Evening Briefing

Some 17 million Americans claimed state unemployment benefits in mid-July, an increase of almost 900,000 people that provides the latest evidence that any recovery from the spring economic collapse has been undermined by a resurgence of coronavirus across much of the nation. Gross domestic product shrank 9.5% in the second quarter from the first, a drop that equals an annualized pace of 32.9%. That’s the steepest annualized decline in quarterly records dating back to 1947, though analysts estimated a 34.5% contraction. Personal spending, which makes up about two-thirds of GDP, slumped an annualized 34.6%, also the most on record. Mortgage rates meanwhile have dipped below 3% again, just off the record low set two weeks ago. —David E. Rovella

Here are today’s top stories

Having implemented laws that allow the suppression of free speech, assembly and the press in Hong Kong, China President Xi Jinping may now be setting his sights on Taiwan, Bloomberg Businessweek reports, continuing on the path of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping by bringing more territory under Beijing’s control. Joseph Wu, foreign minister of Taiwan’s democratic government, warned China “may look for excuses to start a war.”

U.S. and European health officials bracing for a potential onslaught of coronavirus cases this fall are getting a view from Australia into what cooler weather may bring, and it’s alarming. But in South Africa, Capetown is puzzled about a drop in infections. In France infections are climbing, and in the U.S., Florida and Arizona set new death records. Here is the latest.

Johnson & Johnson’s experimental coronavirus vaccine protected macaque monkeys with a single shot in a pre-clinical study, potentially gaining on rival medicines that require two doses over time.

Hedge funder Seth Klarman told investors in a letter reviewed by Bloomberg that the Fed is treating them like children, helping create bizarre market conditions that he said are unsupported by economic data.

Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund, the world’s top pension fund, had billions of dollars in short-term U.S. Treasury debt when the pandemic hit earlier this year, leaving it with a pile of money.

What’s Joe Weisenthal thinking? The Bloomberg news director says the Fed may as well go on vacation until the U.S. economy starts to track back to a pre-crash posture. From a rates perspective, the Fed can check out for a few years because until employment, wages and prices begin to recover, they’re not going to be doing anything.

What you’ll need to know tomorrow

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What you’ll want to read tonight in Businessweek

Eight Shocking Secrets I Learned On Private Jets

Private aviation is an easy way to bypass epic airport lines and stale food court sandwiches. It also buys an elusive treasure: additional hours in the day. Sunrise yoga in Los Angeles, lunch in Napa, a show in Vegas—it’s all doable when the sky isn’t the limit. But for those who work on those jets, the picture is decidedly different. From comforting naked celebrities to cleaning up after pet (and human) accidents, nothing is surprising among those who fly privately for a living. Oh if these cabins could talk.

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