April, 2020

• 16 April

  The fog surrounding coronavirus economy

  Just how serious will the economic impact of the coronavirus be? Amid vast uncertainty, some very large numbers are flying around, and there’s a lot of confusion over what they mean. Peering through this fog, it’s worth noting: Authoritative official forecasters are far more pessimistic in the short term than most private-sector analysts. When Goldman Sachs, for instance, recently said ...

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• 16 April

  Now, money is losing its meaning amid virus

  Doing “whatever it takes” to save the global economy from the coronavirus pandemic is going to cost a lot of money. The US government alone is spending a few trillion dollars, and the Federal Reserve is creating another few trillion dollars to keep the financial system from collapsing. A custom Bloomberg index measuring M2 figures for 12 major economies including ...

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• 16 April

  Meticulous! Germany can handle a pandemic

  

  It’s still early days in this pandemic, but not too early to venture a prediction: Germany and its chancellor, Angela Merkel, will come out of it looking quite good. What’s more, she may look even better as the outbreak enters its second phase, in which lockdowns gradually yield to uneasy resumptions of social and economic life. That’s because this pandemic ...

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• 16 April

  US store turnaround is no match for virus

  

  There is a sad inevitability about US department store JC Penney potentially exploring bankruptcy protection. The 118-year-old retailer has enough cash to survive the coming months, but it is looking into a possible bankruptcy filing to restructure its finances, Reuters, citing people familiar with the talks. JC Penney said it wouldn’t make a $12 million interest payment due April 15, ...

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• 16 April

  Asia’s demographics make foreign workers critical

  

  For Asia’s most prosperous societies, Covid-19 has exposed a big vulnerability: People simply aren’t having enough babies to replenish their aging populations. It’s foreign workers that make these countries function. That’s why pulling up the drawbridge to halt further spread of the disease and protect domestic businesses would be perilous. Even Japan and South Korea, often seen as hostile to ...

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• 16 April

  European stocks rise with US futures; dollar extends gain

  

  Bloomberg European stocks rose alongside US equity futures on Thursday, trimming some losses from a day earlier as investors seeking to gauge the extent of damage caused by the coronavirus await the next set of corporate earnings and economic data. The dollar extended gains. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index opened higher with all sectors and major national gauges in the ...

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• 16 April

  Indian stocks rise in volatile trading season

  

  Bloomberg Indian stocks rose in a volatile trading session, as investors mulled the outlook for company earnings after software services provider Wipro Ltd. declined to provide guidance for the first time since 2009. The S&P BSE Sensex advanced 0.8% to 30,618.57 as of 12:56 pm in Mumbai, after swinging between a loss of as much as 1.2% and a gain ...

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• 16 April

  Recession fears, stimulus fuel record gold ETF inflow

  Bloomberg Investors are pouring money into exchange-traded funds tracking gold amid expectations of a global recession and massive stimulus from central banks and governments. BlackRock’s iShares Gold Trust, ticker IAU, took in $486 million, its largest one-day inflow on record, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. At the same time, State Street’s SPDR Gold Shares, or GLD, has seen 10 ...

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• 16 April

  BofA joins rivals in setting aside billions for loan losses

  

  Bloomberg Bank of America Corp. (BofA) followed two big rivals in setting aside billions of dollars for loans likely to sour amid an almost total US economic shutdown. Profit plunged 45% as the company allocated $4.76 billion for loan losses, the most since 2010, as businesses and households reel from the coronavirus pandemic. The bank joins competitors JPMorgan Chase & ...

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• 16 April

  Default risk for Indian banks declines from six-year high

  

  Bloomberg Default risks for India’s banks have declined from six-year highs on expectations that recent policy support will help the lenders avoid worse damage from the coronavirus pandemic. Average credit-default swaps on five Indian lenders, including State Bank of India, have dropped sharply since the Reserve Bank of India unleashed a 3.74 trillion rupee ($49 billion) stimulus package on March ...

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