Retailers show early signs of recovery; AstraZeneca ramps up antibody study

By Finance News On Jul 11, 2022

Even as some countries, particularly those first hit by the coronavirus, show some positive signs of improvement, the World Health Organization has warned that the pandemic is still worsening around the world. Most daily new cases are coming from 10 countries, according to the WHO, mostly in the Americas and South Asia.

In the U.S., the New York City region, which was the initial epicenter of the country’s outbreak, has seen the daily growth of its epidemic decline substantially, and officials have begun to ease restrictions. However, some states that were among the first to reopen have begun to see signs that their outbreaks are worsening.

This is CNBC’s live blog covering all the latest news on the coronavirus outbreak. This blog will be updated throughout the day as the news breaks.

Global cases: More than 7.1 million
Global deaths: At least 406,925
U.S. cases: More than 1.9 million
U.S. deaths: At least 111,007

The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Colorado restaurants reopen after millions in losses

9:30 a.m. ET — Restaurants in Colorado began reopening their doors two weeks ago under strict public health measures that limit the number of diners and require employees to wear protective gear. The city of Denver is also working to help its local restaurants by allowing them to extend their outdoor spaces onto adjacent parking lots, streets and sidewalks.

Troy Guard, owner of TAG Restaurant Group, is hoping he’ll rehire some of the 623 employees he had to furlough when Gov. Jared Polis ordered all bars and restaurants to close on March 17. So far, he brought back 80 employees to staff four locations open for takeout and two that just reopened for dine-in service. His company lost $7.5 million in revenue over the 10-week shutdown. TAG’s 12 locations were making about $3 million in revenue a month before the pandemic.

While restaurant owners are looking forward to reopening their businesses, they remain concerned about a potential surge in Covid-19 cases.

“The biggest thing is that we want to make sure that when we reopen, we don’t have to close again because if we close again, it’s kind of a death sentence,” Guard said. —Jasmine Kim

Retail store closures could accelerate to as many as 25,000 in 2020

A store stands closed near Wall Street as the coronavirus keeps financial markets and businesses mostly closed on May 08, 2020 in New York City.

Spencer Platt | Getty Images

9:15 a.m. ET — As the coronavirus pandemic takes a toll on many retailers’ businesses, there could be as many as 25,000 store closures announced by these companies this year, according to one firm.

U.S. retailers could announce between 20,000 and 25,000 closures in 2020, according to tracking by Coresight Research, with 55% to 60% of those situated in America’s malls. That would also mark a new record — which was previously more than 9,300 locations in 2019.

Bankruptcy filings by retailers have started to mount, and Coresight expects more are on the…