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LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - Italy hopes other EU countries will reopen their borders to Italian citizens on June 15, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Saturday, as coronavirus travel restrictions across Europe are gradually eased.

Italy - which has the world's fourth-highest COVID-19 death toll after the United States, Britain and Brazil - opened its doors to other EU citizens on June 3, but most European countries are still largely off-limits for Italian nationals.

"June 15 is an important date for many of our citizens," Di Maio told a news conference during a visit to neighboring Slovenia.

Slovenian Foreign Minister Anze Logar told the same news conference: "Health conditions in Italy are improving fast ... I'm looking optimistically towards June 15."

Di Maio said Germany and Switzerland have also indicated that they could open their borders to Italians from that date.

He said he hoped border openings would apply to people from all parts of Italy, including those areas worst-affected by the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Italy has so far reported about 234,500 coronavirus cases and 33,770 deaths. [L4N2AY3AS]

Slovenia, which last month declared an end to its coronavirus epidemic, has reported 1,479 coronavirus cases and 109 deaths.

In recent weeks, it has allowed the entry of people from neighboring Croatia, Hungary and Austria.

(Reporting By Marja Novak; Editing by Helen Popper)

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Italy hopes EU nations will open borders to Italians from June 15 - Yahoo News

To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports about the labor markets recovery may be greatly exaggerated.

The U.S. is undoubtedly in the throes of a deep recession fomented by the coronavirus pandemic. Yet Fridays nonfarm payrolls report showed employers added a stunning 2.5 million jobs in May a shock to the system for a market convinced the worlds largest economy was in freefall.

There were certainly reasons to be cheerful about the data, among them a sharp rebound in leisure and hospitality, hammered by COVID-19 restrictions that only recently began to loosen. The unemployment rate also posted a surprise drop to 13.3% from a post-war high, while the labor force participation rate jumped.

The numbers underscored how massive monetary and fiscal stimulus have undergirded the economy, while cementing expectations of a faster-than-anticipated recovery.

And therein lies the risk, according to Mohamed El Erian, chief economic adviser at Allianz, who warned of a potential major head fake that could lessen the appetite in Washington for more economic support.

In theory, the May report might be picking up the impact of data distortions and policy distortions that could make Congress do less, he told Yahoo Finance on Friday. Thats the nightmare scenario.

Several economists noted that black unemployment rose as joblessness among whites fell. Additionally, Mays startling hiring boom masked a hemorrhaging in a government sector that shed over half a million jobs, Ian Shepherdson, Pantheon Macroeconomics chief economist, said on Friday.

Given that at least 40 million people have lost their jobs since March, the level of payroll employment is now at its late 2011 level. The way back is long, Shepherdson said.

Meanwhile, workers average hourly earnings tumbled by 1.0% at a rate well below consensus, underscoring how employment gains arent translating into fatter paychecks a persistent concern even before the COVID-19 crisis hit.

And Deutsche Bank noted that the unemployment rate for those without a high school diploma checked in at 20% far above Mays national average at 13.3%. Among other deficiencies, the bank also found millennial unemployment at recession levels, and that a whopping 102 million people still arent in the workforce.

Economists believe that as more states ease their lockdowns, the beleaguered jobs market will be bolstered. Still, we still think it will be a long time before the labour market is anywhere near back to its pre-virus state, said Michael Pearce, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics.

Payroll gains were broad-based in the May 2020 jobs report.

Whats more, the restrictions against large gatherings and face masks that have become ubiquitous are more than likely to remain a fixture of post-lockdown life even in office buildings.In former hotspots like New York and New Jersey that have begun reopening, strict capacity limits will crimp business revenues in places that rely on heavy foot traffic.

While we do expect a continued surge in hiring in the coming months, the need for continued physical distancing well into the future suggests there will still be lingering damage in some industries, with the unemployment rate remaining elevated for years, Pantheons Shepherdson wrote.

Despite the encouraging rebound, ING chief international economist James Knightly warned that caution is still warranted. He pointed to the near-apocalypse in retail and restaurants, which are suffering from mass closures and bankruptcies.

