Macy's, Johnson & Johnson, 3M: Stocks That Defined the Week
April 03 2020 - 6:49PM
Dow Jones News
By Francesca Fontana
Macy's Inc.
It was a painful week for employees of some of America's biggest
retailers as tens of thousands of workers learned their paychecks
would soon end. Macy's said Monday that it would furlough the
majority of its 125,000-person workforce, but would keep paying
health benefits and cover 100% of premiums at least through May.
Gap Inc. also is furloughing the majority of store workers in the
U.S. and Canada, but will continue to pay applicable benefits until
stores reopen. Macy's shares fell 2.9% Monday.
Johnson & Johnson
A Covid-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson could be ready in
early 2021. The drugmaker, one of many companies at work on a
vaccine for the infectious disease, said Monday that human trials
would begin by September at the latest. J&J could get approval
under an emergency-use authorization to make the vaccine widely
available early next year, and the company said the vaccine, if
successful, would be affordable and would be sold on a
not-for-profit basis. It would try to scale its global
manufacturing capabilities to make more than one billion doses of a
Covid-19 vaccine by the end of next year. J&J shares gained 8%
Monday.
Walmart Inc.
The country's largest private employer is taking steps to limit
workers' exposure to coronavirus. Walmart said Tuesday that it will
start taking temperatures of U.S. store workers at the start of
each shift and will offer masks for employees who wish to wear
them. Workers with a temperature of 100 degrees or higher will be
sent home with pay and will be unable to return until fever-free
for three days. Walmart has also been closing its U.S. locations
overnight to allow for cleaning, installing sneeze guards at
registers and promoting social distancing with signs. Walmart
shares lost 1.4% Tuesday.
Amazon.com Inc.
The country's escalating public-health crisis has tested
America's e-commerce giant. As Amazon has struggled to meet high
volumes of orders, the strain showed in shortages, delays and
worker unrest, including some walkouts, no-shows and Covid-related
sickness. At times Amazon has had to operate warehouses with half
the typical number of workers, The Wall Street Journal reported
Tuesday. Amazon said Thursday that it has filled 80,000 jobs in the
span of a few weeks and announced a raft of worker protections.
Meanwhile, the coronavirus crisis is strengthening some of its
other businesses, as companies rely on Amazon Web Services as
employees work remotely and customers stream content on Amazon
Prime. Amazon shares fell 0.7% Tuesday.
Whiting Petroleum Corp.
U.S. shale driller Whiting Petroleum filed for bankruptcy
protection Wednesday, becoming the first sizable fracking company
to succumb to the crash in oil prices. The coronavirus pandemic has
sapped oil demand at the same time Saudi Arabia is pressing a price
war against Russia. Meanwhile, many U.S. oil drillers face pressure
to meet hefty debt obligations they took out from banks and
bondholders to make America into the world's largest oil-and-gas
producer. A number of oil-and-gas companies have either warned they
may not stay current on their debts or hired restructuring advisers
to negotiate with creditors. Whiting shares plummeted 45%
Wednesday.
3M Co.
3M said it can't make N95 masks fast enough to keep up with
requests for the protective gear. Its chief executive told The Wall
Street Journal that demand "exceeds our production capacity,"
despite doubling production in recent months. The company also
faces new pressure from President Trump, who on Thursday invoked
the Defense Production Act and required 3M to prioritize respirator
orders from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 3M said it
would work with the U.S. on those orders but said it had refused a
Trump administration request to stop exporting some of its
U.S.-made masks to Canada and Latin America. 3M shares lost 3%
Friday.
Alphabet Inc.
Alphabet's Google is your new social-distancing monitor. The
search giant said it would help public-health officials use its
vast storage of data to track people's movements amid the
coronavirus pandemic. The initiative, introduced by the company
late Thursday, uses a portion of the information it has collected
on users, including through Google Maps, to create reports on the
degree to which locales are abiding by social-distancing measures.
The "mobility reports" will be posted publicly and show, for
instance, whether particular localities, states or countries are
seeing more or less people flow into shops, grocery stores,
pharmacies and parks. Alphabet shares fell 2.2% Friday.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 03, 2020 18:34 ET (22:34 GMT)
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