Consumer prices saw their largest monthly decline in five years, revealing the downward pressure that the coronavirus pandemic is exerting on the cost of gasoline, airfares, hotel rooms and other goods and services.
In Indiana, 133,639 people filed unemployment claims in the week ended April 4, down from 139,174 the previous week, and way up from 75,522 the week before that.
Some local restaurants trying to stay afloat without dine-in service report sales have plunged by two-thirds or more, raising questions about how much longer they’ll be able to survive.
Asbury, which has eight Indianapolis-area dealerships, said it’s furloughing 2,300 employees across its 10-state operating footprint due to a sharp drop-off in sales and service revenue.
In this first episode of IBJ’s Beyond COVID podcast, Matt Neff offers advice for businesses trying to get back on track. And IBJ reporter Lindsey Erdody provides an update about Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb’s stay-at-home order and, in particular, how the latest iteration affects liquor stores.
We check in with firms of all stripes to learn how they’re seeking to persevere—and how some are plotting to gain a competitive advantage when normalcy returns.
State and federal authorities have expanded the eligibility for unemployment benefits significantly, meaning if you’re out of work and didn’t qualify under the old rules, you likely will now.
In Indiana, initial claims filed for the week ended March 21 rose to a whopping 61,635, up from 2,596 claims the previous week.
The numbers are skyrocketing as businesses close as part of efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
“It’s your job to survive and to make sure that when these social controls are lifted and everybody starts to come back out that you’re ready for business,” IU’s Phil Powell, an economist at the Kelley School of Business, tells host Mason King.
Both the one-week rise and the total number of applications were far above the levels seen over the past year .
Details on the president’s economic rescue plan remain sparse, but its centerpiece is to dedicate $500 billion to start issuing direct payments to Americans by early next month. It would also funnel cash to businesses to help keep workers on payroll.
The growing number of people filing for unemployment checks raises fresh questions about whether states have stockpiled enough money since the last recession to tide over idled workers until the crisis ends.
The vast changes deemed necessary to defeat the virus—people and companies no longer engaging with each other—are bringing everyday business to a halt and likely delivering a death blow to the longest economic expansion on record.
Across the country, consumer spending—which supports 70% of the economy—is grinding to a halt as fears of the escalating coronavirus pandemic keep people from stores, restaurants, movie theaters and workplaces.
Markets received a bump around midday Tuesday after Vice President Mike Pence said the nation’s big health insurers would cover co-pays for coronavirus testing.
Oil prices fell Monday by the most in one day since the 1991 Gulf War. The price of U.S. crude fell as much as 34%, to $27.34 a barrel, the lowest price since early 2016. Here’s what’s driving the price drop.
Since breaking out of China, the coronavirus has had a chilling effect on companies related to manufacturing, travel and tourism, which then hampers other industries and weakens consumer confidence.
Just weeks since most economists bet the China-led slump would quickly reverse once the virus was contained, many are rethinking that optimism as swathes of Chinese factories stay shut and workers idled.
The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate fell to 3.5% last month, matching a 50-year low, down from 3.6% in January.
