Month: July 2020

National French Fry Day 2020: Get free fries at McDonalds and deals at Burger King, KFC, Checkers on Monday – USA TODAY

Kelly Tyko
USA TODAY

Published 12:47 AM EDT Jul 13, 2020

Here’s a food holiday not canceled by the coronavirus pandemic: National French Fry Day.

While 7-Eleven canceled its annual Free Slurpee Day, Chick-fil-A postponed its Cow Appreciation Day and Tax Day freebies and deals are nearly nonexistent, restaurants across the nation are still offering free fries and fry deals Monday.

The holiday, also known as National Fry Day, is held annually on July 13. Most of Monday’s specials require a purchase or a mobile app.

There are contests Monday, too. The Idaho Potato Commission is giving away $100 Visa gift card, an air fryer and other prizes. The Great American Takeout and Heinz are holding a ketchup art sweepstakes.

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Tax Day 2020 freebies?: After Tax Day was moved to July, deals and free food offers are almost non-existent

With the ketchup contest, one grand prize winner will get $1,869 for 57 future takeout orders and 50 other artists will win $57 for takeout meal. (See contest details below.)

Fry Day 2020 deals and freebies

The following discounts and offers available at participating locations Monday, July 13 unless otherwise noted. Offers can vary and most times are offered while supplies last. To be on the safe side, always check with your closest location before heading out.

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s: Get a free basket of fries with a $10 purchase Monday.

BurgerFi: Get half-price double cheeseburgers with an in-store purchase of a regular-sized French fries Monday. Then Tuesday through July 17, get free regular-sized fries with any purchase ordered on the BurgerFi app.

Burger King: Find several offers including $1 large fries on the BK app. App specials are listed at www.bk.com/offers.

Carl’s Jr.: Newsletter subscribers received an email with a coupon for free large fries with purchase of a Thickburger Monday. Sign up for future emails at www.carlsjr.com.

Checkers: Get a small, medium or large order of fries for $1 Monday. You can also get free fries for joining the chain’s text messaging program. Text SNACK to 88001 to sign up or sign up online at www.checkers.com/flavorhood. 

Farmer Boys: Get fries for $1 with any purchase made after 2 p.m. Monday.

Fatburger: Get a free order of Skinny or Fat Fries with any purchase of $20 or more made on Postmates Monday through July 19.

Hardee’s: Newsletter subscribers received an email with a coupon for free large fries with purchase of a Thickburger Monday. Sign up for future emails at www.hardees.com.

KFC: To celebrate National French Fry Day and the permanent addition of its new Secret Recipe Fries to the menu at all U.S. restaurants, the fast food chain is offering individual orders of fries for 30 cents with any purchase Monday, according to a news release.

McDonald’s: Get a free medium fries Monday with the McDonald’s app. No purchase is necessary but there’s a limit of one offer per customer. Access the deal using the app’s “Mobile Order & Pay” feature or scan the deal code from the app at the restaurant, drive thru or kiosk.

Rally’s: Get a small, medium or large order of fries for $1 Monday. Get free fries with any purchase when you join the Flavorhood program at www.rallys.com/flavorhood.

Smashburger: Get a free side of signature Smash Fries with the purchase of any double burger Monday.

Steak ‘n Shake: For a limited time, participating restaurants are giving away free small orders of fries. There’s a limit of one order of free fries per person, the Indianapolis-based restaurant’s website notes.

Taco John’s: The chain is giving away free small orders of Potato Olés Monday. Redeem the offer in Taco John’s mobile app. 

Wendy’s: The fast food chain has various deals on its app and website. Download the app at www.wendys.com. 

White Castle: Get a free small French fries in-restaurant, online or via the White Castle app Monday or with this coupon. No purchase is necessary, according to the coupon.

More deals: Locally owned businesses and regional chains also may have specials for National French Fry Day. One of the easiest ways to find out is to check restaurants’ social media channels.

