When Georgia Governor Brian Kemp announced that the state will reopen some shuttered businesses as soon as Friday, his decision was quickly met with criticism and some confusion from local officials. The order allows gyms, hair and nail salons, bowling alleys, and tattoo parlors to reopen first, with dine-in restaurants and movie theaters allowed to open their doors on Monday.
Ben Midgley, CEO of Crunch Fitness Franchise, told Cheddar Wednesday that the company will take a close look at its approach to reopening its facilities.
“We are taking a thoughtful and careful approach to this. We want to step into this very carefully, so we’ve prepared a 30-page readiness plan for our clubs so we can make sure we are following a number of different aspects,” Midgley said.
The CEO also said workout classes have been modified to accommodate social distancing. To ensure that gym participants have an adequate amount of space, Midgley said they will have lower class sizes and will sanitize equipment between uses.
The government has been trying to provide relief for businesses through the CARES Act and through small business loans, however, Midgley noted there are limits to its effectiveness.
“There are challenges with the program in terms of the ratios that they can apply for forgiveness on the debt, an amount that has to go to payroll, an amount that can go to your lease payment, an amount to rent,” he said. "There is a tremendous amount of documentation that has to go back to the SBA until those loans are forgiven."
But despite those concerns, the CEO thinks business owners are putting their best foot forward.
“There’s certainly concern. But I think everyone is putting their best foot forward, and they’re having a very positive attitude and are trying to help out in their communities,” Midgley said.
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Swedish buy now, pay later company Klarna is making its highly anticipated public debut on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, the latest in a run of high-profile initial public offerings this year. The offering priced at $40 Tuesday, above the forecasted range of $35 to $37 a share, valuing the company at more than $15 billion. The valuation easily makes Klarna one of the biggest IPOs so far in 2025, which has been one of the busier years for companies going public. Other popular IPOs so far this year include the design software company Figma and Circle Internet Group, which issues the USDC stablecoin..
Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison wrested the title of the world’s richest man from longtime holder Elon Musk early Wednesday as stock in his software giant rocketed more than a third in a stunning few minutes of trading. That is according to wealth tracker Bloomberg. A college dropout, the 81-year-old Ellison is now worth $393 billion, Bloomberg says, several billion more than Musk, who had been the world’s richest for four years. The switch in the ranking came after a blockbuster earnings report from Oracle. Forbes still has Musk as the richest, however, valuing his private businesses much higher.
