US economy added 2.5 million jobs in May

New York (CNN Business)US stocks surged Friday morning after the government reported that 2.5 million jobs were added in May and that the unemployment rate fell to 13.3%.

Economists had been expecting significant job losses and a spike in the unemployment rate to near 20%. But it appears that the reopening of several states has led to many Americans going back to work.
The Dow soared more than 700 points, or 2.7%, in early trading. The S&P 500 rose 2% and the Nasdaq was up 1.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq, home to Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN) and the rest of the so-called FAANG stocks, is now less than 1% from hitting an all-time high.

Stock Alert: JD.com Hits New High

Shares of Chinese e-commerce company JD.com, Inc. (JD) are climbing more than 3% Friday morning to hit a new high of $59.20. The stock is currently trading lower at $58.60.

Thursday, the Chinese online retailer has filed for a secondary stock listing in Hong Kong to raise up to $3 billion. The company plans to offer up to 133 million class A ordinary shares.

Trump says he views US-China trade deal differently amid coronavirus

WASHINGTON (REUTERS) – US President Donald Trump said on Friday (June 5) he views the Phase 1 trade deal inked between the United States and China differently in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I guess I view the trade deal a little bit differently than I did three months ago,” Mr Trump said at a news conference in the White House Rose Garden.

“Getting along with China would be a good thing. I don’t know if that’s going to happen. I’ll let you know.”

Boeing to cut jobs in response to coronavirus crisis

New York (CNN Business)Demand for business jets has dried up during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A precipitous drop in orders prompted aircraft maker Bombardier to announce it is cutting 2,500 jobs, mostly in Canada, its home base.
Business jet deliveries are expected to fall 30% this quarter, Bombardier said Friday.

“Bombardier must adjust its operations and workforce to ensure that it emerges from the current crisis on solid footing,” the company said in a statement. It will take a charge of 40 million Canadian dollars, or about $30 million, to cover the costs of the layoffs.
Commercial aircraft maker Boeing (BA) has already announced plans to cut 16,000 jobs because of the sharp drop in orders from airlines, which are racing to cut spending in the face of the sharp decline in demand for air travel.

Rival Airbus (EADSF) has yet to announce permanent job cuts, but it has furloughed 6,000 workers.
A year ago, the company sold its regional jet business to Airbus. That business built smaller commercial aircraft that are used to feed the hubs of major airlines.

Trump says US 'largely through' coronavirus pandemic

WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Donald Trump asserted on Friday (June 5) that the United States has made it through the worst of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We had the greatest economy in the history of the world. And that strength let us get through this horrible pandemic, largely through, I think we’re doing really well,” Trump said at a news briefing called after the release of surprisingly good US job numbers.

“We’ve made every decision correctly,” Trump said of his handling of the pandemic, which has claimed more than 108,000 lives in the United States.

Huawei adds temperature-taking sensor to newest smartphone

Chinese smartphone giant Huawei this week announced a new phone with built-in sensors that can take a person’s temperature.

The Honor Play 4 Pro has a sensor built into the phone’s rear camera array, and can take the temperature of humans and objects alike. The infrared tech can measure temperatures ranging up to 212 degrees Fahrenheit all the way down to -4 degrees.

In a video posted to its Weibo social media page, Huawei demonstrated how the phone works on a person, pointing the sensor at their forehead for several seconds until it delivered a reading.

The heat-seeking phone will only be available in China, and will retail for $420.

Pliant Therapeutics To Debut On Nasdaq On June 3

South San Francisco, California-based Pliant Therapeutics is slated to debut on the Nasdaq Global Market, under the symbol ‘PLRX’, on June 3, 2020.

Founded in 2016, Pliant Therapeutics is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies for the treatment of fibrosis.

The company plans to offer 6.00 million shares of its common stock, priced between $14 and $16 per share, in its initial public offering.

The underwriters have an option for 30 days to purchase 900,000 additional shares of common stock.

Underwriters of the IPO:

Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Cowen and Company, LLC, Needham & Company, LLC, Piper Sandler & Co.

Pipeline:

The company’s lead product candidate is PLN-74809, proposed for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis or IPF, and primary sclerosing cholangitis or PSC, under phase II development.

Another clinical drug candidate is, PLN-1474 for the treatment of stage F3/F4 liver fibrosis associated with NASH, which is under phase I testing. This compound is being developed in partnership with Novartis.

In addition to clinical programs, the company currently has preclinical integrin-based programs targeting oncology and muscular dystrophies.

Near-term catalysts:

Initiation of Phase 2a trials of PLN-74809 in primary sclerosing cholangitis is expected in the second half of 2020.

Top-line data from phase I study of PLN-1474 is expected by the end of 2020.