National French Fry Day contests

Heinz and Great American Takeout: Post a photo of your ketchup art creation and post on either Twitter or Instagram and use the hashtags #TheGreatAmericanTakeout and #Sweepstakes. On Instagram, tag @thegreatamericantakeout and on Twitter tag @TheGATakeout. One winner will get $1,869 and 50 runners-up will get $57 to use on takeout meals. Learn more at www.thegreatamericantakeout.com.

Idaho Potato Commission: The commission is giving away $100 Visa gift card, an air fryer and other prizes. Enter at www.idahopotato.com/national-french-fry-sweepstakes.

Get free fries at McDonald’s Fridays 

McDonald’s is celebrating Fry Day every Friday through Sept. 27.

Each Friday, get a free medium fries each Friday on mobile orders with a minimum $1 purchase when using an app offer. 

App download and registration required. The offer is only available through Mobile Order & Pay at participating restaurants, according to the promotion’s fine print. Download the app for iOS and Android at www.mcdonalds.com or through app stores.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Kelly Tyko on Twitter: @KellyTyko

One in three South Korean COVID-19 patients improve with remdesivir – Reuters

SEOUL (Reuters) – One in three South Korean patients seriously ill with COVID-19 showed an improvement in their condition after being given Gilead Sciences Inc’s (GILD.O) antiviral remdesivir, health authorities said.

FILE PHOTO: An ampule of Ebola drug Remdesivir is pictured during a news conference at the University Hospital Eppendorf (UKE) in Hamburg, Germany, April 8, 2020, as the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues. Ulrich Perrey/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

More research was needed to determine if the improvement was attributable to the drug or other factors such as patients’ immunity and other therapies, they said.

Remdesivir has been at the forefront of the global battle against COVID-19 after the intravenously administered medicine helped shorten hospital recovery times in a U.S. clinical trial.

Several countries including South Korea have added the drug to the list of treatment for the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. There is no approved vaccine for it.

In its latest update on the drug, Gilead said on Friday an analysis showed remdesivir helped reduce the risk of death in severely ill COVID-19 patients but cautioned that rigorous clinical trials were needed to confirm the benefit.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Saturday results from a first group of 27 patients given remdesivir in different hospitals.

Nine of the patients showed an improvement in their condition, 15 showed no change, and three worsened, KCDC deputy director Kwon Jun-wook told a briefing.

The result had yet to be compared with a control group and more analysis was needed to conclude remdesivir’s benefit, Kwon said.

In June, South Korea asked Gilead to supply enough of its drug to treat more than 5,000 COVID-19 patients in preparation for a possible second wave of infections.

South Korea has been battling small but persistent outbreaks of the new coronavirus, with 62 new cases reported as of Sunday, bringing the country’s total to 13,479 cases with 289 deaths.

Reporting by Sangmi Cha; Editing by Miyoung Kim, Robert Birsel

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Oil slips as traders eye supply cut easing at OPEC meeting – CNBC

An aerial view of oil tankers anchored near the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles amid the coronavirus pandemic on April 28, 2020 off the coast of Long Beach, California.

Mario Tama | Getty Images

Oil slipped in early Asian trade on Monday as traders eyed an OPEC technical meeting this week which is expected to recommend an easing in supply cuts that have been propping up crude prices.

Brent crude fell 27 cents to $42.97 a barrel by 0114 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $40.27 a barrel, down 28 cents.

Oil was little changed last week as a resurgence of coronavirus cases prompted several U.S. states to impose tighter travel restrictions that could dampen oil demand recovery at the world’s largest consumer.

However, prices rose more than 2% on Friday after an upward revision by the International Energy Agency in its 2020 oil demand by 400,000 barrels per day.

Oil prices have recovered sharply from multi-decade lows in April after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, cut output by a record 9.7 million barrels per day for three months since May.

OPEC’s Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) will meet on Tuesday and Wednesday to recommend the next level of cuts.

OPEC and Russia were expected to ease their supply cuts as global oil demand has recovered and prices have bounced back.

