![The United States economy grew 6.4 percent in the first quarter of 2021 on an annual basis, as consumers came out of hibernation with a ton of stimulus money to spend [File: Adrees Latif/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/gucci.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
THE WEEK IN NUMBERS
UBI in Brazil, Biden’s latest tax hike, and China’s space station
We gather the numbers to know from the week’s biggest economic and business news stories.
Retail
![Amazon has been among the biggest beneficiaries of the coronavirus pandemic, as crowd-averse shoppers rushed online [File: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/amazon-1.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
First-quarter revenue jumped 44 percent to $108.5bn, exceeding analysts’ estimates.
![After the initial setup, which Amazon says takes less than a minute, shoppers can scan their hands at the register to pay for groceries without having to open their wallets [File: Ted S Warren/AP Photo]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/amazon.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
Amazon One lets shoppers scan the palms of their hands and connect that to a credit card or Amazon account.
![Bishop Reginald Jackson, leader of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Georgia in the United States, says corporations have a responsibility to their customers on the issue of voting rights [File: Jeff Amy/AP Photo]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/vote.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
‘We just don’t think we ought to let their indifference stand,’ Bishop Reginald Jackson said of Home Depot.
![The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union said in a filing that Amazon threatened workers with layoffs and even the closing of the warehouse if they unionised [File: Jay Reeves/AP Photo]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/AP_21089718039308.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union alleges that Amazon threatened workers with layoffs if they unionised.
![Further bolstering sentiment, data showed retail sales jumped sharply in March as Americans received additional pandemic relief checks from the government, while jobless claims fell more than expected to 576,000 last week to a one-year low [File: Brendan McDermid/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/nyse-2.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
It was the second time this week the S&P 500 registered a new best close and the Dow surpassed its previous closing.
![Retail sales increased 9.8 percent last month, the United States Department of Commerce said on Thursday [File: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/nike.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Americans receiving a fresh round of pandemic relief cheques and COVID vaccines injected big pep in the economy’s step.
![The world’s largest retailer said it expects two-thirds of its United States hourly roles will be full-time by the end of the fiscal year that concludes in January of 2022, which translates to about 100,000 more full-time positions than it had five years ago [File: Bloomberg]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/370923496.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
The move could help Walmart hold onto staffers amid accelerating vaccinations and easing restrictions.
![Satan Shoes are customised versions of the Nike Air Max 97 sneakers, redesigned by New York-based with MSCHF Product Studio Inc in collaboration with rapper Lil Nas X [File: Screengrab/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Screen-Shot-2021-03-30-at-1.59.56-PM-1.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Nike had sued maker of devil-themed sneaker promoted by rapper Lil Nas X for trademark infringement.
![New patent filed by Walmart, the world's biggest retailer, includes financial services such as issuing credit cards, credit-repair services, financial-portfolio analysis and consulting [File: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/370736535.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Walmart shook up the banking world earlier this year when it announced plans to set up a financial technology firm.
![Amid rising pressure from small businesses, Amazon has in recent years sought to portray itself as a friend to small merchants, pitching stories of successful sellers who rely on its plaform in its ad campaigns [File: Bloomberg]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/aazon.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
‘As one bookseller said to me, ‘It says COVID on the death certificate, but the underlying condition was Amazon.”
![Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of United States economic activity, and personal incomes are the fuel for that spending [File: Steven Senne/AP Photo]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/shops.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Both consumer spending and personal incomes are expected to rebound in March as Americans receive stimulus cheques.
![A small but growing number of Amazon workers at this warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama in the United States are publicly calling for a union, and with just a few days to go until the vote closes on March 29, the majority of the more than 5,800 workers at the site still haven’t cast their ballots [File: Jay Reeves/AP Photo]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/AP21071796325562.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
A warehouse in a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama could become the first unionised Amazon facility in the United States.
![As of Wednesday evening Beijing time, H&M appeared to no longer be available on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s e-commerce platform Taobao, where the retailer had previously had a presence [File: Mikael Sjoberg/Bloomberg]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/hm.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Citing human rights concerns, the world’s second-largest clothing retailer said it would not use cotton from Xinjiang.