After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

National

Grayscale Investments is pushing to convert the world's largest publicly traded bitcoin fund into an ETF as a July 6 deadline looms for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to accept or reject its application.

Why it matters: The Bitcoin Trust, often referred to by its ticker symbol GBTC, recently traded at a record discount to its net asset value. In layman's speak: It has declined more than the price of bitcoin. Grayscale says that converting the fund to an ETF will close that gap.

Driving the news: Grayscale papered over Washington, D.C.'s, Union Station with one message: "We care about crypto investors."

Firm CEO Michael Sonnenshein has previously threatened to sue the regulator in the event of a rejection, asserting that the SEC was doing investors a disservice by not approving a fund that is a more direct bet on bitcoin.

What they're saying: "Our priority will always be advocating for investors, and this campaign embodies that commitment," Sonnenshein tells Axios. 

"We designed an out-of-home campaign to make it even easier for investors to share their thoughts on if there should be a spot bitcoin ETF in the United States," he said.

Yes, but: You can just own bitcoin outright. 

Grayscale launches ad campaign ahead of SEC's Bitcoin Trust ETF decision

Grayscale says conversion to an ETF will enable more investors to make a more direct bet on bitcoin.

Bitcoin

Health: Broadway theaters will require masks through June — The pandemic pushed an exodus from public schools — COVID cases rise in almost every state.

Vaccines: Which age groups are eligible for the different COVID vaccines — CDC director authorizes Pfizer COVID booster for children 5-11. 

Politics: Federal judge blocks Biden from ending COVID border policy — Fauci says he won’t stay if Trump is re-elected — Biden orders flags at half-staff for 1 million deaths.

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 9:30 p.m. ET on Friday: 526,627,134 — Total deaths: 6,287,461 — Total vaccine doses administered: 11,437,710,847.

U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 9:30 p.m. ET on Friday: 83,194,060 — Total deaths: 1,002,022.

What should I do? Axios asked the experts:

When you can be around others after contracting the coronavirus

Traveling, asthma, dishes, disinfectants and being contagious

Answers about the virus from Axios experts

Download our app and follow the Coronavirus channel to get the latest news.

Editor's note: Johns Hopkins University stopped reporting U.S. COVID-19 recoveries on its dashboard on Dec. 15, citing a Coronavirus Tracking Project post that explained the national data is incomplete since several states do not keep records of recovered patients. It stopped reporting global recoveries and began reporting doses administered in May. 

COVID-19 dashboard

The latest headlines that you need to know.

Illustration of a coronavirus cell falling into a time warp.  

Health Care

Coronavirus

World

Politics

President Biden has made the COVID-19 crisis and a post-Trump return to national unity and traditional democratic ideals his top priorities. From vaccinations to stimulus to schools, Biden is seeking bipartisan compromise while showing a willingness to use executive authority and bare Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to implement his policies. Republican leaders are navigating deep party divisions over if and how to move beyond former President Trump.

Politics & Policy

China is becoming the most formidable rival America has faced, and the risk of confrontation with Russia, North Korea or Iran still looms. Authoritarians are rising, the chaotic Afghanistan exit revealed the limits of U.S. power, and the pandemic, climate change and other critical challenges continue to pose grave threats.

The U.S. faces a range of health care flashpoints — unaffordable drugs, opioids, vaping — as we debate whether to adopt universal care. For now, the Affordable Care Act is the law of the land, but Republicans want to issue it a final death blow.

Health

Elon Musk met with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday to discuss connectivity and other technology projects ahead of Brazil's election.

Why it matters: Musk traveled to Brazil as part of his satellite internet service Starlink's expansion in the region. The visit comes as Musk is increasingly engaged with global politicians, especially conservative leaders. 

The big picture: The high-profile billionaire has made headlines recently for his bid to takeover Twitter and announcement that he will vote for Republicans.

Brazil has been swept up in a growing misinformation crisis as the Oct. 2 election looms.

Lawmakers and the courts have both expressed alarm that Bolsonaro is sowing distrust in the election.

Brazilian Senate committee voted last year to approve a report recommending Bolsonaro be charged with a raft of criminal indictments, including crimes against humanity over his response to the pandemic.

