February, 2020

• 15 February

  Oil clinches biggest weekly gain despite gloomy demand outlook

  

  Bloomberg Oil clinched the best weekly gain for the year on signs the worst economic impacts of lethal viral outbreak have been accounted for, easing concern about free-falling demand for crude. Futures advanced 1.2% in New York, settling above $52 for the first time this month. Investor confidence was lifted after China reassured the international community that a huge spike …

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• 15 February

  UK housing market sees optimism

  Bloomberg UK real estate agents reported that house prices increased for the first time in more than a year last month. In more evidence of a pickup in sentiment following Boris Johnson’s December election victory, which lifted uncertainty about whether the country would leave the European Union, an index of price changes rose to the strongest level since 2017. Measures …

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• 15 February

  Amazon axes delivery firms over not ‘meeting standards’

  

  Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc is severing ties with small delivery firms around the country — putting at least 1,300 drivers out of work — in an effort to eliminate partners that aren’t meeting its standards. Bear Down Logistics, an Illinois company that rapidly expanded over the past two years, is shuttering operations in five states and letting go of about 400 …

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• 15 February

  Boeing says it doesn’t need to move 737 Max wiring bundles

  

  Bloomberg Boeing Co told US regulators that it didn’t see the need to undertake a potentially costly fix for a wiring issue on the company’s grounded 737 Max, according to two people familiar with the briefing. The planemaker found in an audit last year of the 737 Max that wires were bundled improperly in a way that could trigger a …

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• 15 February

  Walmart closing its Jetblack shopping service in New York

  

  Bloomberg Walmart Inc’s Jetblack, a personal-shopping service for busy urban families, will cease operations on February 21, according to a company spokesman. The brainchild of Walmart’s online chief Marc Lore, Jetblack will be integrated into the parent company’s operations and its technology applied to other parts of the retailer. Nearly 300 employees will be let go as part of the …

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• 15 February

  Kraft Heinz’s junk downgrade rekindles bond market jitters

  

  Bloomberg Kraft Heinz Co, the iconic food giant created in a merger five years ago, was downgraded to junk by two credit raters, raising fresh worries among investors that a slowing economy could threaten the broader corporate bond market. The packaged-food company was cut one level to BB+ by S&P Global Ratings, following Fitch Ratings last week. It will now …

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• 15 February

  Luxury retailers sued over alleged no-hire pacts

  Bloomberg Saks, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and other luxury retailers were accused in a lawsuit of agreeing to not hire sales clerks from each other’s stores in violation of US antitrust law. The companies conspired to enter into “no-hire agreements” that prohibit them from hiring employees who have worked within six months for rival brands, according to the complaint filed last …

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• 15 February

  China’s overseas energy financing drops to lowest in decade

  

  Bloomberg China’s spending on overseas energy projects has dropped to its lowest in more than a decade, as the nation focusses on domestic issues and rethinks its strategy around indebtedness and the world’s energy mix. The nation’s foreign energy financing dropped by 69% to $3.2 billion in 2019, according to data from Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center. Only three …

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• 15 February

  Samsung bets on camera upgrade in Galaxy S20

  

  Bloomberg Samsung Electronics Co is starting a new decade with a new chief in charge of its mobile business, but it’s doing it in the same old fashion: by leaning into its semiconductor advantage to overwhelm consumers with unmatched specs on its latest Galaxy devices. Announced at simultaneous events in San Francisco and London, Samsung’s Galaxy S20 family of Android …

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• 15 February

  Hyundai Motor strikes deal with Canoo to develop EVs

  

  Bloomberg Hyundai Motor Group has struck a deal to develop electric vehicles (EV) with Los Angeles-based startup Canoo. Under the terms of the agreement, Hyundai and its Kia affiliate will gain access to Canoo’s engineers and technology as the two South Korean automakers look to expand their production of EVs. Hyundai and Kia both recently announced plans to invest heavily …

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