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Most restaurants and retailers are unlikely to need as many staff as they had before the pandemic hit given social distancing limiting customer numbers at any given time, Knightly wrote in a research note.

Many businesses may simply take the view that it isnt economically viable for them to open at this stage and remain closed, particularly in big cities where office blocks will remain shut for some time to come and there isnt a flow of customers, he added.

We also have to remember that even after today's great numbers, US employment is still 19.55 million lower than it was in February, Knightly wrote.We still have a long way to go.

Javier David is an editor for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter:@TeflonGeek

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Cemetery workers in protective gear lower a coffin containing a COVID-19 victim in Mexico City. (Marco Ugarte / Associated Press)

Mexican authorities sought to calm an anxious public after the nation's coronavirus death toll grew by 1,092 on Wednesday more than doubling the daily record and for the first time exceeding the single-day total in the United States.

Let there not be psychosis, let there not be fear, President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador told reporters Thursday. This is not New York.

He hastened to clarify that many of the deaths reported Wednesday had occurred days or even weeks ago but was only now being added to the total. U.S. officials reported 988 deaths Wednesday. Mexico's previous record of 501 deaths came on May 26.

I want to inform all the people of Mexico that this happened because there was an adjustment in deaths that had occurred previously, said Lpez Obrador, who was visiting the southern state of Chiapas. It doesnt mean that 1,000 people died in a day.

Still, the one-day total raised new doubts in a country where critics have charged that the government is deflating COVID-19 casualty numbers, employing a flawed strategy against the virus and rushing to restart the economy too early.

The total number of deaths in Mexico now tops 11,700, far below the U.S. total of 108,120, but the seventh-highest total in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University. Mexico ranks second in deaths in Latin America after Brazil, where 32,548 have died.

The Mexican health ministry also reported a record 3,912 new confirmed infections Wednesday, bringing the total to 101,238.

Former President Felipe Caldern, a political rival of Lpez Obrador, joined in calls on social media for a day of national mourning. "Although they didn't die on a single day, this is still a tragedy," Caldern said on Twitter.

The bad news comes days after Mexican authorities declared a new normal that allowed a gradual reopening of the critical mining, construction and automotive-manufacturing sectors. Washington has pressed for restarting vital automotive parts supply chains that support U.S. markets, even though some border factories have seen coronavirus outbreaks and deaths.

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Most offices, shops and industries in Mexico deemed nonessential remain shut, schools are closed, and officials implore people to continue to stay home and maintain social distancing.

Unlike some other Latin American nations, however, Mexico rejected implementing a national curfew or mandatory stay-at-home measures, and never closed the countrys borders and airports.

In recent days, many residents have returned to the streets of Mexico City and other areas, often without wearing face coverings or respecting social-distancing parameters. That has raised fears that the contagion could continue to accelerate.

The epidemic has not finished, Dr. Hugo Lpez-Gatell, the undersecretary of health who heads the countrys response to the coronavirus, warned this week, pleading with citizens to "resist as much as possible going into public streets."

As the public face of the government response, Lpez-Gatell has come under increasing criticism for assurances that have proved overly optimistic.

He had predicted that cases would max out in late May or early June. He has revised that to mid-June. He had also predicted a total death toll not exceeding 8,000.

Lpez-Gatell has also acknowledged that official tallies of infections and deaths here represent a significant undercount. How much remains a major question mark.

Several independent studies of death certificates have indicated that fatalities in Mexico City, the epicenter, may number at least three times the official count.

From the outset of the epidemic, as many countries sought to ratchet up testing for the virus, Mexico opted for a low-cost strategy of focusing tests on serious cases.

Mexicos testing rate about 2,350 per 1 million residents is among the lowest in the Americas. Chile and Peru test at a rate of more than 14 times that of Mexico, according to the Worldometer statistics site.

Defending Mexicos approach, Lpez-Gatell has said targeted testing was sufficient to allow authorities to monitor the spread of the virus. But critics have argued that it leaves the country largely in the dark about the scope of contagion while failing to identify many infected persons who have minimal symptoms but can spread the virus.

