The new reality competition on Amazon Prime

has one big difference: a $1M prize. Page 5B

For Klum, ‘Making the Cut’ not

just another ‘Project Runway’

MONEY+LIFE

USA TODAY | FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2020 | SECTION B

INDEX CLOSE CHG
Dow Jones Industrial Avg. 22,552.17 x 1,351.
S&P 500 2,630.07 x 154.
Nasdaq composite 7,797.54 x 413.
T-note, 10-year yield 0.852 y 0.
SOURCES USA TODAY RESEARCH, BLOOMBERG

Dow Jones Industrial Avg.

18,

24,

26,

28,

AP SEPT. MARCH

1,351.

30,

22,

20,

22,

THURSDAY MARKETS

MCDONALD'S SUSPENDS
ALL-DAY BREAKFAST MENU

McDonald’s is temporarily pulling its
coveted all-day breakfast menu to
streamline operations as the coro-
navirus pandemic continues to strain
day-to-day affairs. “We are working
with our franchisees and local restau-
rants to focus on serving our most
popular choices and will begin tempo-
rarily removing some items from the
menu over the next few weeks,” Bill
Garrett, the senior vice president of
McDonald’s U.S. operations, said in a
statement obtained by USA TODAY
Wednesday.

ITALY TO SHUT DOWN
FACTORIES NATIONWIDE

Italy has become the first western
developed nation to idle most of its
industry to halt the spread of the
coronavirus. After more than two
weeks of a nationwide lockdown, the
Italian government decided to expand
the mandatory closure of nonessential
commercial activities to heavy indus-
try in the eurozone’s third-largest
economy, a major exporter of machin-
ery, textiles and other goods. The
industrial lobby Confindustria esti-
mates a cost of 70 billion to 100 billion
euros ($77 billion-$110 billion) of na-
tional wealth a month if 70% of com-
panies are closed, as anticipated.

ECONOMY GROWS 2.1%
IN FOURTH QUARTER

The economy grew by a moderate
2.1% in the fourth quarter of last year,
but many economists believe that will
be the last positive growth seen for
some time due to the coronavirus. The
Commerce Department said Thursday
that growth was unchanged from its
previous estimate but that the com-
ponents were slightly altered with
consumer spending slightly stronger
but government spending and busi-
ness investment a bit lower.

MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ/AP

MONEYLINE

Per gallon of regular unleaded.

Current Avg. ............................ $2.

Yesterday Avg. ........................ $2.

Week Ago Avg. ....................... $2.

Month Ago Avg. ..................... $2.

Year Ago Avg. ......................... $2.

AMERICAN AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION

Gas Prices

USA TODAY SNAPSHOTS ©

From bookstore shopkeepers to

cafe owners to disc jockeys, entrepre-

neurs across America have been

among the hardest hit by the coronavi-

rus pandemic.

Small businesses in the U.S. employ

nearly 60 million people, and 57 mil-

lion are self-employed independent

contractors, gig workers, temporary

and part-time workers. Benefits like

health care coverage or sick paid leave

are not guaranteed for all of these

workers and many rely on their income

to handle these expenses.

With the Centers for Disease Con-

trol and Prevention guidelines to limit

the social gatherings and local govern-

ments mandating the closure of nones-

sential businesses to help curb the

spread of COVID-19, these business

owners have a major challenge: Find

creative ways to adjust in a time of cri-

sis.

Here are seven entrepreneurs who

are innovating and reinventing their

businesses during the coronavirus pan-

demic.

A bookstore all to yourself

Even before Washington Mayor Mu-

riel Bowser ordered all restaurants, bars

and gathering places in the District of

Columbia to be shut down, the owners

of Capitol Hill Books had been preparing

for a new chapter in its business.

Foot traffic had slowed during the

March 14 weekend. Usually on week-

ends, the cozy, three-floor used book

store gets quite packed.

“Things were slowing down, and we

also anticipated there would be some

orders coming down from local govern-

ment to close,” said Kyle Burk, one of

several co-owners who purchased the

store in July 2018.

That led the store’s operators to con-

sider how to keep the business open

while keeping “social distancing prac-

Small businesses forced to adapt

Entrepreneurs find

inventive ways to cope

Josh Rivera, Brett Molina,

Coral Murphy-Marcos, Mike Snider,

Jefferson Graham

and Jazmin Goodwin

USA TODAY

Capitol Hill Books in Washington, D.C.,

offers shopping by appointment and

virtual grab bag book collections

shipped to shoppers. CAPITOL HILL BOOKS

See ENTREPRENEURS, Page 2B

M

ost auto dealers and service stations are keeping

their doors open during the coronavirus pandem-

ic, saying they should not be forced to close be-

cause they provide an essential service. ❚Dealers,

who have been hit hard by the crisis already, say their businesses

are essential to many Americans who need to buy or fix cars to get

to their jobs or other critical destinations like hospitals.

“You have millions of workers who

still have to get to their jobs in health

care and all types of industries like

that, and they need their vehicles,”

said Marc Cannon, chief marketing

officer of AutoNation, the country’s

largest dealer network.

To make people comfortable,

dealers are practicing social distanc-

ing in their showrooms, offering to

deliver purchased vehicles, allowing

solo test rides and eliminating cer-

tain in-person activities to make a

purchase.

They’re also offering steep dis-

counts in the form of incentives

passed along by the auto manufac-

turers. Auto sales are expected to

drop sharply due to the COVID-

pandemic.

In some states, including New Jer-

sey and Michigan, dealerships have

been forced to close their showrooms

because of stay-at-home orders but

can keep their service departments

open. In others, such as Ohio, they

can keep both operating, according

to trade journal Automotive News.

Details of each state’s so-called shel-

ter-in-place directive vary.

Why most

auto dealers

are still open

COVID-19 is a crisis for industry as

discounts on cars, services abound

Nathan Bomey USA TODAY

See AUTO DEALERS, Page 3B