Business news 2020

[Rewind]

Google makes money when people click on ads that appear on pages of search results. Google has just introduced what they call a "new look" – and what a surprise! It's now much harder for users to to distinguish the ads from the search results. Attention, CEO Sundar Pichai: We're on to you!

Google made a big change to search results that makes it harder to distinguish ads from regular results and people are calling Google out for it

https://www.businessinsider.com/goog...furious-2020-1

[Rewind]

Marcel and Margrit Schurman founded Papyrus in 1950 as an importer and wholesaler of fine stationery and greeting cards. In 1973, the first Papyrus retail store opened in Berkeley. In 2020, all 254 Papyrus stores are shutting down.

Papyrus, another mall staple, is closing all 254 of its stores

https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/24/busin...tcy/index.html

[Rewind]

The first Bar Louie gastropub opened in 1990 in Chicago, selling hamburgers, sandwiches, beer and cocktails. At one time there were 134 Bar Louies – or should that be "Bars Louie"? – in 26 states. The chain now has more than $100,000,000 in debt and today filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Bar Louie files for bankruptcy and closes one-third of its restaurants

https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/27/inves...rnd/index.html

[Rewind]

MoviePass launched in 2011 and initially allowed subscribers to pay a monthly fee and be able to go to three movies a month. MoviePass would reimburse the theaters. In August 2017, MoviePass began offering a $9.95-a-month plan that allowed subscribers to go to one movie a day. You don't have to be a mathematics major to see the lunacy of that business model. MoviePass shut down in September 2018.

MoviePass parent company files for bankruptcy

https://nypost.com/2020/01/29/moviep...or-bankruptcy/

[Rewind]

Starbucks has temporarily closed more than half of its locations in China because of the coronavirus outbreak. Starbucks shares closed today at $86.72, a loss of $1.88 (2.12%). KFC, Pizza Hut and McDonald's have temporarily closed their locations in and around Wuhan, where the 2019-nCoV virus originated. There have been 6,172 confirmed cases and 133 deaths. In an effort to control the outbreak, China has imposed a travel ban on 40,000,000 people in Wuhan and 15 neighboring cities.

Starbucks temporarily closes more than 2,000 stores in China over coronavirus outbreak

https://www.theweek.com/speedreads/8...virus-outbreak

[Rewind]

Boeing CEO David Calhoun said today the 737 Max is a "fundamentally sound airplane." I'm sure the families of the 346 people who died in crashes would disagree. Boeing's costs related to the grounding of the planes were less than analysts had expected and shares of Boeing today rose $5.46 to $322.02, a gain of 1.72%.

Boeing posts first annual loss since 1997, expects 737 Max costs to top $18 billion

https://www.latimes.com/business/sto...l-loss-737-max

[Rewind]

In 2019, Facebook's costs and expenses were up 51% over 2018 and operating revenue fell. After releasing its 4th-quarter earnings report yesterday, Facebook fell 7% in after-hours trading. Right now Facebook shares are at $209.97, a loss of $13.26 (5.94%).

Facebook plunges, wiping out more than $50 billion in market value

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/comp...lue/ar-BBZu8Q9

[Rewind]

The 2019-nCoV virus has infected more than 12,000 people worldwide. In China, 259 have died. Apple has joined KFC, Starbucks, McDonald's and other businesses in temporarily closing their locations in China. (Most of Apple's products are made in China. I'm guessing their stockholders aren't verry happy right now.) Delta, American, United, British Airways, Lion Air, Seoul Air and other airlines have suspended flights to and from China. The coronavirus death rate is less than 3%. People are unnecessarily panicking – and wasting money on face masks that offer no protection from the microscopic virus.

Apple will temporarily close its 42 stores in China amid rapid spread of coronavirus

https://www.npr.org/2020/02/01/80183...of-coronavirus

[Rewind]

Because Amazon's digital assistant Alexa is viewed as somewhat of a servant, people of all ages are now teasing – and giving commands to – almost anyone named Alexa. I think this is childish and mean-spirited – and my friends Siri and HAL 9000 agree with me.

Kids and adults named Alexa are being teased and bullied mercilessly and Amazon won't even acknowledge their cries for help, parents say

https://www.businessinsider.com/kids...nt-help-2020-1

[Rewind]

Donald Trump's trade wars and tariffs – which Americans, not China, are paying for – have led to billions of dollars in losses for US farmers. Donald Trump has tried to offset the losses by giving farmers billions of dollars of taxpayers' money. It hasn't helped. Farm bankruptcies in 2019 rose by 20% over 2018.

Farm bankruptcies hit an eight-year high in 2019

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKBN1ZT2YE