Lpez Obrador also defended Mexicos approach. I think the strategy has been correct, he said Thursday. We were lucky that the pandemic did not hit us first and that gave us time to prepare.

Mexicos health and mortuary infrastructures have buckled but not collapsed under the strain of the pandemic.

Authorities have bolstered hospital space and recruited and trained new medical workers. Hospitals treating COVID-19 patients in Mexico City have been hovering at close to 80% of capacity.

Meantime, more than 20,000 Mexican doctors, nurses and other health workers have become infected, prompting officials to transfer health personnel to hard-hit areas such as Mexico City. Infected healthcare workers represent more than one-fifth of Mexico's cases.

The virus has killed at least 271 Mexican medical personnel, more than have been reported in Italy or Spain but still fewer than in the United States.

Cecilia Snchez in The Times' Mexico City bureau contributed to this report.

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For the first time, Mexico records more COVID-19 deaths in a day than the U.S. - Yahoo News

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J.C Penney is moving forward with its debtor-in-possession financing.

During the course of a five-hour hearing on Thursday, the retailers $900 million DIP package got the green light from the Texas bankruptcy judge in the case. The retailer has said the DIP includes $450 million in new money, of which Thursdays approval paves the way for the retailer to receive the first $225 million. The other half of the overall DIP would be used to pay its pre-petition secured debt.

This is a positive step forward that will help us execute our Plan for Renewal and store optimization strategy, continue working seamlessly with our vendor partners, fund our ongoing business operations and continue our focus on further developing the companys go-forward business plan to successfully restructure J.C. Penney, Jill Soltau, chief executive officer of J.C. Penney, said in a statement Thursday after the hearing.

J.C. Penney also signaled on Thursday that it is moving forward with its ongoing store reopening plan since the coronavirus pandemic temporarily shut its doors. The retailer, which has some 850 locations and 85,000 employees, has already reopened some 304 locations, and is opening an additional roughly 170 stores this week, its advisers said.

But the company also disclosed plans to close stores, starting with 154 locations. After a hearing on the closures that is scheduled for June 11, the company said it will start store closing sales at those locations, which it said would take 10 to 16 weeks. The company said it also expects additional phases of store closing sales will begin in the coming weeks.

While closing stores is always an extremely difficult decision, our store optimization strategy is vital to ensuring we emerge from both Chapter 11 and the COVID-19 pandemic as a stronger retailer with greater financial flexibility to allow us to continue serving our loyal customers for decades to come, Soltau said in a statement Thursday.

The DIP financing package had drawn objections from the unsecured creditors committee, which had argued that the terms give lenders too much leverage to potentially switch the case to a liquidation, or pursue some type of sale later in the case. The retailer has a July 15 deadline to firm up a business plan, or potentially switch to some sort of sale at that point.

The committee had argued also that the DIP involved liens on the retailers unencumbered property, including what it described as hundreds of millions of dollars worth of real estate. That potentially jeopardizes the retailers ability to repay its administrative creditors, who are providing goods and services during the bankruptcy and project to be owed tens of millions of dollars, the committee had argued.

U.S. bankruptcy judge David Jones acknowledged some of those concerns, but said Thursday that the retailers bankruptcy and DIP negotiations took place under the unusual strains of the coronavirus pandemic that shuttered stores for months.

This is, if we were in a perfect world, this financing package would be highly objectionable, he said at the hearing. [But] Ive been in enough of these cases. I will not let this case languish. I will not let it become bogged down in fights that fail to recognize the big picture, and whats at stake.

The DIP package, supported by J.C. Penneys first lien lenders, on Thursday also got the support of a so-called crossholder lender group, which collectively holds roughly 16 percent of the retailers first lien loans. Those lenders agreed Thursday to participate in $53 million of the DIP that would be rolled up into paying the retailers secured pre-petition debt.

But the retailers future appears to be in the hands of its first lien lenders supporting its restructuring agreement, who together hold 73 percent of the retailers first lien debt. Those include the funds Ares, Brigade, H/2 Capital Partners, Silver Point, KKR, Sculptor Capital, Sixth Street Partners, White Box, Owl Creek and Apollo.

