Current Events in May 2020

Federal and state authorities have launched an investigation into Wells Fargo’s lending practices under the government’s small business relief effort, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). 

Wells Fargo is one of several banks being sued over allegations of unfair practices in processing loans under the program. Lawsuits have also named Frost Bank, JPMorgan Chase, US Bancorp, and Bank of America. The banks have been accused of processing applications for larger loans more quickly than smaller loans. 

Wells Fargo disclosed details of the investigation in its quarterly earnings filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The nation’s fourth largest bank said that some elements of the probe have already progressed to the formal stage. 

Last month, just three days after announcing its participation in the PPP, the bank announced that it would stop accepting new loan applications under the program. The company said it made the decision in part because the Federal Reserve had imposed a cap on how many loans it could make as a penalty for its past blunders. 

“Today, the company continues to operate in compliance with an asset cap imposed by its regulator due to actions of past leadership,” Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf said in April. “We are committed to helping our customers during these unprecedented and challenging times, but are restricted in our ability to serve as many customers as we would like under the PPP.” 

Facing investigation 

After it came to light that Wells Fargo had created millions of checking and credit card accounts without customers’ knowledge or permission, the Fed capped the amount of loans it could offer. 

Upon announcing its participation in the PPP, Wells Fargo said it would limit the amount of money it loaned through the program to $10 billion. The emergency assistance would only be extended to companies with fewer than 50 employees or to non-profit organizations. 

In an interview with Reuters, Wells Fargo spokesperson Manuel Venegas said that small businesses with fewer than 25 employees accounted for 90 percent of the applications and that median loan requests were under $110,000. 

Without elaborating further, Wells Fargo said Tuesday in a regulatory filing that it has received "formal and informal inquiries from federal and state governmental agencies regarding its offering of PPP loans.” 

Uber and Lyft have been served with a lawsuit, claiming that both companies have misclassified their workers in violation of a new California state law.

In a lawsuit filed by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and an alliance of California city attorneys from San Diego, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, the allegation relates to a four-month-old California “gig worker” law (California Assembly Bill 5 [AB5]). 

What got Uber and Lyft in hot water

Under the new law, companies must provide evidence of the following: 

1. Gig workers are at liberty to perform services without any control or direction of the company.

2. Gig workers are performing work tasks that are outside the normal course of the company’s business activities.

3. Gig workers are occupied in an independently established trade, profession, or business that’s of the same nature as that involved in the work performed.

"Enough is enough. California law makes it clear that Uber and Lyft drivers are employees. We allege Uber and Lyft defy this mandate, exploit their drivers, and unlawfully shift the costs of their responsibilities as employers to California's taxpayers," said Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer in a statement. 

"As law enforcement leaders across the state, we're going to aggressively protect these hard-working drivers and fight to uphold California's worker classification laws."   

Uber and Lyft defend themselves

Civil penalties could reach hundreds of millions of dollars if the plaintiffs have their druthers. However, both Uber and Lyft are of the mind that what they’re doing is lawful.

Before the new law went into effect, Uber's chief legal officer told CNN that the company believed that the new gig worker bill wouldn’t necessitate it to reclassify its California-based drivers as employees. And, if that came to pass, both Uber and Lyft claimed in their 2019 IPO filings that reclassifying drivers as employees would dramatically revamp the way they do business.

An Uber spokesperson told CNN that it plans to "contest this action in court” and try its best to “raise the standard of independent work for drivers in California, including with guaranteed minimum earnings and new benefits."

A Lyft spokesperson told CNN Business that the company is "looking forward to working with the Attorney General and mayors across the state to bring all the benefits of California's innovation economy to as many workers as possible, especially during this time when the creation of good jobs with access to affordable healthcare and other benefits is more important than ever."

Uber and Lyft both lay off employees

The lawsuit couldn’t come at a worse time for the rideshare leaders. Also on Tuesday, Uber disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it intends to lay off 3,700 full-time employees (not gig workers), or roughly 14 percent of its 26,900 employees, according to CNBC.

Last week, Lyft took the same route to try and gird itself against the economic hit it took from the pandemic, laying off close to 1,000 employees (about 17 percent).

Gold prices began trading lower on Tuesday as investors leveled conflicting fears of a second surge of coronavirus cases against efforts to reopen businesses and ease stay-at-home restrictions. 

