Civic unrest in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis is complicating reopening plans for cities and businesses around the country trying to restart after months of coronavirus-related closures – WSJ and Bloomberg

Inconceivable? Perhaps. Incredible? Not any more for Nestle, which has lost a branding battle in The Hague with the Impossible Foods folks over its plant-based burger, which Nestle had dubbed the “Incredible Burger” – WSJ and MarketWatch

SpaceX and Nasa were a go on Saturday, launching two American astronauts into space from Cape Kennedy in “a moment of triumph and perhaps nostalgia for the country, a welcome reminder of America’s global pre-eminence in science, technological innovation and private enterprise at a time its prospects and ambition have been clouded by the coronavirus pandemic, economic uncertainty and political strife” – NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg and MarketWatch

The Times says it well here—probably best to forget about those Vs or Ls or Ws or even the swooshes and focus on the best symbol for the post-pandemic recovery: a question mark – NYTimes

Famed economist Robert Shiller has some thoughts for us on why uncertainty’s the name of the game – NYTimes

The Fed’s foray into ETFs in an effort to “backstop debts of investment-grade firms after the coronavirus pandemic led to a deep freeze across credit markets in mid-march” has led to a recently disclosed $1.3 billion in ETF purchases with a focus on non-investment grade debt – WSJ

That move into ETFs was part of the Fed’s effort to “cross[] a lot of red lines that had not been crossed before” in an effort to shield the economy from the pandemic, according to Chair Powell, who spoke at an online event hosted by Princeton on Friday. Powell also hinted that the Fed was “’days’ away from launching its Main Street Lending Program” – Bloomberg

Some 6,000 EasyJet customers whose personal information was exposed in a recent cyberattack aim to “test European Union data rules in a group lawsuit from the airline” seeking more than $2000 each—an effort that could run into the billions based on the carrier’s admission than more than 9 million had data compromised – Law360

Because why not something else to worry about. After years of stressing about low inflation and the inability to do anything about it, the potential for a surge in inflation spurred by central bank spending is pushing at least some hedge funds to seek inflation-related bets – WSJ

As part of charting a path forward last Friday, French carmaker Renault announced that it will cut close to 15,000 jobs worldwide as part of an “emergency cost-cutting plan”—a likely sign on of things to come for the entire auto industry worldwide – NYTimes

Wegmans and other retailers known for going above and beyond in their efforts to “pamper” their customers are facing an “existential challenge” now that “every customer is a potential risk” – WSJ

China’s Tencent Holdings is reportedly in discussions to invest $200 million in Warner Music ahead of a forthcoming IPO, a “key test for a new-issue market that has been hobbled by the coronavirus pandemic” – WSJ

If Warner’s IPO goes the way of Peet’s Coffee, all will be happy – WSJ

SDNY Judge Lorna Schofield narrowed some investor claims against financial institutions in their forex-rigging antitrust suit though ultimately allowing them to “move ahead with the bulk of their . . . suit” – Law360

T. Rex’s tiny little arms are easy to mock, but a new study suggests that the real limbs to focus on were its “lanky legs,” which allowed the dino to “amble for hours,” an attribute that “might have helped propel the carnivore to the top of the food chain” – NYTimes

Stay safe,
MDR