June, 2020

• 7 June

  Japan avoids signing UK-US accord on China

  Bloomberg Japan has refrained from joining countries including the US and UK in coordinated criticism of China’s move to impose a national security law in Hong Kong, Kyodo reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Japan decided not to be a signatory to the countries’ joint statement on the proposed law as Tokyo tries to improve its diplomatic relations with ...

  Read More »
• 7 June

  Guardians of world economy stagger from rescue to recovery

  

  Bloomberg The world’s governments and central banks are shifting from rescue to recovery mode as the deepest slump since the Great Depression shows signs of bottoming out. After rolling out trillions of dollars worth of measures to prevent their economies and markets from collapsing, they are now doubling down with even more spending to backstop a recovery as coronavirus lockdowns ...

  Read More »
• 7 June

  AstraZeneca in talks with Gilead over potential merger

  

  Bloomberg AstraZeneca Plc has approached rival drugmaker Gilead Sciences Inc. about a potential merger, according to people familiar with the matter, in what would be the biggest health-care deal on record. The UK-based firm contacted Gilead last month about a possible tie-up, the people said, asking not to be identified because the details are private. AstraZeneca didn’t specify terms for ...

  Read More »
• 7 June

  US economy is still far from smooth sailing, port chief says

  

  Bloomberg The US economy is unlikely to snap back quickly and may not return to normal until 2021, according to the chief of one of the nation’s biggest ports, after a government report raised hopes for a faster-than-expected rebound from a pandemic-induced recession. Even after the Labour Department’s surprisingly positive numbers on employment in May, “I’m still not convinced that ...

  Read More »
• 7 June

  Safra-backed firm weighs Travelex bid

  Bloomberg An investment company backed by billionaire banker Joseph Safra is considering a takeover bid for airport foreign exchange provider Travelex Holdings Ltd, the Mail on Sunday reported, citing financial industry sources. The Safra bid comes after Finablr-owned Travelex appointed PWC to find a buyer for the unit. On April 30, Finablr disclosed that its debt burden stood at around ...

  Read More »
• 7 June

  Meagre job gains among women hurt Canada’s recovery

  

  Bloomberg Canada’s labour market is showing signs of strength after months of Covid-19 destruction, but weakness in the jobs market for women is holding back the pace of the recovery. Recent labour market data show men are disproportionately benefiting from the phased reopening of the economy while women are struggling. In May, men recouped 14% of the nearly 1.5 million ...

  Read More »
• 7 June

  Emerging currencies enjoy best week in 4 years as dollar drops

  

  Bloomberg The US dollar’s bearish turn has opened the floodgates into emerging markets, helping currencies to get on board a rally so far driven by equities and bonds. The MSCI gauge for emerging-market exchange rates had the best weekly advance in more than four years and is flashing indicators of further gains. That’s helped to add at least $1 trillion ...

  Read More »
• 7 June

  Dubai shares climb the most after Opec extends output cuts

  

  Bloomberg Dubai shares climbed the most in the Gulf on after Opec+ agreed to a one-month extension of its record output cuts, underpinning recovery in oil prices. The DFM General Index rose as much as 3.0%, trimming losses this year to 24%. Gauges in Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Oman gained between 0.2% and 1.6%. Major oil producers decided ...

  Read More »
• 7 June

  Canadian stocks post their best week in two months

  Bloomberg Canadian stocks posted their best week in about two months, turbocharged by an unexpected rebound in the US and domestic labour market from the depths of the coronavirus shutdowns. The S&P/TSX Composite Index jumped 2.1% to close out the week 4.4% higher, its biggest gain since the week of April 10 as Canada added jobs 290,000 jobs in May, ...

  Read More »
• 7 June

  Egypt, IMF agree on $5.2b stand-by arrangement

  

  CAIRO / WAM In response to a request from the Egyptian authorities, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Uma Ramakrishnan held virtual meetings with the Egyptian authorities to discuss IMF financial support for the authorities’ policy plans to ensure macroeconomic stability and a strong economic recovery. At the end of the virtual discussions, Ramakrishnan issued the following statement. ...

  Read More »