Oil slipped further below $45 a barrel on Friday, giving up this week’s gains, under pressure from doubts about demand recovery due to the novel coronavirus pandemic and rising supply. Two prominent forecasters, the International Energy Agency and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries trimmed their 2020 oil demand …
Read More »In China, fears of financial Iron Curtain as U.S. tensions rise
A sharp escalation in tensions with the United States has stoked fears in China of a deepening financial war that could result in it being shut out of the global dollar system – a devastating prospect once considered far-fetched but now not impossible. Chinese officials and economists have in recent …
Read More »Dollar weakens as US stimulus impasse undermines
The dollar fell from a one-week high on Wednesday, as political squabbling over a stimulus package for the U.S. economy halted its recent rebound. The greenback, however, rose to a three-week peak against the yen, climbing for a fourth straight session. The dollar/yen pair typically moves in tandem with U.S. …
Read More »Senators urge U.S. to remove tariffs on EU foods, beverages
A bipartisan group of 13 U.S. senators has asked the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office (USTR) to remove 25% tariffs imposed in October 2019 on European Union food, wine, and spirits, according to a letter seen by Reuters. The tariffs, in retaliation for EU subsidies on large aircraft, hit French wine, …
Read More »UK and Japan aim to strike outline trade deal this month
Britain and Japan have reached a substantial agreement in most areas for a bilateral post-Brexit trade deal and will try to clinch a preliminary deal by the end of this month, top officials from both countries said on Friday. “We agreed to accelerate talks with an aim of reaching an …
Read More »Euro zone factory activity bounced back to growth in July: PMI
Just over 18 million people have been infected by the coronavirus. But governments around Europe have eased some restrictions that had shuttered vast swathes of the bloc’s economy. To offer support to the ravaged economy, the European Central Bank has ramped up its stimulus measures and European Union leaders have …
Read More »US jobless claims rise for second week, GDP falls by record 33 percent
More than 1.43 million people filed for unemployment benefits for the first time last week, according to new weekly data from the Department of Labor. It’s the second-straight week that the number has risen. The extent of the economic damage wrought by the coronavirus pandemic was further revealed on Thursday, …
Read More »Oil prices steady as demand concerns offset US stimulus hopes
Oil prices were steady on Tuesday, erasing gains earlier in the session, as rising coronavirus cases dampened the outlook for demand and countered optimism over more U.S. stimulus. Efforts to stimulate the U.S. economy’s recovery from the coronavirus crisis had raised hopes for stronger oil demand. However, a proposal on …
Read More »Oil slips on US-China tensions, rising virus cases
Oil prices edged lower on Monday as rising coronavirus cases and tensions between the United States and China pushed investors towards safe-haven assets. Brent crude LCOc1 dipped 20 cents, or 0.5%, to $43.14 a barrel by 1000 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 dropped to $41.15 a …
Read More »Bitcoin rises above $10,000 for first time since early June
After several weeks of trading in narrow ranges, bitcoin breached $10,000 on Sunday for the first time since early June. In addition to suffering pricing blows due to the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak, the virtual currency went through its third so-called halving on May 11, which cut the …
Read More »World shares retreat on rise in Sino-US tensions
Global shares skidded further from five-month peaks on Friday as a bounce-back in European business activity did little to ease the jitters surrounding Sino-U.S. tensions, while gold approached a record high. The mood darkened after Beijing ordered the United States to close its consulate in Chengdu, in retaliation for being …
Read More »TikTok could be sold to American investors to avert US ban, reports say
Could an American takeover of TikTok save it from being locked out of the United States? US investors are reportedly considering buying the video-sharing app from Chinese parent company ByteDance in an effort to save TikTok’s sizeable foothold in America. A group of investors, including venture capital firms Sequoia and …
Read More »United Airlines sending layoff notices to nearly half of US employees
United Airlines will send layoff warnings to 36,000 employees – nearly half its U.S. staff – in the clearest signal yet of how deeply the virus outbreak is hurting the airline industry. The outlook for a recovery in air travel has dimmed in just the past two weeks, as infection …
Read More »Oil down as U.S. virus spike stokes demand worries
Oil prices fell on Tuesday amid concerns that a surge in new coronavirus cases, especially in the United States, will hamper any recovery in fuel demand. Brent crude LCOc1 futures declined by 24 cents, or 0.56%, to $42.86, by 1236 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures fell …
Read More »EU foresees “deeper recession” in 2020 than previously expected
The eurozone economy will drop deeper into recession this year and rebound less steeply in 2021 than previously thought, the European Commission forecast on Tuesday, with France, Italy, and Spain struggling the most due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The downbeat assessment of Europe’s economy comes amid concern the U.S. recovery …
Read More »Boeing Set to End the 747 after over Half a Century of Production
US aerospace giant Boeing will reportedly stop making its iconic 747 aircraft for good after it completes the last of the 16 jets currently on order. Covid-19 has crippled an already declining market for the plane. The final 747 is now expected to roll out of the company’s Seattle-area factory …
Read More »Zuckerberg: Advertisers will be back to Facebook ‘soon enough’
As the ads boycott grows, Mark Zuckerberg shows no sign of backing down. “My guess is that all these advertisers will be back on the platform soon enough” the Facebook chief executive has said. Campaigners accuse the tech firm of being too slow and reluctant to remove some hateful content. …
Read More »Gap in US Black and white unemployment rates is widest in five years
The gap between the U.S. unemployment rates for Blacks and whites widened further in June, to its largest in five years, underscoring the uneven nature of the nascent recovery from the historic job losses triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. Jobless rates for both groups fell in June, but the rate …
Read More »USMCA trade deal enters into force, replacing NAFTA
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) officially entered into force on Wednesday, replacing the 26-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). “Today marks the beginning of a new and better chapter for trade between the United States, Mexico, and Canada,” U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer said in a statement, adding the …
Read More »In unusual deal, U.S. Treasury to acquire 30 percent of a trucking company in exchange for $700 million loan
The Treasury Department announced on Wednesday that it will loan $700 million to a trucking firm that ships military equipment, in exchange for having U.S. taxpayers acquire an almost 30 percent stake in the company. Under the unusual arrangement, the Treasury Department will provide the emergency loan to YRC Worldwide …
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