U.S. Senate's McConnell: reached bipartisan agreement on coronavirus bill

WASHINGTON, April 21 (Reuters) – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell welcomed a bipartisan agreement on additional coronavirus relief on Tuesday and said he hoped the Senate would quickly pass it.

McConnell, a Republican, said the deal had over $320 billion for a small business loan program, $60 billion for another emergency small business loan program, $75 billion for hospitals and $25 billion for coronavirus testing.

“I welcome this bipartisan agreement and hope the Senate will quickly pass it once members have reviewed the final text,” he said.

Are physically distant driveway visits, walks allowed? Alberta Health officials weigh in

As the weather warms up, more and more Albertans are getting outside. But with the COVID-19 pandemic yet to peak in the province, health officials want to remind people to practice physical distancing.

W. R. Berkley Corporation Q1 adjusted earnings of $0.69 per share

Below are the earnings highlights for W. R. Berkley Corporation (WRB):

-Earnings: -$4.42 million in Q1 vs. $180.72 million in the same period last year.
-EPS: -$0.02 in Q1 vs. $0.94 in the same period last year.
-Excluding items, W. R. Berkley Corporation reported adjusted earnings of $132.62 million or $0.69 per share for the period.
-Revenue: $1.81 billion in Q1 vs. $1.94 billion in the same period last year.

Made Up Stories Brings Allie Goss On As EVP of Development and Production

The Nightingale and Lucy in the Sky producer Bruna Papandrea has tapped Allie Goss as EVP of Development and Production for her production company, Made Up Stories. Goss, a former Netflix exec, will develop and produce television and film for the company.

Goss joined Netflix in 2006, just before the company’s streaming service launched, where she initially worked across licensing. She moved to the original series department in 2013 – first in business affairs and then the creative development team – where was responsible for developing and overseeing acclaimed series for the streamer such as The Crown, Unbelievable, as well as the Marvel television series slate and upcoming thriller series Pieces Of Her from Made Up Stories.

Other projects in the works at Made Up Stories are Nine Perfect Stranger, based on best-selling author Liane Moriarty’s book, written by David E. Kelley and John Henry Butterworth, and starring Nicole Kidman and Melissa McCarthy for Hulu; Glendyn Ivin’s drama Penguin Bloom, starring Naomi Watts, Andrew Lincoln, and Jacki Weaver; and The Dry from Robert Connolly starring Eric Bana.

In addition, Made Up Stories’ Kelley-created HBO series The Undoing, with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant, will premiere in the fall.

USANA Health Sciences Q1 Income Rises

USANA Health Sciences (USNA) announced earnings for its first quarter that climbed from the same period last year.

The company’s earnings totaled $26.55 million, or $1.23 per share. This compares with $24.17 million, or $1.01 per share, in last year’s first quarter.

The company’s revenue for the quarter fell 2.3% to $266.62 million from $272.99 million last year.

USANA Health Sciences earnings at a glance:

-Earnings (Q1): $26.55 Mln. vs. $24.17 Mln. last year.
-EPS (Q1): $1.23 vs. $1.01 last year.
-Revenue (Q1): $266.62 Mln vs. $272.99 Mln last year.

-Guidance:
Full year EPS guidance: $4.00 – $4.90
Full year revenue guidance: $1.00 – $1.08 Bln

Texas Instruments Expands Range Of Q2 Guidance – Quick Facts

Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN) said the company’s second quarter outlook is for revenue in the range of $2.61 billion to $3.19 billion, and earnings per share between $0.64 and $1.04, which includes an estimated $10 million discrete tax benefit.

“With a COVID-19 recession likely upon us, and with reduced visibility of customer demand, we are using the 2008 financial crisis to model our second quarter outlook. To reflect the increased uncertainty, we have expanded the range of our guidance,” Rich Templeton, CEO, stated.

For the first-quarter, earnings per share was $1.24 compared to $1.26, a year ago. Earnings per share included a 10 cent benefit for items that were not in the company’s original guidance. Revenue declined 7 percent to $3.33 billion.

Roots and Blues calls off ‘traditional’ festival, offers refunds

It’s a staple of summer in the Shuswap, but, amid the coronavirus pandemic, crowds won’t be gathering in Salmon Arm for the annual Roots and Blues Festival this year.

‘COVID toes’ could be another symptom of coronavirus infection: experts

Dermatologists around the world are keeping an eye out for possible symptoms of novel coronavirus infection, after reports that in some patients, the disease can affect the skin.

Some are calling the phenomenon “COVID toes” or “COVID hands,” according to Dr. Kerri Purdy, president of the Canadian Dermatology Association.

'Tiger King' is the weird docu-series we can't stop watching

New York (CNN Business)Netflix added a stunning 16 million subscribers last month as the coronavirus pandemic led people to stay at home and binge hit docuseries, such as “Tiger King,” and reality shows like “Love is Blind.”

The company blew by its own subscriber growth expectations on Tuesday when it reported its first-quarter earnings.
Netflix now has 183 million subscribers globally.

NY Fed purchases $357 mln in agency-CMBS out of $3.1 bln offered

NEW YORK, April 21 (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve Bank of New York purchased $357 million in agency commercial mortgage-backed securities out of more than $3.1 billion offered by primary dealers on Tuesday.

Read more about the results here here (Reporting by Jonnelle Marte; Editing by Sandra Maler)