The daily business briefing: August 7, 2020

Nearly 1.2 million people filed new unemployment claims last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday, marking the 20th straight week with more than 1 million initial applications for jobless benefits. Economists had expected a slightly worse employment picture, with 1.4 million new claims. About 16 million Americans continued to receive unemployment payments, down less than 800,000 from the previous week. A total of 54 million Americans have claimed unemployment since the pandemic started. Economists polled by MarketWatch expected the Labor Department to report Friday that the U.S. economy added 1.7 million jobs in July, down from a gain of 4.8 million in June. The forecasts range widely, from 280,000 to 4 million, because economists aren't sure how many layoffs have resulted from spiking COVID-19 cases. [NBC News, MarketWatch]

President Trump late Thursday issued executive orders banning U.S. companies and individuals from doing business with the Chinese parent companies of video-sharing app TikTok and messaging app WeChat. The bans take effect in 45 days, although Trump's orders did not spell out what business transactions will be prohibited. The latest escalation of Trump's clash with Beijing over the tech industry came after the Trump administration this week stepped up its effort to block "untrusted" Chinese apps. The Trump administration called WeChat owner Tencent Holdings and TikTok parent ByteDance "significant" data-security threats. China's foreign ministry said the orders violated the rights of Chinese businesses. "Absolutely, China will retaliate," said technology expert James Lewis of Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies. [CNET, The Associated Press]

U.S. stock index futures fell early Friday after President Trump issued executive orders addressing what his administration described as security threats posed by Chinese social media apps TikTok and WeChat, escalating U.S.-China tensions. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq were all down by about 0.5 percent several hours before the opening bell. Later in the morning, investors will be focused on the July employment report. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect a gain of 1.5 million jobs, while those surveyed by MarketWatch put the figure at 1.7 million. The unemployment rate is expected to fall to 10.6 percent from 11.1 percent. "If the number surprises on the downside and the unemployment rate doesn't dip below 11 percent then we could see a market pullback on the news," said Brian Price, head of investment management at Commonwealth Financial Network. [CNBC, MarketWatch]

Switzerland said Friday it had a deal with Moderna for 4.5 million doses of the U.S. biotech firm's experimental COVID-19 vaccine if it proves safe and effective. The deal, which has an unspecified pricetag, is one of the first Moderna has struck with a government to provide a vaccine supply. "The federal government wants to ensure that the Swiss population has rapid access to a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine," the Swiss government said. "At the same time, Switzerland is supporting multilateral projects for the fair distribution of a future vaccine." The deal would give Switzerland access to enough of the drug to vaccinate 2.25 million people, as two doses are expected to be necessary. Switzerland also is in talks with other companies working on vaccines, and has allocated nearly $330 million to buy them. [The Associated Press]

Uber on Thursday reported its steepest quarterly revenue decline since it went public in May 2019. The company said quarterly revenue came in at $2.2 billion, down 29 percent compared to the same period last year. Analysts had expected an even bigger decline. Uber said its core ride-hailing business was devastated by the coronavirus crisis, with gross receipts falling by 73 percent from a year earlier. Meanwhile, revenue from Uber Eats, the company's food delivery service, surged, surpassing revenue from ride hailing for the first time. Uber recently agreed to acquire another food delivery company, Postmates, for $2.65 billion in an effort to strengthen that part of its business. [The New York Times]