USA Today - 18.03.2020

Try these feel-good flicks from the Oscar winner,

who is recovering from coronavirus. Page 5B

10 Tom Hanks movies we love

as much as a box of chocolates

MONEY

USA TODAY| WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2020 | SECTION B

INDEX CLOSE CHG
Dow Jones Industrial Avg. 21,237.38 x 1,048.
S&P 500 2,529.19 x 143.
Nasdaq composite 7,334.78 x 430.
T-note, 10-year yield 1.083 x 0.
SOURCESUSA TODAY RESEARCH, BLOOMBERG

Dow Jones Industrial Avg.

20,

24,

26,

28,

SEPT. MARCH

AP

+1,

30,

22,

21,

TUESDAY MARKETS

RETAIL SALES IN US
DIP 0.5% IN FEBRUARY

Retail sales fell 0.5% in February, the
largest drop in more than a year, in-
dicating that the consumer sector was
slowing even before the coronavirus
struck in the United States. Econo-
mists said they were looking for even
weaker numbers in coming months.
The Commerce Department reported
Tuesday that the February drop in
sales was the biggest since a 2% de-
cline in December 2018. The February
decline came from weaknesses in-
cluding a 0.9% fall in auto sales and a
2.8% drop at gasoline stations.

MORTGAGE APPLICATIONS
SOAR 25.9% IN FEBRUARY

Mortgage applications surged last
month as home buyers rushed to take
advantage of low interest rates
spurred by the economic uncertainty
surrounding the coronavirus pandem-
ic. New mortgage applications jumped
25.9% as compared with February
2019, according to the latest survey
from the Mortgage Bankers Associa-
tion. Sales of new homes rose an esti-
mated 8%, the group said.

VOLKSWAGEN SHUTTERS
MOST EUROPEAN PLANTS

Volkswagen said Tuesday it would
close most of its European plants for
two weeks due to uncertainty about
demand for cars and supplies of parts
amid the virus outbreak and said it
wasn’t possible to give a reliable out-
look for this year’s profits. The compa-
ny said its China business was coming
back as the number of new cases
lessens there and that its ambitious
plans to scale up production of elec-
tric cars remained on track. The com-
pany had previously said it expects a
4% increase in sales this year but
Chief Financial Officer Frank Witter
said Tuesday that uncertainty about
the severity and duration of the virus
outbreak made it impossible to give a
reliable prediction.

SEAN GALLUP/GETTY IMAGES

MONEYLINE

Rates reported Tuesday.

Current Week ago

30 yr. fixed 3.99% 3.66%

15 yr. fixed 3.20% 2.97%

5/1 ARM 3.49% 3.52%

7/1 ARM 3.48% 3.50%

30 yr. jumbo 4.09% 3.76%

30 yr. FHA 3.59% 3.39%

BANKRATE.COM

Mortgage rates

USA TODAY SNAPSHOTS ©

MONEY+LIFE

We’re in a bear market. Now what?

All three major U.S. stock indexes

have moved into bear territory this

month after multiple tumultuous days

on Wall Street. While this may seem a bit

foreign after an 11-year bull market, bears

are part of investing.

A bear market, you may remember, is

defined as a drop of 20% or more from a

prior closing high. The S&P 500, Dow

Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq

have all closed 20% below the all-time

highs they reached in February to end

their bull-market runs.

The uncertainty surrounding the new

coronavirus, or COVID-19, has left inves-

tors wondering what will unfold during

the coming days and weeks, including

the likelihood of a U.S. or global reces-

sion as countries shut down business

and travel to contain the spreading virus.

How much longer the decline will con-

tinue is impossible to say, but the charts

we’ve compiled from the last 13 bear

Uncertainty, speed of coronavirus mark new territory

Length of S&P 500 bear markets since 1929

JIM SERGENT/USA TODAY

SOURCE S&P Dow Jones Indices

Most infamous

Longest

Shortest

Average

1929

1937

1990

2007

-86.2% decline

Most recent-56.8% decline

-60% decline

-19.9% decline

32.8 months

61.

2.

17

21

Jim Sergent and Veronica Bravo

USA TODAY

See BEAR MARKET, Page 2B

It’s tempting

to think the

market is on

sale. But

beware this

adage: “Don’t

try to catch a

falling knife.”

How does this bear

market compare?

VERONICA BRAVO/USA TODAY

Retailers are shifting their shipping

priorities and ramping up hiring, as

delivery and service workers increas-

ingly become indispensable to Amer-

icans largely confined to their homes

because of concerns about the corona-

virus.

Amazon said Tuesday that it will

“temporarily prioritize” shipments of

popular items such as medical sup-

plies or household staples during the

coronavirus crisis, starting March 17

and lasting until April 5 to help cus-

tomers as the COVID-19 pandemic

spreads.

“We are seeing increased online

shopping and as a result some prod-

ucts such as household staples and

medical supplies are out of stock,” said

Amazon in a statement obtained by USA

TODAY. “With this in mind, we are tem-

porarily prioritizing household staples,

medical supplies, and other high-de-

mand products coming into our fulfill-

ment centers so we can more quickly re-

ceive, restock, and deliver these prod-

ucts to customers.”

To move that merchandise, Amazon

says it will hire 100,000 full-time and

part-time workers to assist with online

deliveries in the U.S. and raise their

minimum pay to at least $17 an hour

through April.

Amazon says products already on

their way to fulfillment centers before

the shift to higher priority items will not

be affected.

Grocery stores also hiring

Meanwhile, Kroger, the supermarket

chain, says that it has “immediate posi-

tions available ... across our retail

stores, manufacturing plants and distri-

bution centers.”

In the midst of the coronavirus out-

break, which has spurred shoppers to

flood stores in search of supplies, Kroger

Amazon to prioritize shipments

Businesses focus on

hiring, fighting virus

Amazon will “temporarily prioritize”

shipments of popular items. ADRIAN

DENNIS/AFP FILE PHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES

See BUSINESSES, Page 2B

Charisse Jones and Brett Molina

USA TODAY