Apr.08 -- Bernard Chan, convenor of Hong Kong’s Executive Council and an adviser to Chief Executive Carrie Lam, discusses the $18 billion virus relief package set out by the Hong Kong government to support the economy. He speaks on “Bloomberg Markets: China Open.”...
(Bloomberg) -- A popular investment among Asia’s wealthy in the years of rock-bottom interest rates has been upended in the recent market rout, leaving investors facing losses estimated to be in the billions of dollars.Structured products called fixed coupon notes attracted scores of private banking clients in Hong Kong and Singapore in recent years, according to half a dozen bankers and advisers Bloomberg spoke with. Promised regular coupons even in turbulent times, some put 20% or more of their portfolios into the instruments, they said. One catch: the principal was tied to swings in assets like stocks, and losses could mount quickly during deep market declines.About 5%, or more than $80 billion, of Asian private banking assets outside mainland China is probably tied to such notes, estimates University of Hong Kong Professor Dragon Tang. They worked smoothly until Covid-19 struck. The promised payouts have since been dwarfed by capital losses as...
Exxon Mobil Corp used economic uncertainty tied to the coronavirus pandemic to urge workers at its lubricants and packaging plant in Paulsboro, New Jersey, to vote for a proposed contract, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Workers at the plant on Wednesday rejected the contract in a 62-11 vote, however, said the two sources. The workers are represented by the Independent Oil Workers union (IOW) in Paulsboro....
Last year, according to the World Economic Forum, 77,000 new ventilators were enough to meet the market demand worldwide. For context, this month alone, New York City predicts a need for an extra 30,000 machines.COVID-19’s impact has stretched hospital resources to almost breaking point, but micro-cap Bellerophon Therapeutics (BLPH) might just have a solution to mitigate against the lack of ventilators. Accordingly, the stock has shot up 113% year-to-date.But H.C. Wainwright’s Andrew Fein believes the story is only beginning. Fein reiterated a Buy on Bellerophon, along with a $30 price target, which implies an impressive 168% upside from current levels. (To watch Fein’s track record, click here)Bellerophon has been granted Emergency Expanded Access for INOpulse for the treatment of COVID-19. INOpulse is a small and portable nitric oxide delivery system, which has demonstrated it can reduce viral load as well as prevent virus replication in SARS-CoV.One COVID-19 patient has already been...
OPEC and Russia will debate record oil output cuts on Thursday to prop up prices wrought by the coronavirus pandemic but their talks are complicated by internal disagreements and the reluctance of the United States to join the action. Benchmark Brent crude oil prices hit an 18-year low last month and are trading below $34 a barrel, half their level at the end of 2019, dealing a severe blow to budgets of oil producing nations and high-cost U.S. shale oil industry. U.S. President Donald Trump said last week a deal he had brokered with OPEC leader Saudi Arabia and Russia could lead to cuts of as much as 10 million to 15 million barrels per day (bpd) or 10% to 15% of global supplies, an unprecedented reduction....
OPEC and other oil producers led by Russia will discuss their largest ever output cut on Thursday in talks complicated by recent animosity and U.S. resistance to mandating cuts. The spread of the coronavirus has slashed fuel demand for vehicles and planes and sent crude prices below the cost of production for many, including U.S. shale oil producers. Benchmark Brent crude oil prices hit an 18-year low last month and are trading below $34 a barrel, half their level at the end of 2019....