“The planned easing of OPEC+ production cuts next month … and a potential rebound in U.S. production could add pressure on the supply side of the equation,” Stephen Innes, chief global markets strategist at AxiCorp said in a note.

Libya exported its first crude cargo in six months on Friday after a blockade by eastern forces, but then re-imposed force majeure on all oil exports on Sunday.

Its National Oil Corp accused the United Arab Emirates of instructing the eastern forces in Libya’s civil war to reimpose the blockade.

WeWork chairman says positive cash flow due in 2021, a year ahead of schedule – CNBC

General view of WeWork Weihai Road flagship is seen on April 12, 2018 in Shanghai, China. World’s leading co-working space company WeWork will acquire China-based rival naked Hub for 400 million U.S. dollars. (Photo by Jackal Pan/Visual China Group via Getty Images)

VCG | Getty Images

After a turbulent year, WeWork is set to see positive cash flow and profits in 2021, a year ahead of schedule, company chairman Marcelo Claure said in an interview with the Financial Times published Sunday.

A massive cost-cutting drive helped the company shore up its finances while the coronavirus pandemic has led to robust demand for WeWork’s flexible office space, Claure told the FT in an interview.

“Everybody thought WeWork was mission impossible. [That we had] zero chance. And now, a year from now, you are going to see WeWork to basically be a profitable venture with an incredible diversity of assets,” Claure was quoted by the FT as saying. 

In the last several months the New York-based shared office space company, backed by Softbank, slashed more than 8,000 jobs, sold off non-core business units and terminated leases on building space in New York and Baltimore, the FT reported.

Last year, WeWork set out on a mission to cut costs and spending, after high-profile IPO plans went awry. Nine months ago, Softbank had to rescue it with a multibillion dollar package before it ran out of cash entirely. The two are still locked in lawsuits over the bailout, which initially included a $3 billion share buyout of WeWork by the Japanese conglomerate but was never carried out. WeWork’s valuation plummeted from $47 billion in early 2019 to $2.9 billion in March. 

As the transition from office-based to home-based remote work continues, Claure says this increases the appeal of WeWork’s pitch to companies that want satellite offices for their employees or want workspace available just a few days per week. Microsoft, Citigroup, Mastercard and TikTok-owner ByteDance have signed new leases with WeWork in the last month, the FT reported.

Still, several tenants canceled their leases or failed to pay rent as the pandemic hit businesses globally, and WeWork saw $482 million in cash burn between January and March alone. Claure said revenues during the crisis were flat, though second-quarter figures have yet to be reported.

Claure was made chairman in October of last year after co-founder Adam Neumann stepped down as CEO. 

Read the full report in The Financial Times.

Alibabas Jack Ma sells $9.6 billion worth shares, stake dips to 4.8%: filing – Reuters

FILE PHOTO – Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of China’s Alibaba Group, speaks in front of a picture of SoftBank’s human-like robot named ‘pepper’ during a news conference in Chiba, Japan, June 18, 2015. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/File Picture

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Alibaba Group Holding Ltd co-founder Jack Ma has cut his stake in the company over the past year to 4.8% from 6.2%, cashing out around $8.2 billion at its current share price, the firm’s annual filing released on Friday showed.

The divestment comes as Ma retired as the Chinese e-commerce company’s executive chairman in September and pulled back from formal business roles to focus on philanthropy.

Alibaba did not disclose the average selling price of his divestment. Its share price has risen around 40% since Ma reported his 6.2% holding in the company a year ago.

The stock’s stellar performance has been helped by forecast-beating earnings growth, even as China’s economy sharply slows, as more people shop online for essentials due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alibaba Executive Vice Chairman Joseph Tsai also reduced his stake in the company over the same period, to 1.6% from 2.2%. The offloaded shares were worth $3.3 billion as of Friday.

Both Ma and Tsai have been steadily less involved in Alibaba’s regular operations since Daniel Zhang was announced as Ma’s successor as company chairman. He assumed that role formally in September 2019.

