Trump says ‘no rush’ on more aid as jobless crisis grows
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he’s in “no rush” to negotiate another financial rescue bill, even as the government reported that more than 20 million Americans lost their jobs last month due to economic upheaval caused by the coronavirus. The president’s low-key approach came Friday as the Labor Department reported the highest unemployment […]
10 takeaways from the worst jobs report in US history
BALTIMORE (AP) — Brutal. Horrific. Tragic. Choose your description. The April jobs report showed, in harrowing detail, just how terribly the coronavirus outbreak has pummeled the U.S. economy. Most obviously, there’s the 14.7% unemployment rate, the highest since the Great Depression. And the shedding of more than 20 million jobs, by far the worst one-month […]
How major US stock indexes fared Friday
Stocks closed with broad gains Friday, brushing off a record-breaking report of job losses, as investors reckoned that the very worst of the economic pain caused by the coronavirus pandemic may be passing. Employers cut 20.5 million jobs last month, a record high but less than what the market expected. Technology and financial stocks were […]
Cash crunch from coronavirus crisis will force Alaska Air to shrink
The company's cash burn rate peaked at $400 million for the month of March. Management hopes to reduce the cash burn rate to zero by year end and will make whatever cuts are necessary to do so.
Seattle Times wins Pulitzer Prize for Boeing 737 MAX coverage
The Seattle Times has been awarded a 2020 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for its yearlong coverage of the two deadly crashes of Boeing’s 737 MAX jet. This is the newspaper's 11th Pulitzer Prize.
GE to slash 13,000 jobs in aviation amid air travel plunge
For GE, the stress on a key business threatens a broader turnaround effort as CEO Larry Culp attempts to pull the company from one of the deepest slumps in its history.
FAA nixes proposal to temporarily close Paine Field passenger terminal
The company sent an email inquiry to the Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday about shutting the terminal down, given the minimal passenger traffic amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Boeing’s ‘monster’ debt offering is a double-edged sword
Vertical Research Partners analyst Rob Stallard captioned sections of his report “the good," "the bad" and "the ugly.”
Alaska Airlines to require passengers to wear masks
Alaska Airlines joins several other major airlines launching mask requirements for passengers.
Boeing’s company debt now larger than New Zealand’s after huge bond sale
Boeing has raised $25 billion in a massive debt sale, allowing it to avoid tapping a $17 billion coronavirus bailout fund meant to shore up businesses critical to national security.
Boeing rules out federal aid after raising $25 billion of bonds
The planemaker won't seek additional funding through the capital markets or U.S. government aid at this time, according to a company statement late Thursday after the debt sale.
Bezos, Musk win contracts for spacecraft to land NASA astronauts on moon
Boeing, typically among NASA's key contractors but whose space program has experienced setbacks and delays, submitted a bid but was not selected.
Airbus burns through $8.7 billion, warns of ‘gravest’ crisis
Airbus is battling to adapt to collapsing demand as the pandemic wipes out new aircraft sales and threatens existing orders as airlines run short of money.
Boeing will cut more than 15% of jobs in commercial jet division, CEO Calhoun says
Boeing will trim its total workforce by 10% to cope with the sharp aviation downturn that pushed it to a $641 million first-quarter loss.
Trump says he won’t extend social distancing guidelines
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday the federal government will not be extending its coronavirus social distancing guidelines once they expire Thursday, and his son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, predicted that by July the country will be “really rocking again.” To underscore his confidence, Trump said he plans to resume out-of-state travel after […]
Southwest posts 1st quarterly loss in almost a decade
DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines posted its first quarterly loss in nearly a decade and said Tuesday that the downturn in air travel that began in late February shows no signs of letting up. The airline said trip cancellations have pulled back from a peak in March but remain at levels that Southwest has never […]
Boeing tells workers terms of voluntary layoffs, says air travel recovery will take years
CEO Dave Calhoun tells shareholders that when the market for jets does revive, "our customers' needs will be different." Boeing also told U.S. employees Monday what it is offering in the first wave of voluntary job cuts.
