Wire stories category, Page 96
Business Fallout: Starbucks limits access, Target raises pay
Less than three months ago came the first reports of cases of pneumonia related to a virus first detected in Wuhan, China. The outbreak of the virus that causes COVID-19 has caused unprecedented disruptions that have brought an unparalleled shock to the global economy. Following are developments Friday related to...
Dow drops more than 900 points, ending worst week since 2008
Wall Street ended the week the same way it began: in full retreat from the coronavirus. Stocks fell sharply and the price of oil sank Friday as federal and state governments moved to shut down bigger and bigger swaths of the nation’s economy in the hope of limiting the spread...
High-stakes negotiations begin on $1 trillion economic rescue
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Trump administration officials launched high-stakes negotiations Friday with Senate Republicans and Democrats racing to draft a $1 trillion-plus economic rescue package amid the coronavirus outbreak. It’s the biggest effort yet from Washington to shore up households and the U.S. economy as the pandemic...
U.S. home sales jumped to 13-year high before viral outbreak
WASHINGTON — U.S. home sales jumped in February to their highest level in 13 years, a trend that will almost certainly be reversed as people stop showing their property out of fear of infection in the coronavirus outbreak. The National Association of Realtors said Friday that home sales jumped 6.5%...
Cautious optimism on Wall Street sends stocks higher
NEW YORK — Stocks capped a wobbly day on Wall Street with solid gains Thursday, reflecting cautious optimism among investors that emergency action by the U.S. government and central banks will cushion the global economy from a looming recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The swings in the market were...
U.S. seeks $3 billion to boost oil producers as prices plunge
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said Thursday that it is seeking $3 billion from Congress to top up the country’s strategic petroleum reserves, potentially propping up U.S. oil producers after crude prices crashed globally. President Trump had directed the Energy Department last week to fill the United States’ emergency stash...
Layoffs spike in U.S., Europe as virus shuts businesses
WASHINGTON — Just a couple of weeks ago, Erika Vega hoped her temp job at a cafeteria would soon become permanent. But instead, the viral outbreak shut down the building where she worked and left her wondering where her next paycheck will come from. Like millions of Americans and people...
Trump weighs controls on companies that take coronavirus bailouts
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday the government should take an equity stake in some companies that need bailouts because of devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the U.S. economy. Trump told a briefing he has executive authority to curb the impact on businesses. “There’s a lot of...
SpaceX puts 60 satellites into orbit despite engine failure
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX launched 60 more of its internet satellites into orbit Wednesday despite an engine failure shortly after liftoff on a recycled rocket flying a record five times. SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk said one of the nine main engines shut down prematurely during liftoff, a rare...
Apple brings PC-like trackpad to iPad tablets
Apple’s new iPad brings PC-like trackpad capabilities for the first time, as the company seeks to make its tablet even more like a laptop computer. Apple says the trackpad will offer more precision than fingers in selecting text and switching between apps. Older iPads will also be able to get...
Stocks drop on Wall Street despite promises of coronavirus aid
NEW YORK — Stocks are falling sharply on Wall Street in early trading as fears spread that the coronavirus is causing a global recession. The Dow Jones industrials fell 1,100 points, or 5%, in the first few minutes of trading Wednesday. European markets are also down a similar amount and...
Bidet sales soar as toilet paper sells out amid coronavirus fears
As cases of the coronavirus continue to climb, nothing feels more surreal than the irrational stockpiling of toilet paper, even though experts tell us it isn’t necessary and manufacturers say there is no shortage. Whether it stems from a herd mentality, reading social media posts about toilet paper fights, or...
Stocks jump after Trump promises to ‘go big’ on virus aid
NEW YORK — Stocks rallied Tuesday as President Donald Trump promised he’s “going big” with plans to prop up the staggering economy through the coronavirus outbreak. Besides the White House’s proposal, which could approach $1 trillion, the Federal Reserve also announced its latest emergency move to get markets running more...
More wipes, no jeans: Amazon limits shipments to warehouses
NEW YORK — Amazon, in an attempt to fill its warehouses with toilet paper, hand sanitizer and other items in high demand, said Tuesday that it will limit what suppliers can send to its warehouses for the next three weeks. Among the items that suppliers and third-party sellers can ship...
Dow dives 2,997 points on fears coronavirus will cause recession
NEW YORK — The U.S. stock market plunged more than 12% Monday for its worst day in more than three decades as voices from Wall Street to the White House said the coronavirus is likely dragging the economy into a recession. The S&P 500 has plummeted nearly 30% since setting...
All Starbucks in U.S., Canada shift to takeout-only model
All Starbucks locations in the U.S. and Canada will be moving to a “to go” only model as it works to help slow the spread of covid-19, the company announced Sunday night. Seating will be suspended in the coffee shops, but takeout orders will still be accepted through the Starbucks...
Stock futures sink after rate cut, new coronavirus restrictions
NEW YORK — U.S. stock futures fell sharply after the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates and more companies and governments took action over the weekend to shut down European and American society in the face of the growing virus outbreak. Futures for the S&P 500 fell 5% Sunday night and...
Fed slashes rate to near zero, eases lending rules
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve took emergency action Sunday and slashed its benchmark interest rate by a full percentage point to nearly zero and announced it would purchase more Treasury securities to encourage lending to try to offset the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. The central bank said the effects...
Courts slow opening of public lands to oil, gas drilling
WASHINGTON — Soon after President Trump took office, the rush to open millions of acres of federal land to oil and gas drilling was on. Under pressure from industry, the number of acres offered for lease shot up, the time it took to process a permit application dropped and lease...
Census faces challenges as it aims to hire up to 500,000
ORLANDO, Fla. — The U.S. Census Bureau said it has reached its goal of recruiting more than 2.6 million applicants for the once-a-decade head count that launched for most of America this week — but it has been a bumpy road getting there. The nation’s abundance of jobs has complicated...
Pentagon reconsiders Microsoft contract after Amazon protest
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is reconsidering its awarding of a major cloud computing contract to Microsoft after rival tech giant Amazon protested what it called a flawed bidding process. U.S. government lawyers said in a court filing this week that the Defense Department “wishes to reconsider its award decision” and...
No fans, no work: Arena workers caught in sports shutdown
MIAMI — David Edelman can usually be found at a Denver Nuggets basketball game or a Colorado Rapids soccer game. As an usher, he interacts with fans in a role he calls a staple of his life. But there are no Nuggets games for at least a month. No Rapids...
Stocks surge on new coronavirus measures; Dow up 1,985 points
NEW YORK — Wall Street roared back from its worst day in 30 years Friday with a broad rally that sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average nearly 2,000 points higher — its biggest point gain ever — after President Donald Trump declared the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency. The Dow’s...
Starbucks stores may go drive-thru only or limit seating because of coronavirus
Some Starbucks stores in the U.S. and Canada may become drive-thru only while others could limit the number of people allowed inside, the company said, one day after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of coronavirus a pandemic. “As a last resort, we will close a store if we...
Stock market endures biggest drop since crash of 1987
NEW YORK — The stock market had its biggest drop since the Black Monday crash of 1987 Thursday as fears of economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis deepened. The sell-off, which sent the Dow industrials down 10%, came despite supportive steps from the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank....
