• Sheila Bair, a Republican who headed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. during President George W. Bush’s administration, is seen as a top candidate to lead the new Congressional Oversight Commission that will oversee the disbursement of coronavirus relief funds, according to people familiar with talks between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who must both agree on the leader. The chair would serve as the tie-breaker on a panel that also includes four partisan members. (Vice News)

• As he was leaving his job as an economist at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in August, Jonathan Lanning accused President Donald Trump’s appointees of pressuring staff economists to minimize their findings that consumers would suffer if payday lending restrictions were eased, according to a copy of the memo seen by a media outlet. A spokesman for the CFPB, which is expected to soon release a revised payday lending rule that will allow lenders to issue loans without first determining whether a customer can afford the fees, said the agency has “a fair, transparent and thorough” rule-making process. (The New York Times)

• The U.S. insurance industry is talking with lawmakers and regulators about creating a plan backstopped by the federal government that would help businesses hit by a pandemic in the future, people familiar with the efforts said. The campaign, which the sources said also includes coordination with non-insurance companies such as retailers, hotel companies and booksellers, comes as the insurance industry is under fire for not covering losses borne by companies during the coronavirus outbreak. (Reuters)

US should ‘rethink’ bank loans in coronavirus small business relief: Ex-FDIC Chair
Max Zahn, Yahoo Finance

The program deserves praise for funneling relief to small companies nationwide but its shortcomings should prompt the U.S. to “rethink” its reliance on banks for the distribution of stimulus funds, said former Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chair Sheila Bair, who helped oversee lending that followed the Great Recession.

Pelosi fills out Democratic roster on coronavirus oversight panel
Mike Lillis, The Hill

The panel, created by a party-line vote last week, will be led by Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), the Democratic whip. In a letter to Democrats Wednesday, Pelosi named six additional members: Reps. Maxine Waters (Calif.), Carolyn Maloney (N.Y.), Nydia Velázquez (N.Y.), Bill Foster (Ill.), Jamie Raskin (Md.) and Andy Kim (N.J.).

Grim Jay Powell sets Federal Reserve up for the long haul
James Politi and Colby Smith, Financial Times

With warning on slow recovery, central bank chief promises to fight economic fallout of virus.

Millions of Americans likely applied for jobless benefits last week though wave is stabilizing
Lucia Mutikani, Reuters

Millions more Americans likely filed claims for unemployment benefits last week, but the tide appears to be slowing, offering cautious hope of a peak in job losses from business closures and disruptions because of the novel coronavirus.

Dirty money piling up in L.A. as coronavirus cripples international money laundering
Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times

In the last three weeks, federal agents made three seizures that each netted more than $1 million in suspected drug proceeds. The reason, according to the city’s top drug enforcement official: The coronavirus pandemic has slowed trade-based money laundering systems that drug trafficking groups use to repatriate profits and move Chinese capital into Southern California.

Trump’s tariffs add to pandemic-induced turmoil of U.S. manufacturers

Rajesh Kumar Singh, Reuters

Dan Digre, head of MISCO Speakers, was on edge before the coronavirus outbreak hit the global economy. Payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars in Chinese tariffs had wiped out the profit and dwindled the cash balance of the Minnesota-based loudspeaker maker.

How states are reopening businesses and lifting coronavirus restrictions
Hannah Miller, CNBC

Here is a rundown of how every state in the U.S. has responded to Covid-19 in terms of lifting restrictions on citizens and businesses.

States Struggle With Coronavirus Unemployment Claims Surge
Sarah Chaney and Kate King, The Wall Street Journal

Connecticut was more than halfway through a multiyear modernization of its unemployment insurance system in mid-March when the coronavirus pandemic triggered a surge in claims and the state website that accepts applications froze.

Republican official worries voters aren’t giving GOP senators sufficient credit for pandemic aid

Sean Sullivan, The Washington Post

Republican senators running for reelection face a “problem” because they are getting insufficient credit from voters for recent coronavirus pandemic aid packages, a top Republican Senate campaign official said on a private conference call Wednesday.

Eurozone Economy Suffers Record Contraction, Steeper Than U.S.
Paul Hannon, The Wall Street Journal

The eurozone economy shrank at the fastest pace on record during the first three months of this year, contracting more sharply than the U.S. during the same period, as lockdowns imposed to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus brought much business activity to a standstill.

