Economy / 28

Oil prices broke the monthly record

May 18, 2020

Futures in NY climbed around 5% after nearly doubling in a run of three weekly advances. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have agreed to halt oil production from the joint Al-Khafji field for one month, starting from June 1, Kuwait's Al Rai newspaper reported on Saturday.

Dyson’s scrapped electric auto: founder reveals what could have been

May 18, 2020

If you get a flutter of excitement at first glance of this intriguing new auto as we did, try not to be too disappointed when you learn, even though it came close to setting a new standard in the electric vehicle performance, it will never be offered as a production model.

Twitter Won’t Reopen Offices Before Sept., Allows Permanent Work From Home

May 18, 2020

Twitter was one of many first tech firms to make it necessary for its nearly 5,000 workers to work at home . Twitter said that opening offices will be its decision, and that when and if Twitter's staff come back, the decision will be theirs.

Japan's growth drops amid pandemic, worse times likely ahead

May 18, 2020

The world's third-largest economy shrank an annualized 3.4% in the three months through March from the previous quarter as exports slid and social distancing crimped consumer spending, official figures showed Monday, confirming the second-straight quarterly contraction.

US Commerce Department tightens screws on Huawei export controls

May 18, 2020

On Friday, the Trump administration said it would amend an export rule to block shipments of semiconductors that are the "direct product of certain USA software and technology", Reuters reported . technology and software, a significant escalation in its battle with the Chinese telecommunication giant and one that will likely inflame tensions with Beijing.

Fed's Powell says full economic recovery may require coronavirus vaccine

May 18, 2020

In an interview with CBS's " 60 Minutes ", Powell noted that the economy was fundamentally healthy before the virus struck suddenly and forced widespread business shutdowns and tens of millions of layoffs. "And it's going to take a while for us to get back", said Powell. He said that he expected "a couple more months" of job losses and acknowledged that the unemployment rate, which hit 14.7 percent in April , could peak at 20 percent or even 25 percent.

US Fed Chair Powell warns of prolonged recession amid COVID-19 crisis

May 18, 2020

Powell's comments on Wednesday sent investors scurrying to the relative safe-haven appeal of the greenback while USA stocks posted their biggest two-day fall in more than three weeks. As a former real estate developer, the notion of being able to borrow at low or negative rates suits President Trump's mindset, the strong United States dollars has given him leverage to push for negatives rates.

United States to Charge Google with Antitrust Violations

May 18, 2020

According to the NYT report , which cites "two people with knowledge of the situation", the DOJ's action against Google will be its biggest antitrust case since the infamous Microsoft case, and it will likely be joined by the attorneys general of several US states as well.

FDA authorizes Everywell at-home COVID-19 test

May 17, 2020

Testing by the Seattle Coronavirus Assessment Network (SCAN) was halted Thursday after a request from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which stated SCAN needed additional federal authorization to continue the program. Song said. Everlywell makes a variety of products that individuals can buy online or in stores, among them at-home test kits for diabetes, sexually transmitted diseases and high cholesterol.

New Information Revealed About the Place of Tesla's New Factory

May 17, 2020

The new factory will be Tesla's biggest so far. The electric auto maker has said it wants the factory to be in the center of the country and closer to the east coast markets. However, all reasserted their respective locales would be best suited for the plant site. "Tesla will now move its headquarters and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately", Musk tweeted.

Betting on a William Hill stock price recovery?

May 17, 2020

William Hill , the betting and gaming company, reported that net revenue declined 57% on year in the "Coronavirus-impacted" period from March 11 to April 28 . William Hill has said it expects to miss out on core earnings of up to £15m (€16.8m/$18.2m) for each month its shops are closed - though this is half the company's initial estimate.

Food Chains Adding Safety Measures Before Reopening Dining Areas

May 17, 2020

As cities and states begin to ease COVID-19 restrictions, McDonald's is preparing to open its dining rooms back up, but things will be a little different. Together with our franchisees, we proudly employ almost 100,000 people from coast-to-coast, and more than 90 per cent of McDonald's 1,400 Canadian restaurants are locally owned and operated by independent entrepreneurs.

Coronavirus: Trudeau tight-tipped on possible support for Air Canada, other airlines

May 17, 2020

Air Canada did not respond directly to questions about whether it would drop the wage subsidy, which Ottawa recently extended through August. Air Canada, the country's largest airline, used the wage subsidy to rehire more than 16,000 employees who were laid off in March, but hasn't said whether it will extend participation in the program.

