March, 2020

• 17 March

  Airlines’ $58b bailout plea puts scrutiny on past in US

  

  Bloomberg Scott Kirby, the president of United Airlines Holdings Inc, described a “dire scenario” in which monthly sales would plunge 70% until the start of June, then 60% that month and 40% in July and August. That outlook, it soon became clear, was too optimistic with the coronavirus pandemic destroying virtually all demand for travel. Airlines and their labour unions …

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• 17 March

  Qantas axes overseas flights amid outbreak

  

  Bloomberg Qantas Airways Ltd is cutting almost all overseas flights and more than half its domestic schedule as the coronavirus outbreak paralyses travel worldwide. International capacity will be cut by about 90% until at least the end of May, the Australian airline said in a statement. Domestic capacity will fall 60% over the same period. Government travel bans, quarantines and …

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• 17 March

  Covid-19: Air Canada falls 28% as overseas travellers blocked

  

  Bloomberg Air Canada fell as much as 38%, its biggest one-day drop since going public, after prime minister Justin Trudeau said the country would close its borders to all foreign travellers except Americans. The Montreal-based company became the latest airline to withdraw financial forecasts and cut capacity as the Covid-19 pandemic plunges the global industry into unchartered territory. The stock, …

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• 17 March

  Super rich stranded as private jet operators say no to travel

  

  Bloomberg Private jet operators are turning away wealthy clients as coronavirus-related travel bans restrict their ability to operate, despite a surge in requests from people willing to shell out as much as $150,000 to secure a spot on their planes. Inquiries for international flights on private jets have shot up ninefold, said Kanika Tekriwal, founder of New Delhi-based JetSetGo, as …

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• 17 March

  Amazon glitch stymies grocery deliveries

  Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc suffered a technical glitch affecting online grocery orders through its Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh delivery services, which have become lifelines for household essentials for people looking to avoid stores due to the coronavirus outbreak. “As Covid-19 has spread, we’ve seen a significant increase in people shopping online for groceries,” an Amazon spokeswoman said in a statement. …

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• 16 March

  Oil plunges to lowest since 2016 as demand collapse triggers rout

  

  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 …

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• 16 March

  UK house prices climb to record in March

  

  Bloomberg Asking prices for UK homes rose to a record in March as the market appeared undented by the coronavirus outbreak that’s threatening economies across the globe. Values increased 1% on the month to an average 312,625 pounds, Rightmove said in a report on Monday. In London, they gained 1.6% from a month earlier to 638,826 pounds. Both gauges posted …

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• 16 March

  US equities hit limit-down; Japanese yen rebounds

  

  Bloomberg US equity futures tumbled by their limits and Treasuries surged at the start of what’s set to be another volatile week, with investors responding to the rapidly escalating economic hit from the coronavirus and a massive emergency move by the Federal Reserve to ease lending. Contracts on the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones Industrial Average all sank …

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• 16 March

  Indian stocks extend slump to lowest since 2017 amid virus fear

  

  Bloomberg India’s benchmark stock index slumped to its lowest since September 2017 after entering a bear market last week amid concern that the novel coronavirus outbreak may threaten the nation’s already fragile economy. The S&P BSE Sensex fell 8% to 31,390.07 in Mumbai, with all 30 members declining, following a wild session last week, when the gauge swung to end …

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• 16 March

  Zimbabwe restricts old mutual shares’ trading

  Bloomberg Zimbabwean Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube restricted trading in three companies’ stocks to try and halt a rout of the nation’s currency. The measure to limit trading of dual-listed shares Old Mutual Ltd, PPC Ltd and Seed Co will be in place for a year, Ncube said in a Government Gazette. The order doesn’t have any impact on the settlement …

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