Tag: Yahoo Finance

Delta Cut to Junk by Fitch as 35,000 Workers Take Leave

(Bloomberg) -- Delta Air Lines Inc. has been downgraded by Fitch Ratings to junk.The firm lowered its rating on Delta’s debt to “BB+” from “BBB-” and warned that another downgrade is possible as air travel suffers with the spread of the coronavirus. The airline does, however, have more financial flexibility than some rivals, Fitch said in an assessment of the industry.“Though Delta remains a stronger credit than its network peers, debt raised to sustain liquidity through the pandemic will drive credit metrics outside of a range supportive of investment-grade ratings at least through 2021 and likely into 2022,” Fitch said in a statement.Airlines have been battered by the collapse in travel, and have responded by offering workers leaves, grounding planes, cutting flights and freezing hiring, among other steps. The number of passengers screened at airport security checkpoints has fallen more than 90% from a year ago, the Transportation Security Administration has...

Chembio Spikes 8% As Covid-19 Antibody Test Picked For Study

Shares in Chembio Diagnostics (CEMI) spiked 8% on Thursday after the company announced that its DPP Covid-19 point-of-care test has been selected for use by Stony Brook Medicine to recruit coronavirus survivors.Stony Brook is carrying out a study to determine if convalescent blood plasma, the plasma from people who have recovered from Covid-19, can help treat hospitalized patients with active Covid-19 infection.The Chembio test is being used to confirm that patients were infected with Covid-19 and now have adequate levels of IgG antibodies to make them eligible to donate convalescent plasma.The company’s patented DPP technology platform, which uses a small drop of blood from the fingertip, provides high-quality, cost-effective results in approximately 15 minutes.“We are pleased that our unique and proprietary DPP technology, which can separately and simultaneously detect and measure IgM and IgG antibodies specific to COVID-19, is the assay of choice for Stony Brook Medicine,” stated Javan Esfandiari, Executive VP...