May, 2020

• 5 May

  US, European futures up with lockdowns easing; oil rises

  

  Bloomberg US and European futures rose along with Asian stocks, as a number of economies move toward easing lockdowns. Crude oil gained for a fifth consecutive day. S&P 500 futures climbed after the index staged a turnaround late Monday to end firmer as California sounded a note of optimism in its fight against the virus. Stocks outperformed in Australia and ...

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• 5 May

  India stocks rebound after biggest drop in more than a month

  

  Bloomberg Indian stocks rose, rebounding from their steepest drop in more than a month, according to reports. The S&P BSE Sensex Index added 1.2% to 32,108.35 as of 9:37 am in Mumbai, and the NSE Nifty 50 Index advanced by the same magnitude. Both gauges lost more than 5% as a nationwide lockdown was extended. The regional MSCI Asia Pacific ...

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• 5 May

  Carson Block predicts plunge in global stocks

  Bloomberg Carson Block is predicting a plunge in stocks after they roared back from the coronavirus sell-off in March. “The direction has to be sharply downward,” the renowned short seller and founder of Muddy Waters Capital said. Block finds it hard to believe equities are trading at their current valuations even though demand has been “crushed” by the virus and ...

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• 5 May

  BofA gets nod for $24.9b in small-business loans

  

  Bloomberg Bank of America Corp. (BofA) received approval for 265,500 small-business loans totaling $24.9 billion in relief funds from the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program. Since the program reopened on April 27, the bank has sent 213,000 promissory notes to small businesses informing them that their loans were approved by the SBA, Bank of America said Monday in a ...

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• 5 May

  Canada business loans surge most in 40 years

  

  Bloomberg Canadian business loans grew at the fastest pace since 1981 in March as companies tapped credit lines to get them through the coronavirus crisis. Loans to businesses rose 54% annualised to C$949.2 billion ($668 billion), according to Bank of Canada data. The increase is the sharpest since 1981, reflecting the rush to borrow to stay afloat as countrywide shutdowns ...

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• 5 May

  Irish banks Europe’s worst performer as crashes pile up

  

  Bloomberg Once again, Irish banks are at the sharp edge of a global crisis. In 2008, it was the melting away of liquidity. Just over a decade on, it’s Covid-19. AIB Group and Bank of Ireland Group are the worst performers in the Bloomberg Europe Banks and Financial Services Index over the past year, as the pandemic amplifies investor wariness ...

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• 5 May

  BNP warns on profit after $1.2bn virus hit

  

  Bloomberg BNP Paribas SA warned full-year earnings will take a pounding from the coronavirus outbreak after the bank followed Societe Generale SA in setting aside more cash to cover problem loans and posted a $200 million hit at its trading unit. The French lender said net income this year could be 15% to 20% lower than in 2019 because of ...

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• 5 May

  Australian central bank holds fire, braces for economic hit

  

  Bloomberg Australia’s central bank kept the interest rate and yield objective unchanged Tuesday, while broadening securities eligible for its daily liquidity operations to assist the functioning of capital markets and keep rates down across the economy. Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe maintained both the cash rate and three-year bond yield target at 0.25%, as expected by economists and ...

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• 5 May

  Singapore banks to post first profit drop since 2016

  Bloomberg All three of Singapore’s banks are expected to see profit declines for the first time since 2016 as they set aside cash for a potential spike in bad loans stemming from the coronavirus-fueled economic slump. Net income at each lender probably slid between 21% and 28% in the three months ended March 31 from a year earlier, according to ...

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• 5 May

  Bank of China may absorb part of $1bn in client losses

  Bloomberg Bank of China Ltd., (BoC) facing a public outcry and regulatory scrutiny over the collapse of an investment product linked to oil futures, may shoulder part of $1 billion in losses suffered by its retail clients, according to people familiar with the matter. China’s fourth-largest bank by market value is talking to regulators about not seeking recourse on losses ...

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