Japan's Panasonic Corp posted on Monday a 29% drop in annual operating profit amid the coronavirus outbreak but said its battery cells joint venture with major customer Tesla Inc logged a second straight quarterly profit. Panasonic did not issue an earnings forecast for the current year due to uncertainty from the virus, joining a number of Japanese electronics companies, including Sony Corp and Canon Inc , in refraining from providing outlooks. Operating profit for the year ended in March came in at 293.75 billion yen ($2.74 billion), in line with an average estimate of 295.3 billion yen profit drawn from 17 analysts polled by Refinitiv....
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and UnitedHealth Group (UNH) have teamed up to roll out an everyday free screening app for coronavirus symptoms as more and more employers are planning to reopen their businesses and are subject to stringent health requirements.Th app, also known as ProtectWell, allows employers to offer workers a simple screening tool designed for everyday use. The smartphone app includes an AI-powered health care bot that asks users a series of questions to screen for Covid-19 symptoms or exposure. If risk of infection is indicated, employers can direct their employees to a streamlined Covid-19 testing process that enables closed-loop ordering and reporting of test results directly back to employers.“As businesses begin to reopen, employers will need to monitor and manage their workforce for Covid-19 symptoms to help ensure those at risk of spreading the virus stay home until cleared by medical providers,” said Judson Althoff, Microsoft’s executive vice president of...
Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UBER) is trimming its workforce by the thousands in a new round of layoffs.What Happened A Business Insider source revealed that the ride-sharing company plans a massive cull of its workforce.An Uber spokesperson told the publication, "As you would expect, the company is looking at every possible scenario to ensure we get to the other side of this crisis [COVID-19 pandemic] in a stronger position than ever."Two weeks ago, Uber let go of 3,700 employees a day after its CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told workers that it was finalizing layoff plans and that the staff would be informed over a span of two weeks.Why It Matters Uber is in negotiations to acquire GrubHub Inc. (NYSE: GRUB), which competes with its own Uber Eats. It is certain Uber will cut more jobs to eliminate redundancies between the Eats business and GrubHub. Job losses are expected at freight, at the...
(Bloomberg) -- A top U.S. official suggested Beijing sent airline passengers to spread the coronavirus worldwide, as the Trump administration stepped up its campaign of blaming China for the pandemic.Japan’s economy sank into a recession, while Thailand’s economy contracted for the first time since 2014 due to the virus. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said a U.S. recovery could stretch through the end of next year and depend on the delivery of a vaccine.India extended its nationwide lockdown to the end of the month while easing some curbs. Germany recorded a small increase in cases, though the daily death toll fell.Key Developments:Virus Tracker: Cases top 4.7 million; deaths exceed 315,000Pandemic shatters world order, sowing anger and mistrustChina faces angry world seeking virus answers at key WHO meetingHow Germany’s relentless contact tracers helped beat virusItaly shops to reopen, but for many it’s too lateMore Chinese dine out, schools reopen as normalcy resumesSubscribe...
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is reopening more than 25 stores in the United States, moving towards a gradual resumption of its retail business worldwide.What Happened In a letter to customers released Sunday, Apple's head of retail, Deirdre O'Brien, announced that the iPhone maker had reopened 100 of its stores globally. The first was in Greater China in February, and last month Apple extended the reopening to other countries beginning with South Korea.The Cupertino-based tech giant now plans to restart business in more than 25 stores in the U.S. after the initial five stores had been back to business last week. These stores have instituted temperature checks and require customers and employees to wear face masks.O'Brien acknowledged, "The response to COVID‑19 is still ongoing, and we recognize that the road back will have its twists and turns."Why It Matters Apple has 510 stores around the world, 271 of which are in the...
The latest U.S. sanctions on tech giant Huawei threaten to devastate the company and escalate a feud with China that could disrupt technology industries worldwide. Huawei Technologies Ltd. is one of the biggest makers of smartphones and network equipment, but that $123 billion-a-year business is in jeopardy after Washington announced further restrictions on use of American technology by foreign companies that make its processor chips. Huawei spent the past year scrambling to preserve its business after an earlier round of U.S. restrictions imposed last May cut off access to American components and software....
