Business Highlights

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US job losses in May could raise 3-month total to 30 million

WASHINGTON (AP) — The epic damage to America’s job market from the viral outbreak will come into sharper focus Friday when the government releases the May employment report. Eight million more jobs are estimated to have been lost. Unemployment could top 20%. And potentially fewer than half of all adults may be working. Beneath the dismal figures will be signs that job cuts, severe as they are, are slowing as more businesses gradually or partially reopen. Still, the economy is mired in a recession, and any rebound in hiring will likely be painfully slow. Economists foresee unemployment remaining in double-digits through the November elections and into 2021.

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Trump administration moves to block Chinese airlines from US

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration says it will block Chinese airlines from flying to the U.S. later this month. It’s the latest escalation of trade and travel tensions between the two countries. China so far hasn’t allowed U.S. airlines United and Delta to resume flights to China, which they wanted to restart this week. Those flights were suspended earlier this year because of the coronavirus outbreak that started in China. The Transportation Department says it will suspend flights by four Chinese airlines to and from the U.S. beginning June 16. The Transportation Department says China is violating an air-travel agreement between the two countries.

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US service sector contracts for second month in May

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. services sector shrank for a second month in May as the coronavirus pandemic triggered shutdowns and layoffs around the country. The Institute for Supply Management said Wednesday that its service sector index stood at 45.4 in May, up slightly from an April reading of 41.8. Any reading below 50 signals that the service sector, where the majority of Americans work, is in contraction. The April decline broke a string of more than 10 years of expansion in the services sector.

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Snapchat to stop ‘promoting’ Trump amid uproar over tweets

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Snapchat says it will stop “promoting” President Donald Trump on its video messaging service, the latest example of a social media platform adjusting how it treats this U.S. president. Last week, Trump sent inflammatory posts on Twitter and Facebook that included suggesting that Minneapolis protesters could be shot, which Twitter flagged and in one case obscured. Snapchat’s action is more limited; it means the president’s posts will no longer show up in the app’s “Discover” section, which showcases news and posts by celebrities and public figures.

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Pilgrim’s Pride CEO among indicted for chicken price fixing

WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. (AP) — The CEO of Pilgrim’s Pride is one of four current and former chicken company executives who have been indicted on charges of price-fixing. The Justice Department says a federal grand jury in Colorado found that executives from Colorado-based Pilgrim’s Pride and Georgia-based Claxton Poultry conspired to fix prices and rig bids for broiler chickens from at least 2012 to 2017. Among those charged is Pilgrim’s Pride CEO Jayson Penn. They are the first executives to be charged in a long-running investigation of price-fixing in the chicken industry. The executives could face 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

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Survey: 2.76 million layoffs in May, far fewer than expected

BALTIMORE (AP) — U.S. businesses shed 2.76 million jobs in May, as the economic damage from the historically unrivaled coronavirus outbreak stretched into a third month. The payroll company ADP reported Wednesday that businesses have let go of a combined 22.6 million jobs since March. The virus forced employers to shutter offices, factories, gyms and schools, while demand from consumers for gasoline, clothing, airline tickets, hotel rooms and restaurant meals quickly vanished.

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Cinema chain AMC warns it may not survive the pandemic

NEW YORK (AP) — Movie theater chain AMC warned Wednesday that it may not survive the coronavirus pandemic, which has shuttered its theaters and led film studios to explore releasing more movies directly to viewers over the internet. All of AMC’s theaters are shut down through June, which means the company isn’t generating any revenue. AMC says it has enough cash to reopen its theaters this summer, as it plans to do. But if it’s not allowed to do that, it will need more money, which it may not be able to borrow. After reopening, it may still have problems if entertainment companies delay releasing new films.

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Wall Street’s rally rolls on; S&P 500 back within 8% of high

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rallied again on Wall Street Wednesday, and the S&P 500 climbed back to where it was just one week after it set its all-time high earlier this year. The index rose 1.4% for its fourth straight gain as lockdowns loosen around the world and raise hopes for a coming economic recovery. Treasury yields also strengthened in a sign of improved confidence after several reports suggested that while the U.S. economy is still getting pummeled, it may not be as bad as economists had feared. The reports touched on job losses at private employers, activity in the service sector and factory orders.

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The S&P 500 rose 42.05 points, or 1.4%, to 3,122.87. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 527.24 points, or 2%, to 26,269.89, and the Nasdaq composite rose 74.54, or 0.8%, to 9.682.91. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks ended up 33.88 points, or 2.4%, at 1,452.09.