VOL. 44 | NO. 17 | Friday, April 24, 2020
RICHARD COURTNEY: REALTY CHECK
For the four-week period beginning March 16 – the week before Mayor John Cooper’s Safer at Home order – residential sales in Davidson County increased each week. These sales topped out at 320 properties that went pending during the first full week after Gov. Bill Lee told Tennesseans to stay home.
NONPROFITS
As the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee prepares for The Big Payback’s seventh annual 24-hour online giving event, the agency also has announced 11 additional grants totaling $287,500 to area nonprofits and organizations helping victims affected by the March 3 tornadoes.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
NASHVILLE — Gov. Bill Lee on Friday released more details about how restaurants and retail stores across most of Tennessee should reopen next week to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, while acknowledging the state will not enforce such measures to ensure implementation.
Mayor John Cooper's office has created the following plan to get Nashville back to work.
Nashville and Davidson County Mayor John Cooper, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon and Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke have formed the Tennessee Major Metros Economic Restart Task Force to plan and coordinate the restoration of business activity currently suspended due to COVID-19.
NEWSMAKERS
Edward M. Yarbrough, a member and attorney at Bone McAllester Norton, has been awarded the Nashville Bar Foundation’s David Rutherford Award for 2020.
BRIEFS
Nashville-based HCA Healthcare will provide as many as 1,000 ventilators as part of the American Hospital Association’s collaboration with the federal government and health systems to distribute the equipment to hospitals experiencing a surge of patients with COVID-19.
BEHIND THE WHEEL
Tens of millions of Americans have filed for unemployment benefits in the past few weeks as the coronavirus pandemic has taken hold in the U.S. and shut down business on a large scale. When people are struggling to keep up with their bills, they often prioritize their basic needs and move their car payment to the bottom of the list.
PERSONAL FINANCE
Stock market crashes don’t just test investors’ mettle. Abrupt downturns also can reveal what kind of financial adviser you have.
CAREER CORNER
Work seemed stressful for all the normal reasons a month ago. Perhaps your boss had unrealistic expectations, you were making less than you wanted or your co-workers were annoying.
MEDIA
NASHVILLE (AP) — An online news outlet will begin covering Tennessee state government and policy starting May 6.
REGION
KNOXVILLE (AP) — Former Tennessee Valley Authority Board Chairman David Freeman this week joined the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy as a senior energy advisor, according to a news release from the group.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — A Tennessee judge on Wednesday weighed a wide range of arguments surrounding the legal battle over the state's much-debated school voucher program, noting that she plans on making a decision soon to ensure parents have enough time to plan ahead for the 2020-21 school year.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee's health department is offering drive-thru testing for the new coronavirus in 15 counties for the third straight weekend.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Tesla reported that it eked out a first-quarter net profit Wednesday and its CEO went on a rant about the legality of government stay-home orders issued to prevent the coronavirus from spreading.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump likes to talk about the most, the best, the thing that nobody has ever seen.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said the federal government will not be extending its coronavirus social distancing guidelines once they expire Thursday, and his son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, predicted that by July the country will be "really rocking again."
WASHINGTON (AP) — When John Manley tested positive for COVID-19, his sister urged him to get on the malaria drug that she'd heard Fox News hosts plugging and that President Donald Trump was heralding as a potential "game changer" for fighting the coronavirus.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans have faced upheaval over the past six weeks as the coronavirus spreads across the country, leading to shuttered schools, restaurants and businesses and confining people to their homes. In a crowded and fluctuating information environment, a new poll finds Americans using the news media and their state or local governments as their most regular sources.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 3.8 million laid-off workers applied for unemployment benefits last week as the U.S. economy slid further into a crisis that is becoming the most devastating since the 1930s.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer spending plunged 7.5% in March, reflecting the growing impact of the coronavirus pandemic as Americans complied with stay-at-home orders.
DALLAS (AP) — American Airlines reported a staggering loss of $2.24 billion for the first quarter, when the coronavirus pandemic triggered a sharp drop in air travel.