These lenders are going to be accountable for the ultimate outcome in this case, Joshua Sussberg of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, which represents J.C. Penney in the bankruptcy, said at the hearing.

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The sole path to preserving as many jobs as possible is this financing from our majority lenders, the structure we negotiated, and the chance to spend the next 45 days convincing those nine funds that it makes more sense to keep this company alive than liquidate it in pieces, he said.

The company has roughly $559 million in its short-term investment account, but despite having that fairly substantial amount of cash on hand, it expects to burn through that cash in the coming weeks, according to testimony Thursday by James Mesterharm, a managing director at AlixPartners LLP, and restructuring adviser to J.C. Penney since March.

The company expects to be left with somewhere between $400 million to $500 million in cash on hand by that crucial mid-July deadline, in light of its running at a deficit.

The unsecured creditors were basically arguing for a plan to ensure that the administrative creditors get paid, even if at that point in July, the retailer is bound for some type of sale.

The judges ruling was expected, especially in light of the choices he had in front of him, Cathy Hershcopf of Cooley LLP, who represents the creditors committee, told WWD after the hearing.

He could have at least thrown some shade on the debtors with respect to the issue of: are the administrative expenses going to be paid with the cash on hand, if theres a toggle to a sale? she said.

My plea to the judge was, give a soft landing to the administrative creditors, should the dream not come true, she said.

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After nights of rage and perhaps the beginning of reconciliation, one thing is clear. This is a week that changed America.

Acknowledging and denouncing racism in our society became accepted, maybe even required, by mainstream Corporate America.

Its crazy this took so long.

Its by no means universal.

There are many battles ahead.

Still, our nation moved. That much is indisputable.

Unlike previous episodes of racial violence and killings, (and there have been so many and of course it was the cumulativeness of those acts that got us to this point), a company might have denounced a specific act or even more likely, simply ignored it. Wading into those waters was too big a risk. Now the CEOs have to get wet. Jump in or be pushed, you choose. Just know the old rules no longer apply.

Racism has become a one-sided issue in America. Can you imagine? That it hasnt always been is our nations stain.

Leaders have been called on to do more, to stand up, says Ella F. Washington, a professor at Georgetown Universitys McDonough School of Business and an executive coach who has taught workshops on diversity and inclusion. Silence is not working. Not being in conversations, avoiding talking about racethats no longer acceptable.

Think back on everything that happened this week, Washington D.C. police shooting pepper bullets, gassing and pummeling a path for the presidents bible thump photo-op in front of a church, the killing of a retired (African American) St. Louis Police captain by looters, a 75-year-old man in Buffalo smashed to the ground by police, thousands of arrests, and countless journalists assaulted.

Time to stand up indeed.

Who heard the call?

Not surprisingly Nike was out front. Social statements are in this companys DNA. The company dropped an ad eight days ago that denounced racism. New CEO John Donahoe doubled down in a memo to employees yesterday saying that Nike needs to be better than society as a whole, and committed $40 million over four years to support black communities.

Nike has been courageous, Washington said. Other companies like Ben and Jerrys have been phenomenal in accountability, authenticity, and strength of voice. Ben and Jerrys we must dismantle white supremacy sets the bar. Its direct, in your face, and confronting a difficult part of the conversation. (Speaking of white supremacy, read this piece about Silicon Valley. There arent any black people even in the TV show.)

Also crossing the tape yesterday, Walmart pledged $100 million over five years with CEO Doug McMillon announcing the money would go to a new center on racial equity.

But Walmart has nothing on Bank of America, which pledged $1 billion to combat racism in the communities it serves. Hats off to [CEO Brian Moynihan], says Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a Yale School of Management professor who organized a high-profile CEO conclave this week that focused on racism. Hes a humble guy whos putting money where his mouth is and coming through this magnificently well.

The events of the past week have created a sense of true urgency that has arisen across our nation, particularly in view of the racial injustices we have seen in the communities where we work and live, Moynihan said. The racial injustice we see today, which many of you and your families experience all too often, is unacceptable to all of us.

