Oil prices on supply cut hopes and Covid-19 demand recovery May 26, 2020 Oil prices pushed higher this morning amid growing confidence about crude supply cuts and signs of a recovery in demand as global Covid-19 lockdowns are eased. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 3.4 per cent to $34.37 a barrel this morning, just shy of an intra-day high of $34.54. Brent crude futures were also up [...]
Mark Zuckerberg: Facebook is in fake news ‘arms race’ against rival states May 21, 2020 Mark Zuckerberg has said that Facebook is in an “arms race” to prevent misinformation from state actors as he defended his company’s crackdown on fake news about the Covid-19 crisis. The social media boss said his firm was battling to prevent interference from countries such as Russia, Iran and China, and admitted it was “behind” [...]
Global coronavirus cases surpass 5m as Latin America infections surge May 21, 2020 Global coronavirus cases have now topped 5m, with Latin America overtaking the US and Europe to report the highest number of daily cases. The milestone marks a new stage of the pandemic, following the first peak in China followed by an explosion in cases in the US and Europe. Johns Hopkins University’s data tracker has [...]
Global coronavirus cases rise by largest ever daily amount May 20, 2020 The number of new coronavirus cases reported worldwide rose by the largest ever daily amount over the last 24 hours, according to new figures from the World Health Organization (WHO). A total of 106,000 new cases were reported — the highest since the pandemic began. Roughly two-thirds of these came from just four countries. “We [...]
Understanding what’s driving market reactions is vital May 20, 2020 Our lack of understanding of the coronavirus has added to the challenges confronting politicians and policy makers in recent months, and this in turn has fed the uncertainty impacting financial markets. There are six broad areas influencing markets: the virus itself; the economic picture; the corporate outlook; policy; second-round effects; and lessons from the past. [...]
Oil prices surge past $30 for first time in two months May 18, 2020 Global oil prices jumped this morning on growing optimism as governments around the world continued to ease lockdown measures. Worldwide standard Brent crude rose 5.2 per cent to hit $34.20, its highest levels in a month. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate also surged 6.9 per cent to $31.47, levels which it has not seen since [...]
What we know about the new Cold War May 18, 2020 The American astronomer, Carl Sagan, put it well: ‘Where we have strong emotions, we’re liable to fool ourselves.’ To deal with this very debilitating—if very human—impediment, before making any definitive political risk statements, I try to blow the emotional cobwebs away by playing an invaluable game called ‘What We Know.’ ‘What We Know’ is an [...]
Global dividends set to plunge as much as 35 per cent this year May 18, 2020 Global dividends could fall as much as 35 per cent this year, as companies scramble to conserve cash amid the pandemic. The coronavirus pandemic and the hit to oil prices has had a profound impact on the cash position of a lot of companies. Businesses in the worst hit areas – such as hospitality, aviation [...]
Tory MPs call for trade bill overhaul amid fears over UK’s reliance on China May 14, 2020 Two dozen Tory MPs have called for a revamp of the UK’s trade bill amid concerns that Britain is too reliant on China for imports to critical national infrastructure. The group, which includes former Brexit secretary David Davis and party leader Iain Duncan Smith, today penned a letter to trade secretary Liz Truss urging the [...]
Nissan to make restructuring cuts of $2.8bn – report May 13, 2020 Japanese auto giant Nissan is preparing to make cuts of $2.8bn (£2.3bn) in fixed costs as part of its restructuring plan, as the firm prepares to make its first loss since the financial crisis. Bloomberg reported that the company will announce the plan on 28 May after three years of falling profits at the Japanese [...]