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Coronavirus

COVID-19

How one food producer kept business going amid the pandemic

by Kai Ryssdal and Maria Hollenhorst
Jun 16, 2020
Grand Prairie Foods lost 80% of its hospitality and travel-related business in one day. To survive, it's focusing on packaged foods.
When the Smithfield Foods pork processing plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, became one of the hot spots of the COVID-19 outbreak, Kurt Loudenback, the CEO of Grand Prairie Foods, asked many of his workers to stay home.
Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images
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COVID-19

The Fed starts buying corporate bonds

by Nancy Marshall-Genzer
Jun 16, 2020
The Federal Reserve is buying a broad cross-section of bonds to make sure firms have the money they need to weather the COVID-19 pandemic.
A trader walks by the New York Stock Exchange. The Federal Reserve has begun buying corporate bonds as part of the CARES Act.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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COVID-19

Retail sales were way up in May. But don't pop the Champagne just yet.

by Sabri Ben-Achour
Jun 16, 2020
March and April's weak numbers were easy to beat. Upcoming changes, such as the end of unemployment bonus payments, may stall the upward trend.
A reopened clothing store in Los Angeles. U.S. retail sales climbed at a record rate in May.
Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images
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COVID-19

Restaurant menus are shrinking, thanks to the pandemic

by Erika Beras
Jun 15, 2020
Smaller menus save restaurants money and let them focus on what customers really want.
An employee cleans the posted menu of a reopened Virginia restaurant. Menus have downsized as the industry's revenue declined.
Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images
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COVID-19

As internships move online, will opportunities follow?

by Sabri Ben-Achour
Jun 15, 2020
If internships can be done from anywhere, the pipeline for future talent may be getting more inclusive.
Companies have shifted during the coronavirus pandemic to allow their interns to work remotely.
Leon Neal/Getty Images
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The search for contact tracers

by Erika Beras
Jun 12, 2020
Despite high unemployment, governments are having trouble finding enough people to track and reduce COVID-19 transmission. Requirements vary from state to state.
Contact tracers at work in Belgium. The U.S. is struggling to hire enough of them to reduce transmission of the coronavirus.
Laurie Dieffembacq/Belga/AFP via Getty Images
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COVID-19

Banks are getting a boost from PPP loans

by Justin Ho
Jun 12, 2020
The program's helping them attract new customers and bring in revenue during the downturn.
A bank branch in Los Angeles. Banks processing PPP loans are seeing new business from those customers and generating fees from the government.
Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images
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COVID-19

Starbucks is closing stores and shifting operations amid COVID-19

by Andy Uhler
Jun 10, 2020
The coffee chain giant said it’s lost $3.2 billion in revenue since the onset of the pandemic.
A Starbucks in Maryland with curbside pickup and ordering. Starbucks announced it will add more options like this to accommodate social distancing.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
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COVID-19

Scientific research stopped for COVID-19. Now it's trying to get back into gear.

by Erika Beras
Jun 10, 2020
When the pandemic hit, scientists halted experiments and euthanized research animals. Now they're trying to pick up where they left off.
A lab technician works on a coronavirus test. Many labs pursuing other types of research went into lockdown.
Andrew Theodorakis/Getty Images
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COVID-19

Pandemic may be a turning point for oil business, executives and analysts say

by Scott Tong
Jun 9, 2020
With carbon emissions and air pollution plummeting during the lockdown, experts question whether we'll return to our old driving and flying habits.
Oil storage tanks in Carson, California. The use of fossil fuels dropped during the lockdown, and supplies piled up.
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images
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