Business Highlights

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Here come COVID-19 tracing apps - and privacy trade-offs

Many governments eager to reopen their societies are starting to bet on smartphone apps to help stanch the coronavirus pandemic. But their decisions on which technologies to use highlight some uncomfortable trade-offs between protecting privacy and public health. The first such apps collect user data and sometimes their location history to warn people about possible exposure to COVID-19. Such information could help authorities detect new outbreak hot spots, but it could also potentially be abused by police or immigration agents. By contrast, Apple and Google are offering new software designed to support apps that will alert individuals directly about exposure, an approach increasingly popular in Europe.

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As US piles up debt to aid economy, even usual critics cheer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government has opened the spigots and let loose nearly $3 trillion to try to rescue the economy from the coronavirus outbreak — a river of debt that would have been unthinkable even a few months ago. And yet the response, even from people who built careers as skeptics of federal debt, speaks to the gravity of the crisis: Almost no one has blinked. Not yet, anyway. With the U.S. economy in a frightening free-fall, they say, the government has no choice but to pour trillions into an emergency rescue operation. Doing less would risk a catastrophe — a recession that could devolve into a full-fledged depression.

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Production shutdowns shrink meat supplies at stores

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. meat supplies are dwindling due to coronavirus-related production shutdowns. As a result, some stores like Costco and restaurants like Wendy’s are limiting sales. U.S. beef and pork processing capacity is down 40% from last year. On Monday night, nearly 20% of U.S. Wendy’s didn’t have beef available on their online menus, according to an analysis by Stephens, an investment bank. Wendy’s confirms it’s seeing temporary shortages. Meat production plants are gradually reopening. In the meantime, some alternative meat companies like Impossible Foods are hoping to fill the void.

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Texas eases underground oil storage rules, raising concerns

NEW YORK (AP) — Texas regulators are relaxing rules about where companies can store oil underground. That’s raising concern among environmentalists about potential groundwater contamination and other dangers. The members of the Railroad Commission of Texas voted Tuesday to allow companies to store liquid hydrocarbons underground in places other than salt caverns, which are considered better at preventing leaks than other geological formations. The shift aimed to help oil producers whose wells are spewing out far more oil than the world can use after the coronavirus pandemic gutted global demand for jet fuel and gasoline.

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Detroit automakers push for restart of plants within 2 weeks

DETROIT (AP) — Major U.S. automakers are planning to reopen North American factories within two weeks, potentially putting thousands of workers back on the assembly line as part of a gradual return to normality. Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley said Tuesday that his company plans to start reopening factories on May 18, but that requires an easing of government restrictions. For now, Michigan’s shelter-at-home order remains in effect until May 15. Detroit automakers will likely be on the same timetable because their workers are represented by the same union. The United Auto Workers union on Tuesday appeared to be onboard.

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Disney profit sinks amid shuttered parks, movies and sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Disney reported a steep decline in profit as many segments of its media and entertainment offerings ground to a standstill during the coronavirus pandemic. Its second quarter profit dropped 91% to $475 million. Overall, the company said costs related to COVID-19 cut Disney’s pretax profit by $1.4 billion. One bright spot was its Disney Plus streaming service, which contributed to an almost $3 billion revenue increase for direct-to-consumer and international business. Overall revenue rose 21 percent to $18.01 billion, just short of the $18.06 billion analysts expected.

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US trade gap rises to $44.4 billlion as virus slams commerce

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit rose in March as the coronavirus outbreak battered America’s trade with the world. The gap between what the United States sells and what it buys abroad rose 11.6% in March to $44.4 billion from $39.8 billion in February. U.S. exports fell 9.6% to $187.7 billion, and imports fell 6.2% to $232.2 billion. .

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Coronavirus cuts ‘deep scars’ through meatpacking cities

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The coronavirus is devastating the nation’s meatpacking communities — places like Waterloo and Sioux City in Iowa, Grand Island, Nebraska, and Worthington, Minnesota. Within weeks, the outbreaks around slaughterhouses have turned into full-scale disasters. The virus is killing, sickening and frightening workers and devastating their extended families.

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NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks closed higher on Wall Street but gave up about half of their early gains in a late-afternoon bout of selling. The S&P 500 rose 0.9% Tuesday after being up 2% earlier. Overseas markets also rose as more countries relaxed restrictions on businesses and stay-at-home orders, raising hopes for a recovery from the historic plunge sweeping the global economy. Crude oil closed sharply higher, continuing its mini-rally after falling to record lows late last month.

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The S&P 500 index gained 25.70 points, or 0.9%, to 2,868.44. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 133.33 points, or 0.6%, to 23,883.09. The Nasdaq climbed 98.41 points, or 1.1%, to 8,809.12. Smaller-company stocks in the Russell 2000 index rose 9.54 points, or 0.8%, to 1,273.51.