Boeing's continued woes will add to coronavirus damage

Lots of news today, let's get right to it:

• 1 ✋ thing: The stock market fell over 7% this morning — a decline so steep that trading was halted for 15 minutes.
• 1 🐦 thing: Twitter has struck a deal with Silver Lake and Elliot Management that will allow CEO Jack Dorsey to remain in his position.
• 1 🤝 thing: Cory Booker endorsed Joe Biden for president. Biden's secret government staffing plan.

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1 big thing: Boeing's continued woes will add to coronavirus damage

By: Dion Rabouin • Newsletter: Axios Markets (sign up here)

Somewhat forgotten in the evaluation of the current state of the U.S. economy is the ongoing debacle at Boeing, a flagship American company whose production shutdown led to the New York Fed estimating it would shave 20% off of 2020's GDP growth — and this was before the coronavirus outbreak. Things could be getting worse for Boeing.

Driving the news: A report is due this week from airline safety investigators to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the Ethiopian Airlines crash that was the second in six months for Boeing's 737 MAX jets.

The bottom line: The U.S. economy needs Boeing to get back on its feet, but the widespread malfeasance detailed in the report could mean it stays grounded for even longer as a further spate of government hearings and investigations unfold.

Go deeper: Read the full story

💸 Sign up for Dion's daily Markets newsletter to stay informed on how the coronavirus is affecting markets and the global economy.

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2. Pro athletes turn to private equity to diversify their investments

By: Dan Primack • Newsletter: Axios Pro Rata (sign up here)

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Pro athletes are diversifying into private equity, after years of focusing most of their alternative investment activities on real estate and tech startups.

The state of play: The driving financier is Mark Patricof, who previously led a media and entertainment-focused investment bank that he sold in 2015 to Houlihan Lokey. His inspiration struck several years ago, when co-hosting a "Shark Tank"-like show with former New England Patriots star Rob Gronkowski, in which winning founders received pro athlete endorsements.

Go deeper: It's the convergence of two trends

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3. Coronavirus spread emphasizes precariousness of gig economy work

By: Kia Kokalitcheva • Newsletter: Axios Pro Rata (sign up here)

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

While a growing number of white collar companies are asking employees to work from home, gig economy companies seem to be doing little to protect workers in the face of coronavirus — though pressure is mounting for them to do more.

Why it matters: While engineers and business managers at companies like Uber and Lyft can bring their laptops home and access corporate health resources, the independent contractors who ferry passengers, hot meals and groceries, cannot. This highlights painful differences between corporate "haves" and "have-nots."

Go deeper: Read the full story