Boeing kills its $4.2 billion purchase of Embraer as coronavirus roils the aviation industry
Boeing terminated its proposed $4.2 billion deal to acquire the commercial jet business of Brazil's Embraer. The smaller company responded with a scathing declaration that Boeing "has manufactured false claims as a pretext to seek to avoid its commitments."
Port of Seattle set to meet emissions reduction target 10 years early
The new measures, though, won't affect Seattle-Tacoma International Airport's growing emissions from air traffic or ground transportation — the bulk of the Port's carbon footprint.
With few passengers, Delta gets FAA approval to carry cargo in cabin
ATLANTA — Delta Air Lines says it is the first U.S. carrier to get federal clearance to carry cargo in its overhead bins, as it repurposes passenger planes amid a steep decline in travel due to the coronavirus pandemic. Atlanta-based Delta said it has received Federal Aviation Administration approval to use the overhead bin space […]
As Boeing goes back to work, employees who got sick earlier are confirmed coronavirus cases
Confirmed positive coronavirus tests were reported for two Boeing Everett employees on Tuesday — the day employees returned to work at the factory. This raised fears and rumors among the workforce. However, the two had become ill in mid-March.
Sea-Tac’s $192M in federal coronavirus relief won’t be enough to cover losses, officials say
Plummeting passenger traffic and flight cancellations will cost Seattle-Tacoma International Airport an estimated $251 million by the end of 2020.
Boeing workers’ return after coronavirus closure is a test case for industrial recovery
The initial days of the Boeing experiment as 27,000 workers are asked to return won't be easy to assess, because a significant number of employees chose to stay home this week.
Small businesses band together to sue insurers over coronavirus damage
In many cases, the response from insurers has been: We don't cover viruses.
Pike Place Market’s Hmong flower farmers adapt during the coronavirus pandemic
“My parents have been through worse,” one farmer said. “We'll get through this.”
Fraudsters are faking Washington unemployment claims amid coronavirus joblessness surge
As Washington grapples with a tsunami of legitimate unemployment claims — more than 100,000 last week — the state also is seeing a rise in attempts by fraudsters to siphon off a portion of the benefits.
TSA employees at Sea-Tac, other airports must now wear masks to slow spread of coronavirus
Five TSA employees nationwide have died of COVID-19, and 516 employees have tested positive, including seven at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
Supermarket chains begin terminating ‘hero’ pay to workers as coronavirus pandemic continues
Kroger-owned QFC and Fred Meyer will discontinue their $2-an-hour "Hero Bonus'' premiums paid to workers during the coronavirus pandemic. Ohio-based Kroger has set May 16 as the program's final date while other large grocery retailers ponder the future of similar bonuses.
Feds will send $50 million in coronavirus relief to Washington seafood firms, fishermen, tribes, charter boat operators
Both Washington and Alaska will benefit from money carved out of the massive federal economic stimulus package known as the CARES ACT that is intended to assist in both direct and indirect fishery-related losses.
2% of Puget Sound households received grocery delivery last year, before coronavirus changed shopping
The most popular online grocery category was packaged foods such as breakfast cereal and pasta; followed by toiletries, personal care products and diapers; household cleaners and paper products; and frozen food.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown presents plan to reopen amid coronavirus
Brown said that on May 15 she will loosen restrictions statewide on day cares and on retail shops that were previously closed, including furniture stores, boutiques, jewelry stores and art galleries.
Washington adds just over 100,000 unemployment claims, but layoffs might be peaking
For the week ending May 2, the state received 109,167 initial claims for unemployment insurance, down almost 22% from the prior week, according to U.S. Labor Department figures released Thursday morning.
When coronavirus dealt Seattle record stores their latest blow, Easy Street Records got creative
The COVID-19 pandemic is the latest challenge for Seattle’s independent record stores like Easy Street, but these titans of vinyl continue to rise to the occasion.
Mask or no mask? New social tension splits Seattle-area residents in coronavirus era
Since health officials began recommending (but not requiring) that everyone cover their faces in public to reduce the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, a new divide has emerged over who wears a mask and who doesn't.
Lawmakers, machinists union urge Alcoa, Trump to find a way to avoid closing Ferndale aluminum plant
The Pittsburgh company plans to close its Ferndale aluminum smelter by July, throwing 700 people out of work.
Unofficial numbers show $7 billion hit to Washington state revenue through 2023 from coronavirus downturn
In the unofficial forecast numbers, Washington would lose $3.8 billion in revenue this current budget cycle. An additional $3.27 billion would be sheared off the 2021-23 budget cycle.
Coronavirus Economy daily chart: Health sectors register most first-time unemployment claims
This series of charts provides weekly data on how the Seattle-area economy is doing during the coronavirus crisis.
You can still get Pike Place Market flowers for Mother’s Day, thanks to the Drive-Thru Flower Festival
Twenty of the farmers who sell at Pike Place Market are participating in Saturday's event, with pickup sites in Seattle and Renton.
How payroll-protection loans discriminate against some businesses hurt by coronavirus
Businesses owned by people of color, women and those in rural areas have always been at the back of the line when it comes to bank loans. The PPP bailout — administered by banks — perpetuates that inequity, writes columnist Naomi Ishisaka.
Washington businesses filed 14,000 pleas to reopen soon after coronavirus shutdown order
Many disputed the distinction between essential and nonessential businesses.
Pike Place Market mentors advise crafters on staying afloat during coronavirus shutdown
When the crafts market at Pike Place Market was forced to temporarily shut down, vendors are turning to online sales and getting help in doing that from their fellow workers.
Many businesses may follow Amazon in stretching out work-from-home policies, crimping downtown recovery
Business and government insiders say other companies and organizations are contemplating similarly extended time frames as they consider the new realities of the workplace in the COVID-19 era.
Seattle demonstrators adjust to coronavirus pandemic, swap May Day marches for car caravans
As usual, May Day demonstrators took to the streets on Friday. Only this time, they drove in cars and practiced safe distancing while pushing for immigrant and workers' rights as well as a proposed tax on large corporations.
Microsoft to pitch new Xbox game console with monthly showcases
Microsoft, gearing up for its biggest-ever year of launches for Xbox products and services in the middle of a global pandemic and economic recession, will replace its plan for a splashy public game-conference event with a monthly series of online showcases.
Microsoft is in talks to buy startup Softomotive
Softomotive specializes in robot process automation technology, or software that helps companies save time and money by automating repetitive, manual tasks such as entering data into spreadsheets.
Microsoft weathers the coronavirus storm as earnings rise on cloud business
Analysts expected as much, and that's one reason Microsoft's stock is closing in on the all-time high it hit in early February.
Tech giants are profiting — and getting more powerful — even as the global economy tanks
As the pandemic wreaks havoc on the economy, tech giants Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft are benefiting enormously from a potentially permanent shift in consumer habits, leveraging their political clout by arguing that they are essential services, and gutting their competition.
Q&A: Microsoft’s technology chief Kevin Scott pivots to pandemic response
Microsoft's chief technology officer, Kevin Scott, spoke with The Associated Press about the pandemic's effects on his day-to-day responsibilities.
Pentagon: $10B cloud contract that snubbed Amazon was legal
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s process for awarding a highly lucrative cloud computing contract to Microsoft instead of Amazon was in line with legal and government purchasing standards, a government watchdog agency said Wednesday. The Defense Department inspector general found no evidence of White House interference in the contract award process. But the report said investigators […]
Pentagon watchdog, in probe limited by White House, clears Microsoft’s $10 billion cloud-computing win over Amazon
The 317-page report by the inspector general also found that giving the contract to a single company — Microsoft — rather than dividing it among competitors was "consistent with applicable acquisition standards."