Airlines, others to benefit from $2 trillion rescue bill

The White House and Senate leaders agreed early Wednesday on a $2 trillion economic rescue package, the largest in the country's history. The bill would give direct payments to most Americans, expand unemployment benefits and provide direct grants and loans to businesses and hospitals.

The Republican-controlled Senate must still approve the bill before sending it to the Democratic-controlled House, so final details could change. Passage in the Senate was expected later Wednesday.

Here's how various industries will benefit:

AIRLINES: Airlines could get a key part of their request — cash grants from taxpayers — under the massive spending bill. As of Wednesday afternoon, the deal includes $25 billion in direct grants and up to another $25 billion in loans or loan guarantees to passenger airlines. Cargo airlines like FedEx would get $4 billion in grants and up to $4 billion in loans, and airline industry contractors could get $3 billion in grants. Terms could still change, however.

The bill says grants are exclusively to pay employee wages, salaries and benefits based on how much the airline spent on them from April through September of last year. Loans would carry conditions, including bans on companies buying back their own stock or paying dividends. Airlines would have to avoid layoffs “to the extent practicable,” and would be required to keep at least 90% of current employment levels.

The White House and Senate Republicans had initially balked at grants. Robert Mann, an aviation consultant and former airline executive in New York, called the final deal “an initial victory for airlines.” He cautioned, however, that airlines face months of battling the virus-related downturn in travel before they can recover.

BANKS: The banking industry pushed for mostly regulatory changes that will let banks make more...