Business & Finance News
U.S. consumer confidence tumbled to near a six-year low in April as tough measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus sharply disrupted economic activity and threw millions of Americans out of work.
Sweden’s H&M is set to permanently close eight of its Italian stores, including two in the country’s fashion capital Milan, as it pushes ahead with plans that pre-date the COVID-19 pandemic.
Southwest Airlines Co said on Tuesday it has agreed with Boeing Co to sharply cut its 737 MAX delivery schedule through 2021 and is reviewing its order book as the coronavirus pandemic caused its first quarterly loss in nine years.
Slumping sales at big fast food chains could get a boost as hungry and restless customers spend stimulus checks after long lockdowns, analysts and some operators said ahead of quarterly earnings that will show the extent of damage from the coronavirus slowdown.
Cheryl Wellman is one of thousands of small business owners anxious to see if she’ll get a slice of the $310 billion in new emergency aid that was just released by Washington.
U.S. bankers racing to grab $310 billion in fresh small-business aid worked through the night on Tuesday, with many battling ongoing technology problems created by 11th hour changes to the first-come-first-served program, multiple bankers said.
Stock markets across the globe moved in and out of losses on Tuesday, whipsawed by Wall Street as mixed corporate earnings reports were not enough to offset a wild ride in oil prices.
Bayer shareholders on Tuesday voted in favour of ratifying the executive board’s business conduct during 2019, following a rebuke a year earlier.
Merck & Co Inc said on Tuesday it expects the coronavirus pandemic to reduce 2020 sales by more than $2 billion, and the U.S. drugmaker lowered its profit forecast as a big drop in doctors’ office visits during the outbreak will take a hefty toll, sending its shares down more than 3%.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones indexes rose on Tuesday after a string of upbeat quarterly reports took the edge off a plunge in consumer confidence, with investors turning hopeful of a pickup in business activity as economies slowly reopen.
PepsiCo warned on Tuesday surging demand for Lays and Doritos would only partially offset a hit to business in the second quarter from coronavirus lockdowns that have shuttered restaurants, theaters and sports venues key for its soda sales.
The U.S. Treasury Department will audit every loan for more than $2 million given under the Paycheck Protection Program for businesses hurt by the coronavirus fallout, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Tuesday.
Wall Street’s main indexes pared gains in early trading on Tuesday, as data showed U.S. consumer confidence tumbled in April as coronavirus-driven lockdowns sharply disrupted economic activity and left millions of Americans unemployed.
U.S. stock markets jumped at the open on Tuesday on another round of upbeat quarterly earnings reports, even as investors braced for a likely slide in consumer confidence data later in the day.
Investors already know how the coronavirus outbreak has hurt Ford Motor Co’s bottom line, so when the automaker releases first-quarter results on Tuesday they will focus on how and when Ford plans to restart North American operations.
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