Treasury Says Small-Business Loans Supported Over 50 Million Jobs: Live Updates – The New York Times

The Treasury reveals more about who got small-business loans.

Restaurants, medical offices and car dealerships were the top recipients of large loans from the federal government’s $660 billion small business relief program, according to data released Monday by the Trump administration.

The data, which the Trump administration released under pressure from lawmakers and watchdog groups, offered the most detailed look yet at the sectors and businesses that took advantage of a program aimed at keeping workers on the payroll amid virus-induced shutdowns.

Yet the information released on Monday was confined to companies that received loans of more than $150,000 through the Paycheck Protection Program. The administration said that 86.5 percent of the loans were for less than that amount.

Here are some key takeaways:

• More than 40,000 full- or limited-service restaurants received loans worth as much as $32 billion.

• Physicians offices received loans worth as much as $19 billion. Total loans were as much as $17 billion for car dealers, $13 billion for law offices and $5 billion for dentists. Plumbers, religious organizations and schools also headlined the list.

• Dozens of tenants at buildings owned by President Trump or managed by his companies received loans — raising the likelihood that Mr. Trump may have indirectly benefited from the government support.

• Of the $521 billion allocated through the Paycheck Protection Program, about $68.2 billion — roughly 13 percent — went to companies in California. Another $41.1 billion flowed to Texas businesses.

• Nearly 5,000 businesses received individual loans between $5 million and $10 million, according to the data. The administration included ranges for the loan amounts, not specific figures.

• The data showed that more than 3,000 companies said they would be retaining 500 employees, exactly the program limit.

• The administration said that the money allocated through the program so far had helped support more than 50 million jobs. The share of overall small business payroll supported per state ranged from 72 percent in Virginia to 96 percent in Florida. — Luke Broadwater, Jeanna Smialek, Jim Tankersley, David McCabe, Ben Protess and Kellen Browning.

The data provided by the Treasury Department provides the latest indication of how the government’s centerpiece effort to shore up mom-and-pop shops set off a race by organizations far afield from Main Street to secure federal money.

Washington lobbying shops, high-priced law firms and special-interest groups received big loans, according to the administration. Companies that make most of their money from lobbying or political activity are supposed to be barred from receiving the loans, though firms were most likely able to qualify by highlighting lines of business that fell outside of the restrictions.

Here are some of the businesses the Treasury Department said received loans.

• A firm that raises money for President Trump’s re-election campaign and the Republican National Committee received a loan of more than $1 million, while a firm that produces Mr. Trump’s political advertisements received between $350,000 and $1 million. So, too, did a consulting firm started by Jim Messina, President Barack Obama’s former campaign manager, and one that was paid by Hillary Clinton’s 2008 campaign.

• Many Washington think tanks and advocacy groups accepted the loans, including some who typically oppose government spending. The conservative Citizens Against Government Waste accepted a loan of between $350,000 and $1 million, as did Citizens United, which fought to enable corporations to spend unlimited funds on elections. The anti-immigration Center for Immigration Studies received a loan of between $350,000 and $1 million, as did the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.

• Kasowitz Benson Torres, the law firm founded and run by Marc E. Kasowitz, President Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, received a loan of between $5 million and $10 million. The firm represented Mr. Trump for more than a decade before he was elected president. Mr. Kasowitz and the firm also represented Mr. Trump during the investigation by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

• More than 100 law firms received loans ranging from $1 million to $10 million, the data showed. The list included well-known names like Boies Schiller Flexner, the high-priced law firm run by David Boies, which received between $5 million and $10 million. “We don’t comment on our financials,” the firm said.

• As concert venues around the country went dark to prevent the spread of the virus, touring companies for notable musicians appear to have applied for the loans to stay afloat. Lil’ Jon Touring received a loan of between $150,000 and $350,000. Tamar Juda, Lil Jon’s publicist, said that the loan had allowed the artist to keep his core touring staff members employed.

• At least four e-sport video game companies received loans of between $150,000 and $2 million, with the largest going to Envy Gaming, which received between $1 million and $2 million, according to the data. The Dallas-based Envy is one of the biggest players in the world of e-sports and fields competitive teams in games like “Fortnite” and “Overwatch.”