What they're saying: Bolsonaro tweeted Friday that the two spoke about "connectivity, investments, innovation and the use of technology to reinforce the protection of the Amazon forest and the realization of Brazil's economic potential."

Prior to the meeting, Musk had tweeted, "Super excited to be in Brazil for launch of Starlink for 19,000 unconnected schools in rural areas & environmental monitoring of Amazon."

 Deforestation in the Amazon reached its highest annual rate in over a decade under Bolsonaro, according to AP.

Elon Musk meets Bolsonaro ahead of Brazilian election

The visit comes as Musk is increasingly engaged with global politicians, especially conservative leaders.

Photo of Jair Bolsonaro on the left and Elon Musk

President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro (left) and billionaire Elon Musk. Photos: Andressa Anholete and Dimitrios Kambouris for The Met Museum/Vogue via Getty Images

Elon Musk

Big Tech

Latin America and Latinos

From the Valley to D.C., Big Tech players like Facebook, Google and Amazon are under more scrutiny than ever as new technology develops and privacy and antitrust concerns grow in lockstep with companies’ ambitions.

Technology

Axios Crypto

DISH Network, the wireless company, has already been through one major technological transition, and it's betting that cryptocurrency is part of its next one.

Driving the news: DISH recently invested in and partnered with two crypto-enabled grassroots wireless networks, fueling its long-term aim of becoming a competitor in 5G wireless services. "We don't have a venture capital arm," Chris Ergen, DISH's head of wireless innovation, tells Axios in an interview. "If you see us investing, it's more strategically central to what we're doing."

Details: Last month DISH invested in Pollen, which only launched in January, and previously announced a partnership with Helium, a very similar network that's already reached thousands of cities.

Both Helium and Pollen incentivize people to set up wireless nodes that provide last-mile access to the internet using cryptocurrency.

How it works: Networks like Helium pay people in cryptocurrency for hosting nodes that can receive wireless messages and send them to the internet. The nodes also check in with each other to verify each other's locations (which can be a crucial piece of data for internet-of-things devices).

Helium started primarily helping devices send low-data messages back to the internet (tracking things like lost pets or rented bicycles).

Helium announced support for 5G services last year. Pollen launched with 5G support. Both make use of the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS). 

For DISH, such partnerships are about extending their range. Ergen compared it to roaming from the early days of cellular.  

What's next: Ergen believes these kinds of networks are going to give developers a whole new design space to build on. "The smart network is akin to the transition you had when you went from the flip phone to the smart phone, but at the network level," he said.

Context: Dish is best known, today, for providing subscription TV services via satellite — which is still the bulk of its revenue, but even further back it was in the hardware business, related to those giant dishes people used to have in their backyards.

Ergen remembers discovering Bitcoin when it was trading around $100 and feeling like he could see the next big shift coming. He wasn't working for the company yet, but he's the son of founders. 

"As somebody born in 1987, I'm probably one of the last generation that was recording radio songs onto mix tapes, and then Napster came along," he said.

"It's internet money," Ergen said. "Bitcoin seemed like something akin to those early days of filesharing and the internet."

The next transition is to provide data services wirelessly. "DISH has been investing in spectrum for about 13 years. We've invested a little north of $30 billion," Ergen explained. 

Leasing public spectrum is a key asset any company needs to compete in wireless.

Ergen believes the company also has an advantage in their offering is all virtualized, running over the cloud. 

State of play: DISH just lit up its first city, Las Vegas. 

Bottomline: "We are moving to a place where data is the core business, how long it takes to get there — how long the pay TV business has in its current form — remains to be seen," Ergen said. "Providing internet and providing data connectivity to people and things is the next 50 years of this company."

DISH's crypto investments aim to expand its 5G reach

The wireless company has already been through one major technological transition, and it's betting crypto is part of its next one.

Photo illustration of Chris Ergen of Dish Network  

Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Courtesy Dish Network

Dish Network

Axios Media Trends

Meredith Artley, the longtime SVP and editor-in-chief of CNN Digital Worldwide, is out at the network, according to a memo obtained by Axios. The news was first noted on a staff call with head of CNN Worldwide Chris Licht. 

Why it matters: She's the latest executive to leave the company after CNN's parent company Warner Media merged with Discovery last month. 

Artley was a top executive under former CNN President Jeff Zucker. Longtime CNN digital lead Andrew Morse left last month after leading the charge at CNN's now-defunct streaming service CNN+. 

