VOL. 44 | NO. 14 | Friday, April 3, 2020
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
With the COVID-19 pandemic reaching across the country and state, and beginning to claim lives in Nashville – recognizable names and treasured residents – many are concerned about real estate values.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. long-term mortgage rates fell this week for the second straight week as anxiety has spiraled over devastation to the economy from the coronavirus pandemic.
NONPROFITS
The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee is adding 25 grants totaling $904,600 to support nonprofits and organizations helping victims of the March 3 tornadoes.
NEWSMAKERS
Kat McElroy has joined Tennessee Bank and Trust as senior vice president, commercial banking.
BRIEFS
Marcus & Millichap, a leading commercial real estate investment services firm, has sold two medical office buildings located in Lebanon.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
Every year brings new technology features in vehicles. Most of them undeniably enhance a vehicle's modern appeal and safety, such as widescreen infotainment displays and safety systems that can automatically help prevent or mitigate accidents.
BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW
The disappointment arrived just after lunch. That promotion you hoped to get? Nope. No raise, either, because your boss wants you to make a few improvements in your job, tweak your skills, have more time to grow – even though you’ve been improving, tweaking and growing for months at work.
PERSONAL FINANCE
Adding an adult child to your house deed – or giving them the home outright – might seem like a smart thing to do. It usually isn’t.
CAREER CORNER
One question I hear often from readers concerns military transitions. Many members of the military devote the first 20 years of their career to the U.S. Military. Around age 40, they’ll retire and start entirely new careers in the civilian world.
MILLENNIAL MONEY
No one plans for infertility. But that doesn't stop it from being a reality for millions of people.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Several organizations tasked with feeding low-income children in Tennessee billed the state for meals they did not serve, a state audit found.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Seven Tennessee properties have been added to the National Register of Historic Places and two others have had their registries updated and expanded, the Tennessee Historical Commission announced this week.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The executive director of Tennessee's largest teacher organization is retiring.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — The wife of celebrated singer-songwriter John Prine said she was able to sit with her husband in the last hours of his life. Prine died Tuesday at 73 from complications of COVID-19.
John Prine, the ingenious singer-songwriter who explored the heartbreaks, indignities and absurdities of everyday life in "Angel from Montgomery," "Sam Stone," "Hello in There" and scores of other indelible tunes, died Tuesday at the age of 73.
NEW YORK (AP) — Some people, the songs just come out of them. For nearly half a century, they tumbled out of John Prine like nothing.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump offered a rosy portrait of a smoothly running federal emergency lending program for small businesses that doesn't match reality and revised history yet again on how seriously he took the coronavirus threat, suggesting he likened it to a pandemic flu. He never did.
PALMETTO, Fla. (AP) — Mounds of harvested zucchini and yellow squash ripened and then rotted in the hot Florida sun. Juicy tomatoes were left to wither — unpicked — in farmers' fields.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — To curb the coronavirus spread, Los Angeles has embarked on a massive effort to bring thousands of homeless people off the streets and into hotels to protect them and others from infection.
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a first, small step toward reopening the country, the Trump administration could relax coronavirus guidelines as early as Wednesday to make it easier for Americans who have been exposed but have no symptoms to return to work, particularly those in essential jobs.
ENVIRONMENT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite mocking the idea of climate change, President Donald Trump will preside over one of the country's sharpest drops in climate-damaging emissions on record, as the economic paralysis from the coronavirus tamps down energy use, according to an Energy Department projection on Tuesday.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Just weeks ago, cities and even states across the U.S. were busy banning straws, limiting takeout containers and mandating that shoppers bring reusable bags or pay a small fee as the movement to eliminate single-use plastics took hold in mainstream America.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks shot to a 3.4% gain on Wall Street Wednesday as investors chose to focus on the optimistic side of data about the coronavirus outbreak's trajectory.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is telling House Democrats that direct deposits to Americans will begin next week under the coronavirus aid package.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials pledged at two emergency meetings last month to use their full arsenal to bolster the U.S. economy being brought to its knees by the coronavirus outbreak.
Just as the coronavirus outbreak has boxed in society, it's also squeezed high-flying tech companies reliant on people's freedom to move around and get together.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has rejected a government attempt to block Sabre Corp. from buying Farelogix Inc. in a $360 million deal combining two companies that provide information about airline tickets to travel agents.
NEW YORK (AP) — Citing the coronavirus pandemic and an unprecedented need for loans and assistance for small businesses, the Federal Reserve is lifting its lending restrictions on Wells Fargo.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional Democratic leaders proposed Wednesday adding hundreds of billions of dollars for health care, state and local governments, and food stamps to $250 billion in fresh emergency aid President Donald Trump wants to help small businesses weather the coronavirus epidemic.
