During the past few weeks the spreads on corporate bonds relative to Treasuries with comparable maturities have risen sharply. This kind of increase is a natural part of recessions, as investors demand more compensation for the default risks of corporate debt issuers. But a key and unusual part of the government economic response to the pandemic (and the associated recession) ...

The coronavirus crisis has thrust the world’s financial markets into extreme uncertainty. The wild swings in asset prices, along with the sudden and pervasive demand for cash, reflect people’s struggles to understand how bad things can get and how damaging the losses will ultimately be. Back in 2009, amid a similarly frightening crisis, the US discovered a novel way to ...

The US is finally starting to take a sensible and proactive approach towards the Covid-19 pandemic. After a disastrous initial failure, coronavirus testing has now risen to levels similar to or higher than South Korea. Meanwhile, although he almost succumbed to the temptation to reopen the economy before shutdowns had time to quell the epidemic, President Donald Trump has wisely ...

To have any idea whether our current social distancing efforts in the United States are helping slow the spread of coronavirus, and to gauge how long we should go on this way, scientists need to know how many people have mild or asymptomatic cases of Covid-19. There could be many such people. Since their symptoms are vague and possibly non-existent, ...

It’s not just manufacturing that’s struggling with disrupted logistics. As more countries bring down the shutters to limit the spread of the coronavirus, risks are rising for the world’s complex food supply networks. Snarl-ups in processing and transport could result in painful price spikes for many fresh goods, even if farms in developed markets can keep working through the outbreak. ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump said he’s concerned oil prices have fallen too far and called Vladimir Putin on Monday to discuss Russia’s oil-price war with Saudi Arabia. The leaders, who also talked about the spread of the coronavirus, agreed to discussions on oil between energy officials in the two countries, according to the Kremlin. Both leaders “agreed on the importance ...

DUBAI / WAM The Board of Directors of UAE Banks Federation (UBF) held its first meeting of the year via videoconferencing to discuss the latest developments in the UAE banking sector as well as progress of key concerns. During the meeting, the Board of Directors discussed UBF’s current priorities, which in light of the worldwide outbreak of Covid-19 include ensuring ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The National Takaful Company (Watania) announced positive financial results for 2019, as the company’s net profit increased to AED13.1 million, compared to AED9.4 million in 2018. While announcing financial results of company, Dr Ali Saeed bin Harmal Al Dhaheri, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Takaful Company, declared that the company has launched ...

SHARJAH / WAM Dana Gas, a regional private sector natural gas company, on Tuesday announced its intention to pursue a feasibility study studying a potential demerger of its upstream business into a new company, which, as part of the demerger, will also be listed on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange (ADX). Currently, the Sharjah-based company owns upstream oil and gas ...

SHARJAH / WAM The Expo Centre Sharjah recently held a virtual meeting to ensure the smooth functioning of the various departments and services, as part of the precautionary measures taken by the centre to maintain the health and safety of employees and customers and cope with the government’s preventive measures amid the Covid-19 outbreak. Headed by Saif Mohammed Al Midfa, ...