So, what’s new? Warren Buffet dumped his airline stock –  all $6.5 billion worth. AC will discuss its Q1 results today and Boeing won’t ask the government for a loan. Around the world things are opening up and that could be good or bad depending on your business and your point of view.

Aviation

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett doesn’t know how or when the economy will recover from the coronavirus outbreak shutdown, but he remains optimistic in the long-term future of the United States.

Buffett said Saturday at Berkshire Hathaway’s online annual meeting that there’s no way to predict the economic future right now because the possibilities are still too varied.

“We do not know exactly what happens when you voluntarily shut down a substantial portion of your society,” Buffett said because it has never been done. He said it may take several years to understand all the economic implications of the coronavirus outbreak, but it hasn’t changed his long-term view because the country has endured wars and depressions before.

However, Buffett said that Berkshire sold roughly US $6.5 billion of stock in April when it unloaded his company’s roughly 10% stakes in the four largest US airlines. Buffett said he decided that he made a mistake in how he valued airlines, so he sold all of Berkshire’s American, Delta, Southwest and United Continental airline stock.

Buffett said he hasn’t made any big deals during the coronavirus crisis because he hasn’t seen any on attractive terms.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. owns more than 90 companies, including the railroad and insurance, utility, furniture and jewelry businesses. The company also has major investments in such companies as Apple, American Express, Coca-Cola and Bank of America.

Berkshire is sitting on a pile of more than US $137 billion cash because Buffett has struggled to find major acquisitions for the company recently and he wants to be prepared to endure any crisis. Edward Jones analyst Jim Shanahan said it was striking that Buffett didn’t find any bargains to invest in at the end of the first quarter.“The lack of investment activity really sticks out,” Shanahan said.

Air Canada will hold a conference call to discuss its first-quarter results today. The airline announced on April 8 that it planned to rehire 16,500 laid-off workers via Ottawa’s emergency wage subsidy, though the vast majority would remain at home amid the collapse of global travel triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nearly 700 workers are to be laid off in Quebec by two of the province’s main aerospace companies, Airbus Canada Limited Partnership and Pratt & Whitney Canada. Half of the employees will be laid off Monday for an undetermined period of time in Mirabel, where the A220, the former Bombardier C Series, commercial aircraft is assembled.

Airbus Canada spokeswoman Marcella Cortellazi says the layoffs will last until it has “a clearer visibility” of its activities.

Engine manufacturer Pratt says it will cut more than 343 jobs on May 22 when its order book is reduced due to the airline industry being hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Quebec government is allowing manufacturing companies to restart their operations on May 11, but restrictions on the number of employees that can work won’t be lifted until May 25.

Concerned about not being eligible for the federal emergency wage subsidy, Airbus says it will nevertheless pay $847, less applicable deductions, to more than 470 of its workers next week while awaiting their return on May 11.

The aviation industry is teetering on the edge as travel demand crawls to a near standstill but costs remain.

• Boeing says that because it raised US $25 billion from a sale of bonds it doesn’t plan to ask the federal government for a loan. The company announced this week it will cut 10% of its 161,000-person work force through attrition, early-out offers and layoffs.

• The Transportation Security Administration screened 154,695 people at airports on Thursday, its busiest day since March 29. That was still down 94% from the same Thursday a year ago, however. Airline executives say they are seeing a very slight increase in bookings, mostly for flights at least 90 days from now.

• The incoming CEO of United Airlines, Scott Kirby, said that if air travel remains very low on Oct. 1, the company will have to lay off workers and further cut the hours of other employees. United got US $5 billion in federal aid to help cover payroll costs through September. Analysts believe layoffs are likely in October unless the airlines get more help from the government. Kirby is United’s president and will succeed the retiring Oscar Munoz as CEO later this month.

• Ryanair plans to cut as many as 3,000 jobs and close bases in Europe amid the collapse of travel due to the pandemic. It will operate less than 1% of its flights from April to June.

• Domestic airlines in Thailand are resuming some regular flights, as half of the country’s provincial airports reopened. Department of Airports Director-General Tawee Kaysisam-ang told reporters that 14 of the 28 airports his agency oversees reopened Friday.

Hotels

With an overabundance of COVID-19 patients, the healthcare section is increasingly turning to technology to aid in the fight against the outbreak. Robot staff have debuted at a Tokyo hotel for mildly-sick coronavirus patients under a new plan to free up beds at hospitals overburdened with more severe cases.

Pepper, a semi-humanoid talking robot, greets new entrants at the lobby and reminds patients to check their daily temperature and encourages them to rest. “Whiz,” a cleaner robot, will operate in areas where patients come to pick up meals and other daily necessities.

Reopening

Malta’s Prime Minister Robert Abela says non-essential shops will be allowed to re-open on Monday. Health services, not related to coronavirus infections and which had been suspended, will also resume.

Starting Monday, Italian parks and public gardens can reopen for strolling, jogging or biking. But people will have to stay a meter apart, ruling out picnics and playgrounds. Italians were already outside in large numbers Sunday, walking down streets and chatting on sidewalks. Many were equipped with masks, but in Rome, some lowered them to talk.

Restaurants and cafes will be allowed to offer customers takeout. Takeout coffee in Italy never really caught on in a big way – a tiny espresso at the cafe’s counter is a time-honoured social tradition. So bars might have to scramble to order more plastic cups.

Brief funerals services are now allowed, but no more than 15 masked mourners can attend.

In Milan, some seats on trams had stenciled warnings saying they must be left open. Cash-strapped transit systems are pleading for aid from the central government to ensure enough drivers and vehicles to meet safety distancing rules.

Spaniards are enjoying their second day of outdoor exercise while preparing for further loosening of lockdown measures. Spanish health officials reported the lowest daily death toll in six weeks on Sunday and new confirmed infections dropped to a low not seen since a state of emergency was declared March 14. Barcelona’s beachfront promenade was again packed, making it impossible in some spots to maintain the 2-meter social distancing rule.

Spain will have a major rollback on lockdown measures Monday. Eateries will be able to serve customers who have placed takeaway orders. Shops under 400 square meters can reopen for appointments as long as there is always a 1-to-1 ratio of customer to worker. Face masks will be obligatory on public transport.

Malaysia will allow most economic sectors and business activities to reopen Monday, days before a two-month lockdown is due to end after infections fell sharply in recent weeks.

Residents of the Thai capital Bangkok strolled in its parks, booked haircuts and stocked up on beer as they enjoyed their first day of eased restrictions that were imposed weeks ago to combat the spread of COVID-19. The top perk in a city famous for its eateries may have been the reopening of restaurants. But it was not clear how many were actually serving seated customers again, since guidelines would make it hard for many to turn a profit. There was also a partial lifting on the sale of beer and other alcoholic drinks that will allow takeaway purchases, even while bars remain closed.

South Korea says it’ll further relax its social distancing guidelines amid a continued slowdown of new coronavirus cases there. The government says it will allow public facilities to reopen in phases starting Wednesday. Public parks, outdoor sports and leisure facilities and museums will reopen earlier than welfare centres, public theatres and concert halls. Schools will have students back to their classrooms in phased steps. Currently, South Korean students are taking classes online.