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Oil plunges to just $1.38 a barrel U.S. crude prices plunged to their lowest level in history as traders continue to fret over a slump in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery tanked by 92 percent, to just $1.38 per barrel, its lowest level on record. With demand at near-paralysis due to social distancing lockdowns across the world, oil and fuel tanks are close to brimming. There’s little demand for gasoline from refineries, and storage tanks in the U.S. are nearing their limits. “The U.S. situation is quite dire,” Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ, told CNBC on Monday. Share this -







Shake Shack to return $10 million in small-business loan money Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer and CEO Randy Garutti announced just before midnight Sunday that the company had been able to access additional capital needed "to ensure our long term stability" and would return the $10 million it was granted through the CARES Act. John Locher / AP Shake Shack, one of several large restaurant chains that secured federal loans through the coronavirus stimulus law meant to help small businesses, said Sunday night that it is giving all $10 million back. The New York-based hipster-favorite burger company is among more than a dozen companies with revenues in the hundreds of millions that are reported to have received money from the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, which set aside $349 billion in the stimulus law called the CARES Act to help small businesses keep their workers on the payroll. Less than two weeks after it started, the program has already run out of money. In a statement Sunday night on LinkedIn, Danny Meyer, Shake Shack's founder and CEO of its parent company, CEO Union Square Hospitality Group, and Randy Garutti, Shake Shack's CEO, said they had no idea the money would dry up so quickly, and after they were able to secure separate funding last week, "we've decided to immediately return the entire $10 million" so restaurants that "need it most can get it now." Read the full story. Share this -







Las Vegas Strip could reopen next month with extensive safety measures, Wynn Resorts CEO says Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox said Sunday that the Las Vegas Strip could reopen late next month with extensive safety measures in place, including thermal cameras and social distancing requirements at the company’s hotels. In a report published on the company’s website, Maddox said parts of the state’s economy could reopen earlier in May with reduced occupancy, mask requirements, temperature checks and a ban on large gatherings. If virus-related benchmarks like increased testing capacity are met, he said, the Las Vegas Strip could potentially reopen in mid to late May. “I understand that if we incrementally reopen, we might have to pull back if a spike in cases occurs that jeopardizes our healthcare system capacity,” he said. “However, the only way to cross this river is one stone at a time.” Share this -







David Bowie bassist Matthew Seligman dies of virus complications at 64 Matthew Seligman, who played bass for David Bowie, died of coronavirus complications on Friday. He was 64. His longtime friend and fellow musician Thomas Dolby shared details about Seligman's death in a Facebook post, saying he suffered a severe hemorrhagic stroke on Friday. He had also been in an induced coma for two weeks after testing positive for coronavirus in St. George's University Hospital in London. Dolby posted a photo of Seligman with lyrics from his song "I Love You Goodbye." Seligman joined Bowie during his 1985 Live Aid performance and played bass on the soundtrack for his 1986 film "Labyrinth." He was also a member of the '70s rock band the Soft Boys. Share this -







Watch: 10-year-old gets emotional birthday surprise through hospital window April 19, 2020 01:50 Reese Loggins, a 10-year-old boy from High Point, North Carolina, who's battling leukemia at Duke University Hospital, looked outside his window and found a surprise birthday gift hanging in mid-air. Because of visiting restrictions and social distancing guidelines, his parents wanted to make the day extra special for Reese. It was the second birthday he would spend in the hospital. “It’s been really tough,” said his mother, Michelle Loggins. “The closer his birthday got, the more he was talking about biking, how much he misses biking around.” The morning of Reese's birthday last Wednesday, construction crews used a crane to lift a bicycle gift up to his fifth-floor window, sang "Happy Birthday" and displayed a banner atop a nearby building that read, "Happy 10th Birthday Reese.” Then nurses and other staff entered Reese’s room and sang "Happy birthday." Share this -







Coronavirus cases in Peru top 15,000, second highest in Latin America LIMA — Peru reported over 15,000 cases of coronavirus Sunday, the second-highest tally in Latin America, as the disease continues to ravage the economy of the world's No. 2 copper producer. The crisis has paralyzed Peru and left millions without jobs. The central bank has said the economy had been "severely affected" temporarily by simultaneous supply and demand shocks. Peru recorded its first coronavirus case on March 6 and took 25 days to reach 1,000 cases. It took only 14 more days to reach 10,000 cases on April 14, according to a Reuters tally. Peru has reported a total of 15,628 cases and 400 deaths, the health ministry said. In Latin America, only Brazil has more cases. Share this -