Its gratifying and overdue that theres almost a competition to see who can pony up the most. Lord knows the companies owe it. (Do I have to explain?)

Other high-profile CEOs like Tim Cook, Jamie Dimon, Larry Fink and Marc Benioff and Hans Vestberg, CEO of our parent company Verizon, all made strong statements and put money down.

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Lets be honest though. These are businesses. Leaving aside what might be the legitimate feelings of these CEOs, it behooves these companies to jump on board. Nike and Ben & Jerrys are serving their brands and their customer base by taking these stances. Twitter and YouTube were taken to task for speaking up against racism, as it was pointed outon their own platforms of coursetheir business models foster divisiveness.

As for the Washington Redskins supporting Blackout Tuesday, AOC shot that hypocritical fish in a barrel. (Want to really stand for racial justice? Change your name.) AOC also called out companies in general for just talking the talk, and reminded them they would need to walk that talk by supporting and promoting African American employees, customers and their communities.

So yes, there is self-interest, there is hypocrisy, but there is also something much more. And I dont think were turning back.

To make that case, lets look now at some statements that are a bit more surprising.

ExxonMobil, a sort of Barry Goldwater of the Fortune 500, seemed to move off the dime, emailing Yahoo Finance: The entire ExxonMobil community is very saddened by the tragic events in Minneapolis and elsewhere in the U.S. We do not tolerate discrimination of any kind. Racial discrimination has no place in our society or our company.

Thanks for joining us, Exxon.

And then last night, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, never at the forefront of racial politics, made a video in which he said We, the National Football League, admit we were wrong for not listening to N.F.L. players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest. We, the National Football League, believe Black lives matter. This was done in response to a firestorm that began when Saints QB Drew Brees showed he still didnt get it in an interview with Yahoo Finances Dan Roberts. Players denounced Brees. Trump supported him. Then came Goodell last night. (And then as I was about to publish, Brees apologized again and told off President Trump.) Whew!

And speaking of sports, how about Michael Jordan? MJ, famous for avoiding politics, most infamously when he declined to support Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt who was running for U.S. Senate from North Carolina in 1990 against the racist (yes, he was) Jesse Helms. Jordan referencing his lucrative Nike (!) Air Jordan contract said: Republicans buy sneakers too.

His Airness has changed his tune now: I know this country is better than that, and I can no longer stay silent, MJ said as part of his statement.

Maybe most remarkable though was 90-year-old Pat Robertson, founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network, one-time presidential candidate, a leading voice of evangelicals and usually an ally of the president. The 90-year-old Robertson denounced Trump for the way he violently cleared out protestors for his photo-op in front of the church. You just don't do that, Mr. President, Robertson said. It isn't cool!"

Robertson hasnt exactly been an arbiter for cool in our society. But who knows, the times they are a changin.

Leaving aside some Fox pundits and Twitter trolls, who didnt cover themselves in glory this week? Tiffany for one, says Ella Washington, though not for a lack of trying. Tiffanys response was abysmal. Something about how we love everyone. So tone deaf to the pain of the black community specifically. (Perhaps we should cut Audrey Hepburns favorite company a little slack as theyre embroiled in a troubled takeover deal with LVMH. On the other hand what does that have to do with being tone deaf?)

Its worth noting some others here, like Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, whose New York Times Op-ed Send in the Troops, created an outcry amongst readers and a mini-insurrection by the Times staff. (Im sure the Senator is all broken up about all that.)

And did you read about Charles Negy, a psychology professor at University of Central Florida, the author of White Shaming: Bullying based on Prejudice, Virtue-Signaling and Ignorance, who described African Americans as a privileged group shielded from legitimate criticism, according to the Tampa Bay Times. There are calls for Negy, whos long-tenured, to be fired. In an interview with the New York Times, Negy defended his remarks, asking, Why would I resign?

No doubt there are many more Charles Negys out there.

All of what happened this week made me think about two conversations with two very different CEOs.

