Bloomberg US holiday season sales beat low expectations for the pandemic year as online shopping surged. Total retail sales grew 3% over the extended 75-day holiday period, versus a forecast of 2.4%, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks online and in-store retail sales across all payment methods. The number is far better than the 3.5% drop recorded during 2008, the …

Bloomberg American Airlines Group Inc. will begin recalling furloughed employees as soon as US lawmakers approve a relief package with payroll funds for airlines, Chief Executive Officer Doug Parker said. The first paychecks were issued to workers who had been sent home, Parker and American’s president, Robert Isom, said in a memo to employees. Pay and benefits would be retroactive …

Bloomberg Almost 1.2 million people took to the skies in the US, the most since Covid-19 erupted, despite warnings against large gatherings and travel during the holidays. People flocked to airports in past week, according to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) data. An average of more than 1 million people a day passed through TSA screening over the past week, which …