“Risk appetite among investors improved with moves by major economies to ease lockdowns related to the coronavirus crisis,” analysts at ICICI Bank wrote in a market update, per MarketWatch. 

Equity Trust Company, a custodian of self-directed IRAs, reported a spike in their precious metals business as daily account volumes have increased over 100 percent since mid-March. 

“With global markets in turmoil due to the coronavirus pandemic, investors have been forced to contend with record-setting daily volatility,” Equity Trust said in a statement. “The S&P, for example, lost 34 percent of its February high watermark before staging a 24-percent recovery since March 23. Not surprisingly, the demand for safe-haven assets such as gold and other precious metals increased sharply.” 

Mixed outlook for gold

As of Tuesday, June Comex gold was trading $1704.90, down $8.40 or -0.49 percent. June gold had gained in each of the last two sessions prior. 

“The outlook for gold is mixed and highly dependent on the path and shape of the economic recovery,” Gregory Leo, chief investment officer and head of global wealth management at IDB Bank, told MarketWatch. “The U.S government has delivered unprecedented levels of monetary and fiscal stimulus, which has caused some to believe the U.S. dollar will plummet and inflation will soar.”

The price of gold dropped in part due to government optimism on reopening policies. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that certain retailers could open on Friday for curbside pickup. California was one of the first states to implement social distancing measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. 

Public health officials are currently working on developing drugs to combat or immunize people against the novel coronavirus. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that researchers at New York University and the University of Maryland School of Medicine began injecting people with the first of four vaccine candidates from Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech. 

To date, COVID-19 has infected more than 3.6 million globally, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. 

However, gold prices aren’t expected to drop dramatically lower “given the expansion of [the Federal Open Market Committee] balance sheet and further needs to reopen” the economy on a larger scale, Jeff Wright, executive vice president of GoldMining Inc., told MarketWatch.

To find the best gold IRA company for you, visit our guide. 

BMW of North America is recalling 33 model year 2017 530i, 530i xDrive, 540i & 540i xDrive, and model year 2017-2018 530e xDrive vehicles.

Prior exposure to excessive levels of humidity within the driver and passenger head airbag inflators may affect the proper deployment of the head airbags.

Deployment of the head airbag in a crash of sufficient severity may be impaired and/or the igniter could separate from the inflator, increasing the risk of injury.

What to do

BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the left or right head airbag free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin June 22, 2020.

Owners may contact BMW customer service at (800) 525-7417.

Going to the emergency room can come with a lofty price tag for many consumers, and researchers from Michigan Medicine at the University of Michigan are digging deeper into the surprise costs that emerge from trips to the ER. 

Their new study revealed that when patients are transported via helicopter to the ER, patients are often left to pay their own way. According to their work, there’s often no time to assess a person’s insurance plans when one of these flights are taken because of the severity and urgency of their injury. Unfortunately, that leads to many consumers having to foot the bill when all is said and done.

$20,000 medical bills

To understand how many patients end up on the hook for ambulance transport, the researchers evaluated insurance claims from a five-year period. Of the 1.5 million ambulance transports in that time, 26,000 of them were by helicopters or planes. 

The researchers explained that timing is key because the goal of ambulance operators is to begin treatment during the trip to the hospital. This often means skipping many of the clerical tasks, like checking patients’ insurance. However, though medical care is the primary concern, this often means that patients leave the hospital with rather large bills that come as a surprise. 

The researchers learned that an out-of-network helicopter or plane ride to an emergency room could run consumers up to $20,000. This becomes the reality for over 70 percent of patients who are airlifted to the emergency room. 

Patients who take ground ambulances are in a similar boat, as nearly 80 percent are left to pick up the bill for their trip to the ER. However, these trips tend to cost patients roughly $500. 

Prioritizing medical care

These findings are concerning to the researchers because they learned that many consumers tend to skip the ambulance altogether and find an alternative route to the hospital that’s cheaper. 

They encourage consumers to call an ambulance when necessary, as it provides the greatest chance of receiving optimal care upon arrival to the emergency room. 

“Anecdotally, we hear of more people taking Uber or Lyft, or having someone drive them to the emergency room to avoid an ambulance bill,” said Dr. Karan Chhabra. “But if you truly need an ambulance, concerns about cost should not get in the way. Arriving by ambulance, with a trained crew that can assess your needs, begin treatment and radio ahead to the hospital, means you’re more likely to be triaged and treated appropriately when you arrive.” 

