CDC Plans Dual Flu-Covid Test; Latin America Surge: Virus Update

CDC Plans Dual Flu-Covid Test; Latin America Surge: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. is developing a test that can simultaneously check for seasonal influenza and Covid-19, a tool that could help health authorities more efficiently determine whether there is a second wave of coronavirus later this year.Iran reported its highest number of daily cases, while Mexico and Brazil each had a record increase in deaths. AstraZeneca signed a deal to support Oxford University’s coronavirus vaccine.The European Central Bank steppped up its response to the coronavirus recession with a bigger-than-anticipated increase to its emergency bond-buying program, and data showed Americans are still filing for unemployment benefits even as businesses reopen.China will ease its ban on foreign airlines starting Monday and lessen quarantine requirements for official and business travelers, while Japan debated scaling back next year’s Summer Olympics.Key Developments:Virus Tracker: Cases pass 6.5 million; deaths exceed 386,000Swedish faith in country’s Covid-19 strategy sinksRoche gets emergency approval for test for severe casesU.K. minister’s...

Oil Traders Ask Why U.S. Inventory Math Isn’t Adding Up

(Bloomberg) -- Oil traders and analysts scrutinizing U.S. inventory data for signs of a market recovery are being confronted by an odd situation: the math just doesn’t add up.Various government data sets including stockpiles, production, imports and exports are signaling that current official figures on at least some supplies are excessive. While it’s unclear where exactly the discrepancy lies, the difference could potentially signal a more bullish outlook for crude prices as they claw their way back after diving below zero in April.The excess is showing up in the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s so-called crude supply adjustment factor -- the difference between stockpile numbers and those implied by production, refinery demand, imports and exports. That has averaged negative 980,000 barrels daily over the past four weeks -- the largest in records going back to 2001, and equivalent to more than 27 million barrels.The adjustment factor tends to swing back and forth,...

Bayer Faces More Weedkiller Woes as U.S. Court Bans Dicamba

(Bloomberg) -- Bayer AG is blocked from selling its controversial dicamba-based herbicide in the U.S. after an appeals court rejected a federal regulator’s permit for the product, compounding the German company’s weed-killer woes.The three-judge panel concluded the Environmental Protection Agency had “failed entirely” to acknowledge some risks dicamba poses and that the agency violated federal regulations when it extended its approval of registration for the herbicide for another two years in October 2018.The court, citing the EPA, said the decision could spur farmers to buy alternative seeds and pesticides. Weed killers can’t be sold or distributed in the U.S. without EPA registration. The decision is the latest blow to Bayer in the wake of its $63 billion takeover of Monsanto -- a deal that made the German company a leader in agriculture products but also saddled it with a mountain of legal liabilities related to weed killers.“We strongly disagree with the...

American Airlines soars on news it will boost U.S. flights in July

American Airlines Group Inc shares jumped by 25% after it said Thursday it will significantly boost its U.S. flight schedule next month after dramatic reductions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, flying more than 55% of its July 2019 domestic capacity. American shares, up 24.6% to $14.77 on the bullish announcement, are still down more than 50% since mid-February. The airline, the largest U.S. carrier, will also boost its international flights schedule next month, flying nearly 20% of its July 2019 schedule....