Administration will name some bailed-out companies, a promotion for architect of energy rule rollbacks, and other news from around the web

The U.S. Small Business Administration and Treasury Department announced Friday that they would release a data set showing which businesses received many taxpayer-funded Paycheck Protection Program loans, walking back an earlier stance that all of the business names would remain hidden because the Trump administration considered them proprietary.

The disclosures will include the names of recipients who received loans of more than $150,000 and it will also reveal a dollar range for each loan, such as whether it was between $1 million and $2 million. Precise dollar amounts will not be disclosed, the Trump administration said.

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A midsize manufacturer forced to shut down production for two months. A regional restaurant chain surviving on takeout service and sharply lower revenue.  A hotel struggling to stay afloat until Americans start traveling again.

Tens of thousands of midsize businesses left out of massive government rescue programs for small and large companies amid the COVID-19 pandemic are finally getting their lifeline.  

The Federal Reserve’s Main Street Lending Program for small and midsize companies battered by the outbreak got off to an encouraging start last week after months of delays, with more than 200 banks registering.

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Francis Brooke, a top White House energy adviser to President Trump, has been named deputy director of the National Economic Council.

Brooke, who has served as Trump's top energy adviser since April 2018, has been involved in numerous deregulatory efforts.

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Global demand for oil could top out faster than previously thought due to the lasting impacts of COVID-19, according to analytics firm Rystad Energy.

Peak oil demand now could come as soon as 2027 or 2028, according to the Oslo, Norway-based firm, which released a report Wednesday signaling more bad news for the oil industry.

"Before, we had around 2030 as most likely," Per Magnus Nysveen, senior partner and head of analysis at Rystad, said in an email. "Now around 2028 appears more likely."

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The Trump administration’s rush to prop up the ailing oil and gas sector is having unintended consequences: Utah and other western states are being starved of desperately needed money.

That’s because the Trump administration is giving energy corporations an unnecessary break on royalty payments and suspending rent payments on leases to drill on public lands and in public waters.

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Despite the calamitous events of this year, the stock market is roaring back.

Using markets as a barometer for how well things are going, instead of the wild stories that make news headlines, the world is doing well. But that’s only true in theory, not necessarily all that valuations reflect.

The $3 trillion tsunami in Federal Reserve liquidity flooding the financial system this year is not to be overlooked as a factor in stock prices.

Many economists and bankers (for instance, Barclays’ CEO) believe low interest rates and yields send capital flowing to risk assets with potentially higher returns. As a result, conditions are ripe for a bubble in asset prices and the inevitable market correction.

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While the stock market has nearly recovered to its pre-coronavirus levels (even with recent drops), more than 44 million people remain unemployed. The pandemic has hit those making the least the hardest: 40 percent of those making less than $40,000 have lost their jobs.

Despite this, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) has indicated he’d like to wait and see how the actions taken so far turn out before acting again. The markets have been responding strongly to the actions of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who made it clear at the end of March that the Fed was prepared to do whatever it takes to rescue the economy. But no politicians go on TV and say they will do whatever it takes to make sure no one goes hungry or bankrupt during (or after) the pandemic. In fact, it seems that the only thing that may drive McConnell to pass another coronavirus package is another market crash.

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