The head of the United Auto Workers union on Thursday said it was "too soon and too risky" to reopen auto plants and Michigan's economy in early May, citing insufficient scientific data and coronavirus testing to assure workplaces are safe. The warning from UAW President Rory Gamble on Thursday afternoon came as General Motors Co , Ford Motor Co and Toyota Motor Corp took new steps toward reopening North American vehicle manufacturing operations in an environment where consumer demand is uncertain and worker safety paramount....
Hertz Global Holdings Inc is working with debt restructuring advisers to explore options for shoring up its finances after the coronavirus pandemic killed demand for car rentals, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The Estero, Florida-based company, whose largest shareholder is billionaire investor Carl Icahn, is reeling from the impact of the pandemic on global travel. Hertz has enlisted restructuring experts at law firm White & Case LLP and investment bank Moelis & Co to help it address a cash crunch that has made its $17 billion debt pile potentially unsustainable, the sources said....
(Bloomberg) -- Gold headed for a weekly advance on expectations there’ll be more stimulus measures to boost coronavirus-hit economies, with RBC Capital Markets predicting allocations to bullion will increase, at least for now.“The combination of low rates, massive stimulus, and high uncertainty point toward gold allocations rising regardless of whether equity markets improve materially,” though that may not coincide with higher prices, analysts led by Helima Croft said in a note.Bullion is trading near the highest in more than seven years as the pandemic triggered an unprecedented wave of stimulus from governments and central banks, and investors seeking a haven from market turmoil pour into exchange-traded funds backed by the metal. There’s the possibility of more measures as the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of Japan have policy meetings next week. In the U.S., the House passed and sent to President Donald Trump a $484 billion virus aid package.RBC...
(Bloomberg) -- For the first time in more than a decade, U.S. natural gas is set to be the world’s most expensive as Covid-19 lockdowns wallop demand in other regions.Gas futures in the U.S. have rallied about 10% this month as traders bet that a historic crash in oil prices will drive American shale companies to halt more drilling and curb output of gas, which is extracted as a byproduct. In Europe and Asia, meanwhile, prices are sliding to fresh lows due to a supply glut and languishing consumption amid the pandemic.U.S. gas had consistently been the cheapest since the shale revolution, which flooded the country with fuel and turned it into the world’s biggest producer. Giant export terminals were financed and built by attracting customers through contracts linked to cheap American gas prices.That edge is eroding as prices in Asia and Europe confront the twin forces of rising supply and...
(Bloomberg) -- An investor who’s consistently topped peers betting on stocks in the developing world says the asset class has never looked so promising.Leon Eidelman, whose $7.4 billion JPMorgan Emerging Markets Equity Fund has trounced 96% of peers through five years, said the firm forecasts 18% annualized returns for a basket of some 1,200 developing-nation stocks over the next half decade. The JPMorgan model jumped to an all-time high last month. He says his fund, which has about half its money in China and India, will do even better.About 19% of Eidelman’s portfolio is invested in four Asian technology firms: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Tencent Holdings Ltd., Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics Co., according to the latest filings compiled by Bloomberg. That’s still slightly less than their weighting on the benchmark MSCI EM Index.“Our view is that over the next five years these businesses will emerge even bigger,” New...
(Bloomberg) -- Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he’s considering the creation of a government lending program for U.S. oil companies, which are looking for federal aid as they cope with a devastating plunge in prices.“One of the components we’re looking at is providing a lending facility for the industry,” Mnuchin said in a Bloomberg News interview on Thursday. “We’re looking at a lot of different options, and we have not made any conclusions.”The program would be run out of the Federal Reserve, according to a person familiar with the matter. The administration is also considering taking financial stakes in exchange for some loans, and some firms might be asked to reduce production, the person said. President Donald Trump has not yet been presented with any options, the person added.The Treasury Department would need permission from Congress to loan funds directly from the $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus passed last month. Oil companies...