The first was an interview in February by Yahoo Finances Sibile Marcellus of Roger Ferguson, CEO of TIAA, the giant money management firm with over $1 trillion in assets. All of us who are people of color have faced discrimination one way or another, Ferguson said. And even as a CEO I cannot walk down the street without sometimes having unusual things happen that might be attributed to race. Here in New York, trying to get a cab heading uptown continues to be a bit of a problem. So lets be clear there is discrimination still.

TIAA CEO Roger Ferguson, Jr. participates in the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit: A World of Change at The TimesCenter on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

I remember being surprised that this incredibly accomplished, Harvard PhD, and former vice chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve would sometimes have trouble hailing a cab. Now I realize that of course he does and me not recognizing it shows Im living in a bubble.

The second was an interview I did in the spring of 2016 with the late legendary oilman T. Boone Pickens. We were talking politics and I asked him what he thought about Barack Obama. And Boone said to me that he thought Obama was the worst president weve ever had. The worst? Seriously? I remember being shocked, and following up by asking him why he would say that. (Some would argue that Obama is at the other end of the spectrum of course, but at the very least Franklin Pierce, Herbert Hoover, Andrew Johnson and Richard Nixon are all indisputably worse, even from the perspective of a rock-ribbed Republican that Boone was.) And Boone replied with some sort of comment about Obamas policies and so forth.

I should have pushed Boone harder and asked this: Boone, is it possible you think Obama is the worst president at least in part because of racismconscious or unconsciouson your part? But I didnt and now I realize I should have.

On May 17, 2004, Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriage. The move was not popular in all quarters. That same year George Bush supported a constitutional amendment to define marriage as between a man and a woman and W made it an issue in his re-election campaign. Eleven years later, same-sex marriage became legally recognized in all 50 states. And that same year, 2015, Bush reportedly offered to officiate at a same-sex wedding of family friends.

The pace of change in our society is an ever-fluctuating constant. When it comes to racism in America, change has been way too slow.

Now the winds of change are stirring.

This article was featured in a Saturday edition of the Morning Brief on June 6, 2020. Get the Morning Brief sent directly to your inbox every Monday to Friday by 6:30 a.m. ET.Subscribe

Andy Serwer is editor-in-chief of Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter:@serwer.

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Much of the rationale for the flattening of the curve, to make space for patients with the novel coronavirus. But multiple health experts say this has an unexpected second order effect leading to Americans neglecting their health concerns, which have done anything but subside.

California was the first state to implement a mandatory stay-at-home order, opted early on to adopt a proactive approach, rather than face the risk of being overwhelmed. Los Angeles has become the epicenter of the virus, logging the highest number of cases of the states 58 counties,

University of California Los Angeles Health System, which operates four hospitals and 180 clinics in Southern California, was fully prepared to handle the surge in novel coronavirus cases, but never saw unmanageable demand, according to president Johnese Spisso, who also serves as CEO of the UCLA Hospital System.

The cooperation we had from people in our state was tremendous. We created capacity but at no time were we really overwhelmed, she said in an interview with Yahoo Finance this week.

After monitoring worldwide cases in January and February, UCLA Health began seeing its first COVID-19 patients in early March.

Many of the hospitals here created that capacity but never filled to the volumes you were seeing particularly of our colleagues in New York. So by the second week in March, we had begun canceling and postponing any non-emergent or urgent surgeries and procedures, said Spisso.

Our hospitals that usually are at 100% capacity quickly reduced to about 50% capacity. Our ambulatory clinics also dropped to about 50% capacity. We picked up a lot of patients transferring to video visits. So we went from doing 150 video visits a week to over 10,000 a week very quickly. In the first few weeks of March alone we canceled or postponed 6,000 surgeries or procedures, she added.

A nurse wearing a protective mask participates in a rally to support the National Nurses United and California Nurses Association's demand for personal protective equipment for healthcare workers across the state at UCLA Medical Center Santa Monica, in April 13, 2020, in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP) (Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)

What we learned is the public was very frightened of hospitals and clinics. We had to do a lot of outreach education. We worked together as a hospital community in Los Angeles to educate the public and to tell them it's time to come back for the health care they have put on pause. We were especially concerned as a tertiary medical center, reduction we saw even in our emergency departments in heart attacks and strokes. We know COVID did nothing to cure those, so we were very concerned people weren't presenting for the care that's needed. We very quickly began to see that as we opened back up, who really should have been coming in a lot sooner, she said.

