Gilead’s remdesivir has flopped in its first trial: Financial Times

US long-term mortgage rates edge higher; 30-year at 3.33%

Long-term mortgage rates rose slightly this week, continuing to hover near all-time lows amid anxiety over the economy and housing market gut-punched by the shutdown spurred by the coronavirus pandemic. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan edged up to 3.33% this week from 3.31% last week. Demand from prospective homebuyers has weakened amid economic anxiety, and the housing market has been upended by the pandemic just as it was entering the busy spring season....

Repair, abandon, burn: Russia explores options for historic oil cut

In just a week, Russia has to find ways to cut a fifth of its oil output under a deal to tackle the market glut and is looking at all options, including putting wells on repair and maintenance to abandoning them entirely and even burning oil, four oil industry sources said. Russia, along with other members of the global oil alliance between the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC members, agreed to jointly remove nearly 10 million barrels per day (bpd) from world markets, a tenth of total supply, starting from May 1. Last week, the Russian energy ministry told oil companies to cut their production by a fifth to 8.5 million barrels per day to meet the OPEC+ deal....