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(Bloomberg) -- Oil retreated from its highest close in four months after the OPEC+ alliance confirmed it would start tapering output cuts from next month.Futures in New York dropped below $41 a barrel. Saudi Arabia and Russia said the producer bloc would proceed with its plan to add more supply next month and were confident that it wouldn’t hurt oil’s rally, with the tapering to be offset by extra cuts from countries that didn’t meet their targets.Oil was also under pressure from a drop in equities in Europe and Asia. That was despite figures that showed China’s economy returned to growth and expanded more than forecast last quarter.The recovery in China is in stark contrast to other corners of the globe, where the coronavirus continues to rage out of control. That’s leading to a patchy rebound in crude, though there are pockets of strength in some parts of the oil market,...
(Bloomberg) -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. raised its outlook for 2020 revenue and spending, counting on global 5G smartphone and high-end computing demand to stay strong despite growing signs of a second coronavirus wave.Apple Inc.’s main iPhone chipmaker is now projecting more than 20% growth in sales, up markedly from an earlier forecast for a mid- to high-teens percentage rise. It expects to spend $16 billion to $17 billion on technology upgrades and expansion this year, up about $1 billion.TSMC, a bellwether for the industry because of its critical role in crafting silicon for everything from mobile devices to high-powered computers, raised both forecasts after June-quarter profit beat analysts’ estimates by the widest margin in six years, surprising analysts who’d factored in a hit from the pandemic and U.S. curbs on No. 2 customer Huawei Technologies Co.Taiwan’s largest company is betting on 5G smartphone demand to take off during coronavirus lockdowns,...
Shares in AstraZeneca (AZN) spiked almost 5% in after-market trading amid a report that early-stage human trial data on the drugmaker’s coronavirus vaccine candidate will be disclosed on July 20.The stock rose to $60.60 in Wednesday’s extended trading after earlier jumping 7%. Data results from the Phase 1 trial of the potential coronavirus vaccine, also known as AZD1222, which AstraZeneca is developing with Oxford University, are slated to be published on Monday, according to the Lancet medical journal.The data is expected to demonstrate whether the potential vaccine is safe and whether or not it triggers an immune response. Earlier this month, the vaccine developers said they were encouraged by the immune response they had seen in trials so far.“We expect this paper, which is undergoing final editing and preparation, to be published on Monday, July 20, for immediate release,” a spokeswoman for the journal told Reuters.Meanwhile, the vaccine candidate is already...
(Bloomberg) -- Procter & Gamble Co. products are bought by 5 billion people, and everything involved in the manufacture, sale and use of those goods generates more than 230 million metric tons of greenhouse gas each year. The consumer-goods giant is now moving to cut some of its climate-warming emissions, while continuing to send the vast majority into the atmosphere.The new commitment announced by P&G on Thursday moves to neutralize emissions from its factories and operations. By 2030, the company will cut those emissions in half and invest $100 million over the coming decade in nature-based projects, such as tree planting, to offset the rest. But direct emissions, known in climate accounting as Scope 1 and 2, make up only a small fraction of P&G’s total greenhouse-gas footprint: about 4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.The rest of the company’s emissions, accounting for more than 98% of its annual total, are produced in its vast supply chain or through...
(Bloomberg) -- The rally in Chinese shares is unraveling almost as quickly as it began, with losses accelerating Thursday after state media criticized one of the country’s most popular stocks.The CSI 300 Index closed 4.8% lower, its biggest loss since markets reopened in February following the Lunar New Year break. Crowd favorite Kweichow Moutai Co. slumped 7.9%, wiping out a record $25 billion in value and dragging down an index of consumer shares by the most since 2018. The ChiNext Index, which had earlier this week turned hotter than any benchmark in the world, fell as much as 6.2%.This month’s frenzy in Chinese stocks had pushed the value of the country’s equity market to almost $10 trillion, a level that marked the top of the bubble five years ago. Policy makers have since taken steps to rein in speculation in equities, including effectively withdrawing liquidity from the financial system.The impact showed...
(Bloomberg) -- Stocks fell with U.S. equity futures on Thursday as investors parsed a slew of economic data from China that showed the path of economic recovery from the pandemic remains bumpy. The dollar edged higher with Treasuries.The Stoxx Europe 600 Index tracked Asian shares lower after data indicated that even as China’s economy returned to growth in the second quarter, retail sales in June missed estimates and continued to contract. Futures on the three main American equity gauges pointed to a weak start on Wall Street.The euro edged down and regional bonds were mixed ahead of the European Central Bank’s policy decision. The ECB is expected to keep its emergency bond-buying program unchanged but President Christine Lagarde will likely face questions over whether the current level of support will be sufficient.The reminder of the long road ahead to a full global recovery is quashing optimism in financial markets earlier in...
