Congress adopted the $600 billion-plus Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to help American small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) stay afloat by using forgiveness loans to keep their workers employed and cover certain overhead expenses while the economy was shut down. But while generally regarded as a sincere effort to bail out...
United Airlines Announces Executive Staff Cuts
The “friendly skies� of United Airlines are not so friendly for employees facing layoffs as the pandemic has devastated the airline industry. United said it will reduce its staff of 67 officers by 13, CNBC reported on Friday (May 29). The officer-level executives work on the airline’s network, regional hubs and...
Chicago Purchasing Managers Index Tumbles To 38-Year Low
The widely watched Chicago Purchasing Managers Index fell to 32.3 in May, hitting its lowest level since the recession year of 1982 as the COVID-19 pandemic slammed business confidence. Among the Index’s individual components, demand fell further after its largest drop ever during April. Meanwhile, the new orders component eased...
Mitch McConnell: ‘Final’ COVID-19 Relief Bill Coming In A Month
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Congress will decide whether to pass another COVID-19 relief package soon. “We’re taking a careful look at a fourth and final bill,� the Kentucky Republican said on Friday (May 29), CNBC reported. “You could anticipate the decision being made on whether to go forward in...
Survey: Despite Pandemic, 1 In 4 Americans Say Their Wallets Are Fatter
While the number of laid-off workers who filed for jobless benefits exceeded 40 million last week, 1 in 10 Americans say COVID-19 has boosted their budget, according to a new survey. CNBC reported a TD Ameritrade poll of more than 1,000 adults across the U.S. contacted between April 24 through...
Sweden’s Economy Grew In Q1 In Absence Of Lockdown
Sweden is winning the race among European nations to restore the economy from the coronavirus pandemic, according to data published on Friday (May 29), CNBC reported. The Nordic country reported its gross domestic product (GDP), a measure of economic health, grew at an annual rate of 0.4 percent from January...
The Week In Payments: How Businesses Can Navigate The Road To Recovery
Most every state in the U.S. this week is starting to walk the road to recovery. Mandatory stay-at-home orders are easing and businesses are beginning to reopen, albeit in very different ways than at the start of the year. As Deluxe CEO and President Barry C. McCarthy told Karen Webster for the latest...
Savings Rate Sets Record At 33 Percent In April
The consumer savings rate hit a historic 33 percent in April, as Americans hunkered down amid COVID-19, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) announced Friday (May 29). “There is a tremendous uncertainty and virus fear that is lingering and that is restraining people’s desire to go out and spend as...
Mastercard Debuts COVID-Recovery Data Tools For Business, Gov’t
Mastercard‘s new Recovery Insights tool will attempt to help businesses and governments assess data during the pandemic in order to make smarter decisions, according to a press release. The tool will attempt to help an array of businesses, including airlines, restaurants, banks, governments and other types of money-making and governing...
Saving Main Street: How A Business School Is Helping Toronto SMB Retailers
If there’s a playbook for Main Street’s migration to digital, Toronto’s Schulich School of Business is authoring a very effective chapter. It starts with a public-private partnership, has a great pizza story in the middle and ends with a feisty attitude in the face of a devastating pandemic. In an...