April, 2020

• 5 April

  Chinese officials urge citizens to refrain from hoarding grains

  

  Bloomberg Government officials in China, the world’s biggest consumer and producer of rice, called on citizens not to hoard the grain after a recent ban on new export sales by Vietnam sparked concerns over global supplies. The country holds sufficient rice and wheat stockpiles for one year of consumption, while imports of the cereals are only about 2% of domestic ...

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• 5 April

  HK finance chief expects turnaround in 6 months

  Bloomberg Hong Kong could take six months to reverse the economic effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic, financial secretary Paul Chan said, adding that the government will offer “comprehensive” aid to protect businesses and jobs across all industries as the outbreak’s impact spreads through the economy. The retail and tourism sectors were initially among the hardest hit by the pandemic ...

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• 5 April

  US regulator who became the face of shale in oil wars

  

  Bloomberg In just a matter of weeks, Ryan Sitton went from being a lame-duck commissioner of an obscure Texas agency to one of the key figures in a global effort to save the oil market from plummeting prices. Sitton, a Republican who lost the primary election for his own seat on the Texas Railroad Commission just one month ago, said ...

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• 5 April

  Norway may join oil output cuts for first time since 2002

  

  Bloomberg Norway, the biggest oil producer in western Europe, said it would consider cutting its output if there was a broad international agreement to curb supply. The Nordic nation, whose oil output is set to grow over the next few years, hasn’t been a part of coordinated international cuts to support prices since 2002. Opec and other producing nations are ...

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• 5 April

  Egypt cancels wheat tender over virus supply risks

  

  Bloomberg The fallout from the coronavirus crisis is starting to upend wheat tenders in the world’s top importer. In a rare move, Egypt cancelled a tender within hours of announcing it, without giving a reason. The state buyer added a new clause requiring suppliers to replace any cargoes affected by virus-related restrictions with wheat from elsewhere, and bear the difference ...

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• 5 April

  US state uses climate cash to cut bills

  Bloomberg California regulators want to use money from the state’s climate change cap-and-trade programme to offset rising utility bills, as the coronavirus forces many residents to stay home. Some of the proceeds from the system — which makes power plants, factories and many businesses pay for the greenhouse gases they emit — go to California residents twice each year as ...

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• 5 April

  Alberta to participate in Opec+ call next week

  Bloomberg Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage will participate in an Opec+ call next week aimed at resolving the global oil price war and will “keep an open mind” on how the province can participate in a solution, Premier Jason Kenney said. “We cannot have a meaningful impact on global prices because of our landlocked status,” Kenney said in response to ...

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• 5 April

  Covid-19: Saudi firm delays $2b debt talks for Vodafone deal

  Bloomberg Saudi Telecom Co has postponed talks to raise debt to fund the acquisition of Vodafone Group Plc’s stake in its Egyptian business because of the coronavirus outbreak, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Work on the acquisition is still continuing and the kingdom’s largest telecoms operator may resume negotiations with banks for a loan of more than ...

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• 5 April

  Germany mulls $324 billion aid program for small firms

  

  Bloomberg Germany is mulling an additional aid program for small- and medium-sized companies worth 300 billion euros ($324 billion) as the government seeks to limit the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The new loan guarantees would come on top of a barrage of measures to counter what Chancellor Angela Merkel has called the biggest challenge to the country since ...

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• 5 April

  Euro area economy shrinks 10% with worse still to come

  

  Bloomberg The euro area economy is in a slump of unprecedented scale, and the contraction may deepen even further as lockdowns to contain the coronavirus are extended. IHS Markit said its monthly measure of services and manufacturing points to an annualised economic contraction of about 10%. With new business, confidence and employment all down, there is “worse inevitably to come ...

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