Coronavirus Update

Global cases rose above 722,000 over the weekend with more than 34,000 deaths. The number of confirmed U.S. cases rose to more than 142,000 with 2,484 confirmed deaths.

• President Trump signed the ~$2.1 trillion ‘phase three’ spending bill on Friday afternoon. Check out this calculator to see how much you’ll receive.
• UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced he tested positive for the virus on Friday.
• New York Governor Andrew Cuomo postponed the state’s primary elections from April 28 until June 23. Fourteen states in total have moved the date of their nominating contest as a result of the virus.
• On Sunday, President Trump extended the current national social distancing guidelines until April 30.

North Korea Conducts Missile Test

North Korean state media on Monday announced a successful test of what it called a “super-large multiple rocket launcher,” reportedly firing two missiles into the ocean off its east coast. The missile launch was North Korea’s sixth such maneuver in the past month.

U.S. Imposes Iran-Related Sanctions

The U.S. restricted an exemption given to Iraq that allows them to import Iranian gas and electricity in the face of strict American sanctions on Iran. The U.S. also sanctioned 20 individuals and entities it said had been taking advantage of the exception to funnel money to militia groups in Iran.

The Coronavirus Effect

• As of Sunday night, U.S. stock index futures were down about 1% across the board.
• President Trump on Friday authorized the use of the Defense Production Act to compel GM to produce ventilators.
• The FDA issued an emergency use authorization approving medical device company Abbott’s new rapid virus test that allegedly delivers results in less than 15 minutes.
• The North American International Auto Show - scheduled for June in Detroit - was canceled, as the city prepares to use the event center for a makeshift hospital instead.
• According to CNBC, Airbnb is instituting a hiring freeze and suspending its marketing as the company also institutes a 50% reduction in salary for executives over the next six months.

Out Of Orbit

Satellite internet provider OneWeb filed for bankruptcy on Friday, despite having raised $3.4 billion. Japanese conglomerate SoftBank is its largest shareholder ($2 billion invested) and reportedly held recent discussions to bailout OneWeb - who had hoped to directly compete with SpaceX’s Starlink network - but ultimately decided against doing so.

More: SoftBank’s decision follows two other recent moves (backing away from a $3 billion WeWork tender and selling up to $41 billion in assets) aimed at freeing up cash during the current crisis.

Let’s Get Down To Business

While most businesses’ performance has suffered in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, several companies and products have seen enormous growth in recent months:

• Video-conferencing services: Zoom is now the most downloaded app on the App Store and the company’s share price has climbed 221% on the year. Similarly, Houseparty has seen a more than 2,600% increase in daily downloads.
• Workplace communication platforms: Earlier this month, Microsoft reported 44 million daily active users, a nearly 40% week-over-week increase. Likewise, Slack has seen a record number of concurrent users (up to 12.5 million last week).
• Streaming services across the board have seen an uptick in subscribers over the past weeks - Disney+ leads the pack with a 300% increase in new subscriptions.

Seeds For Success

In his career as Senegal’s Minister of Ecology (and later Fisheries), Haidar el Ali worked to protect the country’s natural beauty. Perhaps his most impressive environmental feat, however, occurred in the decade following his retirement.

Since 2009, the 67-year-old Haidar, with the help of local citizens, has been attempting to restore a vast mangrove swamp in Southern Senegal - over the past ten years, Haidar has overseen the planting of an incredible 152 million mangrove buds.

Sign Of The Times

As the emergency room staff at Morristown Medical Center in New Jersey busied themselves attending to patients, a few nurses on duty noticed an unknown man approach the window and hold up a sign for them to read.

“Thank you all in emergency for saving my wife’s life. I love you all,” read the sign. Several hospital staff burst into tears after reading the message, and they quickly snapped a photo of the man to showcase the moment to all of their co-workers.

On The Spot

When current events rendered him unable to go out to dinner for his 46th birthday, Milwaukee attorney C.J. Krawczyk came up with a philanthropic twist to celebrate his special day.

C.J., along with his wife Julie, started a GoFundMe called S.O.S. (Save Our Spots) to assist Milwaukee restaurants through these trying times. C.J. and Julie offered to match the first $4,600 in donations, and so far have collected more than $25,000 for the cause.