Wells Fargo Acting Chief Economist Jay Bryson joins Yahoo Finance’s Seana Smith to discuss how the coronavirus is impacting the economy as another 2.98 million people file for unemployment benefits.

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(Bloomberg) — Bank of America Corp. priced a $1 billion bond issue to fund Covid-19 relief efforts. It’s the first sale from a U.S. financial institution that explicitly links all proceeds to tackling the virus, Bloomberg data show.The Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender sold fixed-to-floating rate notes to fund investments addressing social issues related to the pandemic, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The bonds will yield 1.30 percentage points above Treasuries, said the person, who asked not to be identified as the details are private. Bank of America is sole manager of the bond sale.Borrowers globally have raised a record $102.6 billion of debt this year to combat the impact of the coronavirus. Chinese companies have issued the most so-called pandemic bonds, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Paraguay and South Korea’s Kookmin Bank last month sold debt in U.S. dollars for Covid relief.U.S. corporations are catching up. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. issued a $1.25 billion sustainability bond to fund social and environmental impact endeavors, some of which may address the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, USAA Capital Corp. sold an $800 million sustainability bond to fund projects, which may include Covid-19 relief.Social and sustainability bond issuance is expected to nearly double this year to a new record as issuers take advantage of receptive capital markets to respond to the crisis, according to HSBC. Supply jumped 69% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, according to HSBC, boosted by sales from the African Development Bank and International Finance Corporation.Schroders expects banks to become more active issuers of social bonds given capital relief they are getting from regulators in Europe, as well as incentives to lend to small and medium-sized companies.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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(Bloomberg) — Apple Inc. confirmed it acquired NextVR, a startup that provides sports and other content for virtual-reality headsets.The acquisition may help Apple’s development of VR and AR headsets with accompanying software and content. NextVR supplies content to several existing VR headsets, including Facebook Inc.’s Oculus and devices from Sony Corp., HTC Corp. and Lenovo.NextVR has deals with sports leagues including the National Basketball Association and entertainment networks such as Fox Sports. The startup also has expertise in live streaming in virtual reality, which could also be useful for live concerts and games.The Newport Beach, California-based startup officially shut down this week, saying on its website that it is “heading in a new direction.” Apple said it buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and generally does not discuss its purpose or plans. It didn’t disclose a purchase price, but website 9to5Mac reported in April that Apple was in talks to buy NextVR for about $100 million.The deal is at least the third for Apple this year, following the purchase of Voysis, an Irish startup that focuses on voice technology, and Dark Sky, a popular weather app.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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