March, 2020

• 4 March

  United Air waives change fees in March on virus fear

  Bloomberg United Airlines Holdings is nixing fees for reservations made this month, as the spread of coronavirus roils global travel. The waiver applies to all tickets booked between March 3 and March 31, the carrier said. If customers cancel their flight, they can retain the ticket value for trips within the next 12 months. “The coronavirus outbreak continues to create …

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• 3 March

  G-7 says ‘closely monitoring’ virus and ready to take action

  

  Bloomberg Group of Seven (G-7) finance chiefs said they are ready to act to shelter their economies from the spreading coronavirus, though they stopped short of spelling out what specific measures they would put into place. “We, G-7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, are closely monitoring the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and its impact on markets …

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• 3 March

  UK government lifts restriction on new wind farms on land

  

  Bloomberg The UK lifted a ban on subsidies for new onshore wind farms after years of denying the technology support, a sign ministers are looking for more ways to meet a goal of net zero emissions by 2050. The capacity of new wind farms sited on land slumped to the lowest levels since 2015 last year after policies to curb …

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• 3 March

  LNG traders eye top market amid virus blow

  

  Bloomberg With liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices reeling from the triple whammy of a mild winter, rising supply and China’s hobbled economy, Japan may be about to land another blow. Electricity consumption, the biggest outlet for LNG in the world’s top importer of the fuel, is expected to drop after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s shock announcement urging schools to shut …

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• 3 March

  Australia state touts 10-year proposal to export hydrogen

  

  Bloomberg Tasmania will invest $33 million to build a renewable hydrogen industry, as the island state plots a course to commercial exports of the clean fuel by 2030. Australia’s smallest state seeks to benefit from its abundance of hydropower generation and the falling cost of large-scale production from renewables to make emissions-free hydrogen for export to Asia. Hydrogen projects are …

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• 3 March

  Stocks rally with futures while Treasuries steady

  

  Bloomberg European stocks surged and US equity futures jumped as expectations grow that policy makers and governments will act to guard against the economic threat of the coronavirus. Treasuries were steady as the number of infections continued to grow. Futures on the S&P 500 Index had fluctuated at the start of the day after the underlying gauge climbed the most …

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• 3 March

  Local funds snap up Philippine equities while foreigners sell

  

  Bloomberg As foreign investors exit Philippine equities at a record pace amid the sell-off brought on by the coronavirus, some domestic fund managers are scooping up blue-chip bargains. Local stock valuations have become too attractive to pass up, according to Helen Oleta, head of trading at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp, and Robert Ramos, chief investment officer at East West Banking …

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• 3 March

  Lagarde joins central bankers pledging outbreak response

  

  Bloomberg European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde belatedly joined the crowd of leading central bankers pledging to take action if needed against the economic damage from the coronavirus outbreak. In a statement, Lagarde said the outbreak is a “fast-developing situation, which creates risks for the economic outlook and the functioning of financial markets.” That echoes communications by the US …

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• 3 March

  Malaysia cuts key rate as global central banks act on virus

  

  Bloomberg Malaysia cut its benchmark interest rate on Tuesday, with analysts predicting more easing to come as global central banks boost stimulus to counter the coronavirus’s impact on economic growth. Bank Negara Malaysia reduced the overnight policy rate for a second time this year, lowering it by 25 basis points to 2.5%, as forecast by 15 of 24 economists surveyed …

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• 3 March

  RBA cuts rates amid China slowdown

  

  Bloomberg Australia kicked off an expected worldwide policy response to China’s slowdown and fallout from the coronavirus with an interest-rate cut that’s set to operate in tandem with fiscal measures to cushion the economic blow. Reserve Bank chief Philip Lowe reduced the cash rate by a quarter percentage point to 0.5%, a new record low, as expected by traders and …

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