China's Factory Output Posts First Increase For 2020 But Consumption Still Weak

May 17, 2020

However, China continues to face major challenges in its services sector, particularly retail, and as the pandemic sweeps the rest of the globe, affecting other major economies and trading partners. The government has been struggling to reverse a doubling of pork prices over the past year, brought on by an outbreak of African swine fever, leading to months of CPI readings above the 3-percent annual target rate for 2019.

JC Penney makes $17 million interest payment as it explores bankruptcy

May 17, 2020

Penney filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Friday, the latest retailer to falter amidst the economic turmoil wrought by COVID-19. J.C. Penney, which is almost $4 billion in debt, is the fourth major USA retailer to seek Chapter 11 protection in May.

Rumors Suggest Ground Breaking Battery News From Tesla Coming Soon

May 17, 2020

The low cost batteries will make the cost of making electric cars cheaper than gas cars and will enable Tesla to slash the price of its electric cars worldwide giving Tesla a competetive edge. Dahn. According to a Reuters source, CATL will supply a new battery to Tesla for the Chinese oriented Model 3 . CATL will be developing these electric batteries using the technology provided by Prof.

Takeaways From Nirmala Sitharaman's Announcements For Defence, Aviation

May 16, 2020

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman (who was Defence Minister from September 3, 2017, to May 31, 2019), announced the change that could encourage global biggies like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Airbus, Saab, to invest in India. FDI under the automatic route excludes investment by China and other nations that share a border with India, after the government amended the FDI policy last month.

Germany falls into recession amid pandemic shutdown

May 16, 2020

The German economy's decline reflects its biggest quarterly drop since the global financial and economic crash of 2009 and the second-largest decrease since German unification. Germany itself started shutting down in mid-March. The country started loosening lockdown restrictions on April 20. While factories weren't closed, companies largely stopped production in some areas - such as its large auto making sector - and supply chains were disrupted.

Quarantine measures make slow recovery more difficult: IATA

May 16, 2020

Juniac revealed that plans are in the works to reboot global travel in stages, by firstly tending to domestic travel, followed by continental markets (the Asia-Pacific region), with the intent to resume 50 per cent of flights by the end of 2020.

The First Signs Of Real Oil Demand Recovery Are Here

May 16, 2020

The IEA said the easing of coronavirus-related restrictions was helping demand in energy markets. So oil production is reacting in a big way to market forces and economic activity beginning a gradual but fragile recovery. Despite a faster than expected recovery in demand and steep output cuts by OPEC+ and USA shale producers, oil price gains could remain limited in the near term due to huge global oil stock overhang and the potential for price-sensitive United States shale producers to ...

How major U.S. stock indexes fared Friday

May 16, 2020

The combination of trade tensions and weak data had sent S&P 500 down around 1.3 per cent earlier in the session but for much of the afternoon session it oscillated between positive and negative territory. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 516.81 points at 23,247.97. Seven of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, led by a gain in energy.

Coronavirus: Twitter employees can work from home 'forever'

May 16, 2020

The new option is for those employees who do not need to be physically present in office for certain roles that can not be done from homes. Even after the company reopens offices when conditions get back to normal amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jeff Bezos To Become World’s First Trillionaire Despite COVID-19

May 15, 2020

Bonnie Watson Coleman, and a lot of social media users on Thursday as outlets highlighted an analysis suggesting he'll become the first ever trillionaire. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg would become the youngest trillionaire at the age of 51 in the year 2036, the report estimated. In fact, the projection has raised more dust about Amazon's alleged exploitation of its workers, especially those in the front lines during the coronavirus pandemic .

China Cuts Australian Beef Imports Amid CCP Virus Tension

May 15, 2020

In retaliation, Chinese customs authorities suspended four large beef exporters from Australia and threatened to introduce a tariff of up to 80 percent on Australian barley shipments. Birmingham said today Australia would continue to support an worldwide inquiry into the coronavirus. "Chinese officials say both privately and publicly that these are unconnected matters, that the investigations in relation to barley and the issues in relation o beef have been running for 12-18 months in ...

The German economy experienced the strongest decline since 2009 due to coronavirus

May 15, 2020

Economy Minister Peter Altmaier last month warned that Germany was headed for "the worst recession" in its post-war history as the pandemic brought huge swathes of the economy to a standstill. Recent data showed a 15.6 percent month-on-month decrease in factory orders in March, and a 9.2 percent drop in industrial production. A far worse economic performance is expected in the year's second quarter, April through June.

