News

Bloomberg Oil demand is plummeting — some traders say by 10 to 20 million barrels a day, or a fifth of global consumption — as millions find themselves in lock-down or self-isolating, causing travel to grind to a halt. “Demand has been decimated in short term,” said Andy Hall, one of the most successful oil traders of his generation until …

Bloomberg Australia plans an additional A$66 billion ($38.2 billion) in stimulus for the coronavirus-stricken economy, including cash payments of as much as A$100,000 to small businesses, in a second package aimed at averting recession and savings jobs. The plan, to be announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday, will provide A$25.2 billion in support to businesses and not-for-profit charities. …

Bloomberg Boeing Co. is edging closer to winning a government bailout as the once-mighty company races to secure a lifeline amid the aviation industry’s worst crisis in decades. Backstop financing would start to slide into place next week if the US Congress approves a Senate Republican proposal to provide as much as $208 billion in collateralised loans and loan guarantees …

Bloomberg Oil prices plunged below $24 a barrel for the first time in almost 18 years after Saudi Arabia doubled down in its price war with Russia, vowing to keep production at a record high “over the coming months.” For the last 10 days, Riyadh has issued nearly daily statements raising the stakes in its battle with Moscow, first announcing …

Bloomberg European banks took $130 billion made available by the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday, helping ease the funding stress from the coronavirus pandemic. Lenders from the euro zone borrowed the bulk of the money — $112 billion in operations coordinated by the European Central Bank (ECB). That’s the biggest use of the crisis-era swap lines since the global financial …

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia plans to boost oil exports even further from April to May, reaching a record of more than 10 million barrels a day as the kingdom taps a new field. The increase in shipments of about 250,000 barrels a day shows the kingdom is determined to carry on with its policy of pumping flat out after its alliance …

Bloomberg The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is ready to mobilise its $1 trillion lending capacity to help nations counter the coronavirus outbreak, with Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva calling for global coordination on monetary, fiscal and regulatory support. Georgieva reiterated in a blog post that the fund has $50 billion in flexible and rapid-disbursing emergency funds for developing nations, with as …

Bloomberg Oil’s spectacular collapse deepened as widening global efforts to fight the spread of the coronavirus looked set to trigger the most severe contraction in annual oil demand in history. Futures tumbled more than 9% after losing a quarter of their value last week. Demand for jet fuel, gasoline and diesel is falling off a cliff as a result of …

GENEVA / WAM All World Trade Organisation (WTO), meetings are suspended until the end of April and Secretariat staff have been requested to work from home until the end of March. Director-General Roberto Azevedo has informed WTO members and staff that access to the organisation’s premises will be restricted as of March 16. “In light of developments related to the …

Bloomberg Europeans were faced with increasingly draconian restrictions on public life on Sunday, as governments from Spain to Scandinavia and the Baltic tried to check the spread of the coronavirus and limit the damage to continent’s fragile economies. With Europe now the epicenter of outbreak, Austria banned gatherings of more than five people, urged citizens to self-isolate and said it …