The daily business briefing: April 23, 2020

1. Tyson Foods closes its largest pork plant due to coronavirus

Tyson Foods said Wednesday that it was closing its largest pork plant due to a surge in COVID-19 coronavirus infections. The plant, in Waterloo, Iowa, has 2,800 employees and processes 19,500 hogs every day, accounting for about 4 percent of the nation's pork production capacity. The shutdown of the facility was the latest in a series of shutdowns at Smithfield Foods, JBS USA, and other companies that have sparked fears of meat shortages. Restaurants now offering just curbside service or closed entirely have sharply reduced their orders for the most expensive cuts. Industry experts are concerned that if grocers start running low, shoppers will start hoarding meat, as they did with toilet paper.

The Washington Post

2. Stocks surge as oil stabilizes, then pause ahead of jobless claims

Stocks surged on Wednesday, rising for the first time in three days as oil prices stabilized after a record-setting dive, and Congress moved closer to approving a new coronavirus stimulus deal. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained nearly 2 percent, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq jumped by 2.3 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively. The gains came as the U.S. benchmark crude, West Texas Intermediate, for June delivery gained 19 percent to $13.78 per barrel. The rebound came after the May contract for West Texas Intermediate expired on Tuesday after falling below $0 per barrel, a first. Stock futures slipped then turned flat ahead of the start of trading Thursday, as investors braced for data expected to show that millions more Americans filed new jobless claims last week.

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CNBC

3. Trump says he disagrees with Georgia plan to reopen

President Trump said Wednesday that he did not endorse the decision by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) to reopen parts of that state's economy despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. "I disagree, strongly," Trump told reporters. Trump said Georgia still had too many coronavirus cases to reopen under federal guidelines, but he added that Kemp "must do what he thinks is right." Kemp praised Trump for his "bold leadership and insight during these difficult times" and said the state's "next measured step is driven by data and guided by state public health officials" aiming to "protect the lives — and livelihoods — of all Georgians." Under Kemp's plan, which several mayors and even some business owners oppose, gyms, salons, and tattoo parlors will reopen on Friday, followed by theaters and restaurant dining rooms on Monday.

USA Today

4. Sycamore Partners tries to ditch deal to take over Victoria's Secret

L Brands shares dropped by more than 15 percent on Wednesday after the retail holding company confirmed that private equity firm Sycamore Partners was trying to back out of a deal to buy a 55 percent stake in Victoria's Secret for $525 million. The deal was announced in February, but Sycamore claimed in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that L Brands' response to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, including not making April rent payments, violated the terms of the agreement. L Brands also closed stores and furloughed employees due to the pandemic. L Brands said it believed Sycamore Partners' reasoning was "invalid." Under the deal, the private equity firm would get a stake in L Brands' Victoria's Secret lingerie, Victoria's Secret Beauty, and Pink brands.

MarketWatch USA Today

5. Report expected to show another 4.2 million jobless claims

Economists polled by Reuters expect the Labor Department to report Thursday that 4.2 million more Americans filed initial applications for jobless benefits last week. That would bring total jobless claims to a record 26 million over the last five weeks, as policies to contain the coronavirus pandemic shut down businesses across the United States and the rest of the world. If the data matches the forecasts, the job losses from the coronavirus crisis will have completely wiped out the employment gains from the longest hiring boom in U.S. history. "The U.S. economy is hemorrhaging jobs at a pace and scale never before recorded," said Scott Anderson, chief economist at Bank of the West in San Francisco. "It compares to a natural disaster on a national scale."

Reuters