Sleep-streams on
TikTok are earning
teens money overnight,
said Taylor Lorenz in
The New York Times. A
new trend on the popu-
lar short-video app
involves teens “prop-
ping up their phones
on their nightstands,
crawling under the cov-
ers, and hitting the live
button”—and waking
up to a viral moment.
Oscar Reyes, 18, said
he gained 6,000 follow-
ers during one recent
streaming session. “I
slept like a baby,” he
said. “I felt like people
were watching over
me.” In some cases,
viewers are rewarding
their favorite sleeper
by donating digital
“coins” that can be
cashed out for money.
One streamer made
$50 by “taping his
phone to the window”
to “livestream his white
Tesla ‘sleeping’ in the
driveway.” Sound like
a snooze? Yes, but the
appeal is “the pop-up
community that forms
in the stream’s chat
section,” as well as the
“authenticity” of seeing
“behind the scenes of
someone’s life.”Dream job
BUSINESS
Deep divisions were evident this
week as lawmakers and President
Trump began negotiating “an
emergency relief package to bol-
ster an economy battered by the
coronavirus crisis,” said Sheryl
Gay Stolberg and Jim Tankersley
in The New York Times. With
markets collapsing, Trump called
for an elimination of payroll taxes
through the end of 2020. Most
legislators of both parties opposed the plan, which
would cost $700 billion, but some “believe it
could ultimately be included in a broader package
focused on sick pay, unemployment benefits, and
food assistance.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said
Democrats would come up with their own plan,
including help for hourly workers who fall ill.The president may not seem to
worry that much about public
health, but at least “he’s been
quick to jump on the idea of a
major economic stimulus pack-
age,” said Jonathan Bernstein in
Bloomberg.com. The enormous
payroll-tax cut he asked for in
“an impulsive announcement”
isn’t likely to get much support.
But he’s opened the door to a
major spending package, which the economy
badly needs, and fortunately the Democrats want
to “pass something quickly,” too. The final bill
probably won’t look much like the payroll-tax cut
and industry bailouts that Trump seems to prefer.
But that won’t matter much to President Trump,
who cares more about results than ideology.Economy: Washington debates stimulus plan
Travel: Airlines devastated by coronavirus
Major airlines cut flights this week as the coronavirus crisis caused
a dire plunge in passenger travel, said Chris Isidore in CNNBusiness
.com. Delta and American reduced flights, following the lead of United
and JetBlue; Delta said it “will slash its international flights by between
20 percent and 25 percent and trim domestic flights by 10 percent to
15 percent.” United president Scott Kirby called the current situation
“far worse than the 40 percent drop in demand following the 9/11 ter-
rorist attacks.” Taking into account cancellations, United’s bookings
have fallen 70 percent. Delta’s CEO said that bookings could fall fur-
ther, and warned that if things get worse, “we can go deeper.”
Boeing: New chief says company was too greedy
Boeing’s new CEO, David Calhoun, sharply criticized his predecessor,
largely “laying the blame for the company’s 737 Max crisis” at his
feet, said Natalie Kitroeff and David Gelles in The New York Times.
Before becoming CEO, Calhoun had “vigorously defended” Dennis
Muilenburg. But last week he savaged Muilenburg for his focus on
financial performance, saying Muilenburg “ran over the rainbow for
the pot of gold.” Boeing’s board had “never seriously questioned that
strategy” because the company “was enjoying its best run in years.”
Calhoun insisted Boeing could fix itself. “We have a backup plan,” he
said. “I am the backup plan.”
Antitrust: Senators urge scrutiny of Google
Senators of both parties took aim at Google in a push for more vigorous
antitrust enforcement, said Adi Robertson in TheVerge.com. At an anti-
trust hearing this week, senators questioned if Google engaged in “self-
preferencing,” a tactic in which a company “uses dominance in one area
to privilege its other services.” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D.-Minn.) intro-
duced a bill to limit “exclusionary conduct,” and Sens. Josh Hawley
(R-Mo.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) “urged Attorney General
William Barr to include Search in a Google antitrust investigation.”
Unions: Former UAW head charged
“Federal prosecutors have charged Gary Jones, the former head of the
United Auto Workers, in a corruption probe” of the union, said Eric
Lawrence and John Wisely in the Detroit Free Press. Jones resigned last
year after federal papers in a related case implicated him in a scheme
to embezzle money that was spent “on meals, cigars, and other lavish
goodies.” The scandal has already ensnared other union officials, with
13 people pleading guilty since 2017.32
The news at a glance
Reuters,
Te
slaAre tax cuts an economic cure-all?QThe Dow Jones industrial
average’s 1,465-point decline
in the middle of the week put
the index 20 percent off its
Feb. 21 record, placing the
market in “bear” territory
and ending an extraordinary
11-year bull run.
The Wall Street Journal
QThe airline trade associa-
tion said that airlines could
lose $63 billion in passen-
ger revenue for 2020 if the
coronavirus pandemic is
contained in the countries al-
ready affected, and $113 bil-
lion if it spreads worldwide.
CNBC.com
Q77,598 U.S. students gradu-
ated with degrees in comput-
er science in 2018. In 2019,
33,959 students graduated
from coding boot camps that
promise a cheaper program-
ming education.
Qz.com
QU.S. job growth for Febru-
ary came in at 273,000
jobs, well over economists’
175,000-job projection.
Wages also grew, by 3 per-
cent, though at a slower rate
than in January.
Axios.comQTesla, looking for a loca-
tion for its Cybertruck plant,
plans $3.5 billion a year in
capital spending through- Taking advantage of
its soaring share price, the
company raised $2.3 billion
in a stock sale last month.
Los Angeles Times
QWorld regulators fined
banks a record $10 billion in
15 months through the end
of 2009, with 60.5 percent of
the fines coming for money-
laundering violations. That
contrasts with $26 billion for
the entire decade from 2008
to 2018.
Los Angeles Times
The bottom line