1) In a move that shows just how much troubled the airline industry is, United Airlines is sending out layoff warnings to half of its U.S. staff, or about 36,000 employees. The world’s airline industry has be devastated by the coronavirus crisis, with the prospects for recovery in air travel dimming in just the past two weeks because of a rise in infections. The ‘36,000 people’ is a worst case scenario, with United striving to minimize layoffs through things like early retirement packages. Air travel had plunged 95% from March to April, and has been making a slow recovery. Still air travel is down 70%.
2) After more than fifteen months since being grounded for safety, Boeing’s 737 MAX is finally getting close to winning approval to fly again. But it’s not expected the aircraft will actually start carrying passengers until late this year at the earliest. Now with a history of missed deadlines, neither Boeing or the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) will say when the airplane will be approved to fly passengers. But after the aircraft is certified, there will still be months of training before the 737 MAX can actually operate. The good news is the test flights signal the certification is nearing its end. Once the U.S. has granted approval, Boeing will start the process of certification in a number of other countries which the 737 will operate out of. Plus, the 400 aircraft built during the grounding will need to be modified and tested before they can be delivered. The biggest question is how much and how long the airline industry will need to recover from the pandemic.
3) President Trump is threatening to cut off funding for schools that do not reopen this fall. It’s unclear just how the federal government could exert significant financial pressure on states and local school systems. The President is also in disagreement with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines for their reopening.
4) Stock market closings for – 8 JUL 20:
Dow 26,067.28 up 177.10
Nasdaq 10,492.50 up 148.61
S&P 500 3,169.94 up 24.62
Year Yield: up at 0.65%
Oil: up at $40.93