Feb 1, 2020 - Health

Starbucks, Apple shutter stores in China amid coronavirus crisis

Photo: An Apple employee wears a protective mask in an Apple Store showroom on Feb. 1 in Beijing, China. Photo: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

Starbucks, Apple and McDonalds are among the American companies temporarily shuttering stores throughout China as the coronavirus affects thousands within the country.

The state of play: Apple announced Saturday that it is closing all 42 retail stores in China, as well as corporate offices and contact centers through Feb. 9, the Financial Times reports. The company said it hopes to reopen stores "as soon as possible."

Starbucks said it closed more than half of its retail locations in China in a Tuesday company earnings release, noting the move "is expected to be temporary." The coffee chain said the closure is expected to affect second quarter and full fiscal year earnings.
McDonald's also said it shut stores in Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, and surrounding cities that remain on lockdown with suspended transportation, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Go deeper: Coronavirus fears start to weigh on global business, stock markets

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Dion Rabouin

The world's factory is still shut

A sign urges visitors to wear face masks at the entrance to an empty shopping mall in Beijing. Photo: Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images.

Foxconn employees are being told to return to work in the Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Zhengzhou, but as of Monday only about 10% of them had done so, Reuters reported.

The state of play: The world's largest contract electronics maker, which produces Apple's iPhone, was supposed to be up and running along with much of the rest of the country on Monday.

Go deeperFeb 11, 2020 - Economy & Business

Axios

World coronavirus updates: Recoveries exceed 300,000

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

China has lifted its lockdown of Wuhan, where the novel coronavirus outbreak was first reported, as other governments around the world tighten restrictions to stop the spread. Global recoveries surpassed 300,000 on Tuesday.

The big picture: COVID-19 has killed over 82,000 people and infected 1.4 million others globally as of Tuesday, per Johns Hopkins data. Spain has reported the most cases outside the U.S. (more than 141,000) and Italy the most deaths (over 17,000) as half the planet's population is now on lockdown.

Go deeperUpdated 2 hours ago - Health

Marisa Fernandez

Macy's to close 125 stores and cut 2,000 corporate jobs

Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Macy's will close 125 department stores, one-fifth of the retailer's overall footprint, and ax about 2,000 corporate jobs over the next three years, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Why it matters: Department stores such as Macy's have struggled to keep up with e-commerce giants like Amazon, especially over the recent holiday season. Macy's and other department stores are still recovering from rocky end-of-year sales.

Go deeperFeb 4, 2020 - Economy & Business