Australia's Unemployment Rate Rises to 6.2% in April

May 15, 2020

Earlier on Thursday Anthony Albanese, the leader of the Opposition Labor Party, described the figures as "devastating", saying that unemployment being lower than forecast was not a cause for celebration. "This means there was a high number of people without a job who didn't or couldn't actively look for work or weren't available for work". Australia has been one of the most successful countries in containing COVID-19, with fewer than 7,000 confirmed cases and 100 deaths out of a population ...

Australia gets silent treatment from China on urgent trade talk request

May 15, 2020

The suspension of the beef shipments came as ties between Australia and China publicly soured, although Birmingham said he did not believe it was retribution by China over the call for an inquiry into the orgins of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Fed Chair Powell Pushes Back Against Negative Rates

May 15, 2020

China has reimposed movement restrictions near its borders with North Korea and Russian Federation after a new outbreak was detected there and South Korea was working to contain an outbreak centered around bars and nightclubs in Seoul. Yields on benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasuries fell slightly to 0.6412 per cent. A dip in US crude stockpiles helped push oil prices higher. "While initial claims for unemployment benefits continue to retreat from their peak, they remain at levels consistent ...

Sensex dips 200 points, slips below 31k; Nifty tests 9,100 level

May 15, 2020

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index closed at 11,536.11, down 45.61 points (0.39 per cent), while the S&P BSE SmallCap ended at 10,706.48, down 67.95 points (0.63 per cent). After touching a low of 30,909.36, the 30-share index was trading 127.19 points or 0.41 percent lower at 30,995.70. Meanwhile, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul were trading with losses after the World Health Organization warned that the virus "may never go away".

Trump's Senate ally seeks China sanctions over Covid-19 probe

May 15, 2020

Since the beginning of the pandemic coronavirus in the world caught nearly 4.3 million people, more than 290 thousand died. "I'm very disappointed in China ". "If you did, what would happen?" "Look, at what point does - and I said this for years I said it with other countries also you know - China is not the only country ripping us off at the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation where we defend Europe for nothing by the way essentially nothing I was able to get them to pay hundreds of ...

Self employed support scheme identity verification issues with must be resolved - Molloy

May 15, 2020

United Kingdom government says millions are expected to benefit from the scheme with the payments - to be paid in a single instalment covering three months and capped at £7,500. The maximum payment from the scheme is to be set at £7,500 - and will cover March, April and May. He is asking if the self-employed scheme will also be extended till October, as happened with the furlough scheme earlier this week.

Azevedo, WTO D-G resigns amid dispute with America

May 14, 2020

The head of the World Trade Organization will step down, a year before his term is due to expire. He has been Director-General at the Geneva-based trade body since 2013 and was on a second term of office. The WTO has for almost two decades failed to conclude the Doha Round of trade liberalisation talks. But since his second term began in 2017, countries have failed to reach further multilateral agreements, and the WTO has struggled to deal with a U.S.

Indian airline IndiGo sees Virgin Australia 2.0 as low-priced carrier

May 14, 2020

Rahul Bhatia, who owns the IndiGo holding through InterGlobe Enterprises Ltd., is reportedly strategising on how to capitalise on the bankrupt airline. Virgin Australia was launched in the Oceanic continent in 2000 with two aircraft. A plan to operate Virgin as a low-priced carrier may run into opposition in Australia.

Health and safety regulator prepares for rush of calls as workplaces reopen

May 14, 2020

They cover eight workplace settings which are allowed to be open, from outdoor environments and construction sites to factories and takeaways and cover five key points, which include the need to carry out risk assessment of workplaces in consultation with employees and trade unions, maintaining two metres social distancing wherever possible and reinforcing cleaning processes .

Fed will begin ETF purchases today

May 14, 2020

The New York Fed said the secondary market corporate credit facility is expected to begin purchasing eligible ETFs in early May. BlackRock Inc. was hired to manage the program for the Fed. The Federal Reserve on Tuesday started a corporate bond purchasing program that's meant to help "fallen angel" companies that have been affected by the corornavirus pandemic.

Trump 'looking at' Chinese companies trading on United States stock exchanges

May 14, 2020

US Republican senators proposed legislation Tuesday that would empower President Donald Trump to slap sanctions on China if Beijing does not give a "full accounting" for the coronavirus outbreak. "The Chinese Communist regime's coverup of the coronavirus outbreak cost hundreds of thousands of lives worldwide and caused unfathomable harm to the global economy, and they must be held accountable".

Mnuchin says unemployment numbers will 'get worse before they get better'

May 14, 2020

Mnuchin's comments followed Friday's report from the Labor Department showing the US lost a staggering 20.5 million jobs in April, bringing the jobless rate to its highest level since the Great Depression - 14.7%. "It wouldn't be a surprise if you close down the economy that half the workforce didn't work". Mnuchin said that his predictions are based upon what he sees is the rate of reopening in a careful way.