Details: Artley was with CNN for more than a dozen years. 

Two sources note Artley was frustrated in the wake of corporate shakeups. 

The merger and other corporate drama led to a number of leadership changes. After Zucker left, CNN executives Michael Bass, Amy Entelis and Ken Jautz were named "interim co-heads for CNN," until the merger with Discovery was complete. Chris Licht took over as head of the network in May. 

What they're saying: "I'm so proud to have played a role in guiding, growing and championing CNN's journalism across our digital platforms all these years," Artley said in a departure note to staff. 

"There is so much CNN is doing right. How exciting to think about how much farther you will go."

Longtime digital exec Meredith Artley out at CNN

She's the latest executive to leave the company after CNN's parent company Warner Media merged with Discovery last month.

Axios Pro Rata

American investors are beginning to dominate European soccer in a way that American players never have.

Driving the news: A majority of the English Premier League's top 20 teams will have U.S. owners, once Todd Boehly's purchase of Chelsea F.C. goes through.

And it will close, through despite some British media drama about loan repayment to Russian oligarch and current owner Roman Abramovich.

RedBird Capital Partners reportedly is nearing a deal for AC Milan, besting Bahrain-domiciled Investcorp. That would be a wash, since the team is currently owned by Elliott Management.

Sixth Street Partners yesterday agreed to invest $380 million into Real Madrid for a 30% stake in future stadium revenue (minus season ticket sales). 

Last year, Oaktree Capital bought a 31% stake in Inter Milan, Area Management bought a 34% stake in La Liga's Atlético and 777 Partners bought Serie A club Genoa. 

Plus, let’s not forget actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney buying Wrexham A.F.C. Okay, Reynolds is Canadian, but still...

Be smart: This is about low barriers to entry, particularly as compared to North American sports leagues. 

The NFL and Major League Baseball frown on institutional (i.e., PE fund) ownership of teams, while the NHL is a bit more amenable and the NBA just recently opened its arms.

Owners also are a bit pickier about who they let into the club, whereas European soccer has turned a blind eye to most everything other than the purchase price.

The bottom line: So far, there's been very little blowback from supporters or governments (speculation that the U.K. would seek to block a non-British buyer of Chelsea, for example, was unfounded). 

The U.S. investor bet is that fans don't mind non-local ownership, so long as it's married to increased investment in player payroll and stadium amenities.

American investors keep scoring European soccer teams

American investors dominate Europe's top sport in a way that American players never have.

In this illustration, a soccer ball is kicked by someone wearing sports gear and socks with money printed on them.

Soccer

Sports

Almost every great thing in life starts with serendipity, someone — or something — new entering your life by chance.

Why it matters: This should humble all of us. We often celebrate big names who invent companies or pull off remarkable feats. 

But this is true too: They caught a ton of breaks and benefited far more than they publicly admit from the unsung contributions of many others — or just luck.

My life-altering dumb luck moment hit in 1993, when I pulled a full list of Wisconsin newspapers in hopes of finding an internship, anywhere at any pay.

Zane Zander, publisher of the weekly newspaper The Brillion News was one of my first calls on the alphabetical list. He asked me to pop up to Brillion stat for a quick chat. 

Even after I explained I was new to journalism, coming off my first writing class, he asked me to run his entire newspaper for the summer — alone — with one week of training.

I reiterated he would be hiring a middling student with scant experience. But he was in a jam: His editor needed the summer off and Mr. Zander needed an immediate sub. 

🧀 He gave me an offer no Cheesehead could resist: $300 per week, a car, and his cottage on a pond loaded with bass, with a fridge loaded with cold beer.

There’s little chance I would be writing this today absent the master class Mr. Zander put me through.

All of us have stories like this. We should cherish them. And be well aware of ways to position ourselves for — and take advantage of — luck and happenstance: 

The more, the merrier: It’s not totally true we make our own luck, but we sure as hell can help. The more you take chances, talk to others and throw yourself into opportunities, the better your odds of catching an unexpected break. 

Heads up: Lots of luck gets missed because we’re not watching or listening. If you recognize that you don’t know it all, you’re more likely to latch onto a game-changing gem. 