NEW YORK (AP) — Small business owners hoping for quick help from the government's emergency $349 billion lending program were still waiting Tuesday amid reports of computer problems at the Small Business Administration.
The outbreak of the coronavirus has dealt a shock to the global economy with unprecedented speed. Following are developments Wednesday related to the global economy, the work place and the spread of the virus.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran demanded on Wednesday that U.S. oil production levels must be known before an upcoming OPEC meeting with Russia and others seeking to boost global energy prices.
BRUSSELS (AP) — European governments remained at loggerheads Wednesday over measures to help the economy weather the coronavirus outbreak, breaking off a meeting of finance officials who clashed over aid conditions and proposals to borrow together to pay for the health crisis.
BERLIN (AP) — Germany's Cabinet on Wednesday approved legislation that will make it easier for authorities to prevent foreign takeovers of strategically important companies.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The outline of the next potential coronavirus aid package is taking shape as President Donald Trump seeks $250 billion for small businesses and Democrats propose tacking on another $250 billion for small communities, protective gear and food stamps.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Bernie Sanders, who saw his once strong lead in the Democratic primary evaporate as the party's establishment lined swiftly up behind rival Joe Biden, ended his presidential bid on Wednesday, acknowledging the former vice president is too far ahead for him to have any reasonable hope of catching up.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is moving aggressively to challenge the authority and independence of agency watchdogs overseeing his administration, including removing the inspector general tasked with overseeing the $2.2 trillion coronavirus rescue package that passed Congress with bipartisan support.
TUESDAY, APRIL 7
UT SPORTS
KNOXVILLE (AP) — Former All-Star first baseman Todd Helton pleaded guilty to driving under the influence as a first offense and has served 48 hours in jail as part of his sentence.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — An appeals court sided with the Trump administration Tuesday in its effort to resume executions of federal death row prisoners but sent a legal challenge by inmates back to a lower court for further review. The decision leaves unresolved for now whether, and if so when, executions might resume.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Police can pull over a car when they know only that its owner's license is invalid, even if they don't know who's behind the wheel, the Supreme Court ruled Monday.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — As Tennessee schools currently remain closed to help curb the spread of the new coronavirus, state officials are accepting applications for a new education voucher program that would allow eligible families to use public tax dollars on private tuition during the upcoming school year.
MIDSTATE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Nine people have now died in a coronavirus outbreak at a Tennessee nursing home where more than 100 people tested positive, a hospital spokesman said Tuesday.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Valley Authority says it is giving $100,000 to relief funds in three Middle Tennessee counties that were hit hard by tornadoes in early March.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said Monday he sees "some good news" in a model projecting the coronavirus' spread and demand on health care resources in his state, but he cautioned that models change and depend on people following strict social distancing orders.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee will soon accept applications for a $200 million pot of state money set aside for local government grants.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has removed the inspector general tapped to chair a special oversight board for the $2.2 trillion economic relief package on the coronavirus, the latest in a series of steps Trump has taken to confront government watchdogs tasked with oversight of the executive branch.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defending his administration's response to the coronavirus, President Donald Trump falsely asserted that travelers at U.S. airports are being routinely tested for COVID-19, made groundless accusations against a watchdog and wrongly claimed the Obama administration did nothing during a flu pandemic.
NEW YORK (AP) — Convicted former drug company CEO Martin Shkreli, known as "Pharma Bro," wants to get out of prison so he can help research a treatment for the coronavirus, his lawyer said Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday disputed the veracity of a federal survey that found hospitals faced severe shortages of coronavirus test supplies, questioning whether its conclusions were skewed by politics.
TOKYO (AP) — Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a month-long state of emergency Tuesday for Tokyo and six other prefectures to ramp up defenses against the spread of the coronavirus as the number of infections surges.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and his administration are promoting an anti-malaria drug not officially approved for fighting the new coronavirus, even though scientists say more testing is needed before it's proven safe and effective against COVID-19.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — A rally on Wall Street evaporated after the price of crude oil took a sudden turn lower, deflating gains in the energy sector. Major indexes ended slightly lower Tuesday after being up more than 3% earlier. The market was coming off an even bigger gain of 7% the day before. The rally faded after the price of U.S. oil flipped from a gain to a steep loss of more than 9%. It had otherwise been an ebullient day for markets worldwide following encouraging signs that the coronavirus pandemic may be close to leveling off in some of the hardest-hit areas of the world.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration will seek an additional $250 billion to support a program designed to help small businesses keep workers employed through the coronavirus outbreak, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a rare move, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday he will attempt to swiftly pass additional funds for small businesses to keep making payroll as Congress rushes to provide more aid during the coronavirus crisis.
