We're living through the third financial crisis of the modern venture capital era, following the dotcom crash and the housing bust.
The big picture: There wasn't a widespread push for "fund size cuts" in 2008, save for a few efforts tied to funds that had closed just before Lehman went under. While it's too soon to know for sure which path LPs will take this time around, odds are that it will look similar — with already-raised fund sizes remaining static.
Neiman Marcus is in talks with lenders about filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, per Bloomberg. The Dallas-based luxury retailer is struggling under the weight of $4.3 billion in debt, related to its 2013 takeover by Ares Management andCanada Pension Plan Investment Board.
Why it matters: Neiman Marcus is an anchor tenant to many shopping malls that were already struggling before the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi told CNBC's Jim Cramer Tuesday that there is "real optimism" that a coronavirus stimulus deal could come together "in the next few hours."
Driving the news: One "big change" in the negotiations that Pelosi highlighted was the fact that Senate Republicans and the Trump administration agreed to House Democrats' oversight language for the $500 billion fund designed to help impacted industries.
Firefox, the global web browser from Mozilla, is launching a new subscription product Tuesday called the "Firefox Better Web initiative," and it will feature former Chartbeat CEO Tony Haile's new product Scroll as a launch partner.
Why it matters: It's uncommon for a web browser to launch a product that's explicitly tied to paying out publishers. Scroll's business is all about paying publishers for their content while giving users a better ad experience.
What they're saying: "Cancelled is actually the easier scenario than postponed because it's a definitive yes or no kind of thing," says Jon Swallen, CRO of the media division at Kantar, an advertising analytics company.
Big brand marketers that were depending on major sporting events to bolster their marketing plans suddenly need to switch course.
Why it matters: “Live sports might be off, but the audiences are very much on and, in fact, consuming even more TV while sheltered at home. It's all about where to find them," says Ashish Chordia, CEO of Alphonso, a television measurement company.
Ford Motor is bootstrapping ideas with GE Healthcare and 3M to help them dramatically increase their production of much-need medical supplies to fight the coronavirus.
Why it matters: Ford and other automakers specialize in cranking out cars in high volume, using global supply chains. That mass production expertise is critical as medical technology companies try to meet surging demand during the crisis.
Hollywood stars, confined to their houses, are turning to digital outlets to create new coronavirus-based shows and videos now that most of Hollywood production studios are shut down.
Exclusive: ATTN:, the progressive video news outlet aimed at millennials, is set to release several new lives series across Facebook and Instagram, featuring celebrities talking about the coronavirus.
Houseparty, the group video chat app recently acquired by Epic Games, is enjoying a resurgence in popularity as people are asked to remain home to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.
The big picture: Video chat apps across the board saw an uptick in new downloads as consumers look to communicate with friends and family (and even colleagues) online.
The backup in global supply chains plus a manufacturing and transportation sector already weakened by the U.S.-China trade war are combining to slow the rate of goods deliveries to nearly double their normal times.
What's happening: "Freight carriers are struggling to deliver goods by land, sea or air as the coronavirus pandemic forces Western governments to impose lockdowns, threatening supplies of vital products including medicines into the most affected areas, such as Italy," Reuters reports.
U.S. Treasury yields on one-, two- and three-month maturities all turned negative late Monday, as investors continued to favor short-term debt that functions like cash.
What it means: “What you are seeing today is an example of a flight-to-safety on a massive scale,” Kathy Jones, chief fixed-income strategist at Charles Schwab, told FT on Wednesday when yields first fell below zero.
Nearly two-thirds of Americans say their access to household goods has worsened in the past week, a new poll from Ipsos and Axios shows.
The state of play: The second installment of the Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index also finds that nearly a quarter of all respondents say their ability to afford food and household needs has worsened, up from 15% last week.
While President Trump has waffled on coronavirus and the Senate and House of Representatives have bickered over how best to deploy a fiscal response, the Federal Reserve has unleashed an onslaught of monetary policy power.
What happened: Having fired the full arsenal it deployed during the 2007–2009 global financial crisis in a matter of weeks, the Fed has committed to trillions in buying. And, it now promises unlimited purchases of U.S. government debt and mortgage-backed securities as well as municipal and corporate bond buys.
Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, the sports and entertainment group that owns the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, has notified full-time employees making $50,000 or more that they will be subject to pay cuts starting as soon as next month due to the coronavirus fallout.
The response: Not great, as you might expect. Ownership considers this a "temporary measure aimed at avoiding layoffs," per NYT's Marc Stein, but fans aren't buying it.
Media outlets and e-learning companies are opening up access to free kids' content, tools and resources to parents who are struggling to entertain their kids at home while also working remotely.
Why it matters: As schools and offices both shut down because of the coronavirus outbreak, parents are trying to figure out how to do two full-time jobs at once. Access to free content and educational programs can help reduce that burden.
News consumption has skyrocketed in the U.S. over the past few weeks due to the coronavirus, according to TV ratings, web traffic, app downloads and social media interactions.
Why it matters: Without live sports and with Hollywood production put on pause, consumers are confined to the only type of new professional-grade content that's still being produced daily: news.
In just four days, General Motors fast-tracked a plan to help a stretched medical device company build 200,000 badly needed ventilators to treat coronavirus patients.
Why it matters: It's not only a symbol of GM's significant industrial might 11 years after a government-brokered bankruptcy. It also shows how President Trump is squeezing American businesses to act.
Lobbyists are racing to grab a piece of a federal stimulus package that could top $2 trillion.
The big picture: Every industry, company and niche group affected by the virus, including some that have never lobbied before, is jockeying to get federal funding and approval for pet projects — making federal lobbying one of the few boom industries right now.
President Trump said Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell has "really stepped up," offering rare praise during a press conference on Monday.
Why it matters: It marks a big shift in Trump's tone on Powell — who he's bashed for months — after a series of measures announced by the Fed in recent days to ease the economic fallout from the coronavirus.
