Business Highlights
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Dow drops more than 900 points, ending worst week since 2008
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks sank to their worst week since the financial crisis of 2008 as traders went into full retreat out of fear that the coronavirus will plunge the U.S. and other major economies into deep recessions. The Dow industrials dropped more than 900 points. The Dow ended week with a loss of 17%. The price of U.S. crude oil also took another nosedive as investors anticipate a sharp drop in demand for energy as manufacturing, travel and commerce grind nearly to a halt. New York became the latest state to extend a mandate to nearly all workers stay home to limit the spread of the virus.
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Congress, White House race to draft $1T rescue package
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional leaders and the White House are buckled down for high-stakes negotiations over a mammoth $1 trillion economic rescue package, as President Donald Trump lashes out over questions of his handling of the coronavirus outbreak. The undertaking is the most ambitious federal effort yet to shore up households and the U.S. economy as the pandemic grips the country. The goal is passage by Monday. GOP leader Mitch McConnell has a plan that would pump billions into $1,200 in direct checks for Americans and billions for small businesses. But Democrats say it's insufficient, as the nation braces for an onslaught of newly sick patients.
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Senator asks for ethics review of his stock sales
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr is asking for an ethics probe in response to criticism that he sold off as much as $1.7 million in stocks just before the market dropped in February amid coronavirus fears. Senate records show the Republican from North Carolina and his wife sold between roughly $600,000 and $1.7 million in more than 30 separate transactions in late January and mid-February. That was just before the market began to fall and as government health officials began to issue stark warnings about the effects of the virus.
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Income tax filing deadline moved to July 15 from April 15
WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has announced that the deadline for filing U.S. income taxes has been moved from April 15 to July 15. Mnuchin tweeted Thursday morning that at President Donald Trump's direction, “we are moving Tax Day from April 15 to July 15. All taxpayers and businesses will have this additional time to file and make payments without interest or penalties.” The administration had announced earlier in the week that it would delay the payments, a move that Mnuchin said would leave $300 billion in the economy at a critical time.
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Fed to boost lending to $1 trillion a day to ease credit
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve has moved with unprecedented force and speed to pump huge amounts of cash into the financial system to ease disruptions that have escalated since the viral outbreak. The New York Federal Reserve Bank said it will offer $1 trillion of overnight loans a day through the end of this month to large banks. All the Fed's emergency steps are intended to pump cash into a financial system that has seen a spike in demand for dollars as investors unload Treasuries, municipal bonds, and other securities.
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As virus grips nation, advocates move to halt evictions
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump has announced a package that he says includes “immediate relief to renters and homeowners" by suspending evictions and foreclosures for 60 days. But the vast majority of renters, who are generally low income and disproportionately African American, Latino and other minorities, will not be covered. At least three dozen U.S. cities and states have put in place policies to halt evictions, foreclosures and utility shutoffs out of concern that economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis will push many families to the brink of homelessness. U.S. housing advocates welcome the measures as good first steps but say people facing eviction and foreclosure prior to the virus outbreak will need much more than temporary forbearance to remain housed.
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Netflix establishes $100 million virus relief fund
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Netflix says it's establishing a $100 million relief fund for workers affected by the coronavirus-caused halt of most film and TV production. The streaming service said Friday the majority of the fund will support the hardest-hit workers on Netflix's own productions around the world, especially crew members.
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Stores set up senior shopping hours amid coronavirus fears
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Grocery store chains and other retailers are easing the fears of senior citizens over the coronavirus by reserving shopping times exclusively for them. Target, Walmart, Whole Foods, Dollar General and supermarkets in Europe began dedicating early morning shopping times for older customers this week. The theory is that allowing seniors to shop among smaller crowds could reduce their chances of acquiring the virus and give them first crack at buying hand sanitizer and other products that have been hard to find because of panic shopping. The idea has worked well in smaller stores but backfired in some larger stores, where big crowds showed up.
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The S&P 500 fell 104.47 points, or 4.3%, to 2,304.92. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 913.21 points, or 4.6%, to 19,173.98 . The Nasdaq lost 271.06 points, or 3.8%, to 6,879.52 The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks finished down 44.70 points, or 4.2% at 1,014.05.