LONDON (AP) — A pandemic forcing everyone to stay home could be the perfect moment for online grocery services. In practice, they've been struggling to keep up with a surge in orders, highlighting their limited ability to respond to an unprecedented onslaught of demand.
NEW YORK (AP) — Small business owners hoping for quick loans from the government were in a holding pattern Monday — waiting on their bank to either take their application or, if it did, send them the money.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers posted a healthy number of job openings in February, evidence that the job market was in decent shape before the viral outbreak brought the economy to a near standstill.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional leaders are jolting ahead with another coronavirus rescue package as President Donald Trump indicated that Americans will need more aid during the stark pandemic and economic shutdown.
The outbreak of the coronavirus has dealt a shock to the global economy with unprecedented speed. Following are developments Tuesday related to the global economy, the work place and the spread of the virus.
TECHNOLOGY
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ceri Weber had just begun to defend her dissertation when the chaos began: Echoes and voices interrupted her. Someone parroted her words. Then Britney Spears music came on, and someone told Weber to shut up. Someone threatened to rape her.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump shook up his communications team on Tuesday, replacing his press secretary and adding new staffers as he grapples with the coronavirus pandemic.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly resigned Tuesday, according to two officials, just hours after he had publicly apologized for a profanity-laced upbraiding of the officer he fired as captain of the coronavirus-stricken USS Theodore Roosevelt.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said he had a "really wonderful, warm conversation" with Joe Biden on Monday about the coronavirus outbreak.
MONDAY, APRIL 6
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Top Tennessee officials say nearly $20 million in broadband accessibility grants have been awarded to help support nearly 31,000 underserved residents.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Well, OK, boomer. The Supreme Court made it easier Monday for federal employees 40 and older to sue for age discrimination.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — Country music's biggest stars should have been on the carpet of the Academy of Country Music Awards on Sunday in Las Vegas, but like most of America, they were homebound because of the coronavirus. Still, the musicians played on, surrounded by spouses, kids and — in one case — a horse.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
WASHINGTON (AP) — After the first alarms sounded in early January that an outbreak of a novel coronavirus in China might ignite a global pandemic, the Trump administration squandered nearly two months that could have been used to bolster the federal stockpile of critically needed medical supplies and equipment.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and his administration kept up their out-sized promotion Monday of an anti-malaria drug not yet officially approved for fighting the new coronavirus, even though scientists say more testing is needed before it's proven safe and effective against COVID-19.
A second U.S. company is poised to begin a small safety test of a vaccine against the new coronavirus.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is confronting the most dangerous crisis a U.S. leader has faced this century as the coronavirus spreads and a once-vibrant economy falters. As the turmoil deepens, the choices he makes in the critical weeks ahead will shape his reelection prospects, his legacy and the character of the nation.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. surgeon general says that Americans should brace for levels of tragedy reminiscent of the Sept. 11 attacks and the bombing of Pearl Harbor, while the nation's infectious disease chief warned that the new coronavirus may never be completely eradicated from the globe.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is pitching a medicine for COVID-19 sufferers that science has not concluded is effective or safe for their use. "Take it," he said of the drug.
PHOENIX (AP) — Yvonne Knight, who has respiratory problems that make her especially vulnerable in the coronavirus pandemic, can't buy groceries online with her food stamps — even though each trip to the store is now a risky endeavor.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are increasingly taking preventative measures, including staying away from large crowds and avoiding touching their hands to their faces, to confront the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — A worldwide rally gained steam on Wall Street Monday, propelling major indexes up more than 7%, as traders cheered glimmers of hope that the deadliness of the coronavirus outbreak could be slowing in some of the hardest-hit areas. New York's governor said the rate of increase of deaths could be approaching a plateau, but he cautioned it was far too early to say the worst had passed. European and Asian markets also rose. Bond yields rose as investors became somewhat less pessimistic about prospects for the economy. The price of oil fell after a meeting between big producers about cutbacks was postponed.
WASHINGTON (AP) — For years, personal trainer Amanda Tikalsky didn't have to worry much about her job. The U.S. economy's record-breaking 11-year expansion offered security to service workers like her.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve will provide support to the government's new small business lending program in its latest attempt to smooth the flow of credit in the virus-stricken U.S. economy.
