Wednesday, May 6, 2020
4:14 pm ET: A Late Slide Leaves Indexes Mostly Lower, Except for Tech
A late-day slide left stocks mostly lower after a wobbly day of trading, but major technology companies managed to hold on to their gains. The weak showing Wednesday gave the benchmark S&P 500 its first loss this week and came as depressing data on the economy continues to roll in. The S&P 500 fell 0.7%, but the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.5%. Major indexes had drifted between gains and losses for much of the day. Banks and energy companies fell, but Microsoft, Apple, and other tech companies kept pushing higher, continuing their nearly unstoppable run even in the face of the coronavirus outbreak. Read more...
— The Associated Press
3:29 pm ET: Andrew Yang 'Thrilled' His Lawsuit Overturns NY Primary Cancellation
Andrew Yang, who dropped out of the Democratic presidential primary in early February, continues to make his presence felt in the 2020 election.
The entrepreneur sued the New York State Board of Elections in April after it canceled the state's presidential primary by stripping Sen. Bernie Sander's name from the ballot. On Tuesday, a federal judge ordered the agency to resume the primary for June 23. Read more...
— Alex Vuocolo
2:04 pm ET: McDonald's Exec Credits Franchisees for Thank You Meals Program
Fast-food giant McDonald's has been doing its part to support healthcare workers during the coronavirus pandemic by offering free meals, but the promotion was slated to come to an end on Tuesday. Thanks to the timing of National Nurses Day today, the Golden Arches decided to continue its promotion for at least one more day.
"This Thank You Meal Program we launched was really born from our franchisees and our local communities," said David Tovar, vice president of communications for McDonald's. "We said, 'Why don't we make this a national program? Really try to blow it out, make it huge.'" Read more...
— Mike Nam
2:02 pm ET: Milk Bar Founder Bakes With Fans on Instagram
Kitchens are the new restaurants and people staying home are trying out new recipes to keep their taste buds happy. Christina Tosi, an award-winning pastry chef and founder of the popular bakery chain Milk Bar, started hosting a daily bake club on Instagram Live where she bakes with her viewers.
"People are tuning in from all over the world, presumably," Tosi told Cheddar Wednesday. "I started it 45 days ago now because I was missing the togetherness of baking that I was accustomed to running Milk Bar before COVID-19 hit." Read more...
— McKenzie Marshall
1:25 pm ET: Around the World in 90 Seconds
Children in Wuhan, China return to school for the first time since the outbreak began and a Russian World War II veteran tells old war stories to raise money for doctors. Here are your international coronavirus headlines.
— Megan Pratz
1:06 pm ET: I'm COVID-19 Negative. Doctors Explain Why.
Ever since I took a COVID-19 antibody test last week, I've been anxiously awaiting my results. Then finally, the call came in.
"Your COVID-19 antibodies test came back negative," the voice on the other line said.
After steeling myself to expect the worst, I felt waves of relief. But then, if I'm being truly honest, I felt very confused. Read more...
— Michelle Castillo
10:49 am ET: Wall Street Loses Early Gain, Turns Mixed Amid Dour Data
Stocks are mixed in early trading on Wall Street Wednesday, as depressing data on the economy continues to roll in.
Technology stocks are continuing their nearly unstoppable run, and gains for them initially helped lift the S&P 500 toward its first three-day winning streak in more than a month. But losses across the rest of the market zapped Wednesday’s early rise, and the S&P 500 was virtually flat after the first half-hour of trading.
Roughly two stocks fell for every one that rose in the S&P 500, erasing its early gain of 0.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 44 points, or 0.2%, at 23,833, as of 10:02 a.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq, which is full of tech stocks, was up 0.5%. European and Asian markets were mixed. Read more...
— The Associated Press
10:33 am ET: More Than 20 Million Jobs Vanished in April, Says ADP
U.S. businesses cut an unprecedented 20.2 million jobs in April, an epic collapse with coronavirus outbreak closing the offices, factories, schools, construction sites, and stores that propel the U.S. economy. Read more...
