Financial News

Financial News:

Stocks gain…Frontier and Spirit…New Allegiant CEO

NEW YORK (AP) – Stocks rose in morning trading on Wall Street as investors prepare for another busy week of corporate earnings. The S&P 500 rose 0.2%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%, and the Nasdaq rose 0.5%. Retailers, travel-related companies and others that rely on direct consumer spending lead the gains. Technology companies also made solid gains and lifted the broader market.

UNDATED (AP) – Frontier Airlines’ parent company is buying Spirit Airlines in a $2.9 billion cash-and-stock deal that will allow the combined airline to be more competitive against its larger rivals. The deal is valued at $6.6 billion when accounting for the assumption of debt and operating lease liabilities.

LAS VEGAS (AP) – Add Allegiant Air to the list of airlines getting a new CEO this year. Parent company Allegiant Travel says Maurice Gallagher will step down as CEO on June 1 and be replaced by company president John Redmond. Gallagher has led Allegiant since 2001. He will remain chairman.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Biden administration is raising red flags about 33 Chinese companies whose legitimacy it cannot verify. It’s imposing new restrictions on the Chinese companies’ ability to receive goods from U.S. exporters and requiring extra diligence from American companies that want to do business with them.

BERLIN (AP) – Germany is working on plans to relax coronavirus restrictions after the peak in new cases has passed, likely by the end of February. Unlike some of its European neighbors, Germany still has many pandemic restrictions in place that exclude unvaccinated people from restaurants, public venues and some stores.