| Some of Wall Street’s biggest names are sounding the alarm on stocks, while Fed Chairman Jerome Powell highlighted unprecedented risks to the U.S. economy and slammed the door on negative interest rates. Over in the Old World, Germany’s economy needed repair even before Covid-19 hit and the rift inside Europe is widening. Globally, the coronavirus has reinforced one financial truism: the dollar reigns supreme, and for once, President Donald Trump is delighted. What you’ll want to read this weekend Trump ramped up his election-year rhetoric against China, which has accused him of trying to deflect from his Covid-19 catastrophe at home. Beijing is pushing back against accusations it knew early on how infectious the disease is. Bloomberg Businessweek has a neat primer for what happens if Trump tests positive. The same CEOs who cut millions of jobs are keeping their lofty bonuses. But for the super-rich, the pandemic is proving to be something of a tax nightmare. The politics behind developing a vaccine are getting ugly, according to Bloomberg Opinion. Sanofi outraged the French government by suggesting the U.S. could get first dibs on its vaccine (if it finds one). Here’s how Gilead moved ahead of the competition on a treatment.
Bloomberg Businessweek reports on Sweden’s fraught decision to coexist with the coronavirus. Russia’s status as an epidemic hotspot is heaping more pressure on its impoverished citizens and baffling health experts, who wonder why so few deaths are being reported by President Vladimir Putin’s government.
From sewing in Britain to being a gym rat in China, here’s how Covid-19 is shifting human behavior. When bars finally reopen, you’ll probably need to use an app in advance just to grab a beer. It really looks like the living room bar is here to stay. What you’ll need to know next week The WHO’s governing body holds its first meeting since Covid-19 hit. Softbank’s big bets aren’t paying off. It’s set to report a massive loss. The National People’s Congress will map out China’s economic plan. USDA’s red-meat production stats are more important than usual. Germany’s soccer league is the first major reopening in pro sports. What you’ll want to read in Bloomberg Hyperdrive There’s never been a better time for groceries or medicines to be delivered by an algorithm on wheels, though the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic will force some companies to scrap their research. One former GM executive likens the race to a marathon: We’re in mile 15 but the virus has put a massive hill in front of the field. Waymo is still the one to beat. A Waymo vehicle during a demonstration in Chandler, Arizona. Photographer: Caitlin O'Hara/NYTNS Like Bloomberg’s Weekend Reading? Subscribe to Bloomberg All Access and get much, much more. You’ll receive our unmatched global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. Join Bloomberg New Economy Conversations: On May 19, Bloomberg New Economy Director Andy Browne will be joined by officials from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Mastercard, founding members of the Covid-19 Therapeutics Accelerator, an initiative designed to speed development and distribution of a vaccine. Browne will speak with Anita Zaidi, the Gates foundation’s director of vaccine development and surveillance, and Mike Froman, Mastercard’s vice chairman and president, Strategic Growth. Register now to join the conversation, on Tuesday at 10 a.m. EDT. Download the Bloomberg app: It’s available for iOS and Android. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. Learn more. | 