“WE’VE SEEN DEMAND GROWTH flatten recently with the rise of covid-19 cases,” Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian told investors during the company’s latest earnings call on July 14. Delta lost $7 billion in the second quarter of this year and served 93 percent fewer passengers than it had in the same quarter last year. In early June, things had been looking up: Bookings were rapidly accelerating as customers prepared to resume travel. But in recent weeks, demand has, as Bastian notes, “flattened,” with coronavirus surges making customers less eager to fly. Delta, like its competitors American and United, had to pare back its plans to add more flights over the summer. And it’s not just airlines that have seen demand flatten in recent weeks—the once-sharp recovery has stalled across much of the economy, and perhaps gone into a modest backslide, as Americans have become more cautious about their spending.
Real-time data from the Opportunity Insights Economic Tracker, sponsored by Harvard and Brown universities and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, shows that consumer spending remains far above the levels from March and April but stopped rising in mid-June and remains below last year’s levels. The recent retrenchment has been national—consumer- spending growth has stalled not just in covid hot spots like Texas and Arizona but also in states like New York that are performing much better. That suggests consumers are looking at the big picture rather than reacting to outbreaks in their own area. And the grim outlook for schools’ reopening in the fall will serve as a further drain on the economy, making it tough for parents to resume normal work schedules.
Denne historien er fra July 20 - August 02, 2020-utgaven av New York magazine.
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Denne historien er fra July 20 - August 02, 2020-utgaven av New York magazine.
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A Wonk in Full- Ezra Klein, glowed-up and post-coup, was almost a celebrity at the convention.
Ezra Klein, glowed-up and post-coup, was almost a celebrity at the convention. Ezra Klein, who is known to keep his passions in check, did not have the right credentials to get into the arena. The Secret Service didn't recognize the New York Times' star "Opinion" writer and podcaster, but eventually he was able to figure out how to get in to where he belonged. This was, after all, as much his convention as any journalist's, since its high-energy optimism turned on the fact that President Joe Biden was no longer leading the ticket and, starting early this year, Klein had led the coup drumbeat.
The Afterlife of Donald Trump - The presidential hopeful contemplates his campaign, his formidable new opponent, and the miracle of his continued existence.
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