Throughout this year, the two have donated millions of units of personal protective equipment (PPE) via their individual charity arms to hospitals worldwide to help fight the spread of COVID-19.

An April 2019 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission stated that Ma would plan to sell up to 21 million shares within one year to support his philanthropic efforts.

(This story corrects Jack Ma’s share sale to $8.2 bln, his original stake to 6.2%, Tsai’s sale to $3.3 bln and his original stake to 2.2%.)

Reporting by Josh Horwitz; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Christopher Cushing

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

European stocks rise on eve of earnings season – MarketWatch

European stocks rose on Monday, as optimism surrounding second-quarter earnings offset a disturbing rise in coronavirus cases, including in the key U.S. state of Florida.

After edging up 0.4% last week, the Stoxx Europe 600
SXXP,
+0.45%
gained 1%.

The German DAX
DAX,
+0.91%
, French CAC 40
PX1,
+0.54%
and U.K. FTSE 100
UKX,
+0.82%
also advanced.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average
YM00,
+0.45%
rose 172 points.

Earnings season for the second quarter gets underway this week. In the U.S., major banks including Citigroup
C,
+6.47%
, JPMorgan Chase
JPM,
+5.46%
and Wells Fargo
WFC,
+5.94%
are due to report earnings. Microchip equipment maker ASML
ASML,
+0.53%
, miner Rio Tinto
RIO,
+2.27%
and telecom equipment firm Ericsson
ERIC.B,
+0.50%
are among the European-listed companies due to report second-quarter results. Estimates currently are for U.S. earnings to shrink 44% year-on-year, and European earnings to slump by 64%.

Security firm G4S
GFS,
+9.16%
on Monday said its first-half earnings will be “significantly” above market expectations and that it will move up the reporting of those results.

Markets also are looking ahead of the gathering of European leaders to discuss the European Union recovery fund proposal.

The coronavirus news over the weekend wasn’t great, with Florida on Sunday reporting the highest number of cases for any state during the pandemic and accounting for about a quarter of the U.S. total. U.S. President Donald Trump and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson each wore masks in public for the first time, with speculation England may start requiring mask wearing in shops.

Ubisoft Entertainment
UBI,
-8.00%
shares slumped 8% after the French videogames maker announced a staff shakeup that includes the departure of its chief creative officer. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said the company “has fallen short in its obligation to guarantee a safe and inclusive workplace environment for its employees.”

Neles
NELES,
+36.34%
surged 35% after Alfa Laval
ALFA,
+4.06%
offered 1.73 billion euros in cash, or 11.50 euros per share, for the valve maker in an agreed deal.

Pressley hits DeVos over reopening schools: I wouldnt trust you to care for a house plant let alone my child | TheHill – The Hill

Rep. Ayanna PressleyAyanna PressleyPressley hits DeVos over reopening schools: ‘I wouldn’t trust you to care for a house plant let alone my child’ The Hill’s Campaign Report: Colorado, Utah primary results bring upsets, intrigue Progressives zero in on another House chairman in primary MORE (D-Mass.) swiped at Education Secretary Betsy DeVosElizabeth (Betsy) Dee DeVosPressley hits DeVos over reopening schools: ‘I wouldn’t trust you to care for a house plant let alone my child’ Teachers face off against Trump on school reopenings Battle over reopening schools heats up MORE on Sunday after the Trump administration official doubled down on her push for students to return to school.  

In a tweet knocking DeVos on Sunday afternoon, the first-term lawmaker directly called her out, writing, “@BetsyDeVosED you have no plan. Teachers, kids and parents are fearing for their lives.”

“You point to a private sector that has put profits over people and claimed the lives of thousands of essential workers. I wouldn’t trust you to care for a house plant let alone my child,” she continued.

 

Pressley’s tweet came in response to remarks DeVos made in an interview on CNN’s “State of The Union” early Sunday. During her appearance, she reiterated her call for schools to resume in-person classes in the fall and pushed back on social distancing guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommending children’s time meeting in groups be limited to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. 

