Markets live: FTSE 100 goes green as US stocks shrug off China tensions May 21, 2020 The FTSE 100 turned from red to green as US markets opened higher today, despite the looming threat of escalating US-China tensions. Britain’s main stock index had fallen 0.78 per cent by 10.30am to 6,017 points. By 2.50pm it had risen 0.2 per cent to 6,078 points, however, as US markets shrugged off more jobless [...]
World Trade Organization: Global trade to drop ‘precipitously’ May 20, 2020 The World Trade Organization (WTO) has said international trade is set to drop “precipitously” in the first half of 2020 as coronavirus wreaks havoc on global supply chains and consumer demand. The WTO’s gauge of the health of global trade fell to 87.6, its lowest reading since the goods trade barometer was launched in 2016. [...]
Huawei says ‘pernicious’ new US sanctions puts its survival at stake May 18, 2020 Huawei has slammed “pernicious” new sanctions rolled out by the US last week, warning they could put the Chinese tech giant’s survival at stake. “We expect that our business will inevitably be affected. We will try all we can to seek a solution,” Huawei’s rotating chairman Guo Ping said in a speech this morning. “Survival [...]
Asian stocks struggle to extend gains as coronavirus hurts US-China relations May 15, 2020 Asian stocks have struggled to extend gains despite the optimism over major economies reopening after coronavirus lockdowns, as relations between the US and China deteriorated. Chinese data indicated that its economy is beginning to recover from the impact of the coronavirus crisis, with global investors watching closely to see how the easing of lockdowns could [...]
FTSE 100 rises but US stocks stall after dire retail sales data May 15, 2020 US stocks have fallen in the wake of dire retail sales data, even as the FTSE 100 has risen on the final day of a choppy week of trading that has seen investors second-guess the recent stock market rally. The UK’s FTSE 100 index was up 1.5 per cent this afternoon at 5,785 points in [...]
Donald Trump extends US Huawei ban by another year May 14, 2020 US President Donald Trump has extended his country’s ban on controversial Chinese tech firm Huawei for a further year. Trump last year declared a national emergency and signed an executive order banning US companies from using telecoms kit made by firms that posed a national security risk. The order, which is aimed primarily at Chinese [...]
Tencent revenue rises as Covid-19 lockdown drives mobile gaming boom May 13, 2020 Tencent today posted a rise in revenue and profit for the first quarter as global coronavirus lockdowns boosted demand for its blockbuster mobile games. The Chinese tech conglomerate posted revenue of 108bn yuan (£12.4bn) in the first three months of the year — up 26 per cent year on year. Profit attributable to equity holders [...]
Covid-19: why the tech giants have emerged as winners May 12, 2020 While many businesses struggle to survive under the global lockdown, the largest technology companies remain afloat and in some cases are even thriving. Microsoft has reported a surge in usage of its cloud computing service Azure, as millions of people work from home. Amazon is hiring an additional 75,000 workers, on top of the 100,000 [...]
The Long Read: Sir Martin Sorrell on advertising, coronavirus and the new media landscape May 7, 2020 Sir Martin Sorrell has bestrode the ad world for decades – and in the midst of a global pandemic that has hit the industry hard, he’s understandably got some thinking to do. Christopher Jackson spoke to the ad mogul, and his interview for finitoworld – the organisation’s online magazine – is republished here. Prior to [...]
Oil prices jump amid signs of rising demand May 7, 2020 Oil prices jumped today as a combination of an unexpected rise in Chinese exports and cuts by US producers helped extend a week of gains. By the mid-afternoon, worldwide standard Brent crude rose a further 5.7 per cent to cement its position above $31. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) leapt 8.9 per cent to [...]