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FINANCIAL MARKETS
Stocks zigzag
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are zigzagging in another erratic day of trading on Wall Street, as hopes for a relatively quick economic recovery continue to collide with skepticism that it can happen anytime soon.
The S&P 500 started the day by tumbling 1.9%, but had clawed back nearly all its losses by the late morning, only to fall again before moving higher.
Stocks in Asia and Europe dropped.
Treasury yields sank in a sign of increased pessimism.
FEDERAL RESERVE-HOUSEHOLD FINANCES
Fed: Financial struggles greater for workers losing jobs
BALTIMORE (AP) — Just half of Americans who suffered a job loss or reduced income because of the coronavirus feel they’re doing all right financially, according to a new survey released Thursday by the Federal Reserve.
The Fed poll of U.S. households found that most people were holding up well despite the loss of more than 20 million jobs during March and April as the economy cratered at an unprecedented speed. Overall, 72% said they were either “doing OK” or “living comfortably,” down only slightly from a combined 75% who felt that way in fall 2019.
Among those who lost a job or suffered cuts in hours, 51% said they were at least OK financially. More than a third of job losers did not expect to be able to fully pay their bills. But 91% anticipated being rehired.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-FOOD SECURITY-POLL
Poll: Virus, econ crisis drive fears of having enough to eat
OAK PARK, Ill. (AP) — Worries about having enough to eat are adding to the anxiety of millions of people across the United States. That's according to a survey that finds 37% of unemployed Americans ran out of food in the past month. And 46% said they worried about running out. Those findings come from the second wave of the COVID Impact Survey, conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for the Data Foundation. The survey also found that 2 in 10 working adults said that in the past 30 days, they ran out of food before they could earn enough money to buy more.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SMALL BUSINESSES
Survey: Oil, manufacturing had best luck with pandemic loans
UNDATED (AP) — Almost 75% of small businesses applied for help from a federal loan program designed to keep workers employed during the coronavirus pandemic, but only 38% of small businesses received any money, according to results from a U.S. Census Bureau survey released Thursday.
Oil extraction and mining businesses had the best success in getting loans from the Paycheck Protection Program with more than half of businesses surveyed in that sector reporting getting some help, according to the Census Bureau’s Small Business Pulse Survey. Just under half of small businesses in manufacturing and about 45% of small businesses in accommodations and food services reported receiving loans. Utilities fared the worst of all sectors with less than a quarter of small businesses in that sector getting loans, according to the survey.
The Paycheck Protection Program administered by the Small Business Administration has dispensed more than $530 billion in low-cost loans to millions of small businesses to cushion them from the sharp downturn induced by the coronavirus.
FINANCIAL MARKETS-INDIVIDUAL INVESTORS
Buying the plunge: Individual investors remain optimistic
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The lure of snapping up stocks at bargain prices has been too strong to pass up for many people, even as uncertainty over the coronavirus pandemic clouds the market and global economic outlook.
Stuck at home but armed with online trading apps, individual investors have helped drive the historic comeback for stocks since late March, despite a backdrop of historic job losses, forecasts of sinking corporate profits and a global recession due to the economic fallout from the outbreak. Several of the biggest online investment brokerages have seen a record surge this year in accounts opened by individual investors and a record volume of trades.
Many professional investors remain wary about the sustainability of the market’s recent gains, however, given that the outlook for corporate earnings growth, a key driver of stock prices, remains uncertain at best.
VIRUS-OUTBREAK-TRUMP
Trump: Virus shows supply chains should be moved from China
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says the coronavirus pandemic highlights the importance of U.S. manufacturing and moving supply chains out of China, a rival he blames for not doing enough to slow the virus. Trump made the comments in a Fox Business Network interview. He's traveling to Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Thursday to highlight a U.S. medical equipment distributor and talk about the restocking the national medical stockpile. Trump is also trying to convince the American public that it’s time for states to begin to reopen, even as the virus continues to spread.
TRUMP-HOTEL LAWSUIT
Court reinstates lawsuit over Trump's hotel profits
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A federal appeals court has revived a lawsuit accusing President Donald Trump of illegally profiting off the presidency through his luxury Washington hotel. The lawsuit brought by the state of Maryland and the District of Columbia claims Trump has violated the emoluments clause of the Constitution by accepting profits through foreign and domestic officials who stay at the Trump International Hotel. The hotel located just blocks from the White House quickly became a hot spot for lobbyists and foreign officials after it reopened in 2016 shortly before Trump was elected president.
SUPREME COURT-LUCKY
Supreme Court sides with Lucky brand in trademark dispute
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is siding with fashion brand Lucky in a dispute with a Miami-based apparel manufacturer that owns the “Get Lucky” trademark. The high court ruled unanimously in favor of Lucky on Thursday and against Marcel Fashion Group.
The case before the justices comes after a series of lawsuits between Lucky, which is based in Los Angeles, and Marcel going back nearly two decades. Lucky owns trademarks related to its name but not to “Get Lucky,” which Marcel has had for use on clothing since 1986. After Lucky ran advertisements in the late 1990s and early 2000s using the phrase “Get Lucky,” Marcel sued. The two settled, but in 2005 there was a second lawsuit between the parties.
A third lawsuit filed by Marcel followed in 2011. A court dismissed the third lawsuit at Lucky's request, but an appeals court revived it. The Supreme Court said the appeals court's decision was incorrect.
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
Head of World Trade Organization to step down early
GENEVA (AP) — The head of the World Trade Organization said Thursday he will leave his post a year before his term expires, an unprecedented mid-term resignation at the WTO that he called a “personal decision.”
Roberto Azevedo, a former diplomat from Brazil, said he will step down on Aug. 31, cutting short a seven-year tenure. Azevedo’s WTO often found itself in the firing line of the Trump administration, which accused the trade body of a bias against the United States and of letting China get away with what it called unfair trade practices.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer (LYT'-hy-zur) thanked Azevedo for his “exemplary” service.
The 25-year-old trade body has never had to fill a vacancy for the director-general post before that term expired, and under WTO rules, a selection process for a successor is to begin as soon as possible.
TIKTOK-PRIVACY
Privacy groups: TikTok app violating children's privacy
UNDATED (AP) — Privacy watchdogs say that the popular TikTok video app is violating a children’s privacy law and putting kids at risk. They filed a complaint with federal regulators saying TikTok is collecting personal information of kids under 13 without their parents’ consent, even after a $5.7 million FTC fine in 2019 over child-privacy law violations. TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, has exploded in popularity with young people thanks to its goofy, lighthearted feel and ease of use. It’s drawn scrutiny from U.S. officials concerned about security risks due to its Chinese ownership and its popularity with kids. TikTok says it takes privacy seriously.
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