Comcast's net income slid in the first three months of the year as the coronavirus pandemic forced it to shut down its theme parks and its movies were kept out of shuttered theaters.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden announced Thursday the four co-chairs of his vice presidential vetting team, starting the search for his running mate in earnest.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawyers for Michael Flynn released internal FBI emails that are raising speculation that President Donald Trump might move to pardon his first national security adviser. The lawyers hope the emails will bolster their allegations that Flynn was entrapped when he was questioned at the White House three years ago.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29
TENNESSEE TITANS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans know every season means starting over no matter how the previous one ended.
STATEWIDE
MEMPHIS (AP) — Like other tourist spots in Tennessee, Casey Jones Village in Jackson has taken a financial hit since nonessential businesses closed in March as part of the response to the new coronavirus outbreak.
STATE GOVERNMENT
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee's legislative staffers are being called back to work in Nashville after spending nearly six weeks working from home due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
COURTS
NASHVILLE (AP) — A group of media and watchdog organizations on Wednesday sued the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance over a vote that took place by email in early April.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A push to block a new Tennessee education voucher program that would allow eligible families to use public tax dollars on private schooling tuition is headed for a court hearing Wednesday.
AUTO INDUSTRY
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Automaker Volkswagen saw car sales and operating profit plunge in the first quarter as the coronavirus outbreak closed dealerships and halted production. But the company said it had strong cash reserves and aimed to make a profit for the full year.
DETROIT (AP) — The coronavirus crisis is forcing Ford Motor Co. to burn through cash at an alarming rate, but its chief financial officer says there's enough money to make it through the year —even if U.S. factories aren't restarted.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Germany's Daimler AG, maker of Mercedes-Benz luxury cars, made only a small profit in the first quarter of 2020 as the company shut down factories and shifted into cash preservation and cost management mode during the coronavirus crisis.
MEDIA
NEW YORK (AP) — Tucker Carlson, Joe Scarborough, Chris Cuomo, Bret Baier, Nicolle Wallace and Anderson Cooper have more in common than you think — at least this month.
REAL ESTATE
BALTIMORE (AP) — U.S. home sales showed signs of collapsing in March, as the number of contract signs plunged sharply because of the coronavirus outbreak.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
For the first time, a major study has found that an experimental drug works against the new coronavirus, and U.S. government officials said Wednesday that they would work to make it available to appropriate patients as quickly as possible.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — In cities around the world, public transportation systems are key to getting workers back on the job and restarting devastated economies. Yet methods of getting around ranging from trains and buses to ferries and bicycles will have to be re-imagined for the coronavirus era.
A biotech company says its experimental drug has proved effective against the new coronavirus in a major U.S. government study that put it to a strict test.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said his administration is considering requiring travelers on certain incoming international flights to undergo temperature and virus checks to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Navy will conduct a legal investigation of circumstances surrounding the spread of the coronavirus aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, a move that effectively delays a decision on whether to reinstate the ship's captain, two U.S. officials said Wednesday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — At greater risk from COVID-19, some seniors now face added anxiety due to delays obtaining Medicare coverage.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump took executive action to order meat processing plants to stay open amid concerns over growing coronavirus cases and the impact on the nation's food supply.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Stocks around the world whipped higher Wednesday, riding a wave of optimism on encouraging data about a possible treatment for COVID-19.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve signaled Wednesday that it will keep its key short-term interest rate near zero for the foreseeable future as part of its extraordinary efforts to bolster an economy that is sinking into its worst crisis since the 1930s.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States for the first time added five of Amazon's overseas operations to its list of "notorious markets'' where pirated goods are sold. The e-commerce giant dismissed the move as part of the Trump administration's "personal vendetta'' against it.
NEW YORK (AP) — The smallest companies seeking coronavirus relief loans were moving to the head of the line Wednesday after the Small Business Administration said that for eight hours ending at midnight Eastern time it would accept loans only from small lenders.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Devastated by the coronavirus, the U.S. economy is sinking. And the plunge is accelerating.
Amazon has spent years honing the business of packing, shipping and delivering millions of products to doorsteps around the world.
NEW YORK (AP) — With a barrel of crude oil costing less than a New York pizza, many U.S. shale producers are being pushed to the brink of bankruptcy and experts are wondering when, and if, the oil industry will recover.
The most active week of the earnings season is on and the rush of quarterly reports Tuesday, 39 in all, captured the maneuvering of companies from almost every sector as they feel their way through an unprecedented economic shockwave.
