Delta Air Lines says flights are becoming more full
The outbreak of the coronavirus shocked to the global economy with unprecedented speed.
But with “stay at home” orders slowly lifting, here’s seven small signs of an economic “awakening” …
1. Borrowing binge: Prospective homebuyers flooded back into the market after weeks of sheltering in place. Mortgage applications to buy a home have been thawing for about a month and last week, they surged 18% compared with last year at this time, and 5% from just last week, according to a report Wednesday from the Mortgage Bankers Association. In mid-April, when COVID-19 cases were spreading rapidly, those applications had slumped 35% annually.
2. Sky high: The CEO of Delta Air Lines says flights are becoming more full as air travel slowly recovers from a 90% drop in travel. Ed Bastian said Wednesday the average flight is 46% to 48% full. “That’s the signal to add more flights into the marketplace and add bigger planes,” he said during a webcast with Business Travel News.
3. Lookin’ good: The beauty chain Regis is working with infectious disease specialists at the University of Minnesota as it prepares to reopen more salons. Specialists from the school looked at how customers move about in salons and provided recommendations on personal protective equipment and other safety measures. There are about 3,000 salons that are operating and Regis expects the majority of its salons will reopen this summer.
4. On the grill: Red Robin Gourmet Burgers anticipates reopening about 270 dining rooms by Sunday, or about 65% of company-run restaurants. The locations are in the chain’s largest and highest volume markets in the Pacific Northwest and West Coast. There are more than 550 Red Robin restaurants across the U.S. and Canada, including franchisees.
5. On the rack: The clothing chain Express reopened 303 stores, but is not ready to provide financial projections after restrictions from the pandemic ravaged the company in the first quarter. On Wednesday, the company posted an unexpectedly large quarterly loss of $154.1 million and sales plunged 53%.
6. Coming soon: Cinemark Holdings plans to begin reopening U.S. movie theaters on June 19. All theaters have been closed since mid-March and on Wednesday, the movie house chain posted its first quarterly loss since the Great Recession. Revenue plunged 24%. (Note: Rival AMC warned Wednesday that it may not survive the coronavirus pandemic.)
7. Soup’s on: Campbell’s, after years of making course adjustments to catch up to a vast change in consumer tastes, has become something of an it-brand for those sheltering in place. The company easily topped quarterly profit and sales expectations, and it said Wednesday that the number of households with its products on their shelves is up 6%.
We are ready to help you find the best possible mortgage solution for your situation. Contact Sheila Siegel at Synergy Financial Group today.
