For imperiled airlines, it keeps getting worse
The outbreak of the coronavirus has dealt a shock to the global economy with unprecedented speed. Following are developments Monday related to the global economy, the work place and the spread of the virus.
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AIRLINES BUFFETTED: Air travel has come to almost a complete standstill and industry executives believe the industry could shrink. The situation continues to worsen.
— Billionaire Warren Buffett said over the weekend that he had unloaded his company's entire stake in U.S. airlines, believing he was mistaken in his valuation of the industry. Shares of American, Delta and United plunged between 13% and 14% Monday. Southwest slid 9%.
— China’s airline sector may be seeing some life. Tracking service Flightradar24 said Monday that daily departures from China’s 25 busiest airports in the last week of April topped 5,000 for the first time since late January. However, that's still only about half their 2020 peak.
— Shareholders of the low-cost carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle approved a plan to rescue the company by swapping debt for equity so that it might access some of the government’s guarantees worth 3 billion kroner ($290 million).
The carrier has already laid off 90% of its workforce.
— The European Union approved 7 billion euros ($7.6 billion) in loans and guarantees that the French state is providing to Air France.
Air France will get 3 billion euros ($3.28 billion) in direct loans from the French state and a 4 billion euro ($4.37 billion) bank loan guaranteed by the state, the airline said in a statement.
FOOD CHAIN: Meat packing plants have been ravaged by the outbreak because people most work in close quarters. While some have begun to look toward normalization, it may be a long road back. It's an uneven recovery, if it can...
