Business Highlights

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Local pharmacists step up in COVID-19 vaccination effort

NEW YORK (AP) — In communities across the country, local pharmacy owners are among the people administering COVID-19 vaccinations. It’s not easy — being a vaccine provider requires a big investment of time and paperwork, and for some, finding a location for a mass vaccination clinic. And there’s little if any money to be made in giving vaccinations. But owners say it’s more important to help people be safe. Local pharmacies have become vaccine providers by applying to state health officials and a federal program that last month began distributing vaccine to networks of independently owned pharmacies as well as the big national chains.

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Yellen plays down inflation fears, pushes for relief bill

WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says fears that the administration’s $1.9 trillion relief bill could trigger a rapid rise in inflation are misplaced. In an interview on MSNBC on Monday, Yellen said the measure, which will provide $1,400 checks to millions of American along with other assistance, will provide needed relief and help the economy return to full employment by next year. Yellen downplayed concern by some economists that the measure could rev up the economy too fast and trigger higher inflation.

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Wall Street finishes mixed as tech slump offsets other gains

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street ended mixed as slumps in several Big Tech companies offset gains in many other parts of the market. Because of their huge size, the drops in Apple, Google’s parent company and other major technology stocks pulled the S&P 500 to a loss of 0.5% on Monday even though more stocks rose than fell in the index. The tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 2.4%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1%. Technology companies have been sliding in recent weeks as investors start to doubt whether the huge gains they made during the pandemic months can continue. Treasury yields rose again.

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Trump policy that weakened wild bird protections is revoked

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration has reversed a policy imposed under President Donald Trump that drastically weakened the government’s power to enforce a century-old law protecting most U.S. bird species. Trump ended criminal prosecutions against companies responsible for bird deaths that could have been prevented. The move halted enforcement practices that resulted most notably in a $100 million settlement after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill killed about 100,000 birds. Interior spokesman Tyler Cherry says the Trump policy allowed industry to kill birds with impunity. Industry groups have said they’ll work with the administration of President Joe Biden as it plans new standards to protect birds.

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Germany looks to AstraZeneca shot to boost vaccine rollout

BERLIN (AP) — Germany has begun ramping up the use of the coronavirus vaccine made by AstraZeneca, after authorities last week gave the green light for it to be administered to people age 65 and over. Hundreds of thousands of doses have been gathering dust in storage in recent weeks due to the restrictions on who could get the vaccine and misgivings among some of those who were eligible for it.

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Attack on Saudi oil site fuels upward march for crude prices

BANGKOK (AP) — Oil prices rose Monday as Saudi Arabian oil facilities were targeted by drone strikes just days after the largest crude exporting nations in the world said they would not increase output. Brent crude, the international standard, surpassed $70 per barrel for the first time since the pandemic sent prices plunging last year. U.S. crude is also hitting pre-pandemic levels. Crude prices have surged more than 30% this year as massive vaccinations campaigns gain momentum, potentially signalling the beginning of the end of a global pandemic. The attacks in Saudi Arabia follow a devastating winter freeze in Texas and other parts of the southern United States last month knocked out production of roughly 4 million barrels per day of U.S. oil.

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Yellen says women face many obstacles in economics careers

WASHINGTON (AP) — Janet Yellen, the first woman to head the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury Department, says women seeking to pursue careers in economics face a number of obstacles from the way beginning economics courses are taught to overly aggressive questioning in college seminars. Yellen was appearing at an event with Kristalena Georgieva, the second woman to head the International Monetary Fund. Both spoke at the event recognizing International Women’s Day.

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Airline stocks rally, American cites plan to pay off loan

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Air travel hasn’t recovered from the pandemic, but a few more people are flying. That — and the rollout of new vaccines — helped push airline stocks higher on Monday. Fitch Ratings says the rollout of multiple vaccines against COVID-19 is increased the likelihood of what it calls a meaningful rebound in air travel starting some time in 2021. Meanwhile, American Airlines says it plans to raise $7.5 billion by borrowing against its frequent-flyer program and using the funds to pay off a federal loan that it got in the early days of the pandemic. Fitch says that means American won’t have to keep burning cash for a prolonged period.

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The S&P 500 fell 20.59 points, or 0.5%, to 3,821.35. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 306.14 points, or 1%, to 31,802.44. The Nasdaq lost 310.99 points, or 2.4%, to 12,609.16. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks added 10.77 points, or 0.5%, to 2,202.98.

The Associated Press