CNN Business: “The pandemic could expose more Wirecards”

By admin_45 in IN THE NEWS

Excerpt from CNN Business quoting DataTrek's Jessica Rabe:

... "How Americans choose to take trips or not over the next two months will meaningfully impact economic growth and employment," Jessica Rabe, co-founder of DataTrek, a research firm, said in a recent note to clients. Roughly 11% of the US workforce was in the leisure and hospitality industry before coronavirus hit, she noted.

There are signs of trouble ahead. AAA forecasts that US summer travel will fall by nearly 15% compared to last year, Rabe said. Travel from July through September had been increasing at an annual rate of more than 3% over the past four years.

DataTrek also points to cellphone location data from SafeGraph, which shows foot traffic to businesses leveled out toward the end of June, and Google search results, which indicate elevated interest in RVs and boats but not airlines or travel websites like Expedia. "We continue to believe consumers will go out and spend this summer, but closer to home and in environments better suited for social distancing," Rabe said.

Rabe argues that this helps explain why stock investors remain bullish in the face of a worsening outlook for infections. Her take: If consumer spending runs into trouble, Congress is more likely to step up and pass another big stimulus bill by the end of the month"....

Read the full article here on CNN Business!