Business Highlights

___

Behind virus and protests: A chronic US economic racial gap

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States has been here before, staring into the abyss that divides white and black Americans. It happened after the cities burned in 1967, after Los Angeles erupted over the police beating of Rodney King in 1992, after racial clashes over a police shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014. In the wake of those upheavals came talk of change -- of expanding economic opportunity to black Americans left behind in one of the world’s richest countries. Despite high hopes, economic progress has come slowly if at all for black America. African Americans still earn 62 cents for every $1 whites earn. Their wealth is one-tenth of their white fellow citizens’. And they remain more than twice as likely to be caught below the poverty line.

___

A US recession began in February in the face of coronavirus

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy entered a recession in February, a group of economists declared Monday, ending more than a decade of steady if slow growth. The economists said employment peaked in February and fell sharply afterward, marking the beginning of the downturn. A committee within the National Bureau of Economic Research, a trade group, determines when recessions begin and end. It defines a recession as “a decline in economic activity that lasts more than a few months.” The committee acknowledged, however, that in this case the depth of the economic downturn so far also played a role in its decision.

___

Stocks vault higher, as Nasdaq hits record on economy hopes

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks scrambled even higher Monday on Wall Street’s enthusiasm about the reopening economy, and the Nasdaq composite set a record. The S&P 500 rose 1.2% and is back within 4.5% of its own record as optimism strengthens that the worst of the recession may have already passed. Stocks that would benefit most from an economy that’s growing again rose the most, including smaller companies and airlines. Last week’s surprisingly encouraging report on the jobs market is bolstering hopes that the economy can recover from its recession more quickly than forecast. Economists said Monday that the recession officially began in February.

___

Fed acts to broaden appeal of ‘Main Street’ lending program

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve said it will increase the maximum amount that it will lend under its Main Street loan program and extend the loan repayment period to five years from four, in an apparent effort to make the loans more appealing to businesses and banks. The loans are extended by banks, and the Fed said Monday it will now purchase 95% of the loans from the banks, to lessen the credit risk to the bank and free up more capital for it to lend more. Previously, the Fed said it would only buy 85% of loans for more highly-indebted companies.

___

Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess giving up managing VW brand

BERLIN (AP) — German automaker Volkswagen says its CEO is giving up managing the company’s core VW brand in order to concentrate more on the group as a whole. The company said Monday that Herbert Diess, whose image had been tarnished by the company’s diesel-emissions scandal, will be replaced as head of the VW brand by Ralf Brandstaetter, who has been serving as the brand’s chief operating officer. The change will give Diess, who has been pushing the company ahead with a shift toward zero-emission vehicles and a new, more environmentally friendly image, more time to focus on the overall brand, which includes Audi, Porsche and Skoda.

___

‘A big test’: Hard-hit New York City begins reopening

NEW YORK (AP) — After three gloomy months and 21,000 deaths, New York City slowly began reopening Monday in what could be the biggest test yet of Americans’ ability to keep the coronavirus in check. Stores previously deemed nonessential were cleared to reopen for delivery and curbside pickup, though customers cannot yet browse inside. Construction, manufacturing and wholesalers also were cleared to resume work. New York became the deadliest coronavirus hotspot in the U.S. At its peak, the virus killed more than 500 people a day in New York City in early to mid-April. The number has since dropped below two dozen.

___

World Bank: world will suffer largest downturn since 1940s

WASHINGTON (AP) — The World Bank says he world is facing an unprecedented health and economic crisis that has spread with astonishing speed and will result in the largest shock the global economy has witnessed in more than seven decades. Millions of people are expected to be pushed into extreme poverty. The organization said Monday that global economic activity will shrink by 5.2% this year, the deepest recession since a 13.8% global contraction in 1945-46 at the end of World War II. The 5.2% downturn this year will be the fourth worst global downturn over the past 150 years, exceeded only by the Great Depression of the 1930s and the periods after World War I and World War II.

___

Survey: Business economists expect worst slump since 1940s

WASHINGTON (AP) — Business economists expect the United States to suffer its worst downturn this year in more than seven decades before growth resumes sometime next year. Overhanging that forecast, though, is the risk that a second wave of the coronavirus could threaten the economy once again. A survey by the National Association for Business Economics predicts that the gross domestic product — the total value of goods and services produced in the United States — will fall 5.9% for 2020 as a result of the recession triggered by the virus. That would be the sharpest annual decline since GDP fell 11.6% in 1946, when the nation was demobilizing after World War II.

___

Russia charges plant director in Arctic diesel fuel spill

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities have charged the director of an Arctic power plant that leaked 20,000 tons of diesel fuel into the ecologically fragile region with violating environmental regulations, a crime that could bring five years in prison. Authorities said Monday that an investigation into the May 29 leak is continuing. Much of the spilled fuel fouled waterways in the Norilsk region and there is concern it could affect wildlife or make its way into the Arctic Ocean. The fuel leaked when a storage tank collapsed. Prosecutors say that melting permafrost likely caused the collapse.

___

NY Times editorial page editor resigns amid fury over op-ed

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Times says its editorial page editor has resigned in the wake of outrage over the publication of an op-ed by a Republican senator who advocated using federal troops to quell protests. The paper announced Sunday that James Bennet had resigned, effective immediately. Bennet had defended publishing the controversial “Send in the Troops” op-ed last week, but admitted to staffers that he had not read the piece before it was published. The piece caused a revolt among Times journalists, with some saying it endangered black employees. Some staff members called in sick Thursday in protest and the Times said a review found that the piece did not meet its standards.

___

The S&P 500 rallied 38.46 points, or 1.2%, to 3,232.39. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 461.46, or 1.7%, to 27,572.44. The Nasdaq composite, gained 110.66, or 1.1%, to 9,924.74. The Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks gained 29.74, or 2%, to 1,536.89.