there in the form of a glowing look at star Marcus Rashford’s response to the coronavirus – NYTimes

Have a good weekend, and stay safe.