(Bloomberg) -- Small businesses that manage to get their Paycheck Protection Program loans forgiven may find themselves losing valuable tax breaks, according to new guidance from the Internal Revenue Service.Companies that qualify for loan forgiveness under legislation Congress approved won’t be able to deduct the wages or other businesses expenses they paid for using the loan, according to an IRS notice published Thursday.“This treatment prevents a double tax benefit,” the agency said in the notice. “This conclusion is consistent with prior guidance of the IRS.”The guidance clarifies a point of confusion in the $670 billion small business loan program to help businesses struggling as the coronavirus has brought the economy to a standstill. The law states that the forgiven loan won’t be taxed, but didn’t specify whether companies could still write off the expenses they covered with that money.The tax code permits companies to write off businesses expenses, such as wages,...
(Bloomberg) -- Oil headed for its first weekly gain in a month as global production cuts began to take effect, while early signs the coronavirus-driven plunge in demand might be starting to bottom out also aided sentiment.Futures in New York edged briefly above $20 a barrel in Asian trading and are up around 17% so far this week. The OPEC+ bloc’s 10 million barrels a day of output reductions officially start from Friday, while other producers -- including Norway and ConocoPhillips -- have said they’re also cutting back.Crude’s revival this week was supported by government data showing U.S. gasoline demand rose by the most in almost a year last week and stockpiles of the fuel shrunk. In China, the world’s biggest oil importer, rush-hour traffic in some of the biggest cities has recovered to pre-virus levels.While the demand data is encouraging it will take some time to clear a massive glut...
(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. reported quarterly revenue that grew 1%, but didn’t provide a forecast for the first time in more than a decade, sparking concern that performance will suffer later this year. The shares fell 2.6% in extended trading.Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said Apple experienced a “very depressed” period in late March and early April, in the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic, but saw a “pickup” in the second half of this month. The company raised its dividend and expanded a share buyback plan by $50 billion.Fiscal second-quarter sales came in at $58.3 billion, compared with $58 billion a year earlier. That beat Wall Street estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. IPhone revenue was $28.96 billion, down 7%, but also topping analysts’ expectations. Services sales jumped 17% to $13.35 billion, while the wearables and accessories business climbed 23% to $6.28 billion.“The last part of March and the first...
(Bloomberg) -- Amazon.com Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos normally uses the company’s earnings report to extol the virtues of Alexa or the benefits of Prime. On Thursday, he told investors to hold on tight as his company navigates “the hardest time we’ve ever faced.”The largest U.S. online retailer saw profit shrink and said it may incur a loss in the current quarter as it boosts spending to keep logistics operations running smoothly during the coronavirus pandemic.“Under normal circumstances, in this coming Q2, we’d expect to make some $4 billion or more in operating profit,” Bezos said Thursday in a statement reporting Amazon’s results. “But these aren’t normal circumstances. Instead, we expect to spend the entirety of that $4 billion, and perhaps a bit more, on Covid-related expenses getting products to customers and keeping employees safe.”Operating income could range from $1.5 billion to a loss of $1.5 billion in the quarter...