Jordan Flowers never thought he would become a labor leader. Then the coronavirus forced him to risk his life every time he clocked in.
Boeing is cutting about 10% of its work force and slowing production of planes to deal with a downturn in business that started with the grounding of its best-selling jet and has accelerated because of the coronavirus pandemic.
PARIS (AP) — Airbus says the aviation industry's unprecedented troubles are just beginning.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is still all-in on getting reelected, but he's also set to take the first steps to formally prepare someone else to take over if he loses on Nov. 3.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Reversing course, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday he is "open" to considering additional funds for state and local governments in the next coronavirus relief bill as Democrats seek more than $500 billion to cover costs of police, fire and other front-line workers.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Weeks after Robert Mueller was appointed special counsel in the Russia investigation, Roger Stone, a confidant of President Donald Trump, reassured WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in a Twitter message that if prosecutors came after him, "I will bring down the entire house of cards," according to FBI documents made public Tuesday.
TUESDAY, APRIL 28
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — Fiat Chrysler is backing off a planned May 4 restart at its North American factories because some U.S. states still will have stay-home orders in place.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S home prices were rising at a steady pace in February, before the viral outbreak shuttered much of the economy and caused a sharp decline in home sales.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Thelma Uranga is sprucing up her back deck in Chicago, hoping to host some small gatherings to take the place of the summer's usual neighborhood festivals built on music, food and time with friends.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will sign an executive order Tuesday meant to stave off a shortage of chicken, pork and other meat on American supermarket shelves because of the coronavirus.
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — For many people, travel insurance has been little more than a box that pops up on a booking site to offer some cheap peace of mind.
President Donald Trump says states should "seriously consider" reopening their public schools before the end of the academic year, even though dozens already have said it would be unsafe for students to return until the summer or fall.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Businesses should close break rooms. Restaurants should consider disposable menus and plates. Schools should have students eat lunch in their classrooms.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House released new guidelines aimed at answering criticism that America's coronavirus testing has been too slow, and President Donald Trump tried to pivot toward a focus on "reopening" the nation.
WASHINGTON (AP) — As states gear up to reopen, a poll finds a potential obstacle to controlling the coronavirus: nearly 1 in 10 adults say cost would keep them from seeking help if they thought they were infected.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Stocks are ending lower on Wall Street after an early gain evaporated. The losses were led by companies that have been investor favorites including Microsoft, Apple and Amazon.
NEW YORK (AP) — Banks trying to submit applications for thousands of small businesses seeking coronavirus relief loans have hit a bottleneck for a second day at the Small Business Administration.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer confidence plunged in April as millions lost their jobs and there was an unprecedented deterioration of an index that monitors their attitudes about current business and work conditions.
PARIS (AP) — Europeans are starting to venture outside after weeks of confinement, scarred by a virus that has overwhelmed some of the world's best health care systems and killed more than 120,000, yet yearning to rediscover signs of normalcy.
As companies start planning their reopenings, business groups are pushing Congress to limit liability from potential lawsuits filed by workers and customers infected by the coronavirus.
DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines is posting its first quarterly loss in almost a decade and doesn't see any improvement right now with most planes grounded on the tarmac.
DHAKA,Bangladesh (AP) — Nearly a month after Bangladesh ordered garment factories shuttered to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the industry is reopening hundreds of them despite risks the disease might spread.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Top advisers to Bernie Sanders' unsuccessful presidential campaign are forming an outside political group to support Joe Biden, hoping to push the former vice president to the left on key issues and boost his appeal with progressives, young voters and Latinos who may remain wary of him.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump defended his administration's handling of the coronavirus pandemic Tuesday as he met with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and promised to help states safely begin reopening their economies.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Steve Bullock was the lame-duck governor of solidly red Montana, fresh off a failed Democratic presidential bid, when he pivoted and announced he'd challenge Republican Sen. Steve Daines for his seat.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing fierce blowback, House Democratic leadership announced Tuesday the House will not resume session next week as planned because of risks associated with the coronavirus pandemi c.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is plunging ahead on a new coronavirus relief package, but deepening partisan divide and uncertainty in the schedule could stall the federal response to the health crisis and deteriorating U.S. economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., seemed inclined Tuesday to revive a demand from the House of Representatives that former White House counsel Don McGahn show up for testimony linked to the Mueller investigation.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General William Barr on Monday ordered federal prosecutors across the U.S. to identify coronavirus-related restrictions from state and local governments "that could be violating the constitutional rights and civil liberties of individual citizens."