The outbreak of the coronavirus has dealt a shock to the global economy with unprecedented speed. Following are developments Monday related to the global economy, the work place and the spread of the virus.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — In an extraordinary broadside punctuated with profanity, the Navy's top leader accused the fired commander of the COVID-stricken USS Theodore Roosevelt of being "too naive or too stupid" to be in charge of an aircraft carrier. He delivered the criticism to sailors who had cheered the departing skipper last week.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Monday designated a Russian white supremacist group a "foreign terrorist organization" and hit its members with sanctions.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The ousted inspector general of the intelligence community says he is "disappointed and saddened" that President Donald Trump fired him, but he also encouraged other inspectors general to continue to speak out when they are aware of wrongdoing.
FRIDAY, APRIL 3
STATEWIDE
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation today announced it will close all 56 Tennessee state parks and state-owned state natural areas to the public effective April 4-14 in support of Gov. Bill Lee’s Executive Order 23.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Jody Hull had been editing youth sports images for a photography company in Tennessee until the coronavirus forced schools — and their athletics — to shut down. Now she's laid off, and like many thousands of Tennesseans is trying to navigate the state's flooded unemployment claim process.
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — The Army's 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell has canceled its Week of the Eagles because of the coronavirus pandemic.
EDUCATION
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Board of Regents says it plans to discuss colleges' responses to the coronavirus pandemic and consider two dozen proposed career and technical education programs at its next meeting.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
WASHINGTON (AP) — Three out of four U.S. hospitals surveyed are already treating patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, according to a federal report that finds hospitals expect to be overwhelmed as cases rocket toward their projected peak.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration abruptly changed its description of the Strategic National Stockpile, the federal government's repository of life-saving medicines and supplies, to conform with President Donald Trump's insistence that it is only a short-term backup for states, not a commitment to ensure supplies get quickly to those who need them most during an emergency.
Manufacturing giant 3M pushed back Friday against criticism from President Donald Trump over production of face masks that are badly needed by American health care workers.
WASHINGTON (AP) — An odd new front in the U.S.-Russian rivalry has emerged as a Russian military cargo plane bearing a load of urgently needed medical supplies landed this week at New York's JFK airport.
ROME (AP) — San Marino needed medical masks. Badly.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two weeks ago, the Pentagon promised to make as many as 2,000 military ventilators available as the federal government strains to contend with the coronavirus pandemic. As of Wednesday, less than half had been allocated, despite a desperate need across the country.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden said Thursday that he wants to speak with President Donald Trump in the hope that the president can "learn some lessons" from the Obama administration on how to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.
NEW YORK (AP) — Tiffany Pinckney remembers the fear when COVID-19 stole her breath. So when she recovered, the New York City mother became one of the country's first survivors to donate her blood to help treat other seriously ill patients.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is formalizing new guidance to recommend that many Americans wear face coverings in an effort to slow the spread of the new coronavirus as the president defends his response to the crisis.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market's first reaction to Friday's stunningly bad jobs report was to take it in stride. But Wall Street slid through the day as investors looked ahead to the likelihood that even worse numbers are on the way.
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin says he supports cutting oil production by about 10 million barrels a day to shore up falling prices.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Friday that health care must be at the "top of the list" in the next coronavirus rescue package.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A record-long streak of U.S. job growth ended suddenly in March after nearly a decade, as employers slashed hundreds of thousands of jobs because of the viral outbreak that has all but shut down the U.S. economy. The unemployment rate jumped to 4.4% from a 50-year low of 3.5%.
NEW YORK (AP) — The federal government's relief program for small businesses is off to a slow start Friday, with only some businesses able to apply and several banks either not accepting applications or seeing long waits to do approvals.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Growth in the U.S. service sector slowed in March with a much bigger decline expected in coming months from all the shutdowns and job layoffs that have occurred because of efforts to contain the coronavirus.
The outbreak of the coronavirus has dealt a shock to the global economy with unprecedented speed. Following are developments on Friday related to the global economy, the work place and the spread of the virus.
AUTO INDUSTRY
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Tesla's sales of its increasingly popular electric cars got off to fast start this year, even though the company had to slam the brakes along with other major automakers last month because of worldwide efforts to contain the worst pandemic in a century.
COURTS
The Supreme Court on Friday announced it will postpone arguments scheduled for April because of the coronavirus pandemic, but the court didn't rule out hearing some arguments within months.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is nominating a 37-year-old judge and former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to a seat on the powerful U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are zeroing in on health care as one of the few issues that might resonate among Americans who have largely shelved election year politics as they focus on protecting their families from the spreading coronavirus.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two of the most powerful people in Washington have not spoken in five months at a time when the nation is battling its worst health crisis in a century, one that has already killed more than 6,000 Americans and put 10 million others out of work.