Earlier this month, UCLA Health teamed up with five of the largest nonprofit health care networks across Los Angeles to launch BetterTogether.Health, a campaign to encourage community members to put health first and access care when needed.

UCLA Health, Providence, Keck Medicine of USC, Kaiser Permanente, Dignity Health and Cedars-Sinai, which collectively serve 8.4 million Angelenos, launched public service announcements with themes that include, Life may be on pause. Your health isnt., Thanks L.A. for doing your part and Get care when you need it.

Beyond the impact on individuals who neglected their non-coronavirus related health concerns, this fear has inevitably impacted the bottom line of hospital systems.

UCLA Hospital System was forced to tap financial reserves to close a gap of more than $85 million as of mid-May. The system, which employs 30,000 people, reported a $140 million revenue loss, which was partially offset by $55 million in federal aid, which covered about one-third of losses from March and April.

In the month of April, we had a revenue drop that isn't sustainable, which is why we've been anxious to return to our normal business of health care so that we can really meet our mission for the community. So our health system like so many [others] in the country has really had to weather some extreme economic losses, she said.

Melody Hahm is Yahoo Finances West Coast correspondent, covering entrepreneurship, technology and culture. Follow her on Twitter@melodyhahm.

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An enraged New York driver who allegedly rushed a group of protesters with two long blades attached to his arm, then chased them in his SUV, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of menacing and other crimes, authorities said.

Frank Cavalluzzi, 54, of Queens, faces multiple counts of reckless endangerment, menacing and criminal possession of a weapon, the New York Police Department said.

Video footage of the June 2 incident showed the man speeding toward a small group of protesters on an expressway overpass in Queens. He can be seen leaping from his SUV with a device affixed to his arm that has machete-like blades extending from it.

He can be seen repeatedly accusing the group of throwing something at his car while rushing toward them.

A second video shows Cavalluzzi allegedly drive onto the overpass' sidewalk and speed after them. The protesters can be heard screaming and sprinting away from the vehicle.

The group told NBC New York that they didnt throw anything at the SUV. One of them, Briana Hernandez, told the station that the group has been on the overpass daily to raise awareness after the death of the of George Floyd in Minneapolis last week.

I didnt do anything wrong, she said. I was two inches away from getting hit by that car.

It wasn't immediately clear if Cavalluzzi has a lawyer.

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Washington (AFP) - Former president George W. Bush called on the US Tuesday to take a hard look at its "tragic failures," citing racial injustice in America in a statement addressing protests which have roiled the country over the past week.

"It remains a shocking failure that many African Americans, especially young African American men, are harassed and threatened in their own country," Bush said in the statement expressing anguish over the death of George Floyd, suffocated beneath the knee of a white policeman in Minneapolis on May 25.

The killing has unleashed a nationwide wave of civil unrest unlike any seen in the US since the 1968 assassination of rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

"This tragedy -- in a long series of similar tragedies -- raises a long overdue question: How do we end systemic racism in our society?" Bush, who was president from 2001-2009, wrote.

"It is time for America to examine our tragic failures," he stated.

Most of the protests which have swelled in cities across the country since Floyd's death have been peaceful, but some have degenerated in to violent riots.

White House incumbent Donald Trump, who has rejected the president's traditional role as a force for unity during moments of national crisis, on Monday threatened a military crackdown to end the demonstrations.

Bush did not mention his fellow Republican by name in his statement.

But he made a point of insisting on the need "to listen to the voices of so many who are hurting and grieving."

"Those who set out to silence those voices do not understand the meaning of America -- or how it becomes a better place," he says.

"The heroes of America -- from Frederick Douglass to Harriet Tubman, to Abraham Lincoln, to Martin Luther King Jr. -- are heroes of unity."

