Southwest Airlines is forecasting an “optimistic summer” after posting a smaller-than-expected quarterly adjusted loss and forecasting lower cash burn in the second quarter on rising vaccination rates and pent-up demand for leisure travel. American Airlines also reported a smaller quarterly loss.
A new study from Redpoint Global finds that 60% of respondents overall aren’t planning any trips this summer, though just under half of vaccinated consumers plan to travel at least once during the summer months. 4 out of 5 vaccinated consumers plan to eventually travel more or the same amount as they did pre-pandemic.
Mississippi is finalizing plans for divvying up more than $20 million federal relief dollars to fishing industries damaged by the 2019 opening of a Mississippi River spillway north of New Orleans that pushed freshwater through Lake Pontchartrain and into the Mississippi Sound and disrupted marine life in coastal estuaries. Businesses harmed by the record 123 days the Bonnet Carre Spillway was open might be able to start applying in May.
Stocks overall tanked on reports that President Biden wants to nearly double the capital gains tax paid by wealthy Americans. The Dow closed down 341 points and futures are lower. We get a fix on new US home sales today and take a peek into the books at American Express, Honeywell and Kimberly-Clark.
