Friday, May 1, 2020

5:19 pm ET: NYSE Research Shows Humans on Exchange Floor Limit Volatility, COO Says

The New York Stock Exchange's trading floor on Wall Street has been shut down since March 23 as its owner, Intercontinental Exchange, has shifted to a fully-electronic system.

"It's absolutely our intention to reopen all of our trading floors, and we'll do so as soon as we believe it's able to be done in a way that reduces the risk for the trading floor community and our employees," Michael Blaugrund, chief operating officer of the NYSE, told Cheddar on Friday. Read more...

— Taylor Craig

4:08 pm ET: Simone Missick on Wrapping CBS Drama 'All Rise' Quarantine Season Finale

Star of the show, Simone Missick, told Cheddar's Nora Ali what it was like to film this quarantine episode entirely on Zoom. Read more...

— Megan Escamilla

3:55 pm ET: Grocery App Gig Workers See Opportunity in May Day Strike

Workers from some of the biggest companies in the U.S. held walkouts or sick-outs on Friday in honor of May Day to pressure their employers to improve working conditions and pay amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The mass strike targeted non-unionized retail giants such as Target, Whole Foods, and Amazon. But it also took aim at grocery delivery apps Shipt and Instacart, which organizers say is a milestone for the scattered gig economy workers who keep the services running. Read more...

— Alex Vuocolo

12:20 pm ET: Getting an Antibody Test in NYC

Many people are curious whether or not that fever, ache, or cough means they’ve had the coronavirus. Unfortunately, due to a widespread lack of testing, most suspicions remain just suspicions without an official diagnosis. 

New antibody tests, which are available in physicians' offices, urgent care centers, and laboratories, may provide some answers. There are more than 70 COVID-19 antibody tests on the market because of the urgent situation, but only four are approved under the FDA’s emergency use authorization (EUA) process. Still, many companies are allowed to use their tests on patients to gather more data, especially to determine just how widespread the novel coronavirus could be throughout our population. A random sampling of 3,000 people in New York discovered that potentially up to 25 percent of New York City residents have been infected with the coronavirus already.

The test I took, which was manufactured by Quest Diagnostics, was not FDA approved — but could provide clarity for me and others around me.  Read more...

— Michelle Castillo

12:20 pm ET: Dunkin' Doubles Deliveries

Dunkin' Brands, the parent company of Dunkin' and Baskin-Robbins, exceeded expectations in its most recent earnings report with delivery sales doubling.

Dave Hoffmann, Dunkin' Brands CEO, told Cheddar on Friday, that before the coronavirus outbreak, the company was heading towards its best quarter since 2013 already, but once the pandemic began it focused on adapting.

"We really worked on streamlining the operations for our franchisees to make the restaurants as flexible as possible with limited hours, limited menu. We called our limited menu Essentials," Hoffman said. Read more...

— McKenzie Marshall

11:52 am ET: Researchers: Nicotine Could Help Against Coronavirus — But Don't Smoke

A new study out of a Paris hospital suggests nicotine may help prevent infection and serious illness from coronavirus — but doctors caution against picking up a smoking habit.

"It is critical to distinguish smoking from nicotine replacement therapy. There is no safe level of smoking," Dr. Hilary Tindle, founding director of the Vanderbilt Center for Tobacco, Addiction and Lifestyle, wrote in an email. Read more...

— Chloe Aiello

(AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

10:20 am ET: Markets Open Lower

Stocks are opening lower on Wall Street but they're still on track for a weekly gain. The S&P 500 fell 2% early Friday. Several companies fell after reporting results that showed how severely the coronavirus disruptions are affecting their industries. Read more...

— The Associated Press

8:10 am ET: Lockdowns Ease, Market Rallies & Gigi's Pregnant

Get your news over easy every morning by listening to the Need 2 Know podcast (Stitcher, iTunes) and signing up for our morning newsletter.

COVID-19: LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Around the world, as some countries begin easing their stay-home orders, cases are starting to spike again. Germany, Spain and Japan are seeing increases in new cases. But there’s hopeful signs, too, in countries like Austria, Denmark and Poland as new infections appear to level off. The UK is past the peak, Boris Johnson said. In the U.S., all eyes are on Texas as it begins to allow customers back in the door at shops, restaurants and theaters today. The state had its most coronavirus fatalities yesterday. AP

AMERICA ON EDGE: Armed protesters, some with signs that read “Tyrants get the rope” and “No work no freedom,” entered the Michigan state capitol as the legislature there was debating an extension to the state’s lockdown measures. On the other end of the spectrum, a wave of protests and walkouts are planned today, as workers around the country commemorate May Day in the context of having to work on the frontlines of the pandemic. Demonstrations and job actions are expected from employees of major corporations like Amazon, Whole Foods, Walmart and FedEx. USA TODAY

NYC SUBWAY CRISIS: The New York City subway will shut down every night between 1 and 5 am so that crews can clean and disinfect the trains. There have only been a handful of events in history that caused the city’s 24/7 subways to close, such as strikes, hurricanes, blackouts and 9/11. Gov. Cuomo says it’s necessary to protect the ridership and crews, though there is speculation that it will also be used as a way to clear the homeless out of the trains and stations. NYC’s homeless system is being stretched to its limits amid the pandemic. AMNY

WEST POINT COMMENCEMENT: The Army’s top brass is defending the decision to have graduating cadets return to West Point for a commencement ceremony and address from President Trump. That decision, to bring 1,000 people back to campus during a state of emergency, was criticized as a political ploy. But the Army says the cadets have to come back anyway for medical checks and training. AP

JOBLESS CLAIMS: The tally of people who filed for unemployment last week: 3.8 million. That brings the total number of job losses to more than 30 million in six weeks. Meanwhile, the stock market closed out April with a bang. The S&P had its best monthly gain since 1987. Put another way, the stock market just had its best month in decades at the same time the labor market had its worst month ever. CNBC

GATES SEES HOPE: Bill Gates, among the most bearish voices on the coronavirus pandemic, says he thinks it could be as little as nine months before a vaccine is available. Gates believes we won’t see life return to normal until a vaccine, but is increasingly optimistic we’ll get there in record time. The current record for vaccine development is about 4 years. BLOOMBERG

LEBRON ON NBA SEASON: LeBron James responded to speculation that the NBA is throwing in the towel on whatever hopes there were to salvage the rest of this season. James tweeted: “As soon as it’s safe we would like to finish our season” and “Nobody should be cancelling anything.” ESPN

CELEB BABY ALERT: The rumors are true. Gigi Hadid is pregnant with her and Zayn Malik’s first child. Gigi’s mom, Yolanda Hadid, confirmed the happy news to a Dutch media outlet, saying the family feels “very blessed.” VOGUE

SPOTTED...Amy Poehler, Chris Pratt, Rob Lowe and the rest of the cast of Parks and Recreation, reuniting via video call for a special episode: WATCH A CLIP

LEFTOVERS: NO ROAD TEST REQUIRED: Georgia will temporarily allow residents to get a driver’s license without the customary road test as part of the state’s emergency order. Teens with permits will simply need the permission of their parents to get their license — at least until May 13. COMPLEX

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