U.S. gold futures gained 0.8% to $1,770.50. "Markets are pricing in that the (economic) recovery is going to be a little slower than previously expected, and that's probably going to require an environment of lower rates," said IG Markets analyst Kyle Rodda, adding that Friday's "really poor" U.S. economic data was the big catalyst. Data out on Friday showed U.S. retail sales and industrial production both plunged in April, putting the economy on track for its deepest contraction since the Great Depression....
Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund is taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic and buying stocks worth millions in the United States companies.What Happened The oil-rich kingdom's $300 billion sovereign-wealth fund has picked up shares worth half a billion dollars each in Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS), Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), Marriott International Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR), and Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO).The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) has also invested $522 million in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) and $488 million in Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC). The fund picked up a $714 million worth stake in Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) as well. The fund is responsible for leading Saudi Arabia away from its hydrocarbon centered economy and has the mandate to invest in companies unrelated to the oil sector. Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is the chairman of the PIF.Why It Matters The PIF has been investing in global...
A member of Canada’s air-force aerobatics team was killed and the pilot injured in a jet crash during a performance in support of front-line workers fighting the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: Jonathan Hayward/Associated Press...
(Bloomberg) -- Since its founding more than three decades ago, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has built its business by working behind the scenes to make customers like Apple Inc. and Qualcomm Inc. shine. Now the low-profile chipmaker has landed squarely in the middle of the U.S.-China trade war, an incalculably valuable asset that both sides are vying to control.The Trump administration opened up a new front in the conflict on Friday by barring any chipmaker using American equipment from supplying China’s Huawei Technologies Co. without U.S. government approval. That means TSMC and rivals will have to cut off Huawei unless they get waivers from the U.S. Commerce Dept. TSMC has already stopped accepting new orders from Huawei, the Nikkei newspaper reported Monday.The move threatens to wreak havoc throughout the complex ecosystem that produces technology for consumers and companies around the world. An attack on Huawei threatens not just its workers and...
May.18 -- Izumi Devalier, head of Japan economics at Bank of America, discusses the prospects for the Japanese economy and policies amid the coronavirus outbreak. The economy sank last quarter into a recession that’s likely to deepen further as households limit spending to essentials and companies cut investment, production and hiring to stay afloat. Devalier speaks with Rishaad Salamt and Haslinda Amin on "Bloomberg Markets: Asia."...
