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Today we are watching…
1. Amazonย (#amzn)
Amazon has 750,000 employees. Jeff Bezos has ordered as many as possible to work from home, which is no problem for those in corporate offices, but rather difficult if you work in a fulfilment centre. Those ground-level employees are at most risk of contracting COVID-19, and their paws will have been all over the parcels and packages you order to your house (because youโre not going outside these days, are you?). The e-commerce giant has started a $25 million relief fund so that coronavirus-diagnosed employees can draw two weeksโ pay and go home for good. If they can get an official test result, that is. Theyโre not cheap!
2. Oracle (#oracle)
The markets are tanking, but Larry Ellisonโs Oracle found a way higher yesterday. The cloud software company beat mid-range earnings guidance by a mile, and Safra Catz, the CEO, believes thereโs โno doubt Oracle can support its dividend with ease.โ To stem market losses and pull shares back from 52-week lows, the company will also ramp up its share repurchase program. Fundamentally, analysts have always thought highly of Oracle. โItโs execution ranks among the best in the sector,โ says two Guggenheim market experts. One for your wish list when markets stabilize?