Coronavirus (COVID-19) tally as compiled by Johns Hopkins University. (Previous numbers in parentheses.)

Total U.S. confirmed cases: 1,181,885 (1,161,804)

Total U.S. deaths: 69,079 (67,798)

Total global cases: 3,610,006 (3,534,544)

Total global deaths: 252,346 (248,164)

Model shows big spike in new cases in June

Even as a number of states take steps to reopen their economies, health officials are pointing to a new projection model that predicts the coronavirus (COVID-19) in the U.S. is about to get a lot worse.

A model released by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation shows the U.S. could see deaths surge to 3,000 per day and total 135,000 by early August. The Institute revised its models after states began lifting restrictions and relaxing social distancing guidelines.

“Growing contacts among people will promote transmission of the coronavirus,” the institute said in a release. 

A new round of vaccine testing is underway

Development of a potential vaccine against the coronavirus is occurring at an accelerated pace. Researchers have begun giving healthy volunteers an experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and a partner, BioNTech. 

Volunteers are being injected with the first of four vaccines, BNT162. The current trial will test the vaccine on people between the ages of 18 and 55. Later, older adults will be added to the test group.

“We look forward to advancing quickly and collaboratively with our partners at BioNTech and regulatory authorities to bring a safe and efficacious vaccine to the patients who need it most,” Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement.

Starbucks reopening U.S. stores

Starbucks says it plans to reopen about 85 percent of its U.S. stores by the end of this week, but its dining areas will remain closed. In fact, most stores will still not allow patrons to enter.

The company said it is developing a model called “entryway handoff,” with an associate bringing the order to the customer at the door. The company said it’s also working on a curbside pickup plan.

Starbucks has already been through this drill, reopening all of its stores in China that were closed for most of January and February. Starbucks said it hopes to have 90 percent of its U.S. stores back in business by June.

Sinking ship

There’s no doubt the cruise line industry has been hard-hit by the pandemic. Some ships were the scene of onboard outbreaks in the early days, with several passengers getting sick.

Now, Norweigen Cruise Lines has acknowledged “substantial doubt” about its ability to remain a “going concern.” In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company warned it may have to file for bankruptcy protection.

The cruise line said the coronavirus has reduced the public’s desire to travel and will likely continue to impact our results, operations, outlook, plans, goals, growth, reputation, cash flows, liquidity, demand for voyages and share price.” 

At the same time, another cruise line faces litigation. The family of a 74-year-old man who died of COVID-19 following a cruise has sued Carnival Corp. and its subsidiary Princess Cruise Lines Ltd. in California federal court, claiming the companies failed to properly address an on-board outbreak.

COVID-19 prevalent at meat plants

The coronavirus has reportedly been detected at meat processing plants in 19 states as the industry fights to keep stores and restaurants stocked with products. A new CDC report has now found that the virus was confirmed at 115 meat processing plants between April 20 and 27.

The affected plants employ about 130,000 people, most of whom work in close proximity to others, making it easy to spread the virus. About 3 percent of the employees have tested positive for COVID-19.

These conditions have forced the closing of some plants and reduced output at others, contributing to meat shortages at some grocery stores. It’s also forced Wendy’s to temporarily remove hamburgers from the menu in some locations.

Around the nation

• New Mexico: The coronavirus has done nothing to slow the real estate market in the state.“The fastest I have seen offers come in at is three hours and the fastest I have seen a house sold at is six,” said Albuquerque real estate agent Brennan Posen. “Most homes are selling with multiple offers and more than the asking price. It’s a good time to sell a home.”

• Connecticut: People in the state who haven’t had a haircut in six weeks or more are looking forward to May 20. That’s when Connecticut plans to lift some restrictions on salons and spas, allowing them to reopen.

• Iowa: Gov. Kim Reynolds has partially reopened the state to business but is defending her decisions against critics who say she isn’t moving fast enough. "This isn't political and it shouldn't be for anybodyb and I don't believe it is," Reynolds said at her daily press briefing. "These are some of the hardest decisions I've had to make as a governor of this great state.”

The U.S. Treasury Department announced on Monday that it will have to borrow nearly $3 trillion during the second quarter to cover coronavirus stimulus measures. 

"The increase in privately-held net marketable borrowing is primarily driven by the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak," the Treasury Department explained in a statement.

The Department said the massive amount of money will go towards funding various programs created by the government to support workers, individuals, and businesses whose revenue streams were impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. 

