Alaska Air Group, Ford Motor, CVS Health: Stocks That Defined the Week
March 28 2020 - 10:36PM
Dow Jones News
By Francesca Fontana
Alaska Air Group Inc.
Uncle Sam wants to get into the airline business. Treasury
Secretary Steven Mnuchin indicated that the U.S. government would
take stakes in beleaguered airline carriers in exchange for
billions of dollars in direct grants to the companies, part of a $2
trillion economic rescue package, The Wall Street Journal reported
Thursday. The legislation passed this week includes $25 billion in
direct funding for passenger air carriers on top of loans and loan
guarantees available through the Treasury. Alaska Air Group shares
gained 8.9% Thursday.
MGM Resorts International
MGM Resorts is rolling the dice on a new boss as it rides out
the coronavirus pandemic. Bill Hornbuckle, the company's president
and chief operating officer, is taking over as acting chief
executive after exiting Chief Executive Jim Murren, who announced
his plans to leave last month, stepped down from his post on March
22. MGM Resorts also said board member Paul Salem, of Providence
Equity Partners, will succeed Mr. Murren as chairman. MGM Resorts
and other casino operators have closed down temporarily and
implemented widespread layoffs and furloughs in response to the
spreading coronavirus. Shares gained 0.4% Monday.
Occidental Petroleum Corp.
Occidental Petroleum is cutting salaries for its U.S. employees
by up to 30%, one of many U.S. companies looking to slash expenses
as the new coronavirus spreads across the country. The Houston
company is facing plunging oil prices, high debt from an ill-timed
acquisition and falling demand due to a halt in economic activity
because of the new coronavirus. Chief Executive Vicki Hollub's
salary will be reduced by 81% and the oil-and-chemical company's
top executives' pay will be cut by an average of 68%, The Wall
Street Journal reported Wednesday, while employee bonuses and
perks, such as gym memberships and commuter subsidies, are set to
end in April. Occidental shares rose 12% Wednesday.
Ford Motor Co.
Ford and its rival General Motors Co. agreed to help produce
equipment for those suffering from the new coronavirus as concerns
about machinery shortages mounted in certain areas of the U.S. Ford
and 3M Co. employees are working to boost manufacturing of 3M's
respirators, the companies said Tuesday, and are also working to
develop a new respirator that could be produced in a Ford plant. GM
said Friday it would work with a partner to make ventilators at one
of its plants. Separately, General Electric Co.'s health-care unit
and Ford are working to expand production of a simplified version
of a GE ventilator that could help patients with respiratory
problems tied to Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
Ford shares gained 23% Tuesday.
CVS Health Corp.
Pharmaceuticals are still plentiful but cleaning supplies and
paper products are under more strain. That was the message Tuesday
from the chief executive of CVS Health, who spoke virtually at The
Wall Street Journal's Health Forum. He said the company's supply of
pharmaceuticals remains steady even as the new coronavirus roils
global manufacturing and distribution markets and that the pharmacy
giant hasn't experienced any difficulty securing important
medications for people with chronic disease. But the pandemic has
taxed its operations in other ways. Its retail operations for
household basics are under strain as demand intensifies for
cleaning supplies and other products. The company is seeking to
fill 50,000 positions and offering its workforce bonuses and child
care to keep them on the job. CVS shares added 2.4% Tuesday.
Walt Disney Co.
More housebound consumers are streaming videos, but advertisers
aren't following. The streaming uptick experienced by Walt Disney's
Hulu, AT&T Inc.'s HBO and Amazon.com Inc. has created more
available ad time, but advertiser demand is falling as much of U.S.
economic activity stalls. SpotX Inc., which helps publishers sell
video ads, said travel, hospitality and real-estate marketers cut
ad spending through its platform by more than 70% from March 16 to
March 22, compared with the previous seven days. But there are some
promising areas: SpotX saw gaming ad spend nearly quadruple, while
it rose 97% for lotteries and 89% for alcohol. Disney shares rose
4.6% Thursday.
Comcast Corp.
NBCUniversal Chief Executive Jeff Shell has tested positive for
Covid-19 and is recovering at home, the most senior media executive
known to have tested positive for the new coronavirus. The
company's NBC News network also has lost a longtime staffer to the
virus; the network said that audio technician Larry Edgeworth died
from complications related to coronavirus on March 20. Mr. Shell
succeeded Steve Burke as chief executive of the Comcast Corp. unit
earlier this year. In his Thursday memo to staff, Mr. Shell wrote
that he has been able to work remotely in Los Angeles and is
improving every day. Comcast shares rose along with the broader
market Thursday, gaining 9.4%.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 28, 2020 22:21 ET (02:21 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
CVS Health (NYSE:CVS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
CVS Health (NYSE:CVS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024