MONDAY, APRIL 27
TENNESSEE TITANS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans made only one trade throughout the NFL draft, and general manager Jon Robinson's move came in the final round for a sixth-rounder in 2021.
EDUCATION
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Board of Regents' finance committee is meeting this week to discuss student tuition and mandatory fees for the next academic year.
NASHVILLE AREA
The Iroquois Steeplechase, benefiting The Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, has been canceled for 2020. Event organizers for the 79th annual event say they are planning a citywide safer-at-home celebration to honor the race instead of holding on June 27.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Survivors of a deadly tornado that damaged Nashville neighborhoods last month will be able to receive mental health services covered by a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Most of Tennessee's restaurants were given the green light to allow dine-in service once again Monday as part of Gov. Bill Lee's directive to begin reopening the state's economy that had been largely closed due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The reopening plan comes just a day after the state reported its biggest one-day jump in confirmed coronavirus cases.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee has reported its biggest one-day jump in confirmed coronavirus cases as the state continues to increase testing efforts.
AUTO INDUSTRY
DETROIT (AP) — After testing on public roads, Tesla is rolling out a new feature of its partially automated driving system designed to spot stop signs and traffic signals.
COURTS
NEW YORK (AP) — As states grapple with when and how to reopen establishments amid the pandemic, religious freedom remains a legal flashpoint – particularly for the conservative nonprofits that have taken a leading role in representing churches which have challenged stay-home orders.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court sidestepped a major decision on gun rights Monday in a dispute over New York City's former ban on transporting guns.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled Monday that insurance companies can collect $12 billion from the federal government to cover their losses in the early years of the health care law championed by President Barack Obama.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
Hotels and home-sharing companies are beefing up their cleaning efforts in order to soothe jittery travelers.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Businesses should close break rooms. Restaurants should consider disposable menus and plates. Schools should have students eat lunch in their classrooms.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Meat isn't going to disappear from supermarkets because of outbreaks of the coronavirus among workers at U.S. slaughterhouses. But as the meat plants struggle to remain open, consumers could face less selection and slightly higher prices.
LONDON (AP) — Nations and U.S. states have begun easing coronavirus lockdowns, each pursuing their own approach but all with a common goal: restarting their economies without triggering another surge of infections.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is exaggerating the availability of coronavirus tests in the U.S. as he urges governors to consider lifting stay-at-home orders and help get the economy moving again.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans' support for mail-in voting has jumped amid concerns about the safety of polling places during the coronavirus pandemic, but a wide partisan divide suggests President Donald Trump's public campaign against vote by mail may be resonating with his Republican backers.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
With far fewer people flying because of travel restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic, airport security screeners are naturally finding fewer guns in carry-on baggage.
With governments making moves toward letting businesses reopen, stocks rallied worldwide on Monday to kick off a busy week for markets.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve has largely calmed turbulent financial markets. Yet a far tougher task remains: Helping rescue an economy and job market that appear to be free-falling into the worst catastrophe since the Great Depression.
NEW YORK (AP) — The second round of loan applications for the government's small business relief program has been slowed by computer issues at the Small Business Administration.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A survey of U.S. business economists in mid-April found that one-third of their companies had shut down at least some of their operations, and two-thirds had laid off or furloughed workers or cut their pay to try to minimize the impact of the coronavirus.
NEW YORK (AP) — The billions of dollars in coronavirus relief targeted at small businesses may not prevent many of them from ending up in bankruptcy court.
LONDON (AP) — More than 4 million jobs have been saved in the U.K. as a result of a government scheme aimed at making sure firms hold onto staff during the coronavirus lockdown, Treasury chief Rishi Sunak said Monday.
Three publicly traded hotel companies tied to a Texas businessman said that they would not give back millions of dollars in loans from a government program aimed at helping small businesses.
BANGKOK (AP) — Contract driller Diamond Offshore has filed for bankruptcy with debts of $2.6 billion, as the energy industry is hammered by crashing oil prices.
