LONDON (Reuters) – How much damage has the coronavirus and the oil price collapse inflicted on global financial markets this year? Put simply, it has probably been the most destructive sell-off since the Great Depression. The numbers have been staggering. $12 trillion has been wiped of world stock markets .MIWD00000PUS, oil has slumped 60% as…
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NEW YORK (Reuters) – Global stock markets edged higher on Tuesday as investors assessed the economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic, while the MSCI benchmark of world equities was on pace to finish its worst quarter since the financial crisis of 2008. Stocks have rallied since the start of last week but remain down more…
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LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices firmed on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed to talks on stabilising energy markets, with benchmarks climbing off 18-year lows, though the coronavirus-related demand hit capped gains. Brent crude LCOc1 was up 7 cents at $22.83 a barrel by 1346 GMT after closing on…
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(Reuters) – Wall Street steadied on Tuesday as investors returned to stocks that are likely to weather an economic slump due to the coronavirus pandemic that has put the S&P 500 on course for its worst first quarter since 1938. Technology firms .SPLRCT, which have been resilient amid a broader selloff that has erased more…
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Last week’s record-setting U.S. jobless claims number will be quickly surpassed, economists and state officials predict, as local labor offices digest a pile of pending applications, and the new stimulus bill extends benefits to the self-employed. According to a Reuters survey of economists, initial claims for state unemployment benefits probably climbed to…
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STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Furniture giant IKEA is producing face masks and other protective gear for hospitals, joining a growing list of companies branching out of their normal business areas to help meet equipment shortages in the fight against coronavirus. Having started off with masks for staff in China in early stages of the pandemic, the…
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday its board approved a new three-year framework for bilateral borrowing agreements, ensuring that its full $1 trillion lending capacity will be maintained as member countries battle the coronavirus pandemic. The new framework is broadly the same as that enacted in 2016 for agreements that allow…
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LONDON (Reuters) – British aero-engine maker Rolls-Royce (RR.L) will likely have to slash its 2020 cash flow target after airline customers parked hundreds of planes due to the coronavirus pandemic, analysts said. Rolls last updated the market at the end of February, when it forecast 2020 free cash flow of 1 billion pounds ($1.2 billion),…
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(Reuters) – Goldman Sachs said on Tuesday the second-quarter U.S. economic decline would be much greater than it had previously forecast and unemployment would be higher, citing anecdotal evidence and “sky-high jobless claims numbers” resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. Goldman is now forecasting a real GDP sequential decline of 34% for the second quarter on…
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(Reuters) – Ford Motor Co (F.N) said on Tuesday it was postponing its plan to restart production at its North America plants due to safety concerns for its workers amid the coronavirus pandemic. To generate cash, the No. 2 U.S. automaker had said last week it was poised to restart production at some plants in…
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