Key facts, figures and dates

Scientists say the microbe - found in the wild near Lake Victoria - has enormous potential.

Having a snooze proved costly for two alleged thieves from Owen Sound.

Some garden centres in the area opened Friday morning with physical distancing measures in place after the provincial government lifted the closures earlier this week.

Erin Ironsides has felt the economic impact of the pandemic first-hand after recently being laid off from the airline she worked for.

The Ontario government has given hardware stores leave to reopen, as of Saturday, but the experience for shoppers will not be what it used to be.

Did Pelosi or Trump gain the upper hand?

Scarlett Johansson is back for a solo movie, coming out May 1, 2020.

Darth versus Luke. A levitating Yoda. And the greatest duel of them all.

The black comics audience should be more demanding after seeing what the HBO series accomplished.

“Arise: A Simple Story” coasts on its gentle visual language, but is a good option for those looking for a family-friendly game.

TidalWave Productions is releasing Buttigieg and Bloomberg comic books to sit alongside its Warren biography.

Girls who fled Boko Haram attacks are being enslaved and raped by human traffickers who then sell their babies.

A newly opened Delaware seafood restaurant has a unique item on its menu: robot servers. The machines are the latest example of intelligent machines working in the restaurant industry.

For months now, Nuro’s robotically piloted vehicles have been quietly delivering groceries to restaurants and homes around Houston, the vehicles’ sensors mapping the city as they go.

Boston Dynamics began began leasing their robotic dogs to the public this year. One of their first customers: The Massachusetts State Police.

Walmart, the nation's largest employer, announced a partnership with Nuro, a Silicon Valley startup called this week. The two companies will begin delivering groceries to customers in Houston this year using autonomous vehicles.

Goff is using play-action more often than any other quarterback in 2018.

Washington will be without their starting right guard, right tackle, left guard, left tackle, center and starting quarterback on Sunday, making the Dallas defense a very solid pickup.

Since 2002, the first year the league expanded to 32 teams, the Chargers have made the playoffs six times, just one of which saw them advance further than the divisional round. That could change this season.

Welcome to Wall Street Insider, where we take you behind the scenes of the finance team's biggest scoops and deep dives from the past week. 

If you aren't yet a subscriber to Wall Street Insider, you can sign up here.

For certain corners of Wall Street, dealmaking is happening faster than ever. While M&A activity has plunged, bankers primed to help companies navigate the financial fallout, especially restructuring and debt-raising specialists, have been crushed with demand.

Alex Morrell took a look at how top bankers — known for putting in long hours curating a white-glove experience for clients — are finding they can still provide service from afar. It turns out, when you take away the time spent at airports and restaurants, and when Zoom calls can be arranged in minutes, things can move at lightning speed. 

Read the full story here: 

'Stunning efficiency': How remote dealmaking could mean a permanent lifestyle change for some bankers

Meanwhile, it's been a tale of two approaches to job cuts in recent days. On Tuesday, Airbnb CEO and cofounder Brian Chesky emailed staff about sweeping layoffs that were impacting 1,900 people, highlighting where the company will focus in the future and what exit packages employees should expect. You can read the full email here. 

Over at WeWork, things have been rolling out gradually. Meghan Morris and Dakin Campbell wrote about a leaked WeWork document that revealed a huge reorg under way for people who manage its buildings. Here's how the new structure works — and the complex process for staff to save their jobs. Alex Nicoll and Meghan also reported that Flatiron School has slashed at least 100 jobs, building on their scoop last week that WeWork started making cuts in several key departments, with IT alone losing some 200 jobs. 

Keep reading for a preview of changes in store for Bloomberg terminals, a rundown of Blackstone's giant commercial real estate business, and a look at how PIMCO stocked up with $5.5 billion for private-credit strategies since the beginning of the year.

Have a safe and healthy weekend, 

Meredith 

Inside Blackstone's massive CRE business

Blackstone is the largest commercial real-estate investor in the world, with $160 billion in investor capital. Alex Nicoll chatted with Blackstone real estate's three heads of acquisition, and its head of debt origination, to learn more about their business. 

They spoke about some of their most interesting deals, and why Blackstone's global scale and thematic investing style is a huge advantage. 

Read the full story here: 

Meet the 4 dealmakers driving Blackstone's $325 billion commercial real estate portfolio. They walked us through how they're thinking about opportunities in the downturn.

