A sign announces a coronavirus closure at a restaurant in Livermore Falls, Maine, Thursday, April 16, 2020. A massive explosion at a paper mill in the neighboring town of Jay, Maine on Wednesday threatens to add further unemployment to a region already hurt by coronavirus-related job losses. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
MARKETS RALLY: U.S. equity markets rallied for the second consecutive week, helped by signs of optimism that parts of the American economy would soon start reopening. President Trump told states they could begin a phased-in reopening as early as this weekend, provided their coronavirus cases are in control. He did not name those states, but said 29 of 50 appeared to be in "extremely good shape." The president made that announcement as U.S. coronavirus deaths surged to a new record with, more than 4,500 people dying on Thursday. The market gains came amid more catastrophic economic data, from the historic plunge in March retail sales to another grim week of jobless claims (more on that below), as well as the official word from China that its economy shrank by nearly 7 percent in Q1, its first contraction in decades. U.S. stocks have now cut their losses of last month in half, though the major indexes are still more than 10 percent off those highs in February ー which might as well have been a lifetime ago.
GILEAD SOARS: The rally accelerated on Friday after news leaked about encouraging signs from clinical trials using Gilead Science's antiviral Ebola drug remdesivir. Stat reported that a hospital in Chicago has seen rapid recoveries among a group of severely ill COVID-19 patients and that nearly all patients participating in the clinical trial there have been released from the hospital. It's still a small sample size, and the trial does not include a control arm, but signs that Gilead may have the closest thing to a virus therapy already in production was enough to send shares of the biotech firm up as much as 12 percent to end the week.
EMPLOYMENT DISASTER: Another 5.2 million Americans joined the ranks of the unemployed last week, bringing the number of new jobless claims to more than 22 million in the last four weeks. For perspective, the U.S. created 22 million jobs since the Great Recession, meaning a decade's worth of job creation was just wiped out in a month. Enhanced unemployment benefits are now going out in 29 states, according to the Labor Dept. The others are facing delays, reportedly because they are using decades-old computer equipment.
PPP TAPPED OUT: Less than two weeks after it launched, the Small Business Administration says the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is out of money. PPP is the $349 billion pot set aside for loans to help small businesses stay afloat and not lay off employees. More than 1.6 million applicants have been approved, though only a small amount of the actual funds have gone out the door yet. Congress is currently arguing over how to replenish the pot; Republicans want a “clean” increase, while Democrats are trying to get new provisions added.
PEACOCK STRUTS ITS STUFF: It is either the best or worst time ever to launch a new streaming service, and NBC will soon find out. NBCUniversal soft-launched its newest product, Peacock, to Comcast subscribers this week as a "sneak peek" before it goes wide this summer, although the media giant is reportedly thinking about bumping up that roll out since so many people are home now looking for new shows to watch. Peacock will house 15,000 hours of content, NBC says, and the service will be free for Comcast's Xfinity customers. The rest of us will have to shell out $5 per month for a full, but ad-supported version, or $10 to go ad-free. Peacock follows the launch of Quibi earlier this month, which reported 1.7 million app downloads in its first week (for comparison, Disney+ had 10 million signups on its launch day last fall).
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
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