Global survey: majority favors saving lives over restarting economies: Reuters
Is the US prepared for a second wave of coronavirus? Project Syndicate
Dr. Fauci dismisses theory that Wuhan lab is source of coronavirus: Newsweek
Models predict sharply higher deaths if states relax social distancing: Politico
Why are US home prices rising during a pandemic? Falling supply: WSJ
Is Sweden’s model for managing Covid-19 useful for US? Maybe not: NY Times
US Treasury expected to borrow a record $3 trillion this quarter: CNBC
US factory orders fell sharply in March: MW
Big hedge funds are raising bets on gold, which is near an 8-year high: FT
Global manufacturing in April fell to lowest level since 2008-09 crisis: IHS Markit
US money velocity fell to record low in Q1, highlighting disinflation/deflation risk:

The projected long-run risk premium for the Global Market Index (GMI) rebounded in April after slipping below 4% annualized in the previous month. Today’s revised estimate for GMI: 4.3%, which is the index’s long-term projection over the “risk-free” rate. Compared with the outlook a year ago, today’s forecast is modestly lower.
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Pompeo links Covid-19 to Chinese lab but US intel agencies unsure: NY Times
China disputes US claim that Covid-19 came from Wuhan lab: CNN
North and South Korea exchange gunfire across DMZ zone: CNN
Coronavirus claims its first victim among big US retailers–J. Crew: Reuters
Record US unemployment expected in Friday’s jobs report: WSJ
Revised data show Eurozone manufacturing fell at record pace in April: IHS Markit
Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow model’s Q2 nowcast: US economy crashes 16.6%: AF
US ISM Mfg Index fell deeper into recession territory in April: CNBC
US light vehicle sales fell dramatically in April: Haver Analytics

● Economics in the Age of COVID-19
Joshua Gans
Summary via publisher (MIT Press)
The COVID-19 pandemic has unleashed a firehose of information (much of it wrong) and an avalanche of opinions (many of them ill-founded). Most of us are so distracted by the everyday awfulness that we don’t see the broader issues in play. In this book, economist Joshua Gans steps back from the short-term chaos to take a clear and systematic look at how economic choices are being made in response to COVID-19. He shows that containing the virus and pausing the economy—without letting businesses fail and people lose their jobs—are the necessary first steps. Gans outlines the phases of the pandemic economy, from containment to reset to recovery and enhancement. Warning against thinking in terms of a “tradeoff” between public health and economic health, Gans explains that containment gives us the opportunity to develop effective testing that will make it safe for people to interact. Once the virus is contained, we will need to pivot toward innovating, and, finally, we will come together to plan how to protect ourselves from future pandemics. He looks at policy tools that might aid an economic recovery, distinguishing between economic losses during a pandemic and a recession.
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April was bounce-back month, with a glaring exception: broadly defined commodities (excluding gold, which rallied sharply). Otherwise, risk assets posted solid gains across the board last month.
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Covid-19 pandemic expected to last 2 years, report predicts: Bloomberg
Half of US states move ahead with economic reopening: Reuters
European Commission calls for investigation into origin of coronavirus: CNBC
Russia’s prime minister says he’s infected with coronavirus: NPR
Federal Reserve’s lending program expands to cover larger firms: WSJ
Coronavirus is reversing global slide in poverty rate: NY Times
Despite surge in jobless, official unemployment probably undercounts: EPI
US consumer spending posted steepest drop on record in March: WSJ
US jobless claims continue surging–up 3.8 million last week: MW