Tuesday Morning Reads

Go your own way

History will look back on the successes and failures of coronavirus responses, as nations take varying measures to combat COVID-19. Britain, which had stood apart from European nations in its response to the virus, hardened some measures on Monday, though schools will stay open for the time being. The Netherlands, meanwhile, adopted a controversial "herd immunity" strategy, allowing large numbers to contract the illness at a controlled pace. Guidelines released in the U.S. yesterday called for people to avoid gathering in groups of more than 10 people, steer clear of restaurants and food courts, and work or attend school from home whenever possible.

$50B bailout to avoid collapse

U.S. airlines are seeking over $50B in financial assistance from Washington, in a potential aid package that could include government-backed loans, cash grants and other measures like tax relief. Putting it in perspective: The figure would be more than three times the size of the industry's bailout after the Sept. 11 attacks. "We're going to back the airlines 100% - it's not their fault," President Trump said at a media briefing on Monday. Industry trade group Airlines for America, or A4A, also proposed $8B in grants and guarantees for cargo carriers, while U.S. airports are separately seeking $10B in assistance.

Could markets close?

The calls to keep Wall Street open are growing louder despite circuit breakers being activated three times in the last six trading sessions. "Closing the markets would not change the underlying causes of the market decline, would remove transparency into investor sentiment, and reduce investors’ access to their money. This would only further compound the current market anxiety," tweeted Stacey Cunningham, President of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:ICE). CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) CEO Terry Duffy also chimed in, saying, "You should at least leave the markets open, so people can transact."

Drawing from Fed's discount window

Following a brutal day for America's largest banks, when several of them lost more than 15% of their market value, the industry began reactivating a lending facility largely dormant since the financial crisis. "While Forum member institutions individually have substantial liquidity and multiple sources of funding, they believe it is important to lead by demonstrating the value of the Federal Reserve's discount window facility and to encourage its use by other financial institutions," according to a statement from the Financial Services Forum. Members include: BofA (NYSE:BAC), BNY Mellon (NYSE:BK), Citigroup (NYSE:C), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), State Street (NYSE:STT), and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC).
Go deeper: Max Greve discusses benefits of new JPMorgan partnerships.

Big Tech presents united response

Top U.S. tech giants have put out a first-of-its-kind joint statement saying that they are working together to fight fraud and misinformation related to the coronavirus. "We're helping millions of people stay connected... elevating authoritative content on our platforms, and sharing critical updates in coordination with government healthcare agencies around the world." Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Google (GOOG, GOOGL), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Reddit and Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) are part of the group, which invited others to join its efforts. In recent weeks, fake cures and false information about the origin of the virus began proliferating on public platforms as well as through private messaging.

Record pace for a vaccine

A potential COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) has moved into human testing, with the first participant receiving treatment on Monday. A total of 45 healthy adults will receive one of three dose levels (25, 100, 250 µg) of the candidate, called mRNA-1273, and will be followed for 12 months after receiving the second vaccination. The primary endpoint is safety, including reactogenicity (the expected adverse events such as excessive immunological responses and injection site reactions). The secondary endpoint is immunogenicity (the robustness of the immune response).

Getting creative to tackle sanitizer shortage

As the virus outbreak spreads across Europe, many companies are retooling production to combat a shortage of hand sanitizers. Spirits maker Pernod Ricard (OTCPK:PDRDF) said it will supply alcohol to producers, luxury goods group LVMH (OTCPK:LVMHF) is altering perfume lines to produce sanitizing gel, while Poland's biggest oil group Orlen is making the ingredient at a plant that normally manufactures windshield wiper fluid. Britain has also asked Ford (NYSE:F), Honda (NYSE:HMC) and Rolls-Royce (OTCPK:RYCEF) to help make health equipment including ventilators to cope with COVID-19.

Tesla surprises with Model Y

"Model Y deliveries begin!" Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) announced on Twitter, despite the coronavirus pandemic which has raised concerns about economic growth. The news is a big win for the company, which has previously fallen short of self-imposed, start of delivery deadlines (Model Y's launch timeline was summer 2020). Tesla has never disclosed deposits, or order book numbers, for the crossover SUV - unlike its Cybertruck and Model 3 - and is also reportedly keeping its Fremont factory open despite a Bay Area shutdown.

Home theaters

Universal Pictures (NASDAQ:CMCSA) is taking a major step in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the capacity restrictions in theaters: The studio is making its movies available for home entertainment on the same day as theatrical release. While the move breaks longstanding practice, the films won't be that cheap. They'll be available for a 48-hour rental period at a suggested retail price of $19.99 in the U.S., and roughly the same price internationally.

What else is happening...

Coronavirus effects to overshadow FedEx (NYSE:FDX) earnings.

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) hiring 100K workers to deal with demand rush.

Expecting sales downturn, automakers offer attractive financing.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) wins approval of $23B bankruptcy package.

Goldman (GS) allows deferring of Apple Card (NASDAQ:AAPL), Marcus payments.

Check out the latest coronavirus updates here.