TOKYO (AP) — Japan's central bank is making it easier for cash-strapped companies to get funding in response to the growing economic devastation from the coronavirus pandemic.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is trying to put the coronavirus behind him and the nation, pivoting his focus to plans to reopen the country even as the virus continues to spread.
WASHINGTON (AP) — During times of war and strife, national leaders often aim to unite a broken country and, in the process, broaden their appeal beyond their most loyal supporters. Not President Donald Trump.
FRIDAY, APRIL 24
TENNESSEE TITANS
NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans believe they have drafted a player that will make Derrick Henry and Ryan Tannehill very happy.
The first round of the NFL draft opened and closed with players from the Southeastern Conference, a fitting way to mark the league's record-setting night.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Many NFL general managers and coaches had their children appear with them on camera from home as teams made selections on the opening night of a most unusual NFL draft during the coronavirus pandemic.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Bill Lee has announced that restaurants in Tennessee will be allowed to reopen Monday for dine-in service with reduced seating capacity as part of his effort to reopen large swaths of the state economy by the end of the month.
NASHVILLE (AP) — More than 15,600 insurance claims seeking more than $1.1 billion have been filed in Tennessee over deadly tornadoes that tore through the state early last month, state officials said Thursday.
AUTO INDUSTRY
BEIJING (AP) — China is promising more subsidies to shore up plunging electric car sales amid the coronavirus pandemic but set limits that exclude Tesla's made-in-China model.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
WASHINGTON (AP) — The top Navy officer has recommended the reinstatement of the aircraft carrier captain fired for sending a fraught email to commanders pleading for faster action to protect his crew from a coronavirus outbreak, officials familiar with the investigation said Friday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning doctors against prescribing a malaria drug widely touted by President Donald Trump for treating the new coronavirus outside of hospitals or research settings.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Another Navy ship at sea has reported a coronavirus outbreak and is returning to port, the Navy said Friday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Don't inject disinfectants, health officials leapt to warn on Friday, reacting to President Donald Trump's comment that disinfectants perhaps could be injected or ingested to fight COVID-19. His suggestion even prompted the maker of Lysol to warn its product should never be used internally.
WASHINGTON (AP) — What if the real "invisible enemy" is the enemy from within — America's very institutions?
WASHINGTON (AP) — Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie is taking advocacy of an unproven drug for the coronavirus even farther than President Donald Trump, claiming without evidence that it's safe and that it has been effective for young and middle-aged veterans in particular.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is pitching "emerging" research on the benefits of sunlight and humidity in diminishing the threat of the coronavirus as President Donald Trump encourages states to move to reopen their economies.
WASHINGTON (AP) — It's becoming a kind of daily ritual: President Donald Trump and a phalanx of doctors file into the White House briefing room each evening to discuss the coronavirus, producing a display of rhetorical contortions as the medical officials try to stay true to the science without crossing the president.
NEW YORK (AP) — Discouraging results from a study into a possible coronavirus treatment and fresh data showing one in six American workers have lost their jobs tempered relief Friday over the passage by Congress of a nearly $500 billion spending package to help embattled businesses and hospitals.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are closing out a tumultuous week with broad gains, led by familar names in technology including Apple. The S&P 500 rose 1.4% Friday, but still ended the week lower, breaking a two-week winning streak. Stocks meandered between gains and losses for much of the morning then rose steadily in the afternoon. The calm trading offered a soothing coda to what's been a wild week. From Monday's astonishing plummet for oil to Thursday's sudden disappearance of a morning stock rally, markets pinballed as the mood swung from fear to hope and back again amid the coronavirus pandemic.
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi insisted Friday that Congress' next economic package provide billions for financially reeling state and local governments, foreshadowing a sharp partisan fight ahead in lawmakers' continuing response to the coronavirus pandemic.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic and a government spending spree on testing, health care and aid to businesses and households will nearly quadruple the federal budget deficit to $3.7 trillion, the Congressional Budget Office said Friday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday that he won't approve a $10 billion loan for the U.S. Postal Service unless the agency raises charges for Amazon and other big shippers to four to five times current rates.
PARIS (AP) — Amazon is keeping all of its French warehouses closed for the time being, after an appeals court upheld a ruling saying the company hadn't done enough to protect workers from the coronavirus.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve had $85.8 billion in loans outstanding last week in three of the programs it rolled out last month to protect the economy during the coronavirus pandemic.
