The daily business briefing: April 22, 2020

1. Senators approve deal replenishing small-business fund

Republicans and Democrats reached a deal on another coronavirus relief package, which includes $310 billion to replenish the Paycheck Protection Program providing loans to small businesses. The deal also includes $75 billion for hospitals and health-care workers, and $25 billion to help expand COVID-19 testing, which public health experts say is a critical component to any plan to reopen the economy. The Senate promptly approved the bill, which has a total cost of $484 billion. A dispute over how to handle the effort to ramp up testing for the virus had held up the legislation. The House plans to vote on the package on Thursday. President Trump signaled he would sign the compromise.

CNN

2. Netflix subscriptions soar amid coronavirus shutdowns

Netflix reported Tuesday that it gained a record 15.8 million subscribers worldwide in the first quarter of 2020, smashing expectations of about 7 million new customers as demand for streaming video jumped under widespread stay-at-home policies to contain the coronavirus. It now has 182.9 million subscribers worldwide. Netflix shares jumped by 10 percent at first in after-hours trading, then fluctuated as investors digested the company's report. Netflix reported earnings per share of $1.57, compared to $1.65 per share forecast in Refinitiv consensus estimates. Revenue came in at $5.77 billion, roughly in line with expectations of $5.76 billion. Netflix said it expected subscriptions and streaming hours to remain strong through the crisis but possibly fall later.

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CNBC Variety

3. Amazon, Target workers use sickouts to demand more virus protections

Hundreds of Amazon and Target workers are starting a nationwide wave of sickouts to call attention to what they described as inadequate efforts to protect employees from the coronavirus pandemic. Amazon warehouse workers went first, with more than 300 calling in sick on Tuesday, accusing the company of failing to provide enough face masks to workers and conduct regular temperature checks. The nationwide protest at 50 locations followed walkouts over working conditions at several Amazon warehouses. The protesters' demands included shutting down any facility with coronavirus cases, and providing workers there with testing and two weeks of pay. Target workers are planning their sickout for May 1.

USA Today The Guardian

4. Oil prices continue to fall as coronavirus drives down demand

Oil prices continued their unprecedented decline on Tuesday, with the price of a barrel of U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate to be delivered in June dropping by 43 percent to $11.57. The price then dropped further, hitting $11.29 per barrel early Wednesday. The oil market turmoil dragged down U.S. stocks for a second day on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 falling by 2.7 percent. U.S. stock index futures rose early Wednesday, suggesting a rebound. On Monday, the price of a barrel for May delivery fell below zero for the first time in history, meaning people were paying buyers to take oil off their hands as plummeting demand due to coronavirus shutdowns caused storage facilities to fill up. The June contracts are considered a more accurate indication of the real current price for oil.

The Associated Press

5. Chipotle to pay record $25 million fine in food safety case

Chipotle Mexican Grill on Tuesday agreed to pay a $25 million fine to settle allegations related to norovirus outbreaks that sickened customers from 2015 to 2018. The fine, the largest ever imposed over food safety, settled charges that Chipotle failed to make sure its employees "understood and complied with its food safety protocols." More than 1,100 customers fell sick during the outbreak, including 657 people sickened over eight days in July 2018 after eating at a Chipotle outlet in Powell, Ohio. The company said it has improved safety measures since the incidents, including "reducing the number of employees who come into contact with ingredients" and enacting "safeguards to minimize the risk that an ingredient is undercooked."

NBC News