August, 2020

• 3 August

  Chevron posts worst loss in decades with more pain to come

  

  Bloomberg US oil giant Chevron Corp posted its worst quarterly loss in at least three decades and warned that the global pandemic wreaking havoc upon energy markets may continue to drag on earnings. Chevron fully erased the value of its Venezuela operations from its books, amounting to $2.6 billion, after they were effectively frozen by US sanctions, and wrote down ...

  Read More »
• 3 August

  Hottest part of fossil fuel market starts to cool

  

  Bloomberg The liquefied natural gas market contracted a third month in July as countries continue to struggle with the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Global exports of the fuel last month dropped 9.4% from the previous year, the steepest year-over-year decline since at least December 2017, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The biggest cuts came from the ...

  Read More »
• 3 August

  Exxon tears up plan in attempt to defend dividend

  

  Bloomberg Exxon Mobil Corp is ripping up its debt-fuelled, $30 billion-a-year plan to rebuild an aging worldwide portfolio after cash flow evaporated and threatened the company’s vaunted dividend. The shift by the Western world’s premier oil explorer represents an about-face after more than two years of doing pretty much the opposite of the its biggest rivals, who have been shrinking ...

  Read More »
• 3 August

  Early voting, subverting election chaos in the US

  

  When Margaret Fuller, one of 19th century America’s public intellectuals, grandly proclaimed, “I accept the universe,” Thomas Carlyle, the British historian, reportedly said, “By gad, she’d better.” In 21st-century America, people worry about whether President Donald Trump will “accept” defeat in the election. He’d better. Dignified comportment is not his strong suit, but surely he cannot equably contemplate being frogmarched ...

  Read More »
• 3 August

  Big pharma shouldn’t be too greedy

  

  Intellectual property (IP) is a convenient fiction. It is a right enforced by state power and international agreements, one that’s even more fragile than other forms of property rights since it’s not tangible. We choose to believe this fiction because we also believe that intellectual property adds to general welfare. It permits innovation and growth, and supports writers, artists, inventors ...

  Read More »
• 3 August

  Data stresses urgency for healthy reopenings

  Data that came out last week illustrated three developments that underscore the need for the US to resume healthy reopenings: worrisome Covid-19 infections, hospitalisations and deaths in a growing number of states; the clear and present risk of significant recurring damage to the economy; and the considerable upside of reversing both trends quickly. What is desirable is also feasible, although ...

  Read More »
• 3 August

  Britain top banks show UK economic weakness

  The UK’s biggest banks have come a long way since the financial crisis, when taxpayers had to rescue them to the tune of tens of billions of pounds. They’re certainly stronger, with comfortable capital buffers, as they head into what could be the worst recession in three centuries. But with the future of the economic rebound still far from certain, ...

  Read More »
• 3 August

  Seven & i Holdings beats out rival with $21bn bet on US

  

  Bloomberg Seven & i Holdings Co, the world’s largest convenience store operator, is betting $21 billion on the future of quick-stop shopping in the US, reviving a once-abandoned deal to make sure the target didn’t fall into the hands of a competitor. The global operator of the 7-Eleven franchise agreed to buy Marathon Petroleum Corp’s gas-station business, adding 3,900 Speedway ...

  Read More »
• 3 August

  Japan Airlines posts its biggest loss since 2012

  

  Bloomberg Japan Airlines Co posted its biggest quarterly net loss in at least eight years and decided to forgo paying an interim dividend as it contends with the devastating impact of the coronavirus. The carrier’s first-quarter loss was 93.7 billion yen ($89 million), the most since it re-listed on the Tokyo stock exchange in 2012 after emerging from bankruptcy. Since ...

  Read More »
• 3 August

  Wizz Air to speed up Airbus jet deliveries following talks

  

  Bloomberg Wizz Air Holdings Plc will accelerate the rate of new-plane deliveries from Airbus SE, taking advantage of deferrals from other customers to feed its own expansion. The Hungarian low-cost airline will receive about 30 A321neo jets in 2021, five more than previously planned, Chief Executive Officer Jozsef Varadi said in an interview. Talks with Airbus included commercial arrangements, he ...

  Read More »