CORONAVIRUS IN THE NEWS: March 17: 3:36 p.m.
U.S. postpones April 15 tax payments for 90 days for most Americans
Wall Street Journal: The U.S. government will postpone the April 15 tax payment deadline for millions of individuals, giving Americans another 90 days to pay their 2019 income tax bills in an unprecedented move. The IRS, using authority under President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration, will waive interest and penalties as well, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said today. The delay is available to people who owe $1 million or less and corporations that owe $10 million or less, Mnuchin said.
Fed unveils emergency lending program to shore up credit markets
New York Times: The Federal Reserve today took another step to try to prop up the American economy, saying it would begin buying up a type of short-term debt companies use for funding, known as commercial paper, to help keep credit flowing to households and businesses.
Uber, Lyft suspend pooled rides to limit spread of coronavirus
Reuters: Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. today began suspending shared rides on their ride-hailing platforms in the United States and Canada to limit the spread of the coronavirus. The pooled option, which allows riders to book trips at lower prices by sharing the car with up to three other passengers traveling in the same direction, has been disabled for users opening the apps.
Amazon warehouses receive only vital supplies in U.S., Europe amid coronavirus
Reuters: Amazon.com Inc. will only receive vital supplies at its U.S. and UK and other European warehouses until April 5, its latest move to free up inventory space for medical and household goods in high demand as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. The change does not mean that Amazon will stop selling nonessential items like phone cases and toys for now, only that products may be more likely to run out of stock in the next few weeks or sellers have to ship the products directly to consumers themselves.
– The Dow Jones industrial average finished up 1,049 points, or 5.2%. (CNN Business)
– Mall of America will shut down for at least 2 weeks (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
– Marriott begins furloughing tens of thousands of employees (Wall Street Journal)
– UAW seeks U.S. auto plant shutdowns as COVID-19 crisis deepens (Reuters)
– Trump says U.S. government will provide assistance to Boeing (Reuters)
– Retail sales post biggest drop in a year; coronavirus drag coming (Reuters)