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FINANCIAL MARKETS
Stocks rise on jobs data, S&P 500 nears week-long sweep
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is rising Thursday after a report showed the U.S. job market continues to climb from the crater created by the coronavirus pandemic in the spring.
The S&P 500 was 0.9% higher in midday trading and on pace for its fourth-straight gain.
Stocks also rose across Europe and Asia, while oil prices ticked higher on hopes that a recovering economy will mean more demand.
The gains for markets faded as the morning progressed, though, after Florida reported more than 10,000 new confirmed coronavirus cases for the first time. The bond market was also showing more caution than stocks
VIRUS OUTBREAK-JOBS REPORT
US adds 4.8 million jobs as unemployment falls to 11.1%
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added a substantial 4.8 million jobs in June, and the unemployment rate fell to 11.1%, as the job market improved for a second straight month yet remained far short of regaining the colossal losses it suffered this spring.
The nation has now recovered roughly one-third of the 22 million jobs it lost to the pandemic recession. And with confirmed coronavirus cases spiking across the Sun Belt states, a range of evidence suggests that a job market recovery may be stalling.
In those states and elsewhere, some restaurants, bars and other retailers that had re-opened are being forced to close again.
TRADE GAP
US trade deficit rises 9.7% in May to $54.6 billion
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit rose for the third straight month in May.
Both exports and imports fell as the coronavirus outbreak continued to take a toll on world commerce.
The Commerce Department said Thursday that the gap between the United States buys and what it sells abroad rose 9.7% in May to $54.6 billion, highest since December 2018.
The coronavirus pandemic has devastated world trade. U.S. exports fell 4.4% in May to $144.5 billion, lowest since November 2009. Imports slid 0.9% to $199.1 billion, lowest since July 2010.
MORTGAGE RATES
US long-term mortgage rates hit all-time low again
SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — Long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell this week with the benchmark 30-year home loan hitting its lowest level ever.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average rate on the key 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 3.07%, down from last week’s 3.13%.
For the second week in a row, it is the lowest level since Freddie began tracking average rates in 1971. A year ago, the rate stood at 3.75%.
The average rate on the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage also fell slightly to 2.56% from 2.59% last week, but it is down from 3.18% a year ago.
EUROPE-ECONOMY
Europe contains jobless rate, but faces summer of discontent
SPERLONGA, Italy (AP) — Europe is containing its jobless rise but the economy is still in trouble.
The unemployment rate in the 19 countries that use the euro currency inched higher to 7.4 % in May from 7.3% in April as governments used active labor market support programs to cushion the impact of the virus outbreak on workers.
European governments have held down the rise in unemployment due to the shutdowns through programs that pay part of workers salaries in return for companies not laying them off. But some people have just stopped looking for work and aren’t being counted as unemployed.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-AIRLINES LOANS
American and 4 other airlines reach loan agreements with US
DALLAS (AP) — Five airlines including American Airlines have accepted terms of new loans from the government to help them survive the virus pandemic.
The Treasury Department said Thursday it finalized terms of new loans to American, Spirit, Frontier, Hawaiian and SkyWest. Those and all other leading U.S. airlines previously accepted a combination of grants and loans to help cover payroll costs through Sept. 30.
These five are the first to take loans from a separate $25 billion kitty that Congress set aside under a $2.2 billion measure to help companies hurt by the pandemic.
Air travel in the U.S. dropped about 95% by mid-April. It has recovered slowly but remains down about 75% from a year ago.
TIGERS-SPORTSBOOK DEAL
Tigers announce partnership with sportsbook operator
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Tigers have become the first Major League Baseball team to reach a deal with a sports gambling company, announcing a multiyear partnership with PointsBet.
Detroit said the agreement will enhance fan engagement and game-day excitement. Johnny Aitken, CEO of PointsBet USA, says it is the first legal sports betting operator in U.S. history to partner with a Major League Baseball franchise.
Aitken says PointsBet owns its technology environment from end to end, which allows it to be nimble on product innovation and personalized offerings. As part of the deal, PointsBet will have branding at Comerica Park and will be featured on the Detroit Tigers Radio Network.
SHIPYARD-UNION
Shipyard hiring temporary workers; mediation next week
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Navy shipbuilder Bath Iron Works plans to bring in more subcontractors to join management and existing contractors to avoid falling further behind on production during a strike.
President Dirk Lesko also says the company and Machinists Union Local S6 are entering into federal mediation next week in hopes of getting back to the bargaining table.
The hiring of more subcontractors is a bone of contention for striking workers and will likely infuriate the union workers. But Lesko says the company must do what it can to prevent further delays in the delivery of destroyers. He said no union workers’s jobs will be displaced by the effort.
The strike that began June 22 focuses more on subcontracting, work rules and seniority than wages and benefits.
SUPREME COURT-OVERSEAS ABUSES
Court could end claims Nestle, Cargill abetted child labor
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will consider ending a lawsuit that claims Nestle and Cargill facilitated the use of child slave labor on cocoa farms in Ivory Coast.
The case could further limit access to U.S. courts by victims of human rights abuses abroad.
The justices said Thursday they will review an appeals court decision that revived the lawsuit filed by former child laborers who say they were taken from Mali and held in slavery on cocoa plantations in Ivory Coast.
Arguments will be held during the term that begins in October.
OFF THE CHARTS-SOCIAL MEDIA BOYCOTT
Social media companies face revenue hit from boycotts
UNDATED (AP) — More companies are giving a “thumbs up” to the growing boycott that aims to hit social media companies where it hurts the most: advertising revenue.
Facebook, Twitter and others rely almost solely on advertisers for their bottom lines and are already facing a worrisome year as companies cut their advertising budgets.
Now, civil rights and other advocacy groups are gaining more support for their call for large advertisers to halt campaigns because they say social media giants aren’t doing enough to curtail racist and violent content.
Investors took particular notice when Verizon joined the boycott. Facebook and Twitter both fell sharply after that decision.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-BLACK BUSINESSES
Black-owned businesses see sales surge amid racism reckoning
BOSTON (AP) — Black-owned businesses are enjoying a surge in support amid the national reckoning on racism sparked by George Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis.
From a Boston bike shop to a Los Angeles bakery and a Virginia watchmaker, Black entrepreneurs are reporting brisk sales. Many say they’ve been included in lists of Black-owned businesses circulating on social media, boosting their exposure.
But the increased demand hasn’t been without growing pains for some. Black-owned bookshops in Boston and elsewhere have received backlash as they’ve struggled to keep up with demand.
At the same time, Black owners hope the sales boom isn’t a passing fad but leads to lasting change.
TESLA DELIVERIES
Tesla 2Q deliveries rise over 1Q despite factory shutdown
DETROIT (AP) — Tesla says it delivered more electric vehicles worldwide in the second quarter than it did in the first.
The increase came even though coronavirus restrictions forced it to shut down its only U.S. factory for much of the period.
The company says it delivered 90,650 vehicles from April through June as it rolled out the new Model Y SUV in the U.S. and China. That’s a 2.5% increase over the first quarter’s 88,400. But it was a 4.8% drop from the second quarter of 2019.
Coronavirus restrictions adopted in the San Francisco Bay Area forced Tesla to close its only U.S. assembly plant in Fremont, California, for almost two months starting March 23. It didn’t reopen until May 11.
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