Blackrock profit trumps estimates as Wall Street bounces back from coronavirus July 17, 2020 Blackrock ended the quarter with $7.32 trillion in assets under management, up from $6.84 trillion a year earlier as profit beat predictions, it said today. The S&P 500 rose 20 per cent in the second quarter after falling by that amount in the first three months of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic slammed the economy. [...]
Ericsson shares soar as 5G sales boost profit July 17, 2020 A rise in 5G network sales and software revenue helped Ericsson report higher-than-expected quarterly core earnings today, as it stuck to 2020 and 2022 financial targets. The Swedish company has experienced a recovery under Borje Ekholm – a former CEO of Investor AB- who took the position in 2017, having been chosen to steer the [...]
British Airways retires entire fleet of Boeing 747 jumbo jets July 17, 2020 British Airways marked the end of an era today as the world’s largest operator of Boeing 747s said it will retire its entire fleet of jumbo jets with immediate effect due to the coronavirus pandemic. Global travel bans imposed to stem the spread of the virus has put the future of many airline companies in [...]
US retail sales increase as jobless claims hit 1.3m in June July 16, 2020 US retail sales increased more than expected in June, data showed today, but a sustained high level of jobless claims and fresh infections threatened the budding economic recovery. The Commerce Department said on Thursday retail sales rose 7.5 per cent last month. That was on top of the 18.2 per cent jump in May, which was the biggest gain since [...]
Moderna vaccine Phase 1 results show it induces immune response July 15, 2020 Moderna’s experimental vaccine for coronavirus showed it was safe and provoked immune responses in all 45 healthy volunteers in an ongoing early-stage study, US researchers reported on Tuesday. Volunteers who got two doses of the Moderna vaccine had high levels of virus-killing antibodies that exceeded the average levels seen in people who had recovered from [...]
Wells Fargo reports first quarterly loss since 2008 July 14, 2020 Wells Fargo posted its first quarterly loss since the 2008 financial crash today as the coronavirus crisis forced it to set aside $9.57bn to cover potential loan losses and slash its dividend. The bank’s earnings have suffered since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic as it does not have a strong capital markets business to lean [...]
UK fraud office launches review after director implicated in Unaoil scandal July 14, 2020 The UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said yesterday it would launch a review after its head was rebuked by a London judge for being vulnerable to flattery from a freelance agent during a high-profile bribery investigation into oil consultancy Unaoil. Judge Martin Beddoe said SFO head Lisa Osofsky and senior colleagues had “taken the bait” [...]
Asian shares retreat as virus and Sino-US tensions flare July 14, 2020 Asian stock markets slipped today, oil sagged and a safety bid supported the dollar as simmering Sino-US tensions and fresh coronavirus restrictions in California kept a lid on investor optimism as earnings season gets underway. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.2 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei retreated from a one-month high touched [...]
Google to invest $10bn in India July 13, 2020 Google said today it will spend around $10bn in India over the next five to seven years through equity investments and tie-ups, marking its biggest commitment to a key growth market. The investments will be done through a so-called digitisation fund, highlighting Google’s focus on the rapid pace of growth of apps and software platforms [...]
Oil slips as traders expect Opec+ to ease supply cuts July 13, 2020 Oil slipped nearly one per cent this morning as traders eyed an Opec technical meeting this week which is expected to recommend an easing in supply cuts that have been propping up crude prices. Brent crude fell 29 cents, or 0.7 per cent, to $42.95 a barrel by 5:10am GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate [...]
