We all knew that the stock market boom would one day come to an end, but who imagined that the instrument of its demise would be a runaway global virus? The market had been setting new highs as late as February 12 and appeared little concerned with the coronavirus, whose effects seemed mainly confined to China. Since then, it’s been ...

Will a provincial government be able to save China’s Tesla wannabe? Investors seem to think so. The reality may be different. New York-listed NIO Inc., a self-described pioneer in China’s premium electric vehicle market and rival to Elon Musk’s company, said that it has made a tentative agreement with the municipal government of Hefei in Anhui province for funding support. ...

Warren Buffett is credited with that old saying about receding tides and embarrassed skinny-dippers. In Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s case, the lack of swimwear is one problem, but so is the anchor tied around its ankle. Part of that anchor is the old sage himself. Oxy, as it is known reported results for its first full quarter since acquiring Anadarko Petroleum ...

In times of distress, a centralised financial system can go a long way. Global investors, bruised by an ugly week of asset selloffs, can perhaps consider buying the dip — but only in China. In the past, if the US sneezed, emerging markets would soon be in the emergency room. Not this time. While the S&P 500 Index is heading ...

It’s not often these days that Germany’s Social Democrats have good economic ideas. But a forthcoming initiative by one of them makes eminent sense, and deserves more support than it’s likely to get. Olaf Scholz, the finance minister, wants to suspend the country’s so-called “debt brake,” a constitutional limit on public deficits and borrowing. But the SPD’s senior partners in ...

With impeccable timing, the private equity industry has agreed a jumbo leveraged buyout (LBO) just as markets have turned dramatically. It’s a bad look, and Advent International and Cinven will have to strain every sinew to make their 17 billion-euro ($19 billion) deal for Thyssenkrupp AG’s elevator business pay off. Germany’s Thyssenkrupp is a distressed seller but the industrial conglomerate ...

Concerns over Lenovo Group Ltd.’s financial outlook have brought new scrutiny to the Chinese maker of computers, servers and smartphones. Its stock dropped 5.7% on February 26 in Hong Kong, the fourth straight decline, after a tweet from short-seller Muddy Waters referenced a recent report by Bucephalus Research Partners Ltd. That piece highlighted a series of issues it had with ...

Bloomberg US regulators have told Boeing Co that pilots may require additional training to properly respond to emergencies on the 737 Max after airline crews failed to perform proper procedures in simulator tests. In a February 19 letter to Boeing reviewed by Bloomberg News, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) detailed multiple missteps that airline crews had made in the December ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong retail sales by value tumbled again in January, entering a 12-month losing streak after a Lunar New Year holiday interrupted by the coronavirus outbreak and amid months of anti-Beijing protests. Retail sales by value fell 21.4% in January from a year earlier, extending a run of declines that started in February, the longest downward trajectory in three ...

Bloomberg Mr DIY Group, Malaysia’s biggest home improvement retailer, is considering postponing its planned initial public offering after the country’s equities market tumbled on political uncertainty, according to people familiar with the matter. The company will finalise a decision on the share sale plan as soon as this week, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the ...