A Facebook office deal is a key test 

The coronavirus crisis has thrown into question whether tenants will ever occupy office space the same way again as companies and workforces around the world grow accustomed to remote work.

Facebook has been in negotiations for months to lease over 700,000 square feet at the Farley Building on Manhattan's West Side. The rapid expansion of tech in recent years has propelled the city's office market, and Dan Geiger spoke with real-estate execs who laid out why Facebook's deal is a key barometer. 

Read the full story here:

A blockbuster Facebook office deal is a make-or-break moment for the future of commercial real estate. 3 leasing experts lay out the stakes.

Coming soon to a terminal near you

As remote work becomes a long-term reality, a technology staple of Wall Street is in store for a makeover. Mark Flatman, global head of core terminal at Bloomberg, told Dan DeFrancesco that the financial technology giant is considering ways to revamp its ubiquitous terminal.

One particular area of focus for Flatman and his team has been screen space, as many customers aren't working with the typical four-screen display. Another area that has gotten increased attention is mobile, where usage has jumped. 

Read the full story here: 

Bloomberg is eyeing big changes to its iconic terminals to make work-from-home easier. The exec leading its strategy laid out how he's rethinking screen space and mobile features.

A new pile of cash for private credit

Industry observers expect a surge in interest in specialized credit shops that have proven to be winners in distressed situations. And Bradley Saacks revealed how PIMCO has tapped into that demand, with sources saying that the fixed-income giant has raised $5.5 billion in private-credit strategies since the beginning of the year.

PIMCO's nearly $4 billion Tactical Opportunities fund lost roughly 15% in March, but was able to avoid forced selling, sources tell Business Insider, and even added to positions in the month. That fund alone has raised $250 million — and is just one of several private-credit funds that PIMCO has raised money for.

Read the full story here: 

PIMCO has raised $5.5 billion for private-credit funds despite a hellacious March — and is telling investors it's the best opportunity in a decade

A tax break for big companies with heavy debt

But some tax experts are concerned that the tax break is too indiscriminate: In addition to helping troubled companies, they say, boosting tax deductions on interest payments is going to give a lift to companies that aren't being hurt by the pandemic, or whose problems have nothing to do with the coronavirus. 

Read the full story here:

A $13 billion tax break tucked into the coronavirus stimulus plan will save some big companies tens of millions — even if they aren't ailing. Here's how it works and who could benefit.

On the move

Dakin Campbell reported that Goldman Sachs has hired the distressed-situations and bankruptcy expert Kurt Hoffman as a managing director in a business that handles one-off loans for clients. The move comes just as industries battered by the economic shutdown are in need of emergency financing. 

Investing and hedge funds

• SoftBank's brutal treatment of WeWork founder Adam Neumann shows that it has given up any hope for Silicon Valley and it's leaving a scorched landscape in its wake
• April hedge fund performance numbers are in — here's how big names like Third Point and Renaissance turned things around after a rough March
• WeWork pain is still hitting mom and pops' mutual funds as managers like Fidelity slash valuations further
• 'Quantamental' investing is suddenly a buzzword in the hedge fund world, and we talked to the CEO of a fintech that just nabbed $8 million to help power the approach
• Steve Cohen's former right-hand man is launching his own fund. Here's everything we know about Tom Conheeney's EmeraldRidge Advisors.
• A data 'super contango' makes oil the new data, not the other way around. Here's why.

Careers

• Deloitte is delaying many of its full-time hires and switched summer internships to a 2-week online intro course. Here's everything we know.
• Jobs for thousands of young consultants are being upended. From delaying start dates to cutting internships, here's what 8 top firms are doing.
• Investment manager TIAA is offering 75% of its US employees buyouts and some could get their full salaries for nearly 2 years

Real estate 

• The CEO of real estate heavy-hitter Eastdil explains the types of deals that are must-do right now — and warns that a 'de-retailing' trend is set to accelerate
• Inside the drama over control of the iconic Chrysler Building: A real-estate tycoon and a prestigious college are renegotiating a critical $150 million deal

Fintech and e-commerce

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How waste is dealt with on the world's largest cruise ship

The 30-year fixed-rate average moved slightly higher this week, increasing to 3.26 percent.

The small town mayor is raking in some cash from A-list donors.

