CNBC.com's MacKenzie Sigalos brings you the top business news headlines. On today's show, CNBC's Seema Mody breaks down corporate America's massive wave of layoffs, and explains why more could be coming as large industries and small businesses alike wait for a relief package from Washington. Plus, University of Miami law professor and former Department of Justice antitrust attorney John Newman dives into the House of Representatives' 450-page report on the Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook.
Jobless claims were worse than expected amid slowdown in hiring
First-time claims for unemployment benefits totaled 840,000 last week, higher than expected in another sign that the spike in job growth over the summer has cooled heading into Election Day.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting 825,000 new claims.
Though the total was a bit worse than Wall Street expected, it still represented a modest decline from the upwardly revised 849,000 from a week earlier. It also was the lowest level of claims since the virus-induced shutdown in mid-March.
Pelosi says no stand-alone aid for airlines without bigger stimulus bill
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday said there won't be stand-alone bill for additional airline aid without a larger coronavirus stimulus package, another obstacle to further federal support for the battered sector that has already cut thousands of employees.
Pelosi's comments come two days after President Donald Trump halted talks on a national coronavirus package until after the election but urged additional aid for airlines, a plan that has won bipartisan backing.
U.S. carriers last week started furloughing more than 33,000 workers, the vast majority of the cuts at American and United. Terms of the $25 billion in support Congress approved in the $2.2 trillion CARES Act in March prohibited airlines from furloughing workers until Oct. 1.
A Democratic congressional staff report recommends changes to antitrust laws and enforcement that could result in major changes for Big Tech companies, such as spinning off or separating parts of their businesses or making it harder to buy smaller companies.
The staff found, after a 16-month investigation into competitive practices at Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google, that the four businesses enjoy monopoly power that needs to be reined in by Congress and enforcers.
In a nearly 450-page report, the Democratic majority staff laid out their takeaways from hearings, interviews and the 1.3 million documents they scoured throughout the investigation.