The outbreak of the coronavirus has dealt a shock to the global economy with unprecedented speed. Following are developments Friday related to the global economy, the work place and the spread of the virus.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Orders for big-ticket manufactured goods plunged 14.4% in March, the second-biggest decline on record. The worse-than-expected slide underscored the severity of the economic impact from the pandemic.
WASHINGTON (AP) — One out of every four American adults say someone in their household has lost a job to the coronavirus pandemic, but the vast majority expect those former jobs will return once the crisis passes, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed a $484 billion bill Friday to aid employers and hospitals under stress from the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 50,000 Americans and devastated broad swaths of the economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve said Thursday that it will provide monthly reports on several of its economic rescue programs supported by the $2 trillion rescue program passed by Congress.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Announcing plans to begin reopening his state, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster cited the ongoing economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic.
Governors in a handful of states are raising concerns about restrictions on the federal stimulus checks they have started to receive to help cover the costs of combating the coronavirus.
THURSDAY, APRIL 23
MUSIC INDUSTRY
CHICAGO (AP) — Conspiracy theorists are twisting facts online about country singer Joe Diffie's death from COVID-19 complications in order to promote their claims that health officials are exaggerating the coronavirus pandemic's threat.
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Symptoms of the new coronavirus have subsided for Blues legend Bobby Rush, and now he's warning others about the seriousness of COVID-19.
ENVIRONMENT
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that sewage plants and other industries cannot avoid environmental requirements under landmark clean-water protections when they send dirty water on an indirect route to rivers, oceans and other navigable waterways.
COURTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is making it harder for noncitizens who are authorized to live permanently in the United States to argue they should be allowed to stay in the country if they've committed crimes.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is making it easier to get certain monetary awards in trademark infringement lawsuits.
REAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. new home sales plunged 15.4% in March as a winding down in the middle of the month due to the coronavirus began to rattle the housing market.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Long-term mortgage rates rose slightly this week, continuing to hover near all-time lows amid anxiety over the economy and housing market gut-punched by the shutdown spurred by the coronavirus pandemic.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has made himself the daily spokesman for the nation's coronavirus response. Yet few Americans regularly look to or trust Trump as a source of information on the pandemic, according to a new survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
BOSTON (AP) — As she treated patient after patient infected with the coronavirus at a Veterans Affairs medical center in New York City, Heather Espinal saw stark warning signs.
NEW YORK (AP) — After two months and more than 10,000 deaths that have made the nation's nursing homes some of the most terrifying places to be during the coronavirus crisis, most of them still don't have access to enough tests to help control outbreaks among their frail, elderly residents.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Like many Americans cooped up during the virus outbreak, Jeff Kardesch of Austin, Texas, is spending a lot of time on social media. It isn't just idle talk with friends. Kardesch is struggling to find out when he'll receive the unemployment benefits he needs.
NEW YORK (AP) — An early rally on Wall Street suddenly vanished on Thursday, the latest example of how fragile the hopes underpinning the stock market's monthlong recovery are.
NEW YORK (AP) — Big public companies that received loans under a government program intended to help small businesses devastated by the coronavirus outbreak could be forced to return it.
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 4.4 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week as job cuts escalated across an economy that remains all but shut down, the government said Thursday.
The outbreak of the coronavirus has dealt a shock to the global economy with unprecedented speed. Following are developments Thursday related to the global economy, the work place and the spread of the virus.
BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders agreed Thursday to revamp the EU's long-term budget and set up a massive recovery fund to tackle the impact of the coronavirus and help rebuild the 27-nation bloc's ravaged economies but deep differences remain over the best way to achieve those goals.
LONDON (AP) — Europe's economies are heading for unprecedented recessions as a result of the lockdown measures put in place by governments to get a grip on the coronavirus pandemic, closely watched surveys indicated Thursday.
CHICAGO (AP) — A once-bustling bar and grill tucked below a Michigan Avenue overpass famously inspired a "Saturday Night Live" skit starring John Belushi and Bill Murray. But the money the Billy Goat Tavern is losing during the coronavirus outbreak is no joke.
NEW YORK (AP) — Small business owners still applying for loans under the government's coronavirus relief program may end up disappointed — the $310 billion being added to the program may already be spoken for.