Week of April 27th, 2020

The Dow falls more than 622 points.

Also on tap today: consumer spending, additional stimulus and a remote jazz festival. Cheers!

Without space to social distance, a 4-day workweek could give workers room.

Plus, fiscal vs. monetary policy, the crush of customer service calls and where those $1,200 checks are going.

Employees are asking consumers to refrain from buying these companies’ products or services.

Americans are paying back friends, buying necessities, paying bills and giving to charity.

They’re dealing with high call volumes, difficult questions and chatty customers.

J.Crew is expected to file for bankruptcy this weekend, according to multiple news reports.

Most parents have stopped paying for child care as coronavirus-related closures extend, leaving providers with little to no income.

The S&P 500 went up more than 12% in April. Analysts say they expect to see a sales decline of more than 50% for automakers. Amazon’s warning on company spending. Relief efforts for undocumented immigrants.

California will start taking applications in May for cash benefits.

With May 1 rent due, there are strikes nationally with so many people out of work. Macy’s plans to reopen 68 stores on Monday. An important tax ruling for businesses that got Paycheck Protection Program money. South Africa eases restrictions.

Pickup truck sales are holding up better than some other vehicles, spurred by incentives like zero-percent financing deals.

South Africa tries to boost its economy as COVID-19 restrictions have already led to heavy job losses. Pineapple prices have spiked there as more people start home brewing. International Workers’ Day turns virtual.

Organizers say without more protections, renters face debt or lost housing once eviction bans are lifted. Landlords say they need protections, too.

It’s not in most fintech firms’ nature to be lenders, but the pandemic is pushing them to branch out.

Also: When was the last time you started your car? Just checking.

Is a global pandemic the best or worst time to confront a shopping addiction and pay off a dozen credit cards? For this woman, it’s been a bit of both.

How influencers make money might continue to change after the coronavirus pandemic.

There are business winners and losers in this pandemic.

Plus: AMC bans Universal Pictures, corporate earnings are terrible and influencers are still … influencing. 

Many will be forced to tap rainy-day funds or turn to the bond market to make ends meet.

With first-time jobless claims topping 30 million since mid-March, the Labor Department’s April unemployment rate may under-count job loss.

We checked in with three people who suddenly lost their jobs in March.

Sales at clothing retailers dropped by 50% in March.

Universal’s latest “Trolls” movie was a digital hit. The studio says it could release films online and in theaters once the pandemic fades.

Roughly 30.3 million people have now filed for jobless aid. How the pandemic is widening inequality. Tesla’s surprise report of profits during the first quarter of 2020. How big banks were temporarily locked out of the Paycheck Protection Program.

For eight hours, only smaller banks were able to process applications.

It’s by far the worst string of layoffs on record.

It’s the automaker’s third profitable quarter in a row.

The Federal Reserve has now decided to keep interest rates super low, near zero. Oil giant Shell cuts investor dividends for the first time in 80 years. And, game theory for robots — they’re learning economics, too, you know.

That includes getting laid off, furloughed or having hours or pay reduced because of the pandemic.

France and Spain posted their biggest economic declines in 25 years, while Italy starts its long road to recovery. Will the European Central Bank intervene? A deal between AstraZeneca and Oxford University could see the U.K. produce a COVID-19 vaccine.

Robots are doing their part in this pandemic — and they’re using behavioral economics.

Downloading an app to trace contacts within your building might become the new norm.

And can they go bankrupt? That, plus more of your questions answered on this “Whadda Ya Wanna Know Wednesday.”

The agency hasn’t set specific safety standards to hold employers to.

Plus: Why businesses don’t see the point in applying for emergency loans, the power and limitations of OSHA, and Michael Schur on bringing back “Parks and Recreation.”

While much of television production has been postponed, showrunner Mike Schur got the original cast of Parks and Recreation together for a remote episode.

The loans, designed to help businesses hurt by COVID-19, come with requirements that some don’t want to take on.

Specialty honey isn’t high on everyone’s essential shopping list, but the “bit of money” coming in is helping.

The economy was humming in January and February. That changed drastically in mid-March as the pandemic took hold.

Politicians never want to tell voters about the need to balance the budget through tax hikes or spending cuts.

We ask experts to imagine American workplace after COVID-19.

