They're Reading The Blog -- Fast And Furious -- 25 Minutes -- October 6, 2020

First things first: watching highlights of the BLM -- wow, there's more contact in professional basketball than we see in the NFL and almost as much as we see in the NHL. Wow. One wonders, if in addition to all the other reasons BLM viewership is dropping, soccer moms just don't like all that physicality in basketball. And, of course, "traveling" is no longer even a thing in the BLM. 

Spanish flu: lasted two years; no vaccine; four waves; 1/3 of global population infected. Chinese flu: no vaccine; second wave; we've just begun. Link here. 

Wow, how many times have I said the Covid-19 pandemic is widening the gap between the haves and the have-nots. Now, today, it's a headline story over at The WSJ.  The K-shaped recovery was reported weeks ago:

A two-track recovery is emerging from the country’s pandemic-driven economic contraction. Some workers, companies and regions show signs of coming out fine or even stronger. The rest are mired in a deep decline with an uncertain path ahead.

Just months ago, economists were predicting a V-shaped recovery—a rapid rebound from a steep fall—or a U-shaped path—a prolonged downturn before healing began.

What has developed is more like a K. On the upper arm of the K are well-educated and well-off people, businesses tied to the digital economy or supplying domestic necessities, and regions such as tech-forward Western cities. By and large, they are prospering. 

Exhibit 1: food makers add staff, capacity as pandemic persists. Just what Campbell, Kellogg needed. Warren Buffett is probably smiling this morning

Big food companies are working to increase their output and protect workers as the virus continues to spread, representing an opportunity for elevated sales to persist but also a risk to operations if the public-health crisis hurts their own productivity. 

Campbell’s Chief Executive Mark Clouse said surging demand for products including Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers prompted the company to expand production and hire even more workers than it might need at one time, in an effort to compensate for employees who need to rest given heavy workloads or are out sick or quarantining.

This one hurts: Southwest Airlines asks employees to accept pay cuts to avoid furloughs. By the way, there may be a silver lining in the pandemic with regard to air travelers and airlines.