Business Highlights

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US loses 140,000 jobs, first monthly drop since spring

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers shed jobs last month for the first time since April, cutting 140,000 positions, clear evidence that the economy is faltering as the viral pandemic tightens its grip on consumers and businesses. The unemployment rate stayed at 6.7%, the first time it hasn’t fallen since April. Friday’s figures from the Labor Department suggest that employers have rehired roughly all the workers they can afford to after having laid off more than 22 million in the spring — the worst such loss on record. The economy still has 9.9 million fewer jobs than it did before the pandemic sent it sinking into a deep recession nearly a year ago.

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More coronavirus relief on the way for small businesses

NEW YORK (AP) — Millions of business owners are about to get additional help weathering the coronavirus outbreak. The Small Business Administration and the Treasury Department are reviving the Paycheck Protection Program five months after its first two rounds of funding ended. Businesses that received loans last year will be able to borrow up to $2 million as long as they have no more than 300 employees and suffered at least a 25% drop in quarterly revenue. First-time borrowers with no more than 500 workers will be able to borrow up to $10 million. The loans, which can be forgiven, will have five-year terms and carry an interest rate of 1%.

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New campaign, and logo, for GM in a bid to electrify image

DETROIT (AP) — General Motors is changing its corporate logo and launching an electric vehicle marketing campaign to reshape its image as clean vehicle company, rather than a builder of gas-powered pickups and SUVs. The 112-year-old Detroit automaker has promised to roll out 30 new battery-powered vehicles globally by the end of 2025 and said Friday that the new campaign will highlight its progressive vision for the future. GM said the industry has reached a history-changing inflection point for mass adoption of electric vehicles. The company is scrapping its old square blue logo and replacing it with a lower case gm surrounded by rounded corners. The company says it’s the biggest change to its logo since 1964. The ‘m’ in the logo is underlined to look like an electrical plug.

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Roku buys library of the short-lived streaming service Quibi

NEW YORK (AP) — Roku is buying short-lived streaming service Quibi’s content library to bolster content for its free Roku Channel. Financial terms were undisclosed. Roku built its business as a hub for other streaming services, but recently has been building up the content library for its own channel. Quibi, short for “quick bites,” raised $1.75 billion from investors including major Hollywood players Disney, NBCUniversal and Viacom. But the service struggled to reach viewers, as short videos abound on the internet and the coronavirus pandemic kept many people at home. It announced it was shutting down in October, just months after its April launch.

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Stock market shakes off a slump to reach more record highs

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks shook off a midday slump and powered higher in the afternoon, bringing major indexes to record highs and leaving the market with solid gains for the first week of the year. The S&P 500 added 0.5%. It rose 1.8% for the week. The Dow and Nasdaq also closed at record highs. Investors are hopeful that the Biden administration will move quickly to push through more badly needed support for American workers and businesses following his inauguration later this month. Treasury yields continued to rise as investors expect increased federal borrowing, more stimulus for the economy and the possibility of higher inflation.

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France’s hopes lift as US freezes tariffs over tech tax

PARIS (AP) — France’s government breathed a sigh of relief Friday after the U.S. indefinitely delayed tariffs on French wine, cosmetics and other goods. The U.S. tariffs were meant to enter in force this week. They were designed as retaliation for a French tax on technology giants like Google and Amazon. The U.S. Trade Representative’s office said it suspended the tariffs because it is investigating similar tech taxes from a growing number of other countries, too. France’s finance minister called for a global agreement on taxing online giants instead. It’s among multiple trade disputes that have damaged trans-Atlantic ties in recent years. ___

Semiconductor shortage forces automobile production cuts

DETROIT (AP) — A widening global shortage of semiconductors for auto parts is forcing major auto companies to halt or slow vehicle production just as they were recovering from pandemic-related factory shutdowns. Officials at Volkswagen, Ford, Fiat Chrysler, Toyota and Nissan all say they have been hit by the shortage and forced to delay production of some models in order to keep other factories running. In many cases, automakers have stopped making slower-selling vehicles in order to divert the chips to hotter segments of the market, including pickup trucks and SUVs. Industry officials say semiconductor companies diverted production to consumer electronics during the worst of the COVID-19 slowdown in auto sales last spring. Now there aren’t enough chips.

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The S&P 500 rose 20.89 points, or 0.5%, to 3,824.68. The Dow gained 56.84 points, or 0.2%, to 31,097.97. The Nasdaq climbed 134.50 points, or 1%, to 13,201.98. The Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks dropped 5.23 points, or 0.2%, to 2,091.66.