This week’s latest initial unemployment filings numbered 2.4 million, a “slight drop-off in the wave of historically high weekly filings” since the pandemic hit the U.S. economy. Don’t get too excited, though. Continuing benefit payouts are in the 25 million range as states struggle to keep up with the surge in claims since early March – WSJ and MarketWatch and Marketplace

Here’s why those numbers are likely well under-representative of the true jobless scene –  MarketWatch

While we’re at it, devastating new analysis out from a group of economists suggests that “42 percent of recent layoffs will result in permanent job loss” despite current hopes for broader rehiring – NYTimes

All of which only buttresses Fed Chair Powell’s declaration at a virtual Fed forum that the U.S. economy is in the midst of a “downturn without modern precedent” and the “path to recovery is wildly unclear” – NYTimes and Bloomberg

As well as the Treasury Secretary’s somewhat begrudging admission that more stimulus legislation is likely necessary – Bloomberg

Former S&P Global employee Andrew Park has filed a wrongful-termination claim against the ratings giant after he was fired, allegedly in retaliation for having “briefed Senate Banking Committee staff members on the growing risks in the $1.2 trillion market for loans that finance private-equity buyouts,” including risks due to rating shopping in the industry – WSJ

Car-rental company Hertz needs to resolve issues with a creditor group today or it will need to seek Chapter 11 protection. There’s also a chance top shareholder Carl Icahn could “still swoop in with a last-minute rescue to protect a $1.6 billion investment, now worth about $170 million as of Thursday’s close” – Bloomberg

As Amazon works on shifting operations back into pre-pandemic mode, the online retail behemoth has shifted its Prime Day from July to September this year in an effort to ease “strains on the company’s warehouses due to surging demand” – WSJ

Streetwise on why a healthy dose of unbounded American optimism has made investors jump back into a market full of risks – WSJ

An interesting take on what the business world’s rapid turn to Zoom during the pandemic could mean for legal discovery in the coming months and years – Law360

Cars? Please. How creative can YOU get with your garage during the lockdown? – NYTimes

Have a safe and happy holiday weekend. We’ll see you back here on Tuesday morning.