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In some good news, an Institute for Supply Management survey released on Monday showed U.S. manufacturing activity reaching its highest level in more than a year, according to .

• The index of national factory activity reached 54.2 in July—up from 52.6 in June. A reading above 50 indicates growth.
• New orders increased to 61.5 from 56.4 in June—the highest since September 2018.

But don’t break out the party hats yet. The resurgence in COVID-19 across the United States could halt manufacturers in their tracks, which is why face coverings and other precautions remain critical.

Meanwhile, we’re seeing a reduction in construction spending, which dropped 0.7% in June after decreasing 1.7% in May. More discouraging numbers included the following:

• 0.7% drop in spending on private construction
• 1.5% loss in spending on residential projects
• 0.7% drop in spending on public construction projects

51�Թ��� Chief Economist Chad Moutray has the numbers for manufacturers: “After declining for six straight months, private manufacturing construction spending rose 1.7% from $70.86 billion in May to $72.07 billion in June.”

Related: In another milestone, New York City retail rent fell below $700 for the first time since 2011, according to . With fewer people shopping in retail environments, rents are dropping, and retail stores are reevaluating the way they serve the public.

In honor of Friday, here are some interesting and amusing stories about life under COVID-19 and in this generally surreal year of 2020.

Pixelated pilgrimage: The annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca has been restricted due to COVID-19, so many people will be unable to go. But it wouldn’t be 2020 if enterprising developers weren’t trying to create a

Fashion masks: You know you need to wear a face covering (if you’ve been within a lightyear of the 51�Թ���’s Creators Respond communications campaign, that is), but who says it has to be a boring, scratchy surgical mask? What about a mask cover made of pearls? Or a mask that “serves as a combination walkie-talkie, personal secretary and translator”? If you’re curious about your options, The New York Times (subscription) has you 

Bioprinting: If you can believe it, researchers are  “tiny replicas of human organs—some as small as a pinhead—to test drugs to fight Covid-19,” according to The New York Times (subscription).

And last, if you’re looking to distract yourself from earthly woes:

• NASA’s latest mission to Mars is  The rover Perseverance and helicopter Ingenuity were launched yesterday morning.
• The Pentagon’s U.F.O. Unit  the public some of what it’s found.

The FDA announced new standards for companies seeking regulatory approval of rapid at-home COVID-19 tests, Bloomberg Law.

Why it’s good: Creating a fast, cheap test that can be used regularly at home would allow people to test themselves once or twice a week, or before coming into contact with others—giving them the ability to quarantine when necessary and reduce the likelihood of spreading the illness.

But not so fast: The FDA’S rules for rapid at-home COVID-19 tests , which could discourage some companies from giving it a try, according to USA Today.

Xtra help: On Tuesday, The XPRIZE—a nonprofit organization that hosts public competitions— announced a $5 million prize for “five winners who can produce a test that delivers results in as little as 15 minutes and costs less than $15” (also from USA Today). An additional $50 million will be available to help scale up manufacturing for any contestant.

The 51�Թ���’s view: “Long wait times for tests can present a personnel challenge for manufacturers that have workers who might have been exposed outside the workplace,” said 51�Թ��� Vice President of Infrastructure, Innovation and Human Resources Policy Robyn Boerstling. “The 51�Թ��� recently joined  to ensure more federal resources are committed to testing. We are focusing our advocacy efforts on solutions that will provide more robust and reliable testing solutions in every community.”

The internet may be saving our sanity (somewhat) with animal videos and Zoom chats . . . but there is a downside. With so much more happening online—such as retail and banking, not to mention all that working from home—hackers have a lot more targets.

The data depressingly

• Large data breaches have skyrocketed by 273% in the first quarter of 2020, according to data from cloud computing company Iomart.
• Ransomware is up 90%, according to VMware, while attacks that destroy data or networks have risen 102%. And last, “island hopping,” in which criminals infiltrate one company in order to reach its partners or clients, is up 33%.

And here’s a worrying wrinkle: according to Iomart, manufacturing is one of the hardest-hit sectors.

There can be a grim benefit to cyberattacks, in that companies can learn from others that have already survived. To that end, aluminum manufacturer Norsk Hydro’s experience with a massive ransomware attack last year provides a number of (very) hard-earned lessons. Bloomberg Businessweek (subscription):

• After the attack, the company had to make sure its employees got paid—but banks wouldn’t connect digitally with the company due to fears of cyber infection. So one executive, at Hydro’s Brazilian location, copied the previous month’s paychecks from their external payroll system, weeding out employees who had left or been fired.
• At a Pennsylvania plant, which lost access to corporate email and to the software that organizes its orders, employees received orders on their personal accounts. Then, having dug some old computers out of storage, they printed out the forms and distributed copies on the floor.
• At headquarters, Hydro had to rebuild their entire network. They were so worried about keeping these plans safe that they barred cleaning staff from coming into the room.

