(Bloomberg) -- Oil advanced for a second day on signs fuel consumption is starting to recover in the world’s biggest economies, while global production cuts also begin to offset the demand destruction caused by the coronavirus.Futures in New York rose around 15% to above $17 a barrel. They surged by more than a fifth of their value on Wednesday as Energy Information Administration data showed a surprise drop in American gasoline stockpiles and a jump in demand. In China, traffic is returning to the streets, supporting a boost in fuel consumption and refinery processing rates.U.S. output will fall by 2 million barrels a day in May compared with March and the price of crude has likely bottomed out, according to the head of trading house Mercuria Energy Group Ltd. Russia flagged that its production would fall by around a fifth and Norway also said it would also said it would curb...
Massive stockpiling of gold by investors spooked by the coronavirus outbreak offset a collapse in jewellery production to keep global demand for the metal stable in the first three tumultuous months of 2020, the World Gold Council said on Thursday. "This is the biggest change to the market that I can remember," said John Reade, the WGC's chief market strategist. Over January-March, exchange traded funds (ETFs) storing gold on behalf of investors mainly in the United States and Europe added a whopping 298 tonnes worth some $16 billion to their hoard, the WGC said in its latest quarterly report....
(Bloomberg) -- The coronavirus lockdown will cause the biggest drop in energy demand in history, with only renewables managing to increase output through the crisis.As people around the world consume less oil, gas and coal, electricity generated from the wind and sun will keep flowing, resulting in an unprecedented 8% decline in global carbon dioxide emissions this year, according to a report from the International Energy Agency. “The energy industry that emerges from this crisis will be significantly different from the one that came before,” Fatih Birol, the IEA’s executive director, said in a statement released from the organization’s headquarters in Paris on Thursday.The pandemic has infected at least 3 million people worldwide and killed more than 200,000 people as of April 29. With no drug to treat Covid-19 and a vaccine not expected until at least the end of the year, reducing the interactions between infected people is the only effective way...
(Bloomberg) -- The Trump administration is planning a Manhattan Project-style program to drastically cut the time it takes to develop a coronavirus vaccine. Gilead Sciences Inc. said its experimental treatment remdesivir helped patients recover faster, sending U.S. stocks higher. Asia stocks rose on Thursday.In an Oval Office interview with Reuters published Wednesday night, Trump said he thinks that China is determined to see him lose the November election based on Beijing’s response to the coronavirus and he was considering various ways to punish the Chinese government. He also said that the U.S. trade deal with China has been “upset very badly” by the economic fallout from the pandemic.U.S. economic data showed the country’s record-long expansion is over, with a recession under way. The first official gauge for China’s economy in April showed the manufacturing sector moderated, indicating the recovery from a first-quarter slump will be prolonged as the spread of the...
Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) significantly beat analyst expectations in its first-quarter results, and here's what analysts at Wedbush Securities Inc. and Loup Ventures' Gene Munster think about its performance and outlook.Impressive Performance In A 'Dark Environment,' Wedbush Says In an analyst note following the earnings report, Wedbush said it was "an impressive performance" by Tesla CEO Elon Musk "in a dark environment."Referring to the GAAP gross margin of 20.6% and adjusted EBITDA margin of 15.9% in the quarter, the analysts said, "this level of profitability is key for the bulls and [it] speaks to a business model which is staying out of the red ink despite this unprecedented COVID-19 dark storm."Wedbush noted that the large free cash flow loss of $895 million, significantly higher than the Street's estimate of $255 million, was primarily due to a $981 million flow into inventory growth, but it will nevertheless offset some investors.The analysts believe...
(Bloomberg) -- The Trump administration is planning a Manhattan Project-style program to drastically cut the time it takes to develop a coronavirus vaccine. Gilead Sciences Inc. said its experimental treatment remdesivir helped patients recover faster, sending U.S. stocks higher. Asia stocks rose on Thursday.In an Oval Office interview with Reuters published Wednesday night, Trump said he thinks that China is determined to see him lose the November election based on Beijing’s response to the coronavirus and he was considering various ways to punish the Chinese government.U.S. economic data showed the country’s record-long expansion is over, with a recession under way. The first official gauge for China’s economy in April showed the manufacturing sector moderated, indicating the recovery from a first-quarter slump will be prolonged as the spread of the coronavirus hits global demand. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told parliament the economy was facing a difficult situation that’s unprecedented.Key DevelopmentsVirus Tracker:...
