The daily business briefing: April 13, 2020

1. Saudi Arabia, Russia, U.S. lead pact to cut oil output

Saudi Arabia, Russia, and other leading oil exporting nations, prodded by President Trump, agreed on Sunday to the largest production cuts ever negotiated in a bid to stop crude oil prices from plunging further as the coronavirus crisis reduces the demand for fuel. The agreement, which calls for slashing output by 9.7 million barrels per day in May and June, came after Trump intervened to help resolve a standoff between Saudi Arabia and Mexico that threatened to derail a broader agreement. Trump tweeted thanks to Russian and Saudi Arabian leaders and said the pact would "save hundreds of thousands of energy jobs in the United States." It was not immediately clear whether the cuts, amounting to nearly 10 percent of world output, would be enough to offset plunging demand.

The New York Times The Wall Street Journal

2. Smithfield shuts plant after coronavirus outbreak among workers

Smithfield Foods announced Sunday it would shut a U.S. pork plant indefinitely because of a coronavirus outbreak among workers. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (R) said just before the Sioux Falls plant's shutdown announcement that 238 Smithfield employees had confirmed infections, making up more than half of the state's cases. The plant has 3,700 workers and accounts for 4 to 5 percent of U.S. pork production. Smithfield, the world's biggest pork processor, warned that the United States was getting "perilously close to the edge" in the struggle to maintain supplying grocery stores as slaughterhouse closures disrupted meat deliveries. "It is impossible to keep our grocery stores stocked if our plants are not running," Smithfield Chief Executive Ken Sullivan said in a statement on Sunday.

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Reuters

3. Stock futures fall following last week's big gains

U.S. stock index futures fell early Monday, pointing to a lower open when trading resumes after the three-day Easter weekend. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq Composite were all down by more than 1 percent. Last week, Wall Street had one of its best weeks ever. The Dow jumped by 12.7 percent, its seventh best week ever. The S&P 500 rose by 12.1 percent, its biggest weekly increase since 1974. Last week's gains came thanks partly to a massive new Federal Reserve stimulus, and partly due to signs that the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. could soon slow down. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Sunday that parts of the country might be able to start reopening in May.

CNBC

4. Disney World to furlough 43,000 employees

Walt Disney World in Florida plans to furlough 43,000 workers due to anti-coronavirus stay-at-home orders that have decimated the travel industry, The New York Times reported Sunday, citing the company and a union coalition representing the workers. Disney closed its theme parks worldwide in mid-March. The workers, who make between $13 and $20 an hour, will be furloughed starting April 19 under an agreement between the company and the Services Trades Council Union, a group of six unions that represent the Disney World theme park resort workers. "This is a decision that the union doesn't like," Eric Clinton, president of Unite Here Local 362, said over the weekend via Facebook Live. "However, it's within the company's right to lay off and furlough employees in this situation."

The New York Times

5. Fauci says 'rolling' reopening of economy possible in May

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S.'s top infectious disease expert, said Sunday that parts of the economy could start a "rolling reentry" as early as May as long as public health authorities can still quickly isolate people showing signs of coronavirus infection. Fauci, a leader of the Trump administration's coronavirus task force, said the process of reopening the economy would be gradual, depending on how the COVID-19 outbreak is spreading in different parts of the economy, and the availability of widespread testing. Once the number of severe illnesses falls significantly, Fauci said, public health authorities will be able to "think about a gradual reentry of some sort of normality, some rolling reentry."

The Associated Press