Pounce on luck: When something seems like fate, it just might be. So seize the moment and squeeze as much wisdom and joy from your fortuitous turns. Life planning is overrated. Roll with the wild twists instead. 

Luck begets luck: If you surf one wave of luck, it often seems another comes crashing along to ride.

Be grateful: Give thanks to those who help you along the way and look for every chance to give others their big break.

The power of pure luck

Almost every great thing in life starts with serendipity.

Leadership

MiamiCoin, the first city-themed cryptocurrency, has lost nearly all its value over the past several months amid a broader crypto market collapse, Quartz reports. 

Why it matters: Miami Mayor Francis Suarez hoped that the cryptocurrency, launched last summer, would help him raise revenue and reduce income inequality — and the eyes of other mayors were on the experiment.

But the currency's value has fallen more than 90% from its September high of $0.06, per Coinbase. 

"Its rapid descent has burned investors on the way down, muting the dreams of Miami’s city leaders, and possibly raising red flags for regulators now investigating cryptocurrency transactions," according to Quartz.

Where it stands: Crypto boosters like Suarez view digital currencies as a way to augment traditional city revenue streams, like property taxes.

30% of MiamiCoin miners' proceeds go to city coffers.

Miami did receive a $5.25 million disbursement from CityCoins — the company behind MiamiCoin — in February. 

But the coin's subsequent collapse calls into question the long-term viability of such hopes. 

Other crypto-curious cities like New York may back off their coin-related plans in light of MiamiCoin's struggles.

A screenshot of a tweet from the Mayor of Miami.

The big picture: The U.S. Federal Reserve's recent interest rate hike, rising inflation and general economic gloom have combined to trigger sell-offs in all sorts of riskier assets, including cryptocurrencies.

Even the two most popular coins, bitcoin and ether, are down significantly compared with late last year — and if they're falling, relatively tiny and unproven coins like MiamiCoin don't stand a chance. 

Other headline-grabbing crypto catastrophes, like the spectacular crash of the algorithmic stablecoin Terra, have only increased skepticism of the sector. 

Miami has been trying to position itself as the geographic center of the crypto world, aiming to usurp San Francisco and New York's tech and financial primacy.

Last month, Miami hosted Bitcoin 2022 (a major confab for all things crypto and crypto-adjacent); the city's arts scene has been taken over by Bored Apes and other NFT-style work; and crypto venture deals there rose from $6 million in 2020 to $745 million in 2021, per Bloomberg. 

But, but, but: The crypto market has crashed time and time again only to come roaring back weeks or months later. 

Still, rising interest rates are likely to cool crypto-mania. And even if major coins like bitcoin or ether recover from the current dip, there's no guarantee a rising tide would lift all boats.

What they're saying: "Obviously the price is down significantly," Suarez told Fox News in February as MiamiCoin's value began plummeting. He remains committed to cryptocurrency — "I've never obsessed over the price, neither bitcoin nor MiamiCoin."

The crypto-pocalypse comes for MiamiCoin

Miami's experimental cryptocurrency is now nearly worthless

Illustration of a palm tree over a yellow sun-like quarter 

Cryptocurrencies

Axios Markets

I should have pulled the trigger when I had the chance. Not long ago, I was feeling flush, and toying with the idea of transforming my recent stock market gains into something my family sorely needed: an eat-in kitchen. 

Why it matters: Aside from my personal quest to calmly stir mac-and-cheese while chatting with my wife and five-year-old daughter, our will-they-or-won't-they renovation drama shows how Fed rate hikes turn human psychology into a tool of monetary policy. 

State of play: Just a couple months ago, the financial logic for a renovation was clear and compelling.  

After 20 years of obsessively maxing out my 401(k) contributions — and about two years in which the stock market basically doubled  — I was overcome by an odd sensation I'd never before encountered: confidence in my retirement. 

Meanwhile, low interest rates would make the borrowing costs for the project pretty affordable. 

And superheated home values where we live — Westchester County, just north of New York City — likely made sinking a bit of cash into our circa-1940 Cape Cod-style cottage the best investment I could make. 

Context: We love the place, but it has a tiny, somewhat bizarre kitchen. For example, to maximize space, a previous owner mounted and framed the microwave in the wall, like some sort of mixed media art installation. (Its weirdness probably turned off other buyers, and helped us get the house. But it's a never-ending irritant.)  