$1.5 billion paid to Alabama small businesses through loan program

May 14, 2020

The Washington Post, The New York Times, Pro Publica, Dow Jones & Co. and Bloomberg LP filed a lawsuit against the Small Business Administration on Tuesday, seeking the identities of private businesses that have received public assistance through key coronavirus relief programs.

Twitter Makes Working From Home a Permanent Option for Some Employees

May 14, 2020

Twitter employees will be allowed to work from home permanently, even after the COVID-19 pandemic recedes, CEO Jack Dorsey said in an email to staff Tuesday. forever . "We will assess 2021 events later this year", it said. Some Twitter employees may never return to their offices even after coronavirus restrictions lift.

Modi announces $260 billion coronavirus rescue package for India

May 14, 2020

The PM in his speech at 8 pm asserted that India's self-reliance stands on five pillars - economy with potential for quantum jump, infrastructure, technology-driven system, demography and demand. He emphasised that India can make many products locally, boasting that the country went from manufacturing nearly no PPE kits or protective masks before the coronavirus pandemic to now making hundreds of thousands each day.

Government furlough scheme extended to end of October

May 14, 2020

Our Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has protected millions of jobs and businesses across the United Kingdom during the outbreak - and I've been clear that I want to avoid a cliff edge and get people back to work in a measured way. The bleak new figures came as the chancellor unveiled the latest extension to its furloughing scheme, a wage guarantee that officials believe has already cost £10bn in its first few weeks of operation.

U.S. stocks tumble as Fed chief warns downturn may be long

May 14, 2020

Treasuries ticked higher and the dollar advanced. The focus will shift to economic data from the United States and Europe in the next two days for more clues on the depth of the downturns there, while investors will closely watch China activity gauges for signs on how long it may take to emerge from the sharp shock caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Elon Musk's Tesla factory drama is mostly resolved

May 14, 2020

The decision comes after Musk chose to reopen the factory last week after state officials loosened some coronavirus restrictions, specifically for manufacturing. The new procedures include daily health checks for employees, risk assessment forms for employees, designated entrances and exits, and closed gym and game-room facilities.

Headline and a blank page: Chidambaram on economic package

May 14, 2020

While addressing the nation on Tuesday, PM Modi also said that the next stage of the lockdown, which is due to be lifted on May 18 after being extended twice, "will be different in many ways". But India's economy has not escaped the pain. That would make it proportionally one of the largest fiscal stimulus packages in the world. Nearly all of India's economy - exceeded in size only by the U.S., China , Japan and Germany - has been closed except for a small number of ...

Homeless California Men Arrested for Fight over Wearing Masks at Target

May 14, 2020

Clients disparaging fundamental organizations in the city of Los Angeles have been required to wear face covers while inside stores since April 10, when Mayor Eric Garcetti gave a request requiring their utilization in an offer to slow the spread of the coronavirus .

Hospitality sector needs flexible government support

May 13, 2020

Sunak said that from August, "greater flexibility" will be built into the initiative to support people's return to work. Asked if the United Kingdom was heading for a recession, he said: "We already know that many people have lost their jobs and it breaks my heart, we've seen what's happening with Universal Credit claims already".

Bitcoin has halved, what happens next?

May 13, 2020

A more pressing concern would be that block reward is an important component of Bitcoin , one that ensures the security of this leaderless system. The bitcoin halving mechanism was actually integrated into the protocol by Satoshi Nakamoto to create a supply squeeze.

Facebook to pay moderators $52M for psychological damages

May 13, 2020

Moderators, who are generally contracted by third-party firms, are constantly exposed to graphic content including child sexual abuse, beheadings, terrorism, animal cruelty, and "every other horror that the depraved mind of man can imagine", Steve Williams , a lawyer for the plantiffs, told the Guardian .

Trump wants California to let automaker Tesla reopen assembly plant

May 13, 2020

The all-electric automaker sued Alameda County over the weekend over local authorities' stipulation for the plant's continued closure and did not immediately reply to Trump's tweet . Thus, people are worrying that reopening the plant might cause more cases. However, the Tesla boss has defied the order and will restart the factory line.

Jerome Powell warns of a possible sustained recession from coronavirus pandemic

May 13, 2020

While Powell made no mention of cutting USA interest rates to negative in his set speech, he did address the issue in the question and answer session that followed, saying cutting to negative is not something that is actively being considered.