Stocks Climb as Investors Look to Washington: Live Markets Updates

Mr. Trump and his advisers are also considering using the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a vehicle to deliver funds to stimulate the economy, a move that could allow the administration to begin bolstering growth without waiting for Congress.

Walmart updates its leave policy.

Walmart, the nation’s largest employer, said it was taking steps to ensure that its 1.4 million workers would continue to be paid if they contracted the virus or were subject to a quarantine.

The company said employees forced into a mandatory quarantine would receive up to two weeks of pay and their absence would not be counted against their attendance record. Additionally, any U.S. worker with the virus who was unable to return to work would be paid up to 26 weeks.

The new policy, announced in an email to employees on Tuesday, comes as concerns mount for low wage workers who risk lost wages if they miss work.

Walmart confirmed on Tuesday that an employee at a store in Cynthiana, Ky., had tested positive for the virus.

A toymaker explains how the outbreak will hurt.

As the coronavirus epidemic spreads around the world, companies are less worried about factory shutdowns among their Chinese suppliers and more about a lack of customers in the United States.

Some have already been forced to take action. Jay Foreman, the chief executive of toy company Basic Fun, said the coronavirus crisis had forced him to lay off 18 of the company’s 175 workers on Friday — 10 in the United States, six in Hong Kong and two in Europe.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/10/business/stock-market-today.html