U.S. Stock Futures Drift Ahead of Jobless Claims Data
Anna Hirtenstein and Chong Koh Ping, The Wall Street Journal

U.S. stock futures and European shares wavered Thursday, ahead of weekly jobless claims data and the conclusion of the European Central Bank’s latest policy meeting.

Big U.S. banks cry foul over temporary exclusion from small business lending program
Michelle Price, Reuters

Wall Street banks criticized the U.S. government on Wednesday after the Small Business Administration said it would temporarily close its Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for small businesses hurt by the novel coronavirus to all but the country’s smallest lenders.

Wall Street uniform to get a new accessory – the face mask
Scott Murdoch et al., Reuters

Face masks, temperature checks and packaged sandwiches could all become part of the daily routine for bankers as their employers work out how to get them safely back into the office.

BlackRock’s growing clout carries risks for asset manager
Richard Henderson and Robin Wigglesworth, Financial Times

Group faces increased scrutiny as central banks ask it to help run stimulus packages.

Chinese Coffee Chain’s Scandal Renews U.S. Calls for Oversight
Alexandra Stevenson and Edward Wong, The New York Times

The implosion of a Chinese competitor to Starbucks has bolstered the cause of American politicians aiming to stop opaque Chinese companies from raising money in the U.S.

Warren calls for SEC to require climate risk disclosures
Rachel Frazin, The Hill

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to require public companies to disclose climate risks posed by their activities.  She wrote a letter to SEC Chairman Jay Clayton as the agency is proposing changes to financial disclosure requirements.

The Legal Fight Between Insurers and Businesses Is Expanding
Leslie Scism and Brody Mullins, The Wall Street Journal

A lawsuit filed by a human-rights nonprofit against Chubb is the latest in a fight to get property insurers to pay coronavirus-related claims.

Cash-Hungry Companies Reach for Lifeline in Convertible Bonds
Corrie Driebusch, The Wall Street Journal

Struggling companies desperate for cash during the coronavirus crisis are raising money in a way that hasn’t been this widely used since the 2008 recession: selling bonds that can convert into stocks.

Fannie-Freddie Escape Plan at Risk of Collapse in Mortgage Chaos
Elizabeth Dexheimer, Bloomberg

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac face strong headwinds from the mayhem coronavirus has spread through the mortgage market, complicating the Trump administration’s plans to free them from U.S. control anytime soon.

Pending home sales tumble on COVID-19 shock
Kathleen Howley, HousingWire

Pending home sales tumbled 21% in March as the COVID-19 pandemic shook the housing market, the National Association of Realtors said on Wednesday.

IRS says more than 130M coronavirus payments have been delivered
Naomi Jagoda, The Hill

The IRS said Wednesday that more than 130 million coronavirus rebates have been delivered to Americans.

Wealthy Shielded Billions With Trump Tax Break Before Pandemic
Noah Buhayar, Bloomberg

Just before the coronavirus roiled the economy, wealthy investors piled into funds that take advantage of a popular, two-year-old tax break meant to help poor communities. More than $10 billion in total has flowed into “opportunity zone” funds, a survey released Thursday by tax adviser Novogradac shows. 

Coronavirus Turmoil, Free Trades Draw Newbies Into Stock Market
Alexander Osipovich and Caitlin McCabe, The Wall Street Journal

Online brokerages are seeing record increases in new accounts and trading activity, with individual investors wading into the market to try to seize on this year’s erratic stock swings.

It’s Time to Ban Dangerous Debt Collection Threatening Public Health During COVID-19
Diane Thompson & Seth Frotman, Morning Consult

At a time when group gatherings can prove deadly, debt collectors continue to put collecting debts above protecting lives. 

Fed Lending Faces a Tough Slog on Main Street
Bill Dudley, Bloomberg

A new program could end up being ignored or loaded with bad loans.

The Coronavirus Stimulus Package Is a Mess
Steven Rattner, The New York Times

Congress gets an A+ for speed but a B- for quality.

To Safely Reopen, Make the Workweek Shorter. Then Keep It Shorter.
Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, The Atlantic

This crisis is the ideal time to make radical changes to how we work in America.

Social Distancing and Supply Disruptions in a Pandemic
Martin Bodenstein et al., University of Cambridge

Drastic public health measures such as social distancing or lockdowns can reduce the loss of human life by keeping the number of infected individuals from exceeding the capacity of the health care system but are often criticized because of the social and the economic cost they entail. We question this view by combining an epidemiological model, calibrated to capture the spread of the COVID-19 virus, with a multisector model, designed to capture key characteristics of the U.S. Input Output Tables.