CNBC.com’s MacKenzie Sigalos brings you the day’s top business news headlines. On today’s show, CNBC’s Eunice Yoon reports from Beijing on the state of life and commerce in China exactly one year after a Wuhan doctor first raised a flag about Covid-19. Plus, CNBC.com’s Leslie Josephs breaks down the industry outlook for airlines in 2021 after a disastrous 2020.
Covid live updates: ‘Gilligan’s Island’ star Dawn Wells dies at 82 from Covid complications
The coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford was approved for emergency use in the U.K. and is expected to be rolled out next week. The authorization is welcome news for Britain as cases have surged in London and southern England, pressuring hospitals’ capacity. People wanting to leave the U.K. have faced travel restrictions because a new coronavirus variant found in the U.K. is reportedly more transmissible. The U.S. confirmed on Tuesday the first case of the new Covid-19 strain was found in Colorado.
American Airlines expects to fly less than half of 2019 schedule through February as virus spreads
American Airlines expects the impact of the coronavirus pandemic to continue to weigh on demand and schedules into 2021, the carrier’s president said Tuesday.
The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline is flying about 45% of its 2019 schedule this month, Robert Isom told reporters at Miami International Airport, before the debut of the Boeing 737 Max’s first U.S. flight with commercial passengers since it was grounded nearly two years ago.
“We anticipate that’s something that will carry on into January and February. We are hopeful that the vaccine will show some promise,” he said.
American and its competitors have warned investors in recent weeks that a surge in Covid-19 cases and new travel restrictions have hurt fourth-quarter revenue, despite a spike in travelers around the year-end holidays.
How the pandemic drove massive stock market gains, and what happens next
The pandemic turned 2020 into a year of unprecedented events — not the least of which was the swift crash and then record-fast recovery of the stock market.
The market’s race higher has been in stark contrast to an economy that has been growing slowly.
Many small businesses are struggling, and more than 10.7 million people are unemployed, according to Labor Department monthly data.
Even so, the market has powered higher, fueled by expectations of a period of strong growth after vaccines are widely distributed and the economy fully reopens.
