Tag Archives: Markets

US oil prices plunged into negative territory for the first time ever on Monday, meaning producers are willing to pay buyers to take crude off their hands. The price of America’s most closely watched oil benchmark crashed to as low as minus $40 a barrel, but how could this happen …

US oil prices dived to 22-year lows at just $11 Monday after crashing almost 40 percent in a market flooded with crude and slammed by evaporating demand in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Just before 1200 GMT, the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for May delivery tanked …

The World Bank Group (WBG) is expected to launch health emergency programs in over 100 countries by the end of April to support the fight against COVID-19, with 64 already in operation, President David Malpass said Friday. “In response to COVID-19, the World Bank Group has focused on taking fast, …

U.S. Jobless Claims Top 20 Million Since Start of Shutdowns The US Labor Department reported that 5.245 million more Americans filed first-time claims for unemployment last week. The new numbers include independent contractors and others who previously were not eligible for benefits. That brings the total rise in US unemployment …

Beaten down by the coronavirus outbreak, the world economy in 2020 will suffer its worst year since the Great Depression of the 1930s, the International Monetary Fund says in its latest forecast. The IMF said Tuesday that it expects the global economy to shrink 3% this year — far worse …

OPEC and allies led by Russia agreed on Sunday to a record cut in output to prop up oil prices amid the coronavirus pandemic in an unprecedented deal with fellow oil nations, including the United States, that could curb global oil supply by 20%. Measures to slow the spread of …

World stock markets jumped on Monday, encouraged by a slowdown in coronavirus-related deaths and new cases, though a delay in talks between Saudi Arabia and Russia to cut supply sent oil tumbling again. Equity investors were encouraged as the death toll from the virus slowed across major European nations including …

European stock markets sank on Friday, erasing meager gains for the week, as more companies flagged a hit to business from the coronavirus pandemic while oil prices extended their previous day’s gains on hopes of a global supply cut. With virus-fighting lockdowns raising the risk of a prolonged global downturn, …

The number of Americans filing for unemployment has surged to a record high as the economy goes into lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. Nearly 3.3 million people registered to claim jobless benefits for the week ended 21 March, according to the Department of Labor data. That is nearly five …

Global stocks and US futures plunged again on Monday as governments worldwide lockdown their cities and the United States stalls on a massive stimulus package meant to help Americans handle the coronavirus pandemic. Dow (INDU) futures fell more than 900 points at one point, hitting a 5% decline that triggered …

The world’s richest nations poured unprecedented aid into the global economy on Thursday as coronavirus cases ballooned in the new epicenter Europe, with the number of deaths in Italy outstripping those in mainland China, where the virus originated. With over 242,000 infections and nearly 10,000 deaths, the epidemic has stunned …

World leaders raced to shore up panic-stricken global markets on Thursday, pouring liquidity into the financial system as investors everywhere dumped assets, switching to dollars in cash amid the escalating coronavirus pandemic. Policymakers in the United States, Europe, and Asia resorted to emergency action as the pandemic left their economies …

Coronavirus fears led to a historic drop in U.S. stocks, shut borders and disrupted daily life around the world, as governments took increasingly drastic measures to try to reduce the severity of the global outbreak. Financial markets had their worst day in 30 years despite emergency action by global central …

Oil prices climbed higher on Thursday ahead of an OPEC meeting in which Saudi Arabia is expected to push the group and its allies including Russia to agree to further output cuts to support the market. Prices were also supported by a lower-than-expected rise in crude oil inventories in the …

Britain wants a stable relationship with the European Union for “decades to come” in financial services, Britain’s finance minister Sajid Javid said on Tuesday but received an instant rebuttal from Brussels. Britain left the EU last month and its large financial services sector will lose privileged access to EU customers …

Sixteen years after the SARS virus infected over 8,000 people and killed 77, a new respiratory virus from China is again sparking fears across the globe as the disease spreads with no vaccine in sight. The coronavirus, however, is likely to have a bigger economic impact than previous outbreaks thanks …

Gold prices continued higher on Thursday with the spread of coronavirus still capping risk appetite in the Asia Pacific region and across the world. The US Federal Reserve left its monetary policy settings on hold on Wednesday but acknowledged the disease as a new risk. Anything likely to deter the …

European shares reversed course and edged lower on Wednesday as US President Donald Trump threatened to impose high tariffs on imports of cars from the European Union, pushing automobile stocks to a three-month low. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump warned of the tariffs if the …

The global economy has come under pressure from the threat of further trade sanctions by the US, social unrest and the climate emergency, limiting its recovery over the next two years, the International Monetary Fund has warned. In its half-yearly update, the Washington-based lender of last resort said the global …

U.S. stock indexes rose to a near all-time high on Monday on optimism about the imminent signing of a preliminary U.S.-China trade deal as well as the start of the fourth-quarter corporate earnings season. Apple Inc (AAPL.O), Facebook Inc (FB.O), Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) were the top …