Hydro’s leaders consider themselves lucky to have only lost $60 million to the attacks, which unfortunately tells you a lot.

51�Թ��� with a plan: Though manufacturers should certainly prepare for the worst, they can also take many steps to minimize, if not eliminate, the danger. The 51�Թ��� provides many cyber-related resources for members, including most recently a new cyber-insurance program called .

And here’s good news: the 51�Թ���’s Cyber Forum, cosponsored by PwC and eSentire, is on for the fall, in a virtual format. It will be from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. EDT on four Thursdays in a row: Oct. 1, 8, 15 and 22. To learn more, email [email protected].

After a year of pushing back on an IRS rule that would have made it more difficult for manufacturers to invest in new equipment, the 51�Թ��� can declare a win, according to (subscription).

Here’s a recap:

• Before 2017, businesses could pretty much subtract their full interest payments on debt—but the 2017 tax reform law limited the business interest deduction to 30% of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for tax years starting in 2018.
• Starting in 2022, the deduction was limited even more, to earnings before interest and tax (EBIT). Excluding depreciation and amortization would make it more expensive for businesses like manufacturers to finance capital equipment purchases.
• Here’s where it could’ve gotten worse: The Treasury Department had proposed a rule that would have effectively imposed the EBIT standard now instead of two years from now.

For a capital-intensive industry like manufacturing, where businesses use debt to finance important investments in critical technology, that was going to cause a lot of strain even before COVID-19. Throw in a pandemic and a tough economic environment, and that proposed rule looks even worse.

The 51�Թ��� aggressively pushed back, leading more than 80 trade associations to oppose that change. On Tuesday, the Treasury Department released its final rules—without that provision.

The 51�Թ��� says: “Congress’s goal in reforming our tax system was to help businesses invest and grow, but the proposed rule would have had the opposite effect,” said 51�Թ��� Vice President of Tax and Domestic Economic Policy Chris Netram. “We are pleased that Treasury did the right thing, helping support the men and women who make things in America.”

The bottom line: Because of this rule, it will be easier for manufacturers to invest in their business, their employees and their communities.

The bad news is that GDP in the second quarter of 2020, falling by a record 32.9% (on an annualized basis). The good news is . . . it wasn’t as bad as expected? Not much of an upside, but true: economists were expecting a 34.7% drop. Neither the Depression nor the Recession—nor, in fact, any economic slump in two centuries—caused such an extreme, sudden decline.

Meanwhile, the officers of the Federal Reserve met yesterday, and things pretty much went as expected, according to .

• The Fed stuck with its low interest rates, holding its overnight lending rate around 0%.
• It also said it would maintain bond purchases, as well as a range of lending and liquidity programs that have been part of its response to COVID-19.
• Their statement said the rate would stay where it is until officials are “confident that the economy has weathered recent events and is on track to achieve its maximum employment and price stability goals.”

The bottom line: While the state of growth has improved over the worst months of the COVID-19 pandemic—when businesses were shut down across the country—we’re still well below the level of economic activity and employment at the beginning of the year.

Have you ever thought about how many people touch an airplane catering cart before you get served? It’s quite a lot. That’s why airlines employ security seals—if someone along the way tampers with the cart, thereby breaking the seal, the airline will see the evidence. But COVID-19 has created another reason to be suspicious of touch: it can spread the virus.

That’s why one manufacturer upped its game. Cambridge Security Seals makes tamper-evident closures that are used on everything from ballot boxes to fire extinguishers to trucks transporting goods—and yes, on your plane’s meal and beverage carts. To protect all those people who handle a seal along a box or cart’s journey to its final destination, Cambridge created its A-MVB™ line of antimicrobial, antiviral and antibacterial seals.

How it’s made: Taking inspiration from metal-lined and infused products that help post-surgery patients ward off infections, Cambridge worked out a way to blend a silver additive into its products. When done correctly, the silver permeates the whole seal, creating a totally inhospitable environment for the virus.

How it works: The silver in the seals prevents bacteria, which the virus clings to, from flourishing on their surface. As Cambridge CEO Elisha Tropper suggests, it’s less like sending in a football team to beat another squad, and more like canceling the game entirely.

Walking the walk: Cambridge is also taking steps to keep its facilities safe and virus-free, including:

• Social distancing to prevent illness from spreading;
• Reimagined workstations to keep employees separated;
• Temperature checks to identify anyone entering the facility who might be sick; and
• Face coverings to prevent particles from circulating.

A modest innovator: Tropper is humble about Cambridge Security Seals’ accomplishment. “We’re not talking about a revolutionary idea,” he says. “The additive we’re using has FDA approval. The science has been validated. We didn’t split the atom—we solved a problem by building on and further developing existing formulations until we were able to successfully mold them into this application. We knew the advantages would be significant.”