WASHINGTON (AP) — It may be an odd gesture at a time of social distancing, but President Donald Trump is leaning into his plea to Congress to restore full tax benefits prized by business for fine dining and schmoozing. Trump is seizing on the pandemic crisis to push for an item on his economic wish list: full tax deductions for business meals in restaurants and for other entertainment expenses.
THURSDAY, APRIL 2
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — Pop superstar Taylor Swift is helping out a Nashville record store closed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
EDUCATION
MARTIN (AP) — The University of Tennessee says summer session classes at all campuses will be delivered online in response to the new coronavirus outbreak.
STATEWIDE
MEMPHIS (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee strengthened a stay-at-home order Thursday after initially resisting a statewide mandate despite pleas from the medical community that more robust action was needed to confront the coronavirus.
MEMPHIS (AP) — As more people get sick from the new coronavirus in Tennessee, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has evaluated sites in the Memphis area to convert to medical care facilities to ease the burden on hospitals facing an incoming wave of patients.
NASHVILLE (AP) — The deadline to qualify to run for many offices in this year's elections in Tennessee is quickly approaching.
NASHVILLE (AP) — When Jose Cojom's house collapsed around his family in a tornado that struck after midnight, he knew his life was going to get much harder. But that was just the beginning. A few weeks later, the restaurant where he cooks closed its doors because of the coronavirus.
SPORTS
Athletic directors at the nation's biggest sports schools are bracing for a potential financial crisis related to the coronavirus pandemic.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two weeks ago, the Pentagon promised to make as many as 2,000 military ventilators available as the federal government strains to contend with the coronavirus pandemic. As of Wednesday, less than half had been allocated, despite a desperate need across the country.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government expects to begin making payments to millions of Americans under the new stimulus law in mid-April, but some people without direct deposit information may not get checks until mid-August or later, according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press.
Nursing homes across the country have been in lockdown for weeks under federal orders to protect their frail, elderly residents from coronavirus, but a wave of deadly outbreaks nearly every day since suggests that the measures including a ban on visits and daily health screenings of staffers either came too late or were not rigorous enough.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease official, said Thursday he feels safe despite reports he's received online threats and has had uncomfortable personal encounters with admirers that prompted the Trump administration to assign him a security detail.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration said Thursday it is distributing about $3 billion in the first round of coronavirus aid to help the homeless find emergency shelter and communities expand testing and treatment.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that a majority of Republicans and Democrats alike approve of how state and local governments are handling the coronavirus outbreak. Fewer than half of Americans say the same of the response by the federal government and President Donald Trump, opinions driven by deeply partisan views about the president and his administration.
WASHINGTON (AP) — About half of all working Americans report some kind of income loss affecting themselves or a member of their household due to the coronavirus pandemic, with low-income Americans and those without college degrees especially likely to have lost a job, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street rallied Thursday for its first gain in three days after a sudden surge in oil prices revived beaten-down energy stocks. But, as has so often been the case in this year's market sell-off, it took a few U-turns to get there.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fresh data on Thursday that detailed a record avalanche of unemployment claims offered no signs of easing the rift between Democrats and Republicans over the need for new legislation financing infrastructure and other job-creation programs.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The new report that a knee-buckling 6.6 million more Americans filed for unemployment insurance makes it more urgent for Congress to approve a fresh jobs package, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 6.6 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week — doubling a record high set just one week earlier — a sign that layoffs are accelerating in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he expects Saudi Arabia and Russia will end an oil war and dramatically cut production.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit tumbled in February to the lowest level since 2016 as exports fell and imports fell more. The politically sensitive gap in the trade of goods with China narrowed in February when the world's No. 2 economy was locked down to combat the coronavirus outbreak..
The outbreak of the coronavirus has dealt a shock to the global economy with unprecedented speed. Following are developments on Thursday related to the global economy, the work place and the spread of the virus.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump aims to shovel $2.2 trillion into the U.S. economy over the next few weeks to try to cushion its free fall. But that means putting his fate in the hands of banks, profit-minded businesses and government bureaucrats he has frequently derided, along with a man who has emerged as arguably the biggest power broker to business in Washington: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. business regulators are suing to break up the multibillion-dollar deal between tobacco giant Altria and e-cigarette startup Juul Labs, saying their partnership amounted to an agreement not to compete in the U.S. vaping market.
AUTO INDUSTRY
BEIJING (AP) — Toyota Motor Co. and Chinese electric automaker BYD Co. announced a partnership Thursday to develop battery-powered vehicles, adding to a flurry of industry tie-ups to share soaring development costs.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she will establish a special House committee with subpoena power to oversee the government's spending of the more than $2.2 trillion approved to bolster the economy hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic.