By Francesca Fontana
Occidental Petroleum Corp.
The novel coronavirus is suppressing demand for oil as the
industry weathers a price war. In response, Occidental Petroleum
said Tuesday it will slash spending and dividends, an example of
the threat collapsing oil prices pose for the industry. Companies
with high debt levels like Occidental, which bought rival Anadarko
Petroleum Corp. for $38 billion last year, are particularly
vulnerable because Wall Street isn't inclined to rescue them.
Shares in Occidental gained 15% Tuesday following the
announcement.
Amazon.com Inc.
Some Amazon sellers have been taking advantage of coronavirus
panic. The retail giant has been battling fake products and
price-gouging as anxious shoppers turn online for face masks, hand
sanitizer and other products that are becoming hard to find amid
the growing outbreak, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
Amazon has said it has removed 530,000 offers and suspended 2,500
accounts because of coronavirus-related price gouging, and removed
millions of products that make unsupported claims about the
coronavirus. Other online marketplaces such as eBay Inc. and
Facebook Inc. have featured similarly high prices and questionable
products targeting the outbreak. Amazon.com shares fell 3.8%
Wednesday.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV
Italy's coronavirus outbreak has started to hit that country's
big manufacturers. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said Wednesday it will
lower production and boost efforts in its Italian factories to
contain the spread of the virus, including intensive sanitization
of work and rest areas, changing rooms and washrooms. The auto
giant has factories across Italy, including several in the
northwest part of the country, which has been hardest hit by the
virus. Since last month, the company has asked most office-based
employees to work from home and it says all administrative work has
proceeded as normal. Shares fell 3.6% Wednesday.
American Airlines Group Inc.
Airlines are cutting flights, parking planes, freezing hiring
and reducing executive pay in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
American Airlines said it plans to cut domestic flying by 7.5% and
reduce international flying by 10% for the summer peak travel
season. Coronavirus's rapid impact on demand has sent airlines
reeling, and the companies are preparing for the prospect that
recovery could take months, rather than the quick bounceback many
first anticipated. To reduce costs, airlines have frozen hiring and
have started offering voluntary unpaid leave to employees. American
Airlines shares added 15% Tuesday.
Carnival Corp.
Princess Cruises canceled all its voyages for the next two
months and will cut short some current trips, after two of its
ships suffered coronavirus outbreaks. The Carnival-owned cruise
line is the first ocean carrier to suspend sailings as a result of
the new coronavirus. The suspension applies to voyages departing
March 12 to May 10, Princess said Thursday. Current trips with less
than five days remaining will continue, but those extending beyond
March 17 will be cut short. The cruise operator and the industry,
along with much of the travel sector, has suffered from the fallout
from the pandemic. Carnival shares fell 31% Thursday.
Live Nation Entertainment Inc.
The concert industry is bracing for a rough year as coronavirus
stands to threaten its critical summer season. Live Nation
Entertainment, the world's largest concert promoter, and rival
Anschutz Entertainment Group are postponing shows at arenas, The
Wall Street Journal reported late Thursday. Seattle and San
Francisco have banned gatherings of more than 250 and 1,000 people,
respectively. California has banned public events with more than
250 people and New York state has banned gatherings of more than
500. Earlier this week, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts
Festival, initially slated for April, was postponed six months,
while big-name artists such as and Cher have called off tours.
Shares gained 18% Friday.
Bank of America Corp.
Calming words from leaders of the biggest U.S. banks failed to
reassure investors as the stock market officially entered bear
territory. During a White House meeting with President Trump on
Wednesday, attendees from Bank of America, Citigroup Inc. and
others said the banks are in good shape despite the recent market
turmoil, which has hit bank stocks especially hard. The meeting
failed to halt investor doubts, and Bank of America shares fell
9.5% Thursday.
Walt Disney Co.
The happiest place on Earth is shutting down as coronavirus
spreads. Walt Disney announced late Thursday it is closing its
Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Paris
through the end of the month amid widespread cancellations of
sporting events and other public gatherings. Earlier that day,
California imposed a ban on public gatherings of more than 250,
exempting movie theaters, theme parks and casinos. Disney is also
suspending new departures for its Disney Cruise Line beginning
Saturday and lasting at least until the end of the month. The
company said it will monitor the ongoing situation and will
continue to pay cast members during this time. Disney shares added
12% Friday.
Starbucks Corp.
Not everyone can work from home. As other companies ask
employees to work remotely, U.S. food service workers at chains
like Starbucks risk exposure to the novel coronavirus and face
pressure to keep stores cleaner than ever to reassure customers.
Starbucks said Wednesday it would pay any U.S. workers in a 14-day
quarantine after exposure to the coronavirus, as well as all
employees who are over 60 years old, pregnant or have underlying
health conditions. The pandemic is already weighing on Starbucks's
bottom line after the company temporarily shut down or limited
hours at stores abroad. Starbucks shares fell 9.1% Thursday.
Xerox Holdings Corp.
Xerox is taking a pause in its campaign to take over HP Inc., a
sign that the coronavirus pandemic is affecting deal making. The
company said Friday that it is postponing additional presentations,
interviews with the press and meetings with HP shareholders. "In
light of the escalating Covid-19 pandemic, Xerox needs to
prioritize health and safety of its employees, customers, partners
and affiliates over and above all considerations, including its
proposal to acquire HP," Xerox Vice Chairman and Chief Executive
John Visentin said. Both companies' shares have fallen this year as
equities plunged into the bear market on coronavirus concerns.
Xerox shares gained 0.3% Friday.
Facebook Inc.
The European Union is reviving an alliance formed last year with
U.S. tech companies to combat online political disinformation. The
new focus: false information about the coronavirus. The European
Commission, the bloc's executive body, has renewed a self-reporting
system it created with Facebook, Alphabet Inc.'s Google, Microsoft
Corp., Twitter Inc. and Mozilla Corp. to ensure that measures
against disinformation about the novel coronavirus are shared
quickly with the commission. The tech companies promised to take
down content deemed harmful to public health and to prominently
place messages from national health authorities and the World
Health Organization. Facebook shares fell 9.3% Thursday.
Broadcom Inc.
Broadcom pulled its financial projections for the year, citing
uncertainty around the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, the chip
maker offered a revenue forecast for the current quarter, saying it
expected revenue to come in at about $5.7 billion, falling short of
analysts' projections. Apple Inc., which accounted for roughly 20%
of Broadcom's revenue last year, warned last month that it would
likely fall short of quarterly revenue projections due to the
coronavirus outbreak. Broadcom also said Thursday that it would
push debt payments to the second half of the year or earlier if
conditions improve, having previously pledged to pay down about $4
billion in debt. Shares fell 11% Thursday.
Slack Technologies Inc.
The spreading coronavirus could be good for Slack. The company
said late Thursday that the global fallout from the pandemic is
resulting in a surge of interest in its workplace-collaboration
software, though the impact isn't reflected in its fiscal 2020
earnings. Slack is seeing a rush in free use of its service, but a
global slowdown in travel over virus concerns could make it harder
to close new deals, said Allen Shim, the company's chief financial
officer. Slack's earnings outlook reflected that uncertainty, Mr.
Shim said. Shares fell 8.2% Friday.
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE
First China's coronavirus outbreak weighed on demand for luxury
goods. Now Italy's outbreak could weigh on production. Companies
such as LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton are straining to keep
factories open in the country while adopting precautionary measures
to fight the spread of the disease in its ranks. The makers of
luxury goods are providing workers with protective gear, closing
workplace cafeterias and warning employees to keep their distance
from each other. Louis Vuitton, owned by LVMH, has kept open its
global shoe factory in the Venice region, site of one of Italy's
biggest disease clusters. American depositary shares of LVMH fell
6.3% Wednesday.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 13, 2020 20:47 ET (00:47 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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