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Lululemon Athletica store exterior, Ponce City Market.

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Lululemon reported sales of $ 1.1 billion on Thursday, up 22% year over year, beating analysts’ estimates as shoppers visited the retailer’s stores and website to purchase workout clothes during the reporting period.

In North America, net sales increased 19% driven by the e-commerce business. Overall, direct sales to consumers increased 94%, representing 42.8% of total sales, compared to 26.9% a year ago. This represents the sales that Lululemon makes directly to consumers through its stores and website with no intermediaries.

Due to the uncertainty surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, which has forced it to temporarily close a handful of its stores, Lululemon does not offer a full outlook for 2020.

However, CFO Meghan Frank noted that the company planned the holiday quarter “based on multiple performance scenarios” and believes it is “well positioned” for the holiday season.

Lululemon stock started to make gains, falling less than 1% in after-hours trading just before 5 p.m.

Here’s how the retailer performed in the third quarter of fiscal year compared to analyst expectations based on refinitive data:

• Earnings per share: $ 1.16, adjusted versus 88 cents expected
• Revenue: $ 1.12 billion versus $ 1.02 billion expected

For the quarter ended November 1, Lululemon made $ 143.6 million, or $ 1.10 per share, compared to $ 126 million, or 96 cents per share, a year ago. Without a one-time charge, the company made $ 1.16 per share, better than what analysts had expected to be 88 cents.

Net sales rose 22% to $ 1.12 billion, beating analysts’ estimates of $ 1.02 billion.

In-store sales, tracking sales online and in stores that have been open for at least 12 months, increased 19%.

The company said sales for women were up 22% year over year, while those of men were up 14%.

While the entire apparel category has struggled this year, Lululemon is a retailer that has taken advantage of more consumers focusing on exercising at home during the pandemic and opting for comfortable sportswear over dresses and suits.

Earlier this year, the company also acquired home exercise equipment maker Mirror for $ 500 million to compete with bike maker Peloton. During the quarter, Lululemon announced it had started selling the startups’ $ 1,500 mirror-like devices in 18 stores and on its website.

At the close of trading on Thursday, Lululemon shares were up more than 59% since the start of the year. It has a market capitalization of $ 48.1 billion.

The full press release on the result can be found here.

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Small business owners with troubled finances could receive additional funding from the paycheck protection program.

On Wednesday, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle handed out a summary of their $ 908 billion emergency aid package from Covid.

The proposal allocates $ 300 billion to the Small Business Administration, the federal agency responsible for overseeing the paycheck protection program – a forgivable loan created by the CARES Act.

The move, known as the bipartisan COVID Emergency Relief Act of 2020, would also include weekly additional unemployment payments of $ 300 as well as an extension of the forbearance of student loans through April 2021.

Funding would strengthen PPPs and provide more money to the hardest hit companies.

In general, borrowers are eligible for PPP lending if they use at least 60% of the proceeds on payroll. Partial lending may be available to those who don’t reach this threshold.

Any amounts not wiped off must be repaid and are subject to an interest rate of 1%.

In total, more than 5 million PPP loans were approved for a total of $ 525 billion.

Second draw for toughest hit

The bipartisan framework would allow the hardest hit businesses to take out a second forgivable PPP loan.

Eligibility for a second drawing of PPP cash would be limited to small businesses with no more than 300 employees that experienced a 30% loss in revenue in each quarter of 2020.

“Given the inequality in access to the first tranche, they may have had trouble getting the first loan at first,” said Garrett Watson, senior policy analyst at the Tax Foundation.

Large companies that had relationships with banks had their first problems with credit as early as the spring.

“Some small businesses had no access to it at all,” said Watson.

The proposal also provides for funding to ensure that smaller borrowers – namely businesses with 10 employees or less – and underserved communities receive assistance.

Forgiveness and deductibility

The proposal also expands the list of forgivable expenses covered by PPP revenues to include supplier costs, investments in plant modifications, and personal protective equipment required for safe operation.

Legislators also suggest simplifying the award process for those with loans of $ 150,000 or less.

Although the PPP loan is tax-free, according to the Treasury Department and the IRS, entrepreneurs currently cannot claim a deduction for the covered business costs.

The bipartisan proposal addresses this issue by allowing these deductions “in accordance with the intent of Congress in the CARES Act” under the Framework.