“What we’re saying is that kids need to be back in school and that school leaders across the country need to be making plans to do just that. There’s going to be the exception to the rule, but the rule should be that kids go back to school this fall,” DeVos said. “Where there are little flare-ups or hot spots, that can be dealt with on a school-by-school or a case-by-case basis.”

When discussing the role CDC guidelines should play in schools reopening, DeVos said, “The CDC guidelines are just that, meant to be flexible and meant to be applied as appropriate for the situation.”

Earlier this month, DeVos said she was “very seriously” looking at holding back federal funding from schools that don’t reopen in the fall, despite CDC guidelines warning that children meeting in groups “can put everyone at risk.”

“We are looking at this very seriously. This is a very serious issue across the country,” she said then. 

President TrumpDonald John TrumpDavis: Supreme Court decision is bad news for Trump, good news for Vance Meadows trying to root out suspected White House leakers by feeding them info: Axios Pressley hits DeVos over reopening schools: ‘I wouldn’t trust you to care for a house plant let alone my child’ MORE also threatened to do the same to schools that don’t reopen in a tweet around the same time earlier this month. 

“The Dems think it would be bad for them politically if U.S. schools open before the November Election, but is important for the children & families. May cut off funding if not open!” Trump tweeted at the time.

However, it’s unclear how much, if any, funding the Trump administration would be able to cut from schools that don’t reopen come fall, as Congress is tasked with appropriating federal funding for schools.

Oil slips as traders eye supply cut easing at OPEC meeting – Reuters

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil slipped nearly 1% on Monday as traders eyed an OPEC technical meeting this week which is expected to recommend an easing in supply cuts that have been propping up crude prices.

FILE PHOTO: An oil pump jack pumps oil in a field near Calgary, Alberta, July 21, 2014. Pump jacks are used to pump crude oil out of the ground after an oil well has been drilled. REUTERS/Todd Korol/File Photo

Brent crude LCOc1 fell 32 cents, or 0.7%, to $42.92 a barrel by 0646 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 was at $40.22 a barrel, down 33 cents, or 0.8%.

Oil was little changed last week as a resurgence of coronavirus cases prompted several U.S. states to impose tighter travel restrictions that could dampen oil demand recovery at the world’s largest consumer. [nL2N2EJ04T]

However, prices climbed more than 2% on Friday after the International Energy Agency raised its 2020 oil demand forecast by 400,000 barrels per day. [nL8N2EH1F2]

Oil prices have recovered sharply from multi-decade lows in April as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, cut output by a record 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) over May to July.

OPEC’s Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) will meet on Tuesday and Wednesday to recommend the next level of cuts after compliance in the group hit 107% in June, up from 77% in May. [nL8N2E72XE]

OPEC and Russia are expected to ease their supply cuts to 7.7 million bpd as global oil demand has recovered and prices have bounced back, OPEC+ sources have told Reuters.[nL8N2E75MP]

“They’ve done a good job of bringing prices as high as expected in the mid-term so they should be very careful about ruining sentiment,” Tony Nunan, a Tokyo-based senior risk manager at Mitsubishi Corp said.

Higher prices have prompted some U.S. producers to start drilling again even as the number of operating oil and natural gas rigs hit a record low for a 10th straight week.[nL1N2EH1K7]

“If you want to keep drilling down, then you’re going to have to keep prices around this level,” Nunan said.

Libya exported its first crude cargo in six months on Friday after a blockade by eastern forces, but then re-imposed force majeure on all oil exports on Sunday.

Its National Oil Corp accused the United Arab Emirates of instructing the eastern forces in Libya’s civil war to reimpose the blockade. [nL5N2EJ0H3][nL8N2EH1Y6]

Reporting by Florence Tan; editing by Richard Pullin and Himani Sarkar

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

WeWork’s chairman says it expects to have positive cash flow in 2021 – TechCrunch

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