Markets gain...Zoom boom...France COVID app...Unrest hurting small businesses
NEW YORK (AP) —Stocks are closing higher on Wall Street for the third day in a row, continuing a stretch of gains for the market. The gains came despite spreading unrest in the U.S. as investors hope that the gradual lifting of lockdown provisions will help economies recover from the damage caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The S&P gained 25.09 points to 3,080.82. The Dow rose 267.63 points, or 1.1%, to 25,742.65. The Nasdaq added 56.33 points, or 0.6%
SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) — Zoom Video Communications is rapidly emerging as the latest internet gold mine as millions of people flock to its conferencing service to see colleagues, friends and family while tethered to their homes during the pandemic. The once-obscure company provided a window into the astronomical growth that has turned it into a Wall Street star with Tuesday's release of its first-quarter results. The numbers exceeded analysts’ already heightened expectations, providing another lift to a rocketing stock that has already more than tripled in price so far this year. Zoom's market value of $59 billion now exceeds the combined value of the four biggest U.S. airlines.
PARIS (AP) — France is rolling out an official coronavirus contact-tracing app aimed at containing fresh outbreaks as lockdown restrictions gradually ease. It is the first major European country to deploy the smartphone technology amid simmering debate over privacy fears. The French will able to download the app starting Tuesday, the same day they’ll once again be allowed to go to restaurants and cafes, parks and beaches and museums and monuments. Neighbors including the U.K., Germany, Italy, and Switzerland are developing their own apps, though they’re using different technical protocols, raising questions about compatibility across Europe’s borders.
NEW YORK (AP) — Looting and vandalism in cities across the country have dealt another blow to small businesses that were already reeling from the coronavirus outbreak. Along with big chain stores like Target, Walgreen and Macy’s, independent retailers in neighborhoods and downtown sections were targets of vandals and looters who struck as demonstrators took to the streets in reaction to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Many businesses had been closed as government officials tried to contain the spread of the coronavirus, leaving owners with little or no revenue since March.
TORONTO (AP) — Two of Canada’s three major telecommunication companies have announced they’ve decided not to use Chinese tech giant Huawei for their next-generation 5G wireless network. Bell Canada announced Tuesday that Sweden-based Ericsson will be its supplier and Telus Corp. later announced that it had also selected Ericsson and Nokia Canada and its security agencies have been studying whether to use equipment from Huawei as phone carriers prepare to roll out fifth-generation technology. 5G is designed to support a vast expansion of networks to facilitate medical devices, self-driving cars and other technology.