Correction: An earlier version of this item misstated the name of one of the recipients of a Paycheck Protection Program loan. It is the Center for Immigration Studies, not the Center for Immigration Students.

Several businesses associated with members of Congress or their relatives received loans.

Sprinkled among the beneficiaries of the Paycheck Protection Program were businesses that are likely to attract scrutiny, including organizations connected to members of Congress from both parties.

• Representative Susie Lee, Democrat of Nevada, helped lobby for casinos to be included in the Paycheck Protection Program. Her husband, Daniel Lee, is the chief executive of Full House Resorts, which received loans worth $5.6 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A spokesperson for the representative told The Daily Beast, which first reported the loans, that she had no role in the company’s decision to apply for them.

• Representative Kevin Hern, Republican of Oklahoma, owns KTAK Corporation, which manages more than a dozen McDonald’s restaurants in the Tulsa, Okla., area and received a loan of between $1 million and $2 million. “While Kevin is not involved in the day-to-day operations of the business, he is happy to share that the family business was able to keep all employees either at their current level of employment or move part-time employees to full-time,” Mr. Hern’s chief of staff said.

• Mullin Plumbing Inc., owned by Representative Markwayne Mullin, Republican of Oklahoma, accepted between $350,000 and $1 million. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

• Representative Mike Kelly, Republican of Pennsylvania, owns Mike Kelly Automotive Group, Mike Kelly Automotive L.P. and Mike Kelly Hyundai, all of which accepted loans between $150,000 and $350,000. A spokesman for Mr. Kelly said that the money would be used “to sustain the income of workers who would otherwise have been without pay or employment at no fault of their own during the coronavirus pandemic.”

• A firm founded by Representative Rick W. Allen, Republican of Georgia, received between $350,000 and $1 million. Andrea Porwoll, spokeswoman for Mr. Allen, said he no longer had a controlling interest in the firm, R.W. Allen Construction. “While I cannot speak on behalf of R.W. Allen, I can confirm our office has consulted with the U.S. House of Representatives Office of General Counsel” to ensure all guidelines were followed.

• Caregivers Inc., a business owned by the parents of Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, accepted between $350,000 and $1 million. “I’m glad the company was able to continue paying caregivers. The business mostly provides companion care to seniors,” Mr. Gaetz said.

• Foremost Group, a New York shipping company owned by the family of Elaine Chao, the transportation secretary and the wife of Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, received at least $350,000. Ms. Chao has no stake in her family’s shipping business, but she and her husband have received millions of dollars in gifts from her father, who ran the company until 2018.

• Both the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute received loans of between $350,000 and $1 million.

Technology stocks rallied, leading Wall Street higher.

Wall Street’s gains continued for a fifth straight day on Monday, with technology stocks leading the rally as investors continued to brush off signs of a resurgent coronavirus amid hopes for more government spending to bolster the economy.

The S&P 500 rose more than 1.5 percent, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite climbed more than 2 percent as companies like Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Twitter rallied.

After a turbulent stretch in June, stocks have steadily recouped nearly all of their losses from that period with a rally that has lifted the S&P 500 by more than 5 percent in a week.

That run has defied a growing number of coronavirus cases around the United States and new measures to contain the virus that include shutting down some businesses again, partly because of new data that showed the economy was regaining its footing.

Last week, figures showed that employers added nearly five million workers back to payrolls in June, home purchases rose sharply and consumer confidence jumped. On Monday, the Institute for Supply Management said activity in the U.S. services sector had rebounded last month.

Investors also expect lawmakers in Washington to authorize more government spending to offset further economic damage. Though the specifics of any spending plan — and the timeline for it — are far from certain, the White House on Monday suggested it would back more spending.

“I think the president has been very clear that he’s supportive of another stimulus check,” Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, told reporters on Monday. Mr. Meadows said a plan could come together later in July, but noted that “everybody looks at this as the ‘last train leaving the station,’ so they want to attach some of those special interest needs to that,” suggesting that much was left to be negotiated.