The Department said it anticipates having to borrow another $677 billion between July and September. It already borrowed $477 billion in the first quarter. 

Deficit soars

The national annual deficit is poised to soar to $4 trillion due to the pandemic, which is more than double the previous record for the largest annual deficit captured in 2009. 

The Treasury ended up borrowing $530 billion quarterly during the July-September 2008 quarter to deal with the 2008 financial crisis. The amount the Treasury Department will have to borrow this quarter is more than five times the amount needed to address the financial crisis. 

The Washington Post notes that the passage of additional legislation could prompt the agency to borrow even more later this year. 

“My expectation is that we will see something else,” Michael Strain of the American Enterprise Institute told the Post. “It’s reasonably likely that the economy is going to need significant government support for many, many months … that is going to have to change as the public health situation changes and evolves.”

In an interesting play, United Airlines COO Greg Hart is suggesting that the company’s 93,000 employees give some consideration to voluntarily leaving the company while it wrestles with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a leaked memo to United Airlines staffers obtained by CNN Business, Hart said the airline will need to "right size" its workforce.

"You may want to seriously consider if you're in a position to take a voluntary separation," he wrote. "You, alone, can decide if a [Voluntary Separation Program] works for you and your family."

Everyone’s affected

Apparently, no one at United is safe from some sort of salary consequence. In the memo, Hart shared that executive salaries have been cut and that the memo’s purpose was to simply allow the airline to be transparent with its staff, top to bottom.

Unfortunately for United, it doesn’t have as many options as it usually does when it comes to parting with its staff. The company currently can’t lay anyone off for the next six months due to the federal financial assistance package deal that gives United close to $5 billion in relief money. But as soon as the airline completes that guarantee, it appears that it will be ready to start slashing staff. 

According to a memo seen by Reuters, United has plans for at least 3,400 management and administrative positions to be cut come October, and it has told pilots to be prepared for a “displacement” that could impact approximately 30 percent of its 12,250 pilots. All told, that’s about 7,000 workers.

“We have to acknowledge that there will be serious consequences to our company if we don’t continue to take strong and decisive action, which includes making decisions that none of us ever wanted or expected to make,” Kate Gebo, United’s executive vice president of human resources and labor relations, was quoted in the memo.

Now that states are opening back up, there’s likely to be a considerable amount of trial and error as the world tries to find the sweet spot of the new normal. 

On Monday, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) stepped up with one of the first volleys. The two legislators teamed up to ask the Department of Education to go slowly on its changes to distance education rules. 

The committee’s main concern is that students and schools need some more time to settle into virtual classrooms that the COVID-19 pandemic has made necessary.

In a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, the congressional leaders stated that online distance education programs have a particularly poor track record, and rushing into a shift this large could weaken the program’s intent and possibly deteriorate the accountability for distance education providers.

“The rapid expansion of distance education by institutions of higher education...as a response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic calls for greater rather than less oversight,” the Members wrote. 

“Especially during this crisis, students must trust that distance education can provide them with a high-quality education. Thus, we urge the Department to delay [distance education] rulemaking until Congress and the public can better assess the needs of students and institutions in order to properly respond.”

DeVos needs to prove her point

The Members are concerned about DeVos’ “flawed process” of using a deregulatory agenda to “override congressional intent.” Scott and Murray reminded the Secretary that some of the rulemakers had tossed out various harmful provisions in the Department’s original proposal. They said that if the Department wants to move forward with the rulemaking process, it should stick with the consensus language on these points.

Scott and Murray said that their concerns include DeVos’ provisions that would erase the federal definition of a “credit hour,” ease up on the oversight of “regular and substantive” faculty interaction, and sabotage the precautions that are in place to protect taxpayers from institutions outsourcing academic programs to low-quality and unproven third-party providers. 

Apple and Alphabet’s Google announced on Monday that they will disable location tracking in apps that use their coronavirus tracking program, “Contact Tracing,” with the aim of ensuring user data is protected. 

Apple and Google announced the new program in April, saying it would allow them to send alerts to consumers who may have been in contact with someone who was exposed to COVID-19. The companies said the goal of the program was to slow the spread of the novel virus and help facilitate society’s return to normal. 

The companies said at the time that user privacy and security was “central to the design” of the program, although Apple did say it would collect “some information.” After the program was announced, the Senate Finance Committee raised concerns about the privacy implications of the program. 