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George W. Bush calls on US to examine its 'tragic failures' - Yahoo News

As the S&P 500 (^GSPC) hovers around 40% from its March 23rd low, one veteran strategist sees similarities with the massive rebound that took place when the markets were emerging from the financial crisis 11 years ago.

When we look at this week, were reminded very much of the rally that started in March 2009, John Stoltzfus, chief investment strategist and managing director at Oppenheimer Asset Management told Yahoo Finances The Final Round.

What we're seeing is the market is looking to ahead, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months out, while consensus analytics is really looking closer to second quarter earnings season and I think in terms of the news that's being generated, he added.

The flattening of the curve in terms of COVID-19 and states slowly re-opening are all helping the market look beyond the current quarter.

We've never seen a significant portion of the largest economy in the world shuttered as well as other economies around the world shuttered, and what that would look like coming out, said Stolzfus. I think it almost calls for an unprecedented methodology of analysis looking forward.

A screen at a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange charts the Dow Jones Industrial Average Monday, Dec. 8. 2008. A stock market gaining in confidence has shot higher for a second straight session as investors bet that President-elect Barack Obama's plans to increase infrastructure spending will lift the economy back to health. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Those analysis have also prompted many forecasts as to what the shape of the economic recovery will look like.

We think in this one, we've likely got the process of a V-shape recovery in equities occurring, with likely a U-shaped recovery following, in terms of the economy coming back, said Stoltzfus.

[Read More: Stock market news live updates: Stocks drift lower as early rally fizzles, Nasdaq 100 bounces off new high]

Strategists are closely watching for broader participation as a positive indicator for the markets.

Back in April, much of the rally had been fueled by mega cap companies, prompting a warnings about the narrow breadth of the market.

The good news is the rally is broadening. It's small, it's mid-caps, and its value," he said.

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Wall St. pro says the current rally reminds him of March 2009 - Yahoo Finance

(Bloomberg) -- Oils recovery from a historic crash is being frustrated by a standoff between some of the worlds biggest crude producers.

The OPEC+ alliance still hasnt set a date for its next meeting thats intended to approve an extension of its deepest output curbs aimed at propping up crude prices. Thats because group leaders Saudi Arabia and Russia have lost patience with the errant behavior of the next-biggest member, Iraq, according to people familiar with the matter.

The producer groups unity had helped drag oil back from its plunge into subzero prices in April, with most main players delivering their agreed share of output curbs. But some reneged on their commitments, and now Riyadh and Moscow are warning that they may phase out the supply curbs if those producers dont change their ways.

Delaying the meeting is for Saudi Arabia to have a chat with the rest of OPEC+ to give them time to throw trial balloons, said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategy at Toronto Dominion Bank. Theres a fair amount of confidence that the mid-month meeting is likely to extend cuts, he said.

Saudi Arabia and Russia have already reached a preliminary deal to extend output curbs for an extra month. Riyadh has delayed the release of its July crude pricing until Sunday at the earliest, according to people with knowledge of the situation.

Complicating their task is the threat of rising U.S. shale output, which has been encouraged by oils rally. Higher prices have already spurred some producers to bring wells back online. EOG Resources Inc. and Parsley Energy Inc. are preparing to ramp up production just weeks after turning off the taps.

Its not an easy exercise for OPEC to balance the market, said Olivier Jakob, managing director of consultants Petromatrix GmbH. The Saudis likely realize they need to be careful about not helping the U.S. crude oil to come back too quickly.

Dwindling Demand

While oil prices have rebounded rapidly since mid-April, the rally is faltering amid gathering headwinds. Civil unrest across America is also complicating the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and risking a second wave of infections.

U.S. diesel demand fell to a 21-year low last week and gasoline stockpiles swelled, according to Energy Information Administration data, suggesting that fuel consumption isnt recovering as quickly as anticipated.

Further stymieing demand, the White House is suspending passenger flights to the U.S. by Chinese airlines as relations between the two leading economies deteriorate.

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Oils Recovery Is Being Threatened by the Discord Rattling OPEC+ - Yahoo Finance