The daily business briefing: June 17, 2020

1. Retail sales make biggest monthly jump on record

The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that retail sales jumped by 17.7 percent in May, the biggest monthly jump on record. The news fueled hopes that the economy was rebounding as states eased coronavirus lockdowns and let businesses reopen. The May gains followed two months of record declines for retailers, with drops of 8.3 percent in March and 14.7 percent in April. Many of the stores and restaurants that have reopened have done so with fewer employees, signaling more economic pain to come. "I would caution not to be fooled by this large gain," said Beth Ann Bovino, chief U.S. economist at S&P Global. "We still have a long way to go in repairing the economy."

The New York Times The Associtated Press

2. PG&E pleads guilty to manslaughter in California fire deaths

Pacific Gas & Electric pleaded guilty Tuesday to 84 felony counts of involuntary manslaughter related to deadly California wildfires. PG&E, the country's largest utility, has conceded that its neglected equipment ignited the 2018 Camp Fire, which destroyed much of the Northern California town of Paradise and killed 85 people. Judge Michael Deems recited the 84 counts one by one as the victims' photos were displayed. Prosecutors were not sure they could prove the utility was to blame for the death of the remaining victim. PG&E is nearing the end of bankruptcy proceedings it used to reach $25.5 billion in settlements for damages from the Camp Fire, plus other blazes that killed dozens in 2017.

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USA Today

3. Stock futures add to Tuesday's gains

U.S. stock futures rose early Wednesday, extending Tuesday gains fueled by news of a promising COVID-19 drug and possible additional government spending to help the economy rebound from the coronavirus crisis. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq were up by about 0.4 percent several hours before the opening bell. The Dow rose by 2 percent on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed up by 1.9 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively. All three of the main U.S. indexes surged on Tuesday and are now up by about 3 percent this week after falling last week. "It's hard to keep a 'well supported' stock market down," Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at the Leuthold Group, told CNBC.

CNBC

4. Senate ethics panel drops Loeffler insider-trading investigation

The Senate Ethics Committee has dropped its investigation into stock trades Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) made shortly before the coronavirus pandemic caused U.S. markets to crash. The panel told Loeffler in a letter Tuesday that it found "no evidence" that she violated the law or Senate rules. Government watchdog groups Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and Common Cause filed complaints with the committee in March accusing Loeffler of profiting from information in nonpublic hearings on the pandemic in violation of the Stock Act. Loeffler, the wealthiest member of Congress, denied she and her husband sold stock based on information she received in a January briefing. "The fake news media takes another loss. Exonerated. Again," she tweeted.

The Washington Post

5. AT&T to cut thousands of jobs

AT&T on Tuesday said it would cut thousands of jobs and close 250 AT&T and Cricket Wireless stores. The job cuts will affect managers and executives, as well as 3,400 technicians and clerical workers. About 1,400 retail jobs will be affected by the store closures, which were already in the works but accelerated due to the coronavirus pandemic. Some company employees are represented by the Communication Workers of America, and Chris Shelton, the organization's president, criticized the company over the job cuts. "If we are in a war to keep our economy going during this crisis, why is AT&T dismissing the troops?" he said in a statement.

Axios Business Insider