Oil prices drop again as coronavirus cases escalate February 28, 2020 Oil prices fell again today as the spread of the coronavirus cast uncertainty over the world economy. Oil prices saw further falls after an initial rally today after yesterday’s slump. A spike in the number of coronavirus cases dragged prices back down, along with the world’s stocks. Brent Crude plunged almost five per cent to [...]
Coronavirus: the investment impact in seven charts February 28, 2020 The spread of coronavirus, COVID-19, beyond China has created fresh uncertainty for the global growth outlook and sparked volatility in financial markets. Outbreaks in South Korea, Iran and Italy have raised concerns that the spread outside of China may be accelerating. We offer key facts on the spread of the virus, interspersed with views from [...]
British Airways owner IAG warns of coronavirus hit to 2020 profit February 28, 2020 British Airways-owner IAG today said that it was “not possible” to give an accurate forecast for its full year profit as the coronavirus outbreak continued to disrupt the airline group’s operations. The firm said the net impact of current cancellations had lowered its capacity across the whole year by two per cent as the airline [...]
Easyjet to cancel Italy flights as coronavirus hits demand February 28, 2020 Budget airline Easyjet today said that it would cancel a number of flights to Italy as it warned of a “significant softening of demand” across its short-haul network as the coronavirus outbreak continued to impact global airlines. The firm said it would continue monitor the situation and adapting its flying program to support demand. Shares [...]
Oil sinks to lowest price in a year as virus fears grow February 27, 2020 Oil prices today hit their lowest level since January last year as fears about the impact of the coronavirus on the world economy grew. Brent crude was down 4.3 per cent to $51.14 a barrel this afternoon as the virus continues its spread outside of China. Any impact on global consumption or manufacturing patterns will [...]
Coronavirus: Global stocks spill $3 trillion as Covid-19 sends FTSE 100 staggering February 27, 2020 European stocks tumbled yet again today as fresh coronavirus concerns saw the FTSE 100 sink three per cent this afternoon as stock markets across the world dropped sharply. London’s blue-chip index plunged far below 7,000 points to 6,831.2 today after Australia’s Prime Minister warned the world is on the brink of a coronavirus pandemic. Cases [...]
Aston Martin finance chief quits as firm falls to £100m loss February 27, 2020 Aston Martin fell to a loss of over £100m today as the luxury carmaker announced it would use 2020 to “reset” the business in order to compete in the supercar market. The firm said that the release of the new DBX and Valkyrie models, which are scheduled for the summer, would be critical to fulfilling [...]
Apple receives bloody nose over Chinese censorship policies February 26, 2020 Apple’s shareholders today launched an unsuccessful proposal critical of the firm’s removal of apps at the request of the Chinese government, despite garnering two-fifths of investors’ support. The proposal drew a much higher proportion of votes than similar proposals in previous years which had gained support only in single-digit percentages. The bid had called on [...]
Microsoft downgrades Windows and Surface outlook on coronavirus outbreak February 26, 2020 Microsoft has said it won’t meet parts of its quarterly guidance following the coronavirus outbreak. The downgrade relates to its More Personal Computing segment, which Microsoft had previously forecast to report between $10.75bn (£8.33bn) and $11.15bn in revenue for the upcoming quarter. “Although we see strong Windows demand in line with our expectations, the supply chain is returning [...]
Walmart in talks to sell controlling stake in Asda February 26, 2020 Asda’s owner, the US retail titan Walmart, is in early-stage talks about selling a controlling stake in the UK supermarket, the two firms revealed today. Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, said the discussions had begun after “inbound interest” from a small number of firms. The announcement came just under a year after Asda’s planned £7.3bn [...]