Live stock exchange updates: S&P 500, Amazon and more

AMC Entertainment announced on Tuesday that it will offer private room rentals to AMC, which would allow people to book rooms for private movie screenings, an effort to attract customers during a pandemic that has decimated movie theaters in across the country.

The offer comes after a four-week trial for the service, which drew 110,000 requests nationwide – more than four times the number of bookings in 2019, without any significant marketing, the company said.

“It’s unprecedented for AMC to receive 110,000 contacts in four weeks regarding a private theater rental, based solely on word of mouth and organic advertising, and we are thrilled and appreciate the interest this has taken. aroused among AMC guests, ”said Elizabeth Frank, executive vice president of global programming and director of content for AMC.

AMC, the largest movie theater chain in the United States, said customers can rent any of its more than 600 theaters nationwide through its website and mobile app for a movie screening, with a fee at from $ 99. Newer versions are more expensive – “Tenet”, “The War With Grandpa” and “Freaky” could cost up to $ 349. Rental fees include up to 20 tickets.

Independent theater owners have also experimented with private rental as a way to generate income while struggling for survival.

The announcement comes as the CMA is on the verge of bankruptcy, with many people still reluctant to return to theaters in droves and Hollywood pushing back most major releases until next year. In October, AMC said existing cash resources would be largely depleted by the end of 2020 or early 2021, and the company would need additional sources of cash or an increase in the participation rate. to meet its financial obligations.

The company said AMC will require guests to wear masks and practice social distancing in the auditorium.

The energy industry has had its worst year in decades due to the pandemic, but clean sources of power generation have still managed to thrive, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday.

Consumption of electricity produced by wind, solar and hydroelectric sources will increase by almost 7% in 2020, despite the fact that global energy demand will decline by 5%, the largest drop since World War II, the group said. forecast based in Paris in a report. published Tuesday.

This performance shows that these renewable energy sources are “immune to Covid,” Fatih Birol, executive director of the agency, said at a press conference.

Renewable electricity is growing due to government policies encouraging such investments and the strong interest of investors who want to invest money in clean energy projects, according to the report.

The world will add nearly 4% to its capacity in 2020 to generate electricity from renewable energies like wind and solar, despite travel restrictions, factory closures and other obstacles caused by the pandemic. Growth is expected to accelerate next year to around 10%, as projects disrupted by the pandemic come online and efforts by governments in Europe and Asia to revive their economies while tackling the climate change is intensifying.

Mr Birol said that a return to the Paris climate change agreement by the United States, as promised by President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., could give “a very strong boost” to this dynamic, leading to a doubling of the renewable energy capacity. in the United States over five years.

European Union regulators laid antitrust charges against Amazon on Tuesday, claiming the e-commerce giant broke competition laws by unfairly using its size and access to data to harm small merchants who rely on it. the company to reach their customers, writes Adam Satariano of the New York Times.

Here’s what you need to know about the suit:

• The European Commission, the executive arm of the 27-nation bloc, said Amazon has abused its dual role both as a retail store used by millions of suppliers and as a merchant that sells its own competing products. on the platform.

• Authorities have accused Amazon of collecting data from millions of merchants who use its marketplace to spot popular products, then copy and sell them for less.

• The case, awaited for months, is the latest front in a transatlantic regulatory push against Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google, with US and European authorities taking a more skeptical view of their business practices and their dominance of the digital economy. .

• Many in Europe will be watching to see how Amazon’s announcement is received by the new administration of President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., who is expected to pursue policies that limit the power of the industry.

• Tuesday’s announcement was only part of the regulatory process. It may take several months, or even years, before a fine and other penalties are announced. The commission could also reach an agreement with Amazon.

• Stock markets around the world took a break on Tuesday after the feverish excitement that gripped investors for much of Monday following the announcement of a 90% effective coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer.

• The S&P 500 edged down early in the session. It closed Monday to less than 1% of the record set in early September.

• The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose about half a percent on Tuesday, with gains for energy and financial companies. Asian markets were mixed.

• In Great Britain, the FTSE 100 index rose 1% and the pound rose 0.7% against the US dollar and 0.9% against the euro. Many believe the likelihood of a Brexit deal has increased, in part because of the election of Joseph R. Biden Jr. in the United States. The border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland remains a critical sticking point in final Brexit negotiations, and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson shouldn’t want to fight an elected president who often does reference to its Irish. heritage and warned against returning a hard border.

• Discussions with the European Union on a trade deal continued ahead of a deal’s deadline this weekend. The gains came despite the UK unemployment rate rising to 4.8%, a four-year high.

• Oil prices continued to climb. Futures on West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, rose 1.1% to $ 40.75 a barrel. The price jumped more than 8% on Monday. An index of the dollar against other major currencies rose 0.2%. The price of gold rose 0.8%.

• The S&P 500 is up more than 8% in November, a rally fueled in part by relief over the 2020 election resolution and expectations that a divided government with Republicans controlling the Senate would limit any substantial policy change by the new Biden administration. News of Pfizer’s vaccine trial added a layer of exuberance to those gains on Monday.

• But the rally is still sensitive to changes in sentiment, and Monday’s trading underscored that. The S&P 500 gave up a percentage point of gains in the last half hour of trading after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said President Trump was “100% in his rights” to challenge the outcome of the election – a reminder to investors that political uncertainty may persist.

• Additionally, the United States is still setting records for new coronavirus cases and it could be months before a vaccine becomes widely available. The economy is still struggling, with no new prospects for economic aid from Washington expected anytime soon, especially as Mr Trump is concerned about the cancellation of the election result.

Jay Foreman, general manager of toy maker Basic Fun in Boca Raton, Fla., Is among employers who don’t believe the pandemic has fundamentally reshaped the way millions of Americans should work.

They are recalling their employees even as the coronavirus rises in parts of the country, arguing that a balance can be struck between security and the need to come together under one roof, Nelson D. Schwartz reports for The New York Times.

Some employees have returned impatiently after the distractions of working from home. Others did so reluctantly after asking for a little more time. And at least one of the Basic Fun employees has found another job rather than having to go back to the office.

Mr. Foreman is not a mask skeptic or a coronavirus skeptic. He is also not a fan of President Trump, who has questioned the effectiveness of the masks and criticized the lockdowns that have forced many employees to work from home.

But he believes the necessary measures – like mandatory masks and desks spread out, with hand sanitizer installed throughout the office – have been taken to keep his workers safe. And that means its employees no longer have the choice to stay at home.

“We are back together to work as a team,” he said. Mr. Foreman expects the effects of the pandemic to continue for at least a year, “but there’s no way businesses can be as efficient at working from home as when employees work together.”