Business

The Associated Press reports: U.S. movie theaters nationwide are preparing to shut down after President Donald Trump announced new guidelines urging against gatherings of more than 10 people because of the coronavirus pandemic. With big screens across the country going dark, Hollywood moved to rush some new releases onto home entertainment platforms. Regal Cinema’s the national’s second largest theater chain, …

Washington DC’s WTOP reports: As of 10 p.m. Monday, restaurants will only serve carryout or delivery, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced at a news conference Monday afternoon. There will be no dining in or drinking. Gyms, theaters and massage businesses will also be closed under a new order from the D.C. Health Department. Bars will be allowed to serve on …

Investor’s Business Daily reports: Stocks crashed at the open to trigger a circuit breaker, halting trade for 15 minutes, following the Fed’s emergency rate cut over the weekend. The central bank slashed rates to essentially zero and announced a $700 billion quantitative easing program. But instead of spurring stock purchases, the Dow Jones index plunged more than 2,700 points before …

The Washington Post reports: U.S. airlines are asking for more than $50 billion in federal assistance amid the economic uncertainty caused by the dramatic decrease in passenger traffic due to the coronavirus outbreak. The aid would come in the form of grants, loans and tax relief. Among the asks is nearly $30 billion in grants for passenger airlines and cargo …

The Seattle Times reports: In a bid to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, Starbucks will temporarily close some of its North American locations and will shift to a “to-go” model at the rest of its more than 10,000 North American stores. The closures, which were announced and implemented Sunday afternoon, will last at least two weeks and will …

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports: MGM Resorts International announced Sunday it is temporarily suspending operations at all Las Vegas properties “until further notice” effective Tuesday. Casino operations are set to close Monday, followed by hotel operations. The company will not be taking reservations prior to May 1. The Las Vegas-based company operates the Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, …

Yahoo Finance reports: As of Monday morning, the S&P 500 opened more than 8% lower, immediately triggering a 15-minute trading halt launched when an index fall more than 7% from the prior session’s close. The so-called “circuit breaker” is intended to prevent further immediate losses. During the overnight session, futures for each index were pinned to their “limit-down” levels established …

The Hill reports: A group that owns several restaurants in Washington, D.C. has come out against new restrictions on bars and restaurants announced by Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) amid the coronavirus outbreak, saying its locations will remain open. In a statement that appears to have been shared on Facebook and was captured by Washingtonian food editor Jessica Sidman, the Hill …

The New York Times reports: The aisles and aisles of empty store shelves give the appearance that the United States, improbably and alarmingly, is running out of food. But the nation’s biggest retailers, dairy farmers and meat producers say that isn’t so. The food supply chain, they say, remains intact and has been ramping up to meet the unprecedented stockpiling …

The Columbus Dispatch reports: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine ordered bars and restaurants to shut down to slow the spread of coronavirus. Ohio has 37 cases diagnosed so far. The governor also indicated that schools might stay closed through the school year. Gov. Mike DeWine and the state health director ordered all Ohio bars and restaurants to close by 9 p.m. …

Peoria’s CBS News affiliate reports: The latest victim of the COVID-19 coronavirus are bars and restaurants. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker announced Sunday afternoon they are to be closed for two weeks. This closure is for dining in and details are being worked out to keep the kitchens open for delivery or carryout meals. He went on to say there are …

Reuters reports: American Airlines Group Inc on Saturday said it will implement a phased suspension of nearly all long-haul international flights starting March 16, amid reduced demand and travel restrictions due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. Between March 16 and May 6, American will reduce its international capacity by 75% on a year-over-year basis, it said in a statement, adding …

NBC News reports: Apple is closing all its retail stores outside China until March 27 in order to protect workers and help stop the spread of the coronavirus illness COVID-19, the company announced early Saturday. The company is also committing $15 million to help with the worldwide response to the crisis, CEO Tim Cook said. Apple’s stores in China have …

Politico reports: Asia’s richest man announced his intention on Friday to ship 500,000 testing kits and 1 million masks to the U.S. in an effort to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Jack Ma’s charitable foundation and his China-based company’s foundation, the Alibaba Foundation, have also sourced and donated supplies to other countries being hit by the virus, including Japan, Korea, Italy, …

Axios reports: Delta Airlines will reduce its flight capacity by 40% for the next four months due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, a dramatic increase from the original 15% reduction, CNBC reports. The airline industry has had to curb flights as it grapples with lack of demand, as Americans are advised to avoid nonessential travel. CNBC notes Delta is seeing …

Reuters reports: The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is seeking court permission to reconsider certain aspects of its decision to award a $10 billion cloud computing contract to Microsoft Corp, court filings showed on Thursday. A U.S. judge last month granted Amazon.com Inc’s request to temporarily halt the DoD and Microsoft from moving forward with the deal, which Amazon had …

The New York Post reports: Telecharge, the service that bills itself as the official ticketing site for Broadway and Off-Broadway, will automatically refund Broadway tickets purchased for performances between today and April 12. The tickets will be refunded back to purchasers’ credit cards. Rival service Ticketmaster posted notices on its website for some Broadway shows indicating that internet and phone …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: Throughout its nearly 50-year history, Walt Disney World has closed briefly because of looming hurricanes and the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but late Thursday, the company announced it will shut down for nearly two weeks starting Sunday because of the coronavirus pandemic — an unprecedented move. The announcement had a sweeping effect. About 30 minutes after Disney …

The Hollywood Reporter reports: Disneyland will shutdown operations due to the coronavirus outbreak, the Walt Disney Co. announced Thursday. The closure takes effect March 14. The drastic move comes on the heels of more cases of the deadly virus being reported. “While there have been no reported cases of COVID-19 at Disneyland Resort, after carefully reviewing the guidelines of the …

The Hill reports: New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) officials are preparing for the possibility of closing the trading floor and conducting all business electronically in response to the growing coronavirus outbreak. In a statement to The Wall Street Journal, NYSE officials cautioned that they were taking steps to avoid having to make such a decision, but were prepared to do …