Business and Economic News

Helping north Minneapolis rebuild — and putting businesses on more solid ground
North Minneapolis was hit hard in the uprising following George Floyd’s killing. The destruction spread to more than 100 businesses — many of them locally owned shops that were already flat on their backs from the economic fallout from COVID-19.
Some Minnesota employers happy to see extra jobless benefits end
Enhanced unemployment benefits to help offset the economic blow from the COVID-19 pandemic expire soon if Congress doesn't act. Some employers think those increased benefits have kept people from returning to the workforce.
3M files lawsuits for price gouging of N95 masks
The leading manufacturer of N95 masks in the U.S. says it has investigated 4,000 reports of fraud, counterfeiting and price gouging in connection with the product and has filed 18 lawsuits.
Exact change please: Walmart, Kroger, CVS are feeling the coin shortage
Stores, supermarkets and gas stations are grappling with low supplies of pocket change. The national shortage is due in part to people going out less to spend money during the pandemic.
Target, CVS Health join list of major retailers mandating masks
Target, CVS Health and Publix Super Markets on Thursday joined the growing list of major retailers that will require customers to wear masks as cases of COVID-19 spike. Target's policy will go into effect Aug. 1., while CVS's rule will start Monday.  
Minnesota unemployment fell to 8.6 percent in June
Minnesota's unemployment rate dropped last month as more businesses and restaurants began to reopen following the end of the stay-at-home order.
America went shopping for clothes again in June
U.S. stores and restaurants got a boost in June as retail sales jumped 7.5 percent. Spending on clothes doubled. But this was before a new surge in the coronavirus prompted renewed shutdowns in some states.
Number of laid-off workers seeking jobless aid stuck at 1.3M
Unemployment remains painfully high in the U.S. even as economic activity slowly picks up. That reality will be on display Thursday morning when the U.S. government releases data on the number of laid off workers who sought unemployment benefits last week, as well as how retailers did in June.
NPR radio ratings collapse as pandemic ends listeners' commutes
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the public broadcaster lost about a quarter of its radio audience in the second quarter of 2020, compared with a year earlier. Even so, digital audiences surged.