Oil prices rose on Friday, gaining further ground as some producers like Kuwait said they would move to cut output swiftly to try to counter the evaporation in global demand for fuels caused by the coronavirus pandemic. "The disruption relating to the coronavirus is set to cause the steepest fall in global GDP since the Second World War," Capital Economics said in a note, forecasting a 5.5% contraction in global economies this year, dwarfing the 0.5% fall seen during the global financial crisis....
(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks slipped Friday as investors weighed signs of progress in the fight against the coronavirus against data showing the severity of the impact on economies. Oil climbed back above $17 a barrel.Japanese shares dipped along with those in Hong Kong and Korea, while Australian equities edged higher. S&P 500 contracts fell after the index erased a 1.6% gain in Thursday’s session to end little changed. Gilead Sciences Inc.’s antiviral drug remdesivir was reported to have flopped in its first randomized clinical trial, though the company disputed that characterization. Treasuries added to gains and the dollar was little changed.A rebound in global stocks has stalled following two weeks of strong gains, as investors assess a flurry of earnings reports along with economic data and the latest news on the virus. Data from the U.S. showed total job losses now exceed 26 million amid the shutdowns.“There is a long list...
On Tuesday, Google (GOOGL) announced via a blog post that it is making changes to its product search platform. From next week, businesses will be able to list products on the search giant’s Shopping platform for free. Whereas before, any company would have to pay for ad placement, these will only be required for top placements. According to commerce president Bill Ready, the plan was already in place but was sped up to help businesses during the economic crisis.According to 5-star Baird analyst Colin Sebastian, there are a number of reasons for the change.First of all, in addition to the obvious benefits to merchants, the move will help consumers by expanding the selection of products on offer. Google will obtain access to a wider range of product listings and information, which will lead to a better shopping experience due to the improved relevance of the results. Furthermore, citing Alibaba as an...
