Another Thirsty Thursday

Labor Force

Hasn’t Peaked Yet—Not the Coronavirus—Unemployment

After three consecutive weeks of jobless claims in the millions, economists are now predicting that another 5.462 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits for the week ending April 11. In the week ending April 4, 6.606 million claims were filed, which was a slight decrease from…

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Banking Industry

Bank of America Profits Drop 45% While Bracing for Billions in Bad Loans

BOA revealed in an earnings report Wednesday that it saw a 45 percent decline in profits in the first quarter of the year due to the coronavirus crisis. The bank posted a first-quarter profit of $4.01 billion on revenues of $22.8 billion, the company said in a statement, adding that it has set aside $3.6 billion in reserves in anticipation of…

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Retail Industry

Retail Sales Plunge by Record 8.7% in March

The toilet paper raids and empty bread shelves in grocery stores was not enough to offset the gut punch to retail sales in March. U.S. retail sales plummeted 8.7 percent in March, which was a record drop due to the viral pandemic which closed down tens of thousands of stores, keeping shoppers at home. Sales fell sharply across many categories: clothing sales collapsed 50.5 percent, and auto sales…

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Investor News

Investors Banking on Dividends Will Start Feeling Pain

Dividends are under pressure because many companies are seeing dramatic drop in cash flow. Beware of companies that pay respectable dividends and have seen cash flow drop dramatically. Yes, Johnson and Johnson and Proctor and Gamble surprised investors with modest increases, but don’t kid yourself: they are likely anomalies. Dividends are under pressure because…

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Tech Industry

Alphabet CEO Let’s Employees Know the Company Will Slow Hiring and Other Investments

Google CEO Sundar Pichai told workers on Wednesday the company is re-evaluating investments, starting with hiring. Management also revealed they are having difficulties on-boarding new hires remotely. “We believe now is the time to significantly slow down the pace of hiring, while maintaining momentum in a small number of strategic areas where users and businesses rely on Google for ongoing support, and where our growth is critical to their success,” Pichai told workers in a memo. Pichai noted the company had added 20,000…

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Real Estate

Bracing for Defaults, U.S. Commercial Real Estate See’s Cash Flow Evaporate

“We can’t compare it to 9/11. And if you go back to 2008, that was more about overleverage and looser underwriting,” said Ann Hambly, the founder of 1st Service Solutions, a firm that helps commercial property owners navigate loan workouts. “It didn’t affect everyone,” she told MarketWatch of past downturns. “Here, the whole economy has been shut down and everybody needs help.” How bad could things get for commercial real estate?

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Restaurant Industry

Ruth’s Chris Steak House Receives $20M in Coronavirus Relief

Ruth’s Hospitality Group, Inc. received loans of $20 million in government backed forgivable loans to hep retain its staff. Ruth’s Hospitality Group operates or franchises 150 restaurants. The loans came on April 7, just four days after…

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Retail Industry

JCPenney and Macy’s Hire Financial Advisors

The coronavirus crisis has rocked the retail world, and two iconic retail giants may fall because of what’s happening with the economic shut down: JC Penney and Macy’s, have both reportedly hired financial advisers to manage debt and maintain cash flow. Battered and bruised department store chain JCPenney has hired the consultancy AlixPartners LLP to manage its hefty debt load of about $4 billion. It’s fleet of 850 stores have been closed since March 18. Meanwhile, Macy’s has furloughed the “majority” of its…

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