JOBS

Everyone Reading the Jobs Report Yesterday

U.S. employers added 2.5 million jobs in May and the unemployment rate dropped to 13.3% from 14.7% in May.

It might be the biggest upset since Appalachian State knocked off Michigan. Many economists predicted the unemployment rate would surge to 20% or more given the wide-scale destruction COVID-19 inflicted on the economy. 

Instead, May gave us the biggest monthly jobs gain on record. 

Let’s dive into the numbers…

• By industry: Hotels and restaurants, which suffered the worst of the damage from lockdowns, added 1.2 million jobs in May after losing 7.5 million in April. Retailers also tacked on 368,000 jobs following dramatic cuts. 
• By race: The unemployment rate among African Americans and Asians ticked up in May; for white and Latino workers it decreased.
• By gender: Women, who had been making historic gains in the job market pre-pandemic, have been disproportionately hurt by this economic crisis. In May, the employment rate for women was 14.5%, compared to 12.2% for men. 

What to make of it all?

Experts say the labor market is on a sugar high from the trillions in government stimulus that was poured in to blunt the economic impact of the shutdowns. And all good highs wear off eventually...

• Many of May’s job gains can be attributed to businesses calling up the employees they laid off and telling them to come back to work once they got the green light from the government.
• 21 million workers are still unemployed, the unemployment rate is at a level not seen since 1940, and the emergency government aid will gradually wear off.  

Bottom line: Economists are giving their crystal balls an extra scrub this weekend, but they’re certain a full recovery in the labor market is years away. 

+ Bonus: 2020 will be remembered for a lot of reasons, but one of them will be for giving us charts that look like this.

Axios

SOCIAL MEDIA

Leading by Leaving

✌—Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian.

Yesterday, Ohanian resigned from the company's board and urged it to replace him with a black candidate. He said he'll use future gains on his Reddit stock to "serve the black community," and pledged $1 million to Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp. 

Zoom out: Reddit, like its big brothers Facebook and Twitter, has found itself at the center of censorship debates. 

• Former Reddit President Ellen Pao criticized Reddit’s current CEO Steve Huffman for not shutting down r/The_Donald, the Reddit channel for Donald Trump supporters. "You don't get to say BLM when reddit nurtures and monetizes white supremacy and hate all day long," she tweeted.
• Huffman has said the company is exploring solutions, while Republican lawmakers threatened legal action if the company censors the channel.

Ohanian, who is married to tennis icon Serena Williams, is trying to stay above the fray. “I’m writing this as a father who needs to be able to answer his black daughter when she asks: ‘What did you do?’” he wrote on his blog.

INVESTING

Day Traders > Paid Traders

As the stock market bounces back in historic fashion, a noticeable gap has emerged between the relative hype levels of individual and institutional investors. 

• In a Financial Times/Savanta poll, 71% of U.K.-based wealth managers said their clients bought stock after the market plunged. 
• Contrast that with views of the managers themselves—only 4% think the FTSE 100 (the benchmark U.K. stock index) will rise above a certain level this year.  

Just look at airlines

JETS, the once-tiny exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking major airlines, has seen a massive inflow of money from day traders since the coronavirus pandemic sent airline stocks spiraling in March.  

• The number of Robinhood users holding JETS grew to nearly 30,000 this past week, pushing the fund past $1 billion in assets.
• Meanwhile, Warren Buffett dropped all his U.S. airline stocks during the pandemic.

Bottom line: The WSJ argues that memories of 2009’s stock rally have individual investors keen to “buy the dip” this time around. And with trading apps like Robinhood skyrocketing in popularity, hordes of eager investors are just a few taps away. 

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TELECOM

Everyone’s Gung-Ho for Jio

Like Adam Sandler’s dramatic acting abilities, India's Jio Platforms has gone from under-the-radar to the talk of the town. 

Yesterday, a group led by private equity firm Silver Lake Partners agreed to invest an additional $602 million in Jio on top of the $750 million investment Silver Lake already made last month. Jio is the digital arm of Reliance Industries, an Indian conglomerate and the country's most valuable firm.

• This news comes on the heels of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund investing $1.2 billion in Jio on Thursday...which comes on the heels of a $1.5 billion investment from private equity firm KKR in May...which comes on the heels of Facebook pouring in $5.7 billion in April. 

What's all the fuss?

Jio is an entry point into India’s telecom market which is, in a word, ginormous—its 600 million internet users is second only to China. 

• Jio bet big on providing cheap 4G service for customers, but the more than $12 billion it’s raised in the past two months shows that investors are also interested in its e-commerce, payments, and 5G potential. 

Bottom line: Remember the name.

ENVIRONMENT

Checking In on the Climate...

Oof. You’d think our two months of jigsaw puzzles and Rube Goldberg machines would show up in pollution measurements, but not really—CO2 levels in the atmosphere hit a fresh record in May at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. 

• “The buildup of CO2 is a bit like trash in a landfill. As we keep emitting, it keeps piling up,” said geochemist Ralph Keeling.
• “The crisis has slowed emissions, but not enough to show up perceptibly at Mauna Loa. What will matter much more is the trajectory we take coming out of this situation.” 

+ If you’re looking to get away from it all...head to the Southern Ocean directly south of Australia. There, scientists have discovered the “cleanest” air on Earth, completely free of aerosols generated by human activity.

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Michael Jordan and Jordan Brand pledged $100 million to organizations fighting for racial equality and social justice.
• The U.S. is allowing two flights per week from Chinese passenger airlines following a trade dustup with Beijing. 
• Uber Eats will promote black-owned businesses on its app and waive delivery fees at those spots for the remainder of the year.
• ICYMI: There was a massive fuel oil spill in Russia over a week ago and Vladimir Putin is faulting the billionaire owner of a nickel company.
• Brooks Brothers’s financial health is uncertain, at best.

SPONSORED BY THE MOTLEY FOOL

We’re pretty bookish. So when we were brainstorming the next installment in our Ultimate Guide to Investing, we asked some of the brightest Fools from The Motley Fool if they had any book recommendations. And boy did they. Whether you’re new to investing or not, this reading list can help you master the market. We know we’re biased, but we think our Investor’s Book Guide is a real page turner.

BREW'S BETS

Summer school: We put together a list of resources to learn more about the Black Lives Matter movement. If you want recs for podcasts, books, movies, and more, check out this article.

Weekend Conversation Starters: 

• If you emerged from a 75-day silent retreat like this guy, would you just...go back?
• Try to come up with a better example of irony than this
• This pizza party bus pulls into your driveway. What do you do?
• On a serious note...what policies could solve police violence?

FROM THE CREW

Catch Up on the "New Normal"

This spring, we've spent Saturday newsletters exploring the various ways COVID-19 will (or will not) fundamentally transform some industries. You can dive into our previous editions here:

1. The future of cities
2. Big Tech
3. Virtual worlds
4. Higher ed
5. Travel
6. Remote work 

What other topics or industries do you think we should cover in this series? . 

SATURDAY HEADLINES

Theme parks are slowly reopening, and as they adjust to a new reality, some truly odd stories caught our eye. But one of these theme-park-themed headlines is a little too far-fetched. Can you spot the fake?

1. "Japanese theme parks urge guests not to scream on roller coasters"
2. "'Star Wars' stormtroopers are enforcing new social distancing rules at Disney World"
3. "No people? No problem. Theme park uses giant teddies to test California coaster"
4. "Six Flags set to lower height standards in hopes of attracting younger customers"

SATURDAY HEADLINES ANSWER

Height restrictions are based on safety, not getting 5-year-olds to spend their hard earned cash.