Maintaining social distance at these COVID-19 hot spots is not easy.

The biggest quarterly contraction in the U.S. economy since the 2008 financial crisis. Ford reports first-quarter losses. Surveying the meat industry amid supply chain disruption and demand shock. Pandemic problems for the global flower trade.

It’s the sharpest fall since the deepest depths of the Great Recession.

The U.S. can avoid economic pitfalls during its next crisis by shoring up infrastructure.

Some meat processing plants have been identified as virus hot spots, forcing them to close. But the president is keeping them open. Airbus CEO on what the pandemic means for plane manufacturers. How to build resilient communities during COVID-19 recovery.

The boss of Airbus says COVID-19 is the “gravest crisis” to ever hit the aviation industry, as its profits fall sharply. The global flower industry is wilting due to falling demand as producers are having to destroy blooms. 

The auto manufacturer says its global operations hit the “off” switch, and anticipates higher losses in the second quarter.

More people are working remotely right now and the coronavirus crisis has left us more distracted. How vulnerable are we online?

Many growers are now throwing away up to 80% of their production

We asked Loren Wold, whose team at Ohio State is making them right now.

Activity use on the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe may provide a window into where we stand on the road to recovery.

More space tops the list, followed by better kitchens.

Plus, how Hollywood productions might work around COVID-19 and a conversation with the CEO of GoFundMe. 

Set staff may be tested regularly for COVID-19, and studios are reportedly thinking of limiting the use of extras.

Sarah Frier collects rent. But she also pays it.

Cranking up the global manufacturing machine is not just about China.

Data can tell us who is on welfare, but not what it’s like to to live in the system.

Some big corporations are predicting improvement in the coming weeks. The Trump administration is trying to ensure that Paycheck Protection loans go to the intended small businesses. Mastercard pledges to get unbanked individuals and small businesses into the financial system.

Mastercard has a new plan to make digital banking more accessible.

Many of their lenders were excluded from the Paycheck Protection Program.

Criticism that smaller and minority-owned businesses didn’t get their fair share from the first round of Paycheck Protection Program money. Wireless and internet carriers are extending grace periods. Apple and Google are set to release their joint contact tracing tool.

HSBC halts job cuts as concerns mount over loan repayments. Takeout is back as New Zealand starts to relax lockdown restrictions. India criticizes the accuracy of Chinese-made COVID-19 testing kits and cancels an order.

But what assurances are there that the data is private?

The live video chat app has seen a boom in sign-ups. It might be time to sort through friend requests from strangers.

They walk (or at least fly) among us.

The direct-to-consumer flower company founder said the Paycheck Protection Program failed the small companies it was meant to protect.

We called banks and small businesses to find out. Plus: The view from Shanghai, surprising essential businesses and why the stock market is not the economy.

Banks submitting 5,000 or more applications can upload one document. Banks submitting fewer have to enter information manually.

Investors aren’t too focused on unemployment or struggling small businesses, said Anat Admati of Stanford.

With masks, fever checks and health QR codes, there are signs that the coronavirus still poses a threat to daily life.

There’s a network of former Peace Corps volunteers trying to help current volunteers in their abrupt return.

Some mandates are written in clumsy legal jargon that’s hard to understand.

New guidelines for meat processors, as COVID-19 threatens food supply infrastructure. The SXSW film festival has partnered with Amazon to show some movies for free. Businesses in Georgia must make a decision about whether to reopen or not.

Nonprofits and online fundraisers have seen an uptick in donations since stimulus checks started appearing in bank accounts.

Tyson Foods is warning that millions of pounds of meat could “disappear.”

New York City, with the most cases in the U.S., will be on a slower timeline.

Even as coronavirus cases and deaths continue to rise in some places, calls for reopening continue. Italy, which has had the longest lockdown in Europe, and New York share plans. And, how musicians are adapting to performances without crowds.

The British leader faces calls to ease restrictions as he returns from COVID-19 treatment. Spain, Germany and Switzerland start to reopen. Canceled garment contracts leave Bangladeshi workers reeling.

Each business owner has to decide whether to open, and how to do it safely, with the COVID-19 pandemic.

For some filmmakers, the exposure could be a boon. But there may be financial downsides.

The industry was set to make more from touring than record sales.

People are turning from cash and credit cards to payment apps for more touch-free transactions.