Friday’s business headlines
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Here’s a look at Friday’s business headlines.
Jobless claims
Indiana has had the 8th biggest increase in unemployment among states.
The state has seen a 4800 percent increase in jobless claims compared to this same week last year.
At least 444,000 workers in the state lost their jobs over the past month due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Facebook took another step in its effort to combat the spread of misinformation around the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Chief among them is a new message targeting users who have commented on, reacted to or liked false content about the virus.
But there are reports that Facebook is relying on a “fact checker” that uses “expert opinion” from a researcher who conducted projects with the Wuhan Institute of Virology, where some think the virus originated.
Gilead Sciences
Gilead Sciences sees rapid recovery in early data on its coronavirus drug, called Remdesivir.
The University of Chicago study found most of its patients had “rapid recoveries in fever and respiratory symptoms” and were discharged in less than a week.
It has also shown some promise in treating SARS and Mers, which are also caused by coronaviruses.
Bed, Bath & Beyond
Bed, Bath & Beyond says it has seen a spike in a number of categories due to the COVID-19 outbreak, including a 400% year-over-year jump in sales of bread makers during the past month and a 100% increase in the number of vacuums purchased in the past week.
The head of the retailer says that consumer demand has shifted during the stay-at-home period and is now focused on categories including water filtration, air purifiers, kitchen appliances and cleaning and coffee needs.