— The Associated Press
8:05 am ET: Need2Know: Task Force Winding Down, Vaccine Trials & Kobe’s Last Letter
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: For more than a month now, over 1,000 people a day have died of coronavirus in the U.S. While cases and deaths continue to hold at substantially lower levels in places like New York City and New Orleans, other cities like Boston, Dallas and Indianapolis are reporting higher numbers than they were a month ago. A new model from U. Penn predicts 350,000 deaths by the end of next month if states were to fully reopen. Despite all that, the White House says it will begin to wind down its coronavirus task force in the coming weeks and focus on restarting the economy. NY TIMES
COVID-19-RELATED ILLNESS IN KIDS: Pediatricians are increasingly concerned about signs of a mysterious illness showing up in a small number of children that appears to be linked to COVID-19. The new syndrome was first discovered in children in Europe last month. It has infected more than a dozen kids in NYC and Long Island and appears similar to a rare childhood illness known as Kawasaki disease. Doctors don’t know much more yet, but it’s a sign that the coronavirus may be a greater risk to children than originally thought. None of the infected patients have died, and many were responding well to treatment. USA TODAY
RACE FOR A VACCINE: Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate is now in human trials. The pharma company said the first doses were given to volunteers at several sites in the U.S. Each trial will happen concurrently in the hopes it will cut down on the time. If these trials are successful, Pfizer says the vaccine could be available for emergency use in September. Dozens of other vaccine candidates are also in development around the world. YAHOO FINANCE
AMERICANS ARRESTED IN VENEZUELA: Venezuela is holding two American citizens in custody that the government says were part of a failed coup attempt to oust President Nicolás Maduro. The two men, both ex-Special Forces, were working for a Florida security firm called Silvercorp. Maduro says they were part of a U.S. and Colombia-backed plot to kill him. President Trump said the U.S. government had nothing to do with whatever happened. CBS NEWS
DISNEY EARNINGS: Disney reported its quarterly earnings, which showed in stark numbers just how bad the pandemic has been for the Mouse House. The company said it lost $1.4 billion directly due to coronavirus — and that’s only taking into account a couple of weeks in March. The current quarter will be far worse. The biggest impact has been on Disney’s theme park and cruise division, which alone lost $1 billion. The one bright spot: Disney+ is a huge success, having hit 55 million subscribers since its launch in November. FAST COMPANY
AIRBNB LAYOFFS: Airbnb has laid off a quarter of its workforce — about 1,900 employees — as the coronavirus decimates the travel industry. This is the largest mass layoff at a tech company since the pandemic hit, but it’s unlikely to be the last. Uber is rumored to be getting ready to cut as much as 20 percent of its headcount. CNET
KOBE'S LAST LETTER: Vanessa Bryant revealed that she had found an unopened letter from her late husband Kobe, and kept it sealed until her birthday, giving her something to look forward to. The envelope was labeled To: The Love of my Life. From, Tu Papi. TMZ
TELL-ALL ROYAL BIO: A new biography of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex claims to tell the “true story” of the couple’s split from the royal family, and is rumored to have been written with Harry and Meghan’s cooperation. The book, titled Finding Freedom, hits shelves in August. TOWN & COUNTRY
WELCOME TO THE WORLD: Elon Musk and Grimes have a newborn baby boy. Musk wrote on Twitter — hopefully in jest — that the baby’s name is X Æ A-12 Musk: SEE PIC
LEFTOVERS: BLUE WAVE: Southern California is experiencing a rare show from Mother Nature, just as its beaches reopen to the public. Every few years, the southern Pacific appears to light up in an iridescent blue at night — a result of excess phytoplankton that gives the water its electric glow. Experts say the phenomenon is especially vibrant this year, in part due to heavy rains that generated more algae bloom than usual. SEE PICS