Given the inequality in access to the first tranche, they may have had problems getting the first loan at first.

Garrett Watson

Senior Policy Analyst at the Tax Foundation.

Indeed, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have enacted laws that would allow corporations to do the write-offs.

Industry groups and tax experts have stated that not allowing these deductions would increase the tax burden.

Meanwhile, the Treasury and IRS said last month that business owners who “reasonably believe” that their PPP loans will be made cannot deduct the cost.

The timing of the proposal is crucial, said Watson.

“Hopefully it will clarify where companies are at the start of the tax season,” he said.

“I think part of this is because there are more runways for companies to have clarity about how their tax position will develop over the next year,” said Watson.

United Airlines Boeing 767-400 ER Extended Range with aircraft powered by 2 CF6-80 engines landing at Amsterdam Schiphol International Airport AMS EHAM in the Netherlands, the capital of the Netherlands.

Economou | NurPhoto | Getty Images

United Airlines is turning to technology to capture carbon dioxide from the air and store it underground to fully offset carbon emissions by 2050. This is a change from the compensation programs that the aviation industry and others have traditionally relied on to reduce their footprint.

The Chicago-based airline announced Thursday that it is making a multi-million dollar investment in a carbon capture joint venture between subsidiary Occidental Petroleum and private equity firm Rusheen Capital Management. The company is developing a carbon capture facility in the Permian Basin in Texas.

While the coronavirus pandemic has decimated air travel around the world, airlines typically cause around 2% of global carbon emissions. Carriers have used biofuels and carbon offsets bought in exchange for forest conservation and other projects.

“It may feel good in the short term, but the math just doesn’t nearly add up,” said Scott Kirby, United’s CEO, speaking to reporters on Wednesday about carbon offsetting. “The only way to really reduce atmospheric carbon is by capturing and binding air directly.”

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Wednesday angered Congress and President Donald Trump’s administration for their inability to reach an agreement on additional coronavirus relief this fall. He claimed the lack of financial support had caused permanent damage to small and medium-sized businesses in the US

“I really hate to say that, but I think that Congress has doomed so many companies to fail. The President has doomed so many companies to fail,” said Cramer in the “mid-term report”.

The result is a retail landscape that, according to Cramer, has shifted even further in favor of the big public companies like Walmart, Target, Home Depot and Amazon. For investors, this means that the sales surge these major retailers saw during the pandemic may be more sustainable than some believe.

“I think a lot of these companies … just added a huge amount of loyalty. I think these companies wiped out a lot of smaller companies because there is no incentive,” said the Mad Money host. These businesses, he added, “have no lines of credit. They can’t keep up. They are the empty shop windows of the country.”

Cramer, who made the decision in October to temporarily close his small restaurants during the pandemic, said closing independent businesses was a “terrible thing”. However, he said, “It has nothing to do with the stock market.”

Cramer’s comments came Wednesday shortly after Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, sharply criticized coronavirus relief in Washington. Legislators have been bogged down for months after many of the critical tenets of earlier stimulus laws expired in late July. At the center of the inaction was disagreement over the size and scope of the bill, with Republicans generally favoring a smaller package than Democrats.

“I know now that we have this big debate. Is it $ 2.2 trillion, $ 1.5 trillion?” Dimon said at the New York Times DealBook conference. “You must be kidding me. I mean, just split the baby and go on. I mean, that’s childish behavior from our politicians. We have to help the people of America.”

For his part, Cramer has been warning of the unequal consequences of an ongoing pandemic with no further help for small businesses for weeks. In late September, he said the strength of the Olden Garden-parent Darden restaurants’ holdings should “scare” people.

“Darden wins because its private competitors cannot cope with the Covid-19 economy,” Cramer said on September 24th. “We’re headed into a world where if you want to go out for dinner you won’t have one.” many options other than some large chains with deep pockets. Olive Garden will be the height of fine dining. ”

At that point, Darden stocks had risen about 270% from their coronavirus-era low in late March. The US outbreak has only intensified since Cramer’s statements, and governments across the country are weighing further restrictions on businesses like restaurants and bars. Darden’s shares are up 13% since September 24th.

Disclosure: Cramer’s charitable foundation owns shares in Amazon and Walmart.