Financial Daily Dose 5.7.2021 | Top Story: Improving Unemployment Figures Buoys Hopes for Strong April Jobs Report

New jobless claims fell dramatically in new figures released on Thursday, as “the improving public health situation and the easing of pandemic-related restrictions allowed the labor market to continue its gradual return to normal” - NYTimes and WSJ

The next challenge? Matching the millions still out of work with the companies that are increasingly finding themselves short-staffed. Beyond traditional issues of skill discrepancies or an unwillingness to enter a new field, recent surveys find that fear of getting or spreading Covid and a lack of child care (especially without all schools open) are extra-2021 reasons for the gap - WSJ and Bloomberg

Some thoughts on what all of that could mean for Jobs Report Friday - NYTimes and WSJ and MarketWatch

The Federal Reserve issued its semiannual Financial Stability Report this week, a document that considers “potential vulnerabilities” in the financial system, and, well, there was much to discuss. Not only was the U.S. sorting out a recovery from an unprecedented economic crash, but it faced the rise of meme stocks, cryptocurrencies, and hedge fund melt downs - NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg and MarketWatch

All the hits from SEC Chief Gary Gensler’s day on the Hill before the House Financial Services Committee - NYTimes and WSJ and MarketWatch and Law360

Walmart’s health division is acquiring telehealth company MeMD “as demand for virtual care remains elevated for Americans who got used to seeing doctors from their homes during lockdowns.” The move is seen as a direct response to Amazon’s increasing forays into healthcare, including telehealth, for its workers and beyond - Bloomberg and WSJ

Sports-media outlet The Athletic has reportedly suspended merger talks with Axios and is instead discussing a merger in some form with the New York Times - WSJ

Based on early numbers, ViacomCBS’s long-running but recently rebranded streaming platform, Paramount+, has been delivering, adding 6 million new subscribers to the service in Q1. The company’s free (ad-supported) Pluto offering has also proven popular - NYTimes

A NY state investigation has found that the public comment period on the FCC’s proposal to end net neutrality four years ago was marred by nearly 18 million fake comments—nearly 80% of all public comments filed - WSJ and Law360 and HuffPost

Wells Fargo admitted in a regulatory filing that the CFPB is investigating certain of the bank’s past debit card monthly fee disclosures regarding minimum qualifying usage to trigger waiver of service fees – Law360

Yeah, so my MN Wild went on to lose this one in OT the other night. But for those of you unfamiliar with his work, please appreciate these late-third-period heroics from Kirill the Thrill. Absolutely ridiculous – SoHockey

Stay safe, get vaxxed, be good to your Mom, and have a great weekend,
MDR