Several dozen mothballed Delta Air Lines jets are parked on a closed runway at Kansas City International Airport on Thursday, May 14, 2020 in Kansas City, Mo. The planes, some of the approximately 90 Delta jets parked at the airport, are among the thousands of passenger planes taken out of service worldwide as travel restrictions and stay-at-home orders due to the new coronavirus has drastically reduced air travel. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
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 KEEP GAINS: The markets closed out an uneven week of trading with mixed results Friday but still managed to make up for last week's losses. Now that all 50 states have begun reopening to some degree, investors see signs of hope for an economic recovery in the U.S. during the second half of the year. Plus promising reports on COVID-19 vaccine trials pushed stocks up much of the week. However, fears that reopening businesses too quickly could lead to a resurgence of coronavirus cases, rising unemployment, U.S. friction with China, and moves made by Beijing to limit political opposition in Hong Kong tempered some of that enthusiasm.
UNEMPLOYMENT CRISIS: Jobless claims continue to climb. The Labor Department reported on Thursday that another 2.4 million people filed for unemployment benefits the previous week. Almost 39 million people have applied for benefits since the pandemic began closing businesses in March, with the unemployment rate now at 14.7 percent. Painful cuts continued this week with rideshare service Uber announcing it will lay off 3,000 employees on top of the 3,700 roles it had already cut. On Sunday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned in an interview that the unemployment rate could hit a peak of 20 to 25 percent in May or June.
AIRLINES CHART PATH FORWARD: U.S. airlines are reporting small but notable upticks in passengers ahead of Memorial Day Weekend. Delta says demand for beach destinations and activity “out west” grew and it's adding more flights to allow for social distancing on planes. Meanwhile, United unveiled new cleaning and safety protocols it hopes will put passengers’ minds at ease, including sneeze guards at check-in and touchless kiosks
FACEBOOK ALL-TIME HIGH: Shares of Facebook hit an all-time high, a day after the social media giant announced Facebook Shops, a new e-commerce platform meant to make it easier for users to sell on both Instagram and Facebook proper. Facebook’s stock has been on fire lately, helped by a strong balance sheet and access to a third of the world’s eyeballs.
WFH FOREVER?: More technology firms are telling their employees they can work from home indefinitely. Shopify, the Canadian e-commerce giant, and Facebook are the latest to jump on the bandwagon, following Twitter and Square. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg predicted as much as half of his workforce may eventually work remotely, away from crowded, expensive metropolises — but noted that salaries won't look the same for employees working in high-cost areas versus those in areas with lower costs of living.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
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.
