Business News

Starbucks will close up to 400 stores over the next 18 months while also expanding curbside pickup, Drive-Thru and mobile-only pickup locations.        

Nearly 1.9 million people applied for U. S. unemployment benefits last week, the ninth straight decline since applications spiked in mid-March, a sign that the gradual reopening of businesses has slowed the loss of jobs. The diminishing pace suggests that the job market meltdown that was triggered by the coronavirus may have bottomed out as more companies call at least some of their former employees back to work. The total number of people who are now receiving jobless aid rose only slightly to 21.5 million, suggesting that rehiring is offsetting some of the ongoing layoffs. Though applications for benefits are slowing, the latest weekly number is still more than double the record high that prevailed before the viral outbreak.

By Kelly Tyko | USA TODAYPier 1 Imports, which previously said it would close half of its fleet of stores, now plans to close all of its locations. The retailer, based in Fort Worth, Texas, announced in a news release Tuesday that it was seeking bankruptcy court approval to begin an “orderly wind-down” when stores are able to reopen "following the government-mandated closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.”There are stores in Oklahoma City, Edmond, Norman and Tulsa.

J. C. Penney, reeling from a one-two punch of the department store industry's struggles and the coronavirus pandemic, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.       

Retailers that were already ailing before the coronavirus are beginning to crumble as the crisis raises the threat of store closings and bankruptcy.       

In seven weeks, 30 million Americans filed for unemployment. The economic crisis has hurt families, workers and businesses.        

By Susan Tompor / Detroit Free PressMuch-awaited stimulus cash will begin flooding into millions of bank accounts next week in the first wave of payouts to shore up the nation's wallets. Millions of taxpayers will begin receiving the extra money to pay rent, groceries and other bills next week, or possibly as early as Thursday or Friday, some say.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says the Trump administration has decided to push the income tax filing date to July 15 from April 15. Mnuchin announced the decision in a tweet Friday saying that at President Donald Trump’s direction “we are moving Tax Day from April 15 to July 15.

CVS Health is hiring 50,000 workers and delivering bonuses to employees who are required to work on-site during the coronavirus pandemic.       

Amazon said Monday that it needs to hire 100,000 people across the U. S. to keep up with a crush of orders as the coronavirus spreads and keeps more people at home, shopping online. The online retailer said it will also temporarily raise pay by $2 an hour through the end of April for hourly employees, who work at its warehouses, delivery centers and Whole Foods grocery stores.

By Stan Choe and Alex VeigaThe Associated PressNEW YORK — The escalating coronavirus emergency sent the stock market Thursday into its worst slide since the Black Monday crash of 1987, extending a sell-off that has now wiped out most of Wall Street’s big gains since President Donald Trump took office. The S&P 500 plummeted 9.5%, for a total drop of 26.7% from its all-time high, set just last month.

Wells Fargo agreed Friday to pay $3 billion to settle criminal and civil investigations into a long-running practice whereby company employees opened millions of unauthorized bank accounts in order to meet unrealistic sales goals. Since the fake-accounts scandal came to light in 2016, Wells has paid out billions in fines to state and federal regulators, reshuffled its board of directors and seen two CEOs and other top-level executives leave the company. The $3 billion payment includes a $500 million civil payment to the Securities and Exchange Commission, which will distribute those funds to investors who were impacted by Wells' behavior. "Wells Fargo traded its hard-earned reputation for short-term profits” said U.

General Motors says it's pulling out of Australia, New Zealand and Thailand as part of a strategy to exit markets that don't produce adequate returns on investments. The company said in a statement Sunday that it will wind down sales, engineering and design operations for its historic Holden brand in Australia and New Zealand in 2021. It also plans to sell its Rayong factory in Thailand to China's Great Wall Motors and withdraw the Chevrolet brand from Thailand by the end of this year. CEO Mary Barra says the company wants to focus on markets where it can drive strong returns.