How many lawsuits have been filed over alleged COVID-19 exposure at businesses? That’s not the real question, say the 51�Թ���’s legal experts. The real question is: how many will be filed over the next three to five years?

A shows that only 5% of lawsuits filed since March fall into the category of COVID-19 liability—but don’t be misled by that, says 51�Թ��� Vice President of Legal and Deputy General Counsel Patrick Hedren.

Here are some pertinent facts to keep in mind:

• The vast majority of states have a two- or four-year statute of limitations period for bringing tort lawsuits.
• No state has a limitation of less than one year, and some allow lawsuits after four or even six years. Which means . . .
• The flood of COVID-19-exposure litigation isn’t expected until spring 2022 when these claims start to expire.

In other words, focusing on today’s numbers obscures a coming wave that could overwhelm businesses at a time when they can least afford it.

And here’s the case for targeted liability protections, says Hedren:

• Business leaders have been doing the best they can with the information they have in an evolving situation.
• Guidelines from the early days of the pandemic have been refined, rewritten and sometimes replaced.
• In many cases, local, state and federal guidelines have all conflicted with one another, creating a no-win situation for businesses that could face trouble no matter what they do.

The solution: Legislation offered by Senate Republicans—and vigorously pursued by the 51�Թ���—actually gives teeth to evolving safety measures by shielding businesses from liability if they make reasonable efforts to follow public health guidelines. (In many ways, it seems that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is reading from the 51�Թ���’s liability playbook.) If businesses engage in “gross negligence or willful misconduct that caused an actual exposure to coronavirus,” they remain open to lawsuits.

The last word: “The way to deal with safety is through thoughtful guidance that can stay fresh as the science evolves—not through a mess of court cases in thousands of jurisdictions across the country,” said Hedren. “Businesses across the country need commonsense liability protections that depend on adherence to safety standards, promote certainty and strengthen their ability to serve their community and the country.”

U.S.–China relations are at a low ebb, after a matched pair of consulate closings in recent days. Last week, the U.S. the Chinese consulate in Houston to be closed, whereupon the Chinese closed the U.S. consulate in Chengdu.

That’s the headline story, but a number of other stories are important for evaluating U.S.–China relationships—and Chinese strength—going forward. Here are some recent data points.

A potential catastrophe: First, there’s another horrible development for 2020: China’s massive Three Gorges dam is under some strain, thanks to the the surrounding region has seen in decades. Though Chinese officials assure the public and the world that the dam is holding, its reservoir is Tens of millions of people have already been affected by severe flooding.

COVID-19 returns? On Sunday, China its highest rate of infections since March 6. (Though the emphasis there should probably be on reported).

Meanwhile, on the diplomatic front . . .

Human rights abuses: The United States has sanctioned 11 Chinese companies for involvement in the persecution of Muslim minorities, including for the use of forced labor. The sanctions forbid U.S. companies from selling parts or technology to these Chinese companies, not from purchasing anything. But in practice, The New York Times (subscription) , American firms are likely to forgo doing business with them entirely.

Competition over rare earths: In a bid to find sources for rare earths that aren’t in China (which now supplies 80% of what the United States uses), the U.S. Department of Defense Lynas Corp.’s rare earths processing plant in Texas—slated to be completed by mid next year.

And lastly . . .

Now that’s just weird: Bewilderingly, many Americans are receiving unsolicited packets of unidentified seeds in the mail—sent from China. Several states have had to not to plant them.

With the end to the COVID-19 pandemic nowhere in sight, all eyes are on the Federal Reserve as officials meet today.

The Fed is expected to stick with its low interest rates, to Yahoo! News. This week’s meeting could give us a clue about how long rates are likely to remain where they are and what the Fed’s approach will be as infections increase around the country.

Here’s something we do know: the Fed is extending its emergency lending programs until the end of the year. According to , a series of initiatives that were set to expire on Sept. 30 will now run until at least Dec. 31. Those programs include:

• Facilities for primary dealers and money markets;
• Corporate bond purchases on the primary and second markets;
• The ;
• The ; and
• The .

Some good news: reports that June’s new orders for U.S.-made capital goods saw their biggest increase in nearly two years. Non-defense capital goods gained 3.3%—the biggest increase since July 2018. The rise was likely driven by renewed demand as businesses began to open after months of closures.

But it’s not all good news. While the U.S. manufacturing sector has been showing strength, the surge of COVID-19 cases across the country threatens to wipe out gains as businesses nationwide are forced to close or pause reopenings. That threat to the industry—and to the reopening—continues to spur the 51�Թ���’s PSA campaign. Take a look at the making the simple but powerful point: .