April, 2020

• 5 April

  Norway may join oil output cuts for first time since 2002

  

  Bloomberg Norway, the biggest oil producer in western Europe, said it would consider cutting its output if there was a broad international agreement to curb supply. The Nordic nation, whose oil output is set to grow over the next few years, hasn’t been a part of coordinated international cuts to support prices since 2002. Opec and other producing nations are …

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• 5 April

  Egypt cancels wheat tender over virus supply risks

  

  Bloomberg The fallout from the coronavirus crisis is starting to upend wheat tenders in the world’s top importer. In a rare move, Egypt cancelled a tender within hours of announcing it, without giving a reason. The state buyer added a new clause requiring suppliers to replace any cargoes affected by virus-related restrictions with wheat from elsewhere, and bear the difference …

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• 5 April

  US state uses climate cash to cut bills

  Bloomberg California regulators want to use money from the state’s climate change cap-and-trade programme to offset rising utility bills, as the coronavirus forces many residents to stay home. Some of the proceeds from the system — which makes power plants, factories and many businesses pay for the greenhouse gases they emit — go to California residents twice each year as …

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• 5 April

  Alberta to participate in Opec+ call next week

  Bloomberg Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage will participate in an Opec+ call next week aimed at resolving the global oil price war and will “keep an open mind” on how the province can participate in a solution, Premier Jason Kenney said. “We cannot have a meaningful impact on global prices because of our landlocked status,” Kenney said in response to …

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• 5 April

  Covid-19: Saudi firm delays $2b debt talks for Vodafone deal

  Bloomberg Saudi Telecom Co has postponed talks to raise debt to fund the acquisition of Vodafone Group Plc’s stake in its Egyptian business because of the coronavirus outbreak, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Work on the acquisition is still continuing and the kingdom’s largest telecoms operator may resume negotiations with banks for a loan of more than …

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• 5 April

  Toronto home sales jumps by 12.3%

  

  Bloomberg Toronto home sales surged in March, though government measures to stem the spread of the Covid-19 virus slowed real-estate activity in the second half of the month. Sales in around Canada’s largest city jumped 12.3% from a year earlier to 8,012 transactions, while the benchmark price climbed 2.3% from February to a non-seasonally adjusted C$865,200 ($611,881), the Toronto Regional …

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• 5 April

  Singapore retail investors use cheap cash to load up on stocks

  

  Bloomberg Record low interest rates are tempting some retail investors in Singapore to load up on debt to buy shares, just as the coronavirus outbreak creates the most volatile markets since the global financial crisis. Earlier this year, 31-year-old insurance agent Heng Kai Sheng got advances on three separate credit cards to the tune of S$150,000 ($105,000). With the money, …

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• 5 April

  Stock investors shun Canadian REITs as virus hits economy

  

  Bloomberg For the longest time, Canadian real estate investment trusts were a stalwart for income investors. Now, dividend payments hang in the balance as commercial and residential tenants struggle to pay rent during a pandemic that has shut down much of the economy. Typically seen as a place to get a high, safe payout in a world of low bond …

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• 5 April

  Russia’s bad bank should outlive $27bn clean-up

  

  Bloomberg The bad-asset bank created when a group of Russia’s biggest private lenders collapsed sees the twin shocks of plunging oil prices and global economic pain wrought by the coronavirus pandemic as a chance to expand. “There’s every reason to believe that the amount of problem assets in 2020 will grow significantly,” Bank Trust Chief Executive Officer Mikhail Khabarov said …

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• 5 April

  Norway wealth fund loses record $113bn in Q1 as stocks slump

  

  Bloomberg Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s biggest, lost a record $113 billion in the first quarter after the economic shock caused by the coronavirus pandemic triggered a sell-off in global stock markets. The loss comes at an historic moment for the fund, as it may soon need to liquidate assets for the first time to cover Norway’s emergency spending …

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