Business Highlights

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Virus exposes US inequality. Will it spur lasting remedies?

WASHINGTON (AP) — The sick who still go to work because they have no paid leave. Families who face ruin from even a temporary layoff. Front-line workers risking infection as they drive buses, bag takeout meals and mop hospital floors. For years, financial inequality has widened in the United States and elsewhere as wealth and income have become increasingly concentrated among the most affluent while millions struggle to get by. Now, the coronavirus outbreak has laid bare the human cost of that inequality, making it more visible and potentially worse.

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Trump’s disdain for ‘Obamacare’ could hamper virus response

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration’s unrelenting opposition to “Obamacare” could become an obstacle for millions of uninsured people in the coronavirus outbreak, as well as many who are losing coverage in the economic shutdown. Experts say the Affordable Care Act’s insurance markets provide a ready-made infrastructure for extending subsidized private coverage in every state, allowing more people access to medical treatment before they get so sick they have to go to the emergency room. In about three-fourths of the states, expanded Medicaid is also available to low-income people. But the Trump administration has resisted reopening the ACA’s HealthCare.gov marketplace for uninsured people who missed the last sign-up period.

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Government loans start flowing to small businesses

NEW YORK (AP) — The flow of money to small businesses under the government’s $349 billion coronavirus relief plan is picking up momentum although many company owners are still waiting and wondering. Money that was held up by technological and legal issues and the sheer volume of applications began arriving in companies’ bank accounts at the end of last week. The Small Business Administration reported Monday afternoon that more than 941,000 applications had been approved for over $226 billion from the Paycheck Protection loan program.

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Lockdowns cut driving and crashes, bring insurance discounts

DETROIT (AP) — Interstates and city streets are empty and cars are quarantined in their owners’ garages, so consumer advocates argue that it only makes sense for auto insurance rates to reflect that. In the states of Washington and New York, the number of traffic crashes reported to state police fell about 30% in March compared with a year ago, as the states were on lockdown for part of the month to stop the spread of coronavirus. Other states are reporting similar declines in traffic and crashes, and consumer advocates are calling on insurance companies to cut premiums or give refunds by a like amount.

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States largely have authority over when to shut down, reopen

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has shown no reluctance to use his White House perch to commend and criticize governors over steps they’ve taken to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus. But one thing Trump can’t do, despite his assertion to the contrary on Monday, is command them to ease restrictions they imposed because of the virus outbreak. The Constitution largely gives states the authority to regulate their own affairs. Governors in both parties have said they are as eager as the president to reopen the economy, which has plummeted as businesses have been forced to close, putting millions of people out of work. ___

Stocks fall as investors brace for earnings hit from virus

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell on Wall Street Monday, erasing some of the market’s big gains from last week, as investors braced for a sobering first look at how the coronavirus pandemic has hurt company earnings. The S&P 500 fell 1% after cutting its early losses by more than half toward the end of the day. The benchmark index surged 12% last week, its best gain since 1974. The pullback followed news over the weekend that OPEC, Russia and other oil producing nations have agreed to cut output in a bid to stem a slide in crude prices following a collapse in demand due to the outbreak.

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Disney World workers take aim at Florida’s jobless system

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Some of the 43,000 workers whose unions reached a deal with Walt Disney World over the weekend on temporary furloughs that allow them to keep their benefits aren’t going quietly. They staged stay-at-home protests Monday aimed not at their employer but Florida’s beleaguered unemployment system. Across metro Orlando, they hung signs in windows and scrawled messages on sidewalks that said, “SOS. #WorkersCan’tWait.” Disney World has been paying its workforce since it closed its doors in mid-March because of the spreading new coronavirus, but it plans to start indefinite furloughs next week. That’s when Disney workers will try signing up for Florida unemployment benefits.

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Jeans company True Religion files for Chapter 11 — again

NEW YORK (AP) — Jeans retailer True Religion Apparel has filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11, the second time in three years, as extended closures of its stores in the pandemic have hurt its business. The company’s CEO says that True Religion will continue to run its e-commerce business. The Los Angeles company says it has been able to get financial support from its largest lenders to provide fresh capital to reorganize in bankruptcy court.

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The S&P lost 28.19 points, or 1%, to 2,761.63. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 328.60 points, or 1.4%, to 23,390.77. The Nasdaq rose 38.85 points, or 0.5%, to 8,192.42. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks lost 34.68 points, or 2.8%, to 1,212.04.

The Associated Press