News From the Control Tower - 7/8/2020

Interesting reads this week include:

1. The road to a durable economic recovery still has a lot of twists and turns left.

Job Numbers Are a Good Sign But Not a Victory Flag

2. Improvement of roads and rails has accelerated, but the crisis has strained budgets, muddling prospects for the projects and the real estate developments that count on them.

‘Time Is Always Money’: Pandemic Lockdowns Hasten Infrastructure Work

3. Creative workers with multiple gigs are among the worst hit by the recession and face long roads to recovery.

In Los Angeles, an Economy Built on Freelancers Crumbles

4. The breadth of the Hong Kong security law and rapidly deteriorating relations between China and the West raise the prospect that international businesses or their employees could eventually become targets.

Hong Kong Security Law Means It’s No Longer Business as Usual 

5. Some accountants have filed an SEC complaint saying the company should write down the value of shale driller XTO Energy. Exxon says it is in compliance with standards.

Exxon Mobil Resists Write-Downs as Oil, Gas Prices Plummet

Bonus:  A Black-Market Fireworks Dealer Explains This Year’s Boom