The Star Wars actor faced backlash for his reaction, but he later made clear that young Theodore wasn't the target of his ire.

A discussion about the impeachment hearings turned into a showdown between the co-hosts.

Review of "This America" by Jill Lepore and "The Heartland" by Kristin L. Hoganson

Welcome to the Resistance, Mooch. Better late than never.

Every single one of them is supposed to be exercising oversight of the executive branch.

It’s another way in which the president’s supposedly narrowly focused tariffs have trickled down.

You can easily connect external storage drives to iPad and iPhone, providing easy access to all the files and data on those drives via the Files app. This includes connecting flash drives, USB hard drives, SD cards, and just about any other storage medium to iPhone, iPad Pro, and iPad you can think of, as ... Read More

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strataconf: Innovative ways journalists are using data to tell stories http://t.co/y8RVUwHO4G Global open data, scholarships, mapping a civil war & more

The technology giant says it is moving to remote work in order to help reduce the spread of coronavirus.

Assuredly, IoT (Internet of Things) has the potential to improve customer experience. The rapid expansion of technology has impacted businesses in many ways. Besides, IoT enables data sharing, inventory management, security, and increased efficiency and productivity. But, what is IoT? Well, in simple words, IoT is the network of interconnected devices that embedded with sensors, software, […]

The post Why You Need to Consider IoT in Improving Customer Experience appeared first on ReadWrite.

Did you know that, on average, 51% of companies are currently using marketing automation, and more than half of B2B companies (58%) plan to adopt the technology? The statistic may be mind-boggling, but it is very much justified. Companies and marketers are always in search of ways that make things easy and convenient for them. Automating […]

The post Marketing Automation and Customer Service: How are they Connected? appeared first on ReadWrite.

All the latest Covid-19 updates from around the world.

Shopping for potatoes? Here’s how to know which kind to buy, and the best way to store them.

Continue reading "How to Buy and Store Potatoes" »

velocityconf: LAST DAY for #velocityconf EU call for speakers http://t.co/qShofQCDPl Share your best #WPO, #Ops, and #DevOps stories.

Police have launched a manhunt for the perpetrators of the murder of an 89-year-old woman in an old age home in Queenstown in the Eastern Cape.

Selling your services and wares online can be challenging, as today’s digital shoppers are smart and demanding. You need a customer-focused approach right from the start. The customer is the most significant pillar of modern businesses, so you need to build a genuine relationship with them if you want your online store to survive. Read […]

Jamestown, Williamsburg, Yorktown

Kingston, Ontario

Boston, Massachusetts

The Amateur Traveler talks to Erik Smith (who was a guest on Travel to America’s National Parks - Amateur Traveler Episode 121) about Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. We talk about all the different geothermal highlights of the park including Old Faithful, other geysers, thermal pools, etc. We also talk about wildlife, hiking, camping, floating down the Snake river, the grand canyon of the yellowstone, the grandeur of the Tetons (and the strange original of the name Teton).

The Amateur Traveler talks to travel writer Jeanine Barone about Estonia. Estonia is a small forested country with picturesque islands, medieval fortifications, a thriving design community, a great restaurant scene and a young and vibrant culture. Estonia only recently regained its independence from the U.S.S.R. (1991) but is thriving and filled with innovation. This interview, like all the Amateur Traveler interviews, was recorded with Skype… which is headquartered in Estonia. We talked about hotels, restaurants, guide books, wine bars and chocolate.

Hear about travel to Stockholm, Sweden as the Amateur Traveler talks to Malin from HauteCompass.com about Sweden's beautiful capital city.

Hear about travel to Charleston, South Carolina as the Amateur Traveler talks to Jen Leo from This Week in Travel and her husband John Caldwell about their many trips to one of their favorite U.S. cities.

Hear about travel to Boston, Massachusetts as the Amateur Traveler talks to Lillie Marshall from AroundTheWorldL.com about her hometown.

Sen. Ted Cruz was apparently about to get into mullet territory. He hadn’t had a haircut in three months. Things were looking grim for the Texas senator. Thankfully, Shelley Luther is able to do something about that. Luther is both famous and free after a viral clip of her standing up to a judge who…

The post Ted Cruz Stops by Shelly Luther’s Salon for a Trim, ‘True Authenticity’ Leaves Her Sobbing appeared first on The Western Journal.