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1. New COVID-19 Variants Expected To Spread Over Summer
While people tend to think the warmer temperatures and humidity of summer will lead to a decrease in COVID-19 cases, research indicates the U.S. can expect another wave of cases caused by the omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, CNN reports. These two new subvariants, first identified in South Africa, have shown they are able to escape the immunity created by vaccines and past COVID-19 infections.
Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as genomics company Helix show that these two subvariants accounted for an estimated 6% to 7% of new infections in the U.S. in late May when they totaled .02% a month before.
Based on how the subvariants spread in South Africa, experts expect an increase in infections in the U.S. over the summer but not necessarily more severe cases or deaths.
2. Changing Economic Conditions Knock SPACs Out of Favor
Over the past couple of years, special purpose acquisition companies became a popular method of acquisition, creating a shell entity that sells shares to fund the targeted business. After two years, about $250 billion was invested into SPACs, but inflation, interest rate increases, threats of recession and regulatory scrutiny are causing investors to second-guess themselves, the New York Times reports.
“Increasingly, investors are withdrawing their money from SPACs, which they’re allowed to do at the time of the merger,” the article states. “With stocks of high-growth companies recently getting clobbered, they have been less willing to bet that SPAC mergers — which often involve risky companies — will be successful.”
3. Aimbridge Prisma Grows in Mexico's Resort, Upscale Hotels Space
Following its acquisition by Aimbridge Hospitality last year, Grupo Hotelero Prisma, now Aimbridge Prisma, has been able to expand into the upscale hotel and resort space in Mexico, reports HNN’s Bryan Wroten.
“We thought that will give us the leverage to go back to the market and say, ‘Hey, we are now Aimbridge Prisma, and we have now over 1,500 hotels, so we can be certain that this new adventure will help us be recognized and considered to manage resorts and upscale hotels,” Leandro Castillo, president of Aimbridge Prisma, said.
4. April US Hiring Close to Record Levels
The U.S. Department of Labor reported a seasonally adjusted 11.4 million job openings in April, according to the Wall Street Journal. Although that is a decrease from the revised record high of 11.9 million in March, it indicates the labor market continues to be tight.
Employers' need for workers has exceeded the number of people looking for work over the past year, the article states. Employers have added more than 400,000 jobs per month while the unemployment rate has fallen to 3.6%, just slightly above the rate of 3.5% before the pandemic.
“Workers still have a considerable amount of leverage in the U.S. labor market,” said Nick Bunker, an economist at Indeed. “The outlook for hiring remains strong as job openings remain elevated, even if their growth has slowed in recent months.”
5. US Companies Report Some Pushback on Higher Prices
While the U.S. economy grew slightly this spring, companies have had to navigate higher prices and labor shortages, reports the Wall Street Journal on the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book. As many companies pass on higher prices to consumers, some customers are pushing back.
In its collection of business anecdotes, the Beige Book reported from a grocery chain in the Cleveland Fed district that “customers have recently taken aggressive steps to save. They’ve shifted from national brands to cheaper store brands. They are also doing things such as purchasing half a gallon of milk instead of a gallon.”
The Kansas City Fed district reported that some restaurants have used digital menus to make real-time changes to prices, but diners have been “unwilling to fully accept higher menu prices,” the article states.