The intrigue: As has become abundantly clear recently, all the factors I mentioned above — the home price boom, the low borrowing costs, the soaring stock market — were side effects of one simple fact: Money was remarkably cheap, thanks to the Fed.

That's changing. Since March, the Fed has raised interest rates twice, and talked tough about more hikes to come. And just like that, all the solid economic underpinnings of my plan have gone wobbly.  

Borrowing costs have surged — just look at the 30-year mortgage rate, at 5.25% compared to sub-3% for much of last year. 

The housing market seems like it may start to slow. 

The stock market has buckled. With the S&P 500 down by roughly 19%, my 401(k) doesn't inspire quite as much optimism as it used to. 

How it works: My experience is a pretty clear example of what economists call the wealth effect. 

When the value of assets — like stocks and houses — goes up, it can spur additional investment, and consumption. 

This chain is part of the way the Fed's interest rates influence the people leading households, companies and large institutions. 

It's not an exaggeration to say that Jerome Powell gets in their heads and changes their psychology, and by extension, the economy.   

Yes, but: There's a valid criticism that because the wealth channel is an effective way of influencing the economy, it's led the Fed to focus too much on keeping stock prices and home values up. And since stocks and homes are owned by the richer part of American society, this has worsened wealth inequality in recent years. 

On the other hand: It's also helped lower the unemployment rate, which benefits a broad range of Americans. 

The bottom line: The fate of our eat-in kitchen hangs very much in the balance at the moment. We're not giving up on the idea. 

But we're not making a big push to get it done soon. So our family will be demanding less lumber, tile, wiring and labor than we might have if Powell and his pals hadn't started lifting rates. And that's exactly what they wanted.  

Jerome Powell is living rent free in my head

I planned to renovate my kitchen. Then the Fed started raising rates.

Illustration of Jerome Powell using psychic powers.

Photo Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios. Photo: Win McNamee via Getty Images

Economy

Axios Closer

Foxconn’s entry into the American electric vehicle space opens the door for one of the world’s biggest contract manufacturers to grab a foothold in a growing global business.

Why it matters: Automakers — both traditional companies and startups — have largely dominated EV manufacturing until now, cornering an emerging market viewed as crucial to their survival.

But Foxconn’s experience in Apple iPhone production lends the tech giant a degree of manufacturing sophistication that could make it a serious player in the EV industry.

“It’s a logical step,” S&P Global Mobility analyst Stephanie Brinley tells Axios. “What they are skilled at and what they’ve done with Apple is to be able to take their specs and build it. So they do understand manufacturing.”

Driving the news: Taiwan-based Foxconn, known officially as Hon Hai Technology Group, reached a deal last week with Lordstown Motors to acquire the EV startup’s sprawling plant in northeast Ohio, where Foxconn has agreed to produce Lordstown's Endurance pickup.

Foxconn will also co-develop EVs with Lordstown, though that requires Lordstown to survive its current cash crisis.

The sprawling factory is a former General Motors plant once hailed by President Barack Obama and, later, President Donald Trump as wins for their respective economic agendas. 

Yes, but: Cars have thousands more parts than phones, so there's no guarantee Foxconn can make a smooth transition.

"Obviously the iPhone is complex. I’d say an electric vehicle is maybe a little more complex," LMC Automotive analyst Jeff Schuster tells Axios.

"It’s a leap, but there are certainly some synergies there — and their expertise in the development of components in that space should (help) as the EV moves into more of a high-tech vehicle space.” 

What we’re watching: Whether EV production at the Lordstown plant — where Foxconn is also expected to make a vehicle for EV startup Fisker — breeds more manufacturing deals.

Foxconn’s close partner Apple has long been rumored to be considering entering the EV race, prompting analysts to posit that the Lordstown deal could provide Foxconn a way to prove its automotive credentials to Apple.

“In fact, it probably makes the idea of an Apple car more feasible and maybe more realistic,” Schuster says.

Foxconn did not respond to a request seeking comment.

iPhone maker Foxconn enters U.S. electric vehicle manufacturing industry

The Apple iPhone manufacturer has acquired a former GM plant in Ohio with plans to make EVs on a contract basis.

Mechanic lying underneath smartphone, doing repairs.

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