GM also said it is moving forward its launch construction downtime at that plant by about two weeks. It will now be shut down from May 24 to July 19, instead of the shutdown starting sometime in June.
GM spokesman David Barnas said GM is able to bring its midsize SUV plant in Mexico back on production starting April 5 because GM secured chip parts for the vehicles built there.
— Tribune Content Agency
Manufacturing orders dropped in February
Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods slumped 1.1 percent in February with demand in a key sector that tracks business investment also dropping.
Orders had been rising for nine consecutive months, including a sizable 3.5 percent jump in January, according to the Commerce Department.
The size of the drop surprised economists, though it is likely that there was significant disruption from winter storms that hit much of the country last month, on top of ongoing supply-chain problems.
The category that covers business investment dropped 0.8 percent in February after solid gains of 0.6 percent in January and 1.5 percent in December.
The volatile transportation sector fell 1.6 percent with demand for commercial aircraft, a sector plagued by the huge drop in air travel during the pandemic, shooting up 103 percent.
But orders for autos and auto parts slumped 8.7 percent with numerous plants shutdown because of a global shortage of semiconductors.
The 0.8 percent decline in demand for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, the category that serves as a proxy for business investment plans, was blamed on weather disruptions. Economists predicted a rebound in coming months as businesses boost their investment spending in response to falling virus cases and President Biden’s $1.9 trillion support package.
Salesforce must face state and federal sex-trafficking facilitation complaints by several women who claim their pimps repeatedly sold them for sex through Backpage.com classified ads. U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen in Houston ruled that the women’s claims should proceed because there’s evidence that Salesforce continued selling customer-relationship management tools and services to the Internet ad company after law enforcement publicly accused it of running a nationwide online brothel. Backpage.com is no longer in business. The women accused Salesforce of aiding in their exploitation by providing Backpage with computer services, including customized database tools and credit card processing.
Ryanair airlines is preparing for a rapid return to air travel in Europe this summer, even as rising coronavirus cases and a flawed vaccine rollout threaten to slow the rebound. Europe’s largest discount carrier expects to be flying at about 50 percent of its pre-pandemic capacity at the start of summer, with the figure reaching online 80 percent in the July-September time frame, chief executive Michael O’Leary said in a briefing Wednesday. Ryanair is adding flights in the U.K., where the vaccine rollout is going more quickly than in European Union members like Germany and France, and in sunny destinations like Italy, Spain and Greece, O’Leary said.
Pacaso, a start-up that offers shared ownership of residential properties, has raised $75 million in new capital at a valuation of $1 billion — just six months since its launch. The company, founded by Zillow co-founder Spencer Rascoff and Dotloop founder Austin Allison in October, said it reached so-called unicorn status faster than any other U.S. company. The company acquires homes then sells shares in the properties, with a minimum investment of a one-eighth slice of the residence. Owners get to stay in the home for a set number of weeks depending on the size of their ownership, and Pacaso ensures their belongings are switched out upon arrival and departure.
8:30 a.m.: Labor Department releases weekly report on unemployment benefits.
10 a.m.: Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, releases weekly mortgage rates.
