The daily business briefing: April 1, 2020

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1. Wall Street posts worst quarterly decline since 2008 financial crisis
2. FDA launches program to help drug companies develop coronavirus therapies quicker
3. Whole Foods employees strike nationwide over coronavirus concerns
4. New York mayor orders investigation of Amazon's firing of protest organizer
5. Imported N95 masks start arriving in U.S.

published 1 April 2020

1. Wall Street posts worst quarterly decline since 2008 financial crisis

U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday, capping their worst quarter since the 2008 financial crisis as the financial destruction of the coronavirus pandemic ravaged markets worldwide. The S&P 500 finished the first three months of the year down by 20 percent − its worst first quarter ever. U.S. stock index futures dropped sharply early Wednesday, with the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the Nasdaq all down by more than 2 percent three hours before the opening bell, after President Trump warned Tuesday of a "very, very painful two weeks" ahead as the coronavirus outbreak intensifies. U.S. DoubleLine Capital CEO Jeffrey Gundlach said the market could worsen, too, possibly dropping back below March lows after last week's partial rebound.

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday announced a new program to foster collaboration between drug companies and public agencies to "bring coronavirus treatments to market as fast as possible," Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a press release. "As part of this new program, the FDA is cutting red tape, redeploying staff, and working day and night to review requests from companies, scientists, and doctors who are working toward therapies," Azar said. Under the Coronavirus Treatment Acceleration Program, the FDA plans to channel resources and personnel to help private companies, researchers, and scientists get "regulatory advice, guidance, and technical assistance" quicker.

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Whole Foods employees planned a mass "sickout" on Tuesday to demand protection amid the coronavirus pandemic. They're seeking paid leave for all workers who call out sick or are quarantining during the pandemic, free COVID-19 testing for all employees, and hazard pay that doubles the hourly wage. Grocery store employees have been deemed essential throughout the pandemic, putting them at increased risk of catching the virus. Whole Foods, owned by Amazon, responded to news of the "sickout" by offering a temporary pay increase of $2 an hour for every worker and two weeks of paid leave for those who test positive for COVID-19, "which isn't enough," said an anonymous organizer. Instacart workers, General Electric workers, and employees at an Amazon warehouse also staged coronavirus-related walkouts on Monday.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday that the city would investigate Amazon's firing of an employee who organized a walkout to demand greater protections against coronavirus for warehouse workers. About 15 workers participated in the walkout at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island, New York, after reports that employees at the facility had tested positive for coronavirus. "The allegation is because he spoke up for the safety of his fellow workers he was fired," de Blasio said. "If so, that would be a violation of our city human rights law. We would act on it immediately." Amazon said it fired the worker, Christian Smalls, because he put others at risk.

The first N95 medical masks to be imported to the U.S. since February started arriving this week as shortages continued to hamper hospitals overwhelmed with coronavirus patients. Twenty-four pallets of masks imported by 3M from Singapore arrived at the port of Los Angeles; the Federal Emergency Management Agency brought in another 130,000 of the masks on a cargo plane that arrived in New York City from Southeast Asia; and humanitarian group DirectRelief is awaiting a shipment of 80,000 due to arrive in Los Angeles. Skyrocketing demand for the masks and other protective gear has sparked a furious scramble to find stockpiles all over the world as hospitals, governments, and businesses rush to buy masks needed to protect medical personnel and workers.

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.