Can’t find Purell? You
could soon be sanitiz-
ing with coconut rum,
said Kate Krader in
Bloomberg.com. Small-
batch distilleries in
the U.S. and U.K. are
“doing their part to
pitch in on the effort
to slow the spread of
the novel coronavi-
rus.” After all, effective
germ-fighting sanitizers
must be at least 60 per-
cent alcohol, “a prod-
uct that distilleries have
in abundance.” With a
little added aloe vera,
and “botanicals and
flavorings from their
signature spirits as a
twist,” the companies
are giving away their
boozy concoctions—
just avoid the temp-
tation to imbibe.
Brooklyn-based New
York Distilling Co.’s
recipe calls for “uncut
gin” with the “scent of
juniper berries and cit-
rus,” while California’s
Prohibition Spirits has
created “three flavors
of sanitizer that evoke
popular cocktails:
key lime margarita,
old-fashioned, and
piña colada.”Booze makers join
the cleaning battleBUSINESS
An unprecedented surge in claims
has overwhelmed state unem-
ployment departments, crash-
ing websites and threatening to
deplete trust funds, said David
Lieb in the Associated Press. “In
Ohio, more than 48,000 people
applied for jobless benefits dur-
ing the first two days of this
week”—a stunning increase from
just 1,825 in the same period a
week earlier. Pennsylvania saw 70,000 applica-
tions in one day, “six times the total for the
entire previous week.” National predictions were
dire, with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin
warning lawmakers that unemployment could
hit Great Depression levels of 20 percent without
swift intervention.“The government needs to make
sure the hardest-hit families have
enough income to keep food
on their tables,” said Betsey
Stevenson and Justin Wolfers
in The New York Times. This
recession is not like others. The
usual goal in recessions is to get
consumers spending. But now
millions of businesses are closing
“to prevent the transmission of
the coronavirus.” The White House is pushing for
a payroll tax cut, but that does nothing for people
who are out of work. We need to expand eligi-
bility for unemployment insurance and include
independent contractors. Business can’t resume
if there’s a “wave of ruined credit scores, home
foreclosures, and bankruptcies.”Jobs: Unemployment claims flood the states
Markets: Darkest days for the Dow
The Dow “suffered its worst day since the Black Monday market
crash in 1987” as fear of a global slowdown gripped Wall Street this
week, said Fred Imbert in NBC.com. The blue-chip index’s decline of
12.9 percent, or 2,977.10 points, earlier this week represented its third-
worst day ever, behind the 22 percent rout in 1987 and a 13 percent
drop in October 1929. Actions by the Federal Reserve did little to
reassure panicked investors. Since hitting a record high on Feb. 12, the
Dow is down more than 31 percent.
Autos: U.S., European makers stop production
The big three U.S. automakers said this week they will temporarily shut
down production, said Peter Valdes-Dapena and Vanessa Yurkevich in
CNN.com, joining European carmakers who had already announced
“the closure of 35 manufacturing facilities across Europe.” The United
Auto Workers had asked Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler to delay
production, and the automakers reached an agreement with the union
on “rotating partial shutdowns” to deep-clean the plants. But facing
swiftly falling demand, the automakers opted to simply shutter their
factories until at least March 30. Honda and BMW also announced they
would close U.S. plants.
Aerospace: Boeing faces a cash shortage
Boeing’s shares tumbled to a six-year low this week after a rating down-
grade from Standard & Poor’s, said Rachit Vats in Reuters.com. The
rating agency lowered the plane maker’s credit standing from “A-” to
“BBB” as Boeing falls deeper into debt because of the extended ground-
ing of the 737 Max and the coronavirus. S&P estimates Boeing’s free
cash flow for 2020 could go down to negative $12 billion, noting that
its debt doubled to $27.3 billion last year. After the downgrade, Boeing’s
stock fell 22 percent, shaving 100 points off the Dow.
WeWork: SoftBank pulls out of payout
“SoftBank is backing away from part of its planned bailout of WeWork,”
said Liz Hoffman and Eliot Brown in The Wall Street Journal. The tech
investment firm said this week that “regulatory probes into the startup’s
business” give SoftBank a way to avoid the planned purchase of $3 bil-
lion of WeWork shares from existing investors. Those include WeWork’s
high-flying founder, Adam Neumann, “who had the right to sell up to
$970 million in stock.” The coronavirus could have a devastating effect
on WeWork’s business, but the floundering office rental company “is
still on the hook for its payments to landlords.”32
The news at a glance
AP(^2
)Shut down by the epidemicQU.S. crude oil prices fell
this week to $24.62 a barrel,
their lowest point since
November 2002, as Saudi
Arabia and Russia continued
to ramp up production in an
oil-price war.
The Wall Street Journal
QWall Street’s “fear
gauge”—the CBOE Volatility
Index, known as the VIX—
hit a record high this week of
82.69, surpassing the peak
level of 80.74 on Nov. 21,- The VIX more than
doubled in March alone.
CNBC.com
QIn one day last week,
343,000 people worldwide
downloaded the Zoom video-
conferencing app, including
60,000 in the U.S., compared
with 90,000 people globally
and 27,000 in the U.S. just
two months ago.
Forbes.com
QBox office sales in North
America last weekend hit
their lowest level in more
than two decades, generat-
ing roughly $55.3 million
between Friday and Sunday,
before theaters in many cit-
ies were forced to close.
Variety.com
QU.S. toilet-paper sales
were up 60 percent for
the week ending March 7,
compared with the same
period a year ago, accord-
ing to Nielsen. Sales of
hand sanitizers and aerosol
disinfectants went up even
more—470 percent and
313 percent respectively.
The Wall Street Journal
QBigger tech companies
acquired 231 startups focus-
ing on artificial intelligence
technology in 2019, up from
42 five years earlier. Apple
has been the top acquirer
since 2010, having bought 20
AI firms.
Bloomberg.comThe bottom line