Still, with economists warning that the recovery could be slower than markets currently expect, the rally is susceptible to a sudden change in sentiment if indicators shift. One trigger for that shift could be the upcoming earnings reporting season, when many companies will address the financial impact of the coronavirus for the first time in months.

Wall Street’s gains on Monday came after a rally in global stocks, with shares in China surging after a front-page editorial in the state-run China Securities Journal urged investors to take advantage of “bullish market expectations” coming out of the pandemic. — Mohammed Hadi

For years, flight schools, airlines and experts encouraged people to become pilots. They promised young recruits a job that was lucrative and secure because thousands of pilots in their late 50s and early 60s would retire in the coming years and demand for travel would continue growing.

The profession is still stacked with older aviators, but the pilots most at risk as airlines make deep cuts in the coming months are those who are just starting out.

To prepare for an uncertain future, the nation’s largest airlines are stockpiling billions of dollars in cash. If ticket sales do not recover soon, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines have said they could resort to job cuts as soon as Oct. 1, the first day when airlines are free to eliminate jobs and reduce hours under a stimulus law that Congress approved in March.

Airlines could lay off, furlough or reduce the hours of tens of thousands of pilots, cuts that would disproportionately fall on those who have less union seniority and training. Major airlines have already stopped hiring pilots after posting hundreds of openings in the first quarter of the year, according to Future & Active Pilot Advisors, a consulting firm.

Several companies are offering buyout packages to avoid deeper cuts later. Southwest has acknowledged in discussions with its pilots union that the airline is most likely overstaffed by more than a thousand pilots. The company is offering several years of partial pay and benefits to those who agree to leave the company temporarily or permanently. Delta warned last week that it could furlough nearly 2,600 pilots and is offering early-retirement packages.

Some pilots said the turmoil was nerve-racking, but those who have been in the profession for a while have come to expect it.

“You kind of know going in that aviation has high highs and low lows,” said Lisa Archibald, 41, a Delta pilot who entered the industry days before the 2001 terrorist attacks. “You do it because you love what you do.” — Niraj Chokshi

On a typical Sunday, when patrons at Julien Cornu’s cheese shop in Paris load up on Camembert and chèvre for the week, about half would pay by digging into their pockets for euro notes and coins.

But in the era of the coronavirus, nearly everyone at La Fromagerie chooses to pay with plastic.

“They don’t want to have to touch anything,” Mr. Cornu said. While cash is still accepted, even older shoppers — his toughest clientele when it comes to adopting digital habits — are voluntarily making the switch.

The coronavirus is accelerating a shift toward a cashless future, raising new calculations for merchants and enriching the digital payments industry. It is a golden moment for credit card companies, banks and digital platforms, which are capitalizing on the crisis to encourage consumers and retailers to use cards and smartphone apps that yield lucrative fees.

Payment and processing companies such as PayPal (whose stock is up about 55 percent this year) and Adyen, based in the Netherlands (up 72 percent), also stand to gain. So do data analytics and fraud prevention companies, and businesses that enable merchants to accept card payments. — Liz Alderman

Uber has agreed to acquire the food delivery start-up Postmates for $2.65 billion, as the ride-hailing firm aims to grow its presence in on-demand food delivery while its core business struggles.

The companies announced the all-stock deal on Monday morning. Uber will combine Postmates with its own food delivery subsidiary, Uber Eats, which has been growing during the coronavirus pandemic.

Food delivery apps, which connect drivers, restaurants and customers, have grown quickly in recent years, fueled by venture capital and armies of contract workers. But the services they offer are not very different from one another, leading to heavy competition and pressure to keep fees low. More people have been using delivery services during the pandemic, but profits have been elusive.

As a result, delivery app companies have circled one another, aiming to make deals to gain scale. Postmates previously discussed possible deals with DoorDash, the largest service in the United States, and another rival, Grubhub, according to two people with knowledge of the talks.

In recent months, Uber also discussed buying Grubhub. But last month, Grubhub was instead sold to Just Eat Takeaway, a European delivery company, for $7.3 billion.— Mike Isaac and Erin Griffith