Axios

With an unending list of factors to consider — including the safety of air-conditioning systems, the risk of using public transportation, schools' reopening schedules and the needs of high-risk employees — the back-to-work puzzle is getting increasingly difficult to solve.

The big picture: At first, companies were pleasantly surprised at how well telecommuting worked, with many firms — including Twitter — saying they might go remote forever. Now, about four months in, remote work doesn't seem so great anymore.

Pandemic-induced remote work has created a new phenomenon for many workers: starting a job from your home.

Why it matters: At most firms, office culture and team dynamics are established through in-person meetings. And there are a slew of challenges that come with welcoming someone to your company via Zoom.

Multiple Republicans made clear on Tuesday that they are not on board with several key provisions in the $1 trillion stimulus bill released by Senate GOP leadership Monday. Many said they find the process confusing, messy and not reflective of the Republican conference. 

Why it matters: For a Senate Republican bill, it’s remarkable how many Senate Republicans hate it.

Drug sales at Pfizer dipped 11% in the second quarter, totaling $11.8 billion, but the pharmaceutical giant still reported more than $3.4 billion in net profits, or $0.78 in adjusted earnings per share — 15% above what Wall Street expected.

The big picture: The coronavirus pandemic only had a marginal effect on Pfizer, as the declining revenue was mostly due to lower sales from drugs that lost their patent protection. The focus is now on Pfizer's and BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine candidate, which started its late-stage clinical trial this week.

Many small businesses would have gone under without financial aid during widespread closures caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Carolima’s Lowcountry Cuisine owner Sameka Jenkins said at an Axios virtual event Tuesday.

Zoom in: Jenkins said her South Carolina-based company received an Economic Injury Disaster Loan from the Small Business Administration to ease the financial effects of the crisis.

Female business owners often have less access to capital because women tend lack relationships with bankers, National Association of Women Business Owners CEO Jen Earle said on Tuesday at an Axios virtual event.

What she's saying: "Women are naturally risk-averse, and so a lot of times they don't want to take on huge chunks of debt to make their business grow. "They've done it kind of by bootstrapping, by utilizing their credit cards, by using personal funding. "

HBO's dystopian superhero series "Watchmen" has earned a leading 26 Emmy nominations, the Television Academy announced Tuesday.

The big picture: TV shows are under a different spotlight this year, with streaming services reaping the benefit from America staying home in 2020. Netflix broke the record for most nominations of any network with 160, while shows from Disney+ and Apple TV+ received their first-ever nods.

Amid the heightened stress from the pandemic, protests and the election, media companies are leaning into content that will help users cope with anxiety.

Driving the news: The stress relief app "Calm" is getting made into its own TV show.

The Federal Reserve is extending the emergency lending programs it launched in response to the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus to the end of the year.

Why it matters: The Fed's programs were originally set to expire in September, but the central bank is now signaling that the economy will need its support for a longer period than anticipated. Congress, too, is facing looming deadlines for programs like extra unemployment benefits set to expire in coming days, when lawmakers initially hoped the coronavirus would have run its course.

Deal volume for the media and telecom industry has slowed significantly during the coronavirus, according to the latest report from PwC.

Yes, but: Some companies, like Industry Dive, with healthy balance sheets and access to capital are still trying to find opportunistic investments.

Industry Dive, a business journalism company, is acquiring the marketing arm of NewsCred, a global technology company, executives tell Axios.

Why it matters: Industry Dive is a niche B2B media company, but it's long been profitable, and it's pretty sizable.

RedBall Acquisition, a special-purpose acquisition company focused on buying a professional sports franchise, filed for a $500 million IPO.

Details: It's sponsored by private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners, and co-chaired by former Oakland A's executive Billy Beane.

Baseball might get canceled this season, putting TV networks and pay-TV providers in a position to lose as much as $587 million in national TV ad dollars, according to a new report from iSpotTV, a TV ad measurement company.

Why it matters: These figures are on top of mounting ad losses for the television industry. EMarketer expects television ad revenue to be down $10 billion in the first half of the year, due mostly to the coronavirus.

There have been over 546 total press freedom incidents in the U.S. in the past few months, with roughly 137 — over 25% — coming from law enforcement, according to new data from the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.

The state of play: Of the 125 physical attacks on the press during the recent protests, 77 have come from law enforcement.

Venture capital activity has persisted in the COVID-19 era, as investors and founders have accepted virtual meetings as viable alternatives to the in-person standard.

What comes next: If society returns to "normal" at some point next year, will that also apply to pitch meetings, board meetings, etc?

The District of Columbia is requiring visitors from high-risk areas on nonessential travel to self-isolate for 14 days, the city's health department announced last week.

What's new: The city released a list of 27 high-risk states on Monday, which will be updated every two weeks. California, Florida, Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin and Texas are among those listed.

Rapidly falling offshore wind power prices in key European markets could also bode well for the emerging U.S. sector, according to findings from a peer-reviewed study in Nature Energy.

Why it matters: This is a turning point in the economics of offshore wind — a potentially massive source of carbon-free power.

More S&P 500 companies are providing guidance on expected earnings per share as they report their second quarter earnings than last quarter, plus more are beating estimates, FactSet data shows.

By the numbers: During the Q1 earnings season, 185 S&P 500 companies withdrew or did not provide annual EPS guidance, while only 100 companies provided guidance.

The dollar index fell to its weakest level since June 2018 on Monday, accelerating a slide that has put it on pace for its worst month in nearly a decade. The greenback's value against global currencies has declined by 6.4% over the last three months.

What's happening: The dollar's weakness is a reflection of the market's disillusionment with the U.S., investors say, as the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic has left much to be desired.

The coronavirus-driven recession is creating two parallel economic realities and they are growing further apart by the day.

What's happening: Many people with financial assets and white-collar jobs have actually benefited from the economic downturn, while the rest of the country is doing its best to stay afloat.

Moderna's stock soared 9% on Monday following a new federal grant and the official start of a late-stage trial for the company's coronavirus vaccine.

The bottom line: Moderna now has received almost $1 billion in taxpayer funds to help develop a vaccine that is tied to the work of federal scientists, and the stock market reactions signal that investors think they'll reap a lot of the reward if the vaccine is proven to work.

Remington Arms Company filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday despite a recent surge in gun sales amid the coronavirus pandemic and anti-racism protests, per the Wall Street Journal.

Why it matters: The 204-year-old firm is considered America's oldest gun-maker. Its Chapter 11 filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Decatur, Alabama, marks the second time since 2018 that it's filed for bankruptcy. Remington was facing a wrongful death lawsuit from families of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting victims. The second bankruptcy filing was prompted by a "struggle to pay legal fees and the high interest payments on its debt," the New York Times notes.

Flashback: What happened to Remington?