Apple assured senators that Contact Tracing was developed with layers of “technical and administrative safeguards” to protect data as it’s being transported. Additionally, the company said only authorized public health authorities would be allowed access to that data. 

‘Privacy-preserving’ tech 

On Monday, the two companies announced that they would ban the use of location tracking in apps that use the program. Apple and Google said their priority is protecting user privacy and preventing governments from using the system to collect data on consumers. 

The program uses Bluetooth signals from people’s phones to detect encounters, but it doesn’t use or store GPS location information. Apple and Google said Monday that they will allow only one app per country to use Contact Tracing to avoid fragmentation between different systems and allow all smartphones to work together.

The companies are expected to push the new software to consumers’ smartphones automatically later this month. 

“All of us at Apple and Google believe there has never been a more important moment to work together to solve one of the world’s most pressing problems,” the companies said in a statement. “Through close cooperation and collaboration with developers, governments, and public health providers, we hope to harness the power of technology to help countries around the world slow the spread of COVID‑19 and accelerate the return of everyday life.” 

Fast food dining rooms in most states remain closed because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but McDonald’s plans for the reopening may be on display in the Netherlands.

McDonald’s restaurants in that country are experimenting with designated waiting areas for customers, hand sanitizer dispensers at each entrance, and trolleys to deliver meals to diners. The company says it is looking for a way to reopen its dining areas while keeping everyone safe.

“We have tried to figure out how to keep our customers and employees safe, while maintaining a restaurant atmosphere,” McDonald’s Netherlands spokeswoman Eunice Koekkoek said in an interview with Reuters. “These are drastic changes, but we hope to make them in a way that customers don’t notice them too much.”

Restaurants and bars in the Netherlands remain under many of the restrictions found in the U.S. McDonald’s mitigation steps, if they prove successful, might be tried elsewhere, including the U.S.

McDonald’s is looking at ways it can return to some semblance of normal while making customers and associates feel safe. One thing the company is considering is a system of automated trolleys that would deliver food to tables. It’s an idea that was gaining traction well before the pandemic, as a labor-saving device.

The company said it is also considering hand-washing stations at the entrance and an employee stationed behind a plastic screen who would direct customers to their place in line.

A challenging time for restaurants

Restaurants face more challenges than most businesses in adapting to the post-pandemic world if people must be kept apart. Some restaurants have been able to keep their heads above water with their takeout and delivery business, but many are worried that prolonged social distancing will put them out of business.

McDonald’s is betting that it’s new system will make the difference, and it is prepared to implement the changes at 180 of its 252 stores in The Netherlands.

“On average this will allow us to serve around 66 percent of our normal number of customers,” Koekkoek said.

Even with the changes, Koekkeok says McDonald’s doesn’t expect to reopen its dining rooms before June. And she admits that making the changes at 180 restaurants will be a challenge. But if the changes prove effective, it’s very possible that consumers could see these adaptations in other countries in the future, including the U.S.

Researchers have previously found several health risks associated with alcohol, and now a new study is continuing to build on those findings. 

After conducting a genetic analysis, researchers from the American Heart Association tested have determined that high levels of alcohol consumption can increase consumers’ risk of stroke and peripheral artery disease (PAD). 

“Since genetic variants are determined at conception and cannot be affected by subsequent environmental factors, this technique allows us to better determine whether a risk factor -- in this case, high alcohol consumption -- is the cause of a disease, or if it is simply associated,” said researcher Susanna Larson, PhD. 

Risks to heart health

Using the U.K. Biobank, which is a data bank that monitors residents’ health, the researchers analyzed what effect alcohol had on heart health. While previous studies have indicated that no level of alcohol is safe for consumers’ health, the researchers learned that high alcohol consumption comes with a number of additional risks. 

The researchers learned that the risk for stroke increased by nearly 30 percent when consumers drank heavily, while peripheral artery disease (PAD) was three times as likely for heavy drinkers. PAD impedes blood flow throughout the body by making the arteries narrower. 

The findings are highly relevant now because many consumers have turned to alcohol since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers say it’s important for consumers to understand the potential risks associated with heavy drinking. 

“Higher alcohol consumption is a known cause of death and disability, yet it was previously unclear if alcohol consumption is also a cause of cardiovascular disease,” Dr. Larsson explained. “Considering that many people consume alcohol regularly, it is important to disentangle any risks or benefits.”