(Bloomberg) -- Middle Eastern stocks slumped on Sunday, with Saudi Arabia’s falling the most in almost eight weeks after the kingdom’s finance minister said “painful” measures -- including deep spending cuts -- were needed to respond to the coronavirus and crash in oil prices.The Tadawul All Share Index lost as much as 7.6%, the most since March 9. Oil giant Saudi Aramco retreated 6% as of 11:01 a.m. local time to trade below 30 riyals per share.The world’s biggest oil exporter hasn’t witnessed “a crisis of this severity” in decades, Mohammed Al-Jadaan said in an interview with Saudi television station Al-Arabiya on Saturday, adding that government spending will have to be cut “very deeply.” His comments were a sharp change in tone from more reassuring remarks he gave about the economy one week before.Al-Jadaan “is the voice of the Saudi government and leadership,” said Mohammed Ali Yasin, chief strategy officer at...
(Bloomberg) -- Russia reported more than 10,000 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, the highest number of the outbreak. Germany had the lowest daily total since March, while U.S. infections rose faster than their one-week average.Warren Buffett said Berkshire Hathaway has sold its entire stake in four major airlines as a result of the economic fallout from the virus. Trump donor Monty Bennett, whose hotels won small-business loans to help mitigate the effects of the outbreak, agreed to return the money.Governments around the world are split into those trying to reopen economies and those implementing harsher controls. Australia continued to relax curbs, with Sydney resuming property auctions, while the Philippines halted all commercial flights starting Sunday.Key DevelopmentsVirus Tracker: global cases top 3.4 million; deaths 243,000Covid exit strategy needs a worldwide vaccineSingapore to ease limits on some businesses, schoolsOne U.K. shopkeeper knows why the rescue fell flatBuffett says Berkshire reverses course on airlinesFrom...
The world, at least on paper, suddenly looked a better place this past with several pieces of Covid-19 related news spurring a recovery. Key commodities such as crude oil and gasoline found a bid following the recent mayhem while gold, the safe-haven metal, headed for its largest weekly decline in seven weeks....
Shares in Gilead Sciences (GILD) fell 5% in Friday’s trading after the company’s first quarter earnings results sparked a wave of downgrades from the Street. JP Morgan and Raymond James downgraded the stock from Buy to Hold on May 1, while SunTrust Robinson went one step further- taking its GILD rating from Hold to Sell due to "lack of visibility to growth."“All guidance has been withdrawn due in part to uncertainty around COVID-19 impact on the core business, but primarily due to unknown revenue and costs with remdesivir [Gilead’s antiviral drug for the treatment of COVID-19]. We believe investors should temper remdesivir profit expectations in near- and long-term” warned Needham analyst Alan Carr following the earnings call. He has a hold rating on the stock, which is currently trading up over 23% year-to-date despite Friday’s pullback. Management revealed that it expects to have 1.5 million vials of remdesivir available in May,...
(Bloomberg) -- Germany added 890 new cases of Covid-19, its lowest daily total since March, while U.S. cases rose faster than their one-week average.Warren Buffett said Berkshire Hathaway has sold its entire stake in four major airlines as a result of the economic fallout from the virus. Trump donor Monty Bennett, whose hotels won small-business loans to help mitigate the effects of the outbreak, agreed to return the money.Governments around the world are split into those trying to reopen economies and those implementing harsher controls. Australia continued to relax curbs, with Sydney resuming property auctions, while The Philippines halted all commercial flights starting Sunday. Singapore said some businesses may be able to restart within two weeks while others may have to continue working from home beyond the June 1 end of its “circuit-breaker” period.Key DevelopmentsVirus Tracker: global cases top 3.4 million; deaths 243,000Covid exit strategy needs a worldwide vaccineSingapore to ease...
Shares in Boeing Co (BA) fell after the ailing planemaker said it raised $25 billion in debt financing and told investors that as a result it would not need to tap capital markets or the U.S. government for additional funding for now.The planemaker’s stock dropped 5.4% to $133.37 in U.S. trading on Friday, taking its year-to-date plunge to 60%. The bond offering included debt instruments with an aggregate principal amount of $25 billion across seven tranches with maturities ranging from three to 40 years.“The robust demand for the offering reflects strong support for the long-term strength of Boeing and the aviation industry,” Boeing said in a statement. “As a result of the response, and pending the closure of this transaction expected May 4, we do not plan to seek additional funding through the capital markets or the U.S. government options at this time.”The Chicago-based company said it will use net sale...
