Lowe's to dole out
new set of bonuses
Lowe's Home Improvement workers will see another bonus during the coronavirus pandemic.
The company on Tuesday announced $100 million in bonuses for hourly workers in U.S. stores, distribution centers and support centers to come in mid-July. Full-time workers will receive $300, and part-time and seasonal associates will receive $150 -- matching previous bonuses by the company in March and May.
"This year has been full of challenges and uncertainty, and we are tremendously grateful for the hard work, dedication and commitment of our front-line associates," said Marvin Ellison, Lowe's chief executive and president.
Lowe's has committed more than $450 million during the crisis, the company said.
Lowe's also has provided $70 million in grants and donated personal protective equipment to health care workers and small businesses owned by members of minority groups.
The Mooresville, N.C.-based company has more than 2,200 home improvement and hardware stores, and it employs about 300,000 people.
-- The Charlotte Observer
Economists suggest
U.S. mask directive
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists have suggested that nationally mandating mask usage in the U.S. might partially substitute for renewed lockdowns that they said would subtract almost 5% from gross domestic product.
Such a directive would "likely increase face-mask usage meaningfully, especially in states such as Florida and Texas, where masks remain largely voluntary," Goldman Sachs economists said in an emailed statement Monday.
States have been easing their shutdowns after months of business closures plunged the world's biggest economy into a recession and left millions of people jobless. The reopenings have led to a spike in cases.
While the World Health Organization initially didn't recommend use of nonmedical face coverings, it changed its stance on June 5. In guidelines issued April 24, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also encouraged the use of face coverings in public.
The Goldman Sachs analysis found that a national mandate could increase the number of people wearing masks by 15 percentage points and cut the daily growth rate of confirmed cases by 1 percentage point, to 0.6%.
-- Bloomberg News
State index finishes
with a gain of 6.51
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Tuesday at 384.84, up 6.51.
"U.S. stocks rallied on the final day of the quarter, the best quarter since 1998, as investors looked over better-than-expected economic news amid concern over new coronavirus cases and trade relations with China," said Chris Harkins, managing director at Raymond James & Associates.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.