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FINANCIAL MARKETS
Wall Street's rally zooms higher after surprise gain in jobs
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks have surged higher after a much better-than-expected report on the U.S. job market gave Wall Street’s recent rally another shot of adrenaline.
The S&P 500 was up more than 2% after the government said that U.S. employers added 2.5 million workers to their payrolls last month. Economists were expecting them to slash 8 million jobs.
While economists cautioned it’s just one month of data and that many risks still loom on the road to a full recovery, the report gives some credence to the optimism building that the economy can climb out of its current slump relatively quickly.
ECONOMY-JOBS REPORT
Unemployment rate falls to 13.3%, US adds 2.5 million jobs
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 13.3% in May, and 2.5 million jobs were added — a surprisingly positive reading in the midst of a recession that has paralyzed the economy and depressed the job market in the wake of the viral pandemic.
The May job gain suggests that businesses have quickly been recalling workers as states have reopened their economies.
There has been other evidence that the job market meltdown triggered by the coronavirus has bottomed out. The number of people applying for unemployment benefits has declined for nine straight weeks. And the total number of people receiving such aid has essentially leveled off.
The overall job cuts have widened economic disparities that have disproportionately hurt minorities and lower-educated workers. Though the unemployment rate for white Americans was 12.4% May, it was 17.6% for Hispanics and 16.8% for African-Americans.
TRUMP-ECONOMY
Trump hails jobs report, but unemployment rate still high
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is taking a victory lap after the government reported surprising job gains for last month.
In an appearance in the Rose Garden, the president seized on the data to predict that the worst of the coronavirus pandemic and its economic disruption was in the rear-view mirror.
The unemployment rate dropped to a better-than-expected 13.3%, but that is still on par with what the nation witnessed during the Great Depression.
Trump briefly mentioned George Floyd, the black man who died as a police officer knelt on his neck last week in Minneapolis. Speaking about the economy, Trump said, "hopefully George is looking down right now and saying this is a great thing that’s happening for our country.”
CANADA-ECONOMY
Canadian economy unexpectedly adds 289,600 jobs in May
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Statistics Canada says the Canadian economy added 289,600 jobs in May, with businesses reopening amid easing public health restrictions.
The unemployment rate rose to a record high of 13.7%, topping the previous high of 13.1% set in December 1982 in more than four decades of comparable data. The increase in the unemployment rate came as more people started looking for work.
Some economists had predicted a loss of 500,000 jobs in May and an unemployment rate of 15.0 %, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MALARIA DRUG
Malaria drug didn’t help virus patients, bit UK study finds
UNDATED (AP) — Leaders of a large study in the United Kingdom that is rigorously testing the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine and other medicines for hospitalized COVID-19 patients say they will stop putting people on the drug because it’s clear it isn’t helping.
Results released Friday from 1,542 patients showed that hydroxychloroquine did not reduce deaths, time in the hospital or other factors compared to usual care.
The study led by the University of Oxford will continue testing other medicines. The World Health Organization has a similar study underway.
VIRUS OUTBREAK- JOB CUTS
As nations try to get back on their feet job cuts continue
UNDATED (AP) — Companies around the world continue to announce substantial job cuts.
Bombardier Aviation is reducing its workforce by about 2,500 employees due to challenges caused by COVID-19. The company said Friday that it had to make the move because business jet deliveries, industry-wide, are forecast to be down approximately 30% year-over-year due to the pandemic.
Bombardier said most of the cuts will impact its manufacturing operations in Canada and will occur throughout the year. It has almost 60,000 total employees. The company anticipates an approximately $40 million charge related to the job cuts.
Luxury British carmaker Bentley plans to cut up to 1,000 jobs and has warned of the possibility of more to come as it tries to limit the damage caused by the virus outbreak.
The company, which is part of Germany’s Volkswagen Group, said it is looking to make the initial job cuts under a voluntary scheme but that future job cuts may be on a compulsory basis.
Bentley said it has informed its 4,200 workers of a program to significantly reduce the size of the business.
BREXIT
No progress: EU, UK remain far apart in post-Brexit talks
BRUSSELS (AP) — A fourth round of talks for a future trade deal between the European Union and the U.K. have ended with little progress.
Following four days of Brexit discussions, the two sides remained at loggerheads on many topics, including regulations for businesses and fisheries.
The U.K. is in a so-called transition until the end of this year and if it wants an extension, it must do so by the end of this month.
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier says, “The truth is there was no significant progress this week."
The most likely prospect for an imminent breakthrough now rests on a meeting between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen.
GERMANY-ECONOMY
German factory orders plunge, portending lean times ahead
BERLIN (AP) — Factory orders in Germany plunged even more than anticipated in April, underlining the effect the coronavirus pandemic has had on Europe's largest economy.
The Economy Ministry said Friday that industrial orders dropped 25.8% in April over the previous month, in figures adjusted for seasonal and calendar effects.
Economists had been predicting a 19.9% drop for April, which is thought to have been the worst month of the economic deterioration ascribed to the pandemic and lockdown measures meant to slow its spread.
The decline followed a 15% drop already in March, and suggests lean times ahead for German industry.
Germany is already in a recession and the government's economic advisers are predicting a contraction of between 6% and 7% in 2020.
CHINA-AIRLINES
US will allow limited flights by Chinese airlines, not a ban
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is backing away from a threat to ban all flights to the U.S. by Chinese airlines.
The Transportation Department says it will let Chinese passenger airlines fly a total of two round-trip flights per week between the U.S. and China, which it said would equal the number of flights China's aviation authority will allow for U.S. carriers.
The move comes a day after China agreed to allow more inbound flights by foreign airlines. United Airlines and Delta Air Lines stopped flying to China earlier this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, but they want to resume those flights this month.
Four airlines from China have continued flying to the U.S. Earlier this week, the Transportation Department threatened to stop all those flights no later than June 16.
TRUMP-DEATHS
US moves forward with plan to end wild bird protections
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Trump administration is moving forward with plans to scale back a century-old law protecting most American wild birds despite warnings that billions of birds could die as a result.
A draft study of the proposal released by federal officials on Friday says it could result in more deaths of birds that land in oil pits or collide with power lines or other structures.
The administration wants to end the government’s longstanding practice of treating accidental bird deaths caused by industry as potential criminal violations.
Former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe and independent scientists have say the change could cause a huge spike in bird deaths — potentially billions of birds in coming decades — at a time when species across North America already are in steep decline.
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