Carnival Corp.’s (CCL) shares climbed 21% after Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), on Monday disclosed an 8.2% stake in coronavirus-hit Carnival Corp.PIF made the offering for Carnival’s 43.5 million shares worth about $369.3 million on March 26, according to the SEC filing. The investment makes PIF the second-largest investor in the world's biggest cruise line.Since the start of the year, Carnival has seen its shares lose more than three-quarters of their value as the coronavirus pandemic has forced cruise ship companies to halt operations and suspend cruises.Wall Street analysts take a cautious stance on Carnival stock. The analysts’ Hold consensus rating is split into 8 Holds, 2 Sells and 1 Buy. The $40.88 average price target suggest a 300% upside potential should it be met in the coming 12 months. (See Carnival’s stock analysis on TipRanks)PIF, which manages over $300 billion in assets, is also an...
(Bloomberg) -- Americans hurt by the coronavirus pandemic are skipping home-loan payments, and the trusts that own the mortgages are feeling the pain.Opportunistic funds have noticed. Among the investors in talks to buy discounted assets in the distressed real estate investment trusts are Paul Singer’s Elliott Management Corp. and Appaloosa Management, run by David Tepper, according to people involved in the deals who asked not to be identified discussing private transactions. Apollo Global Management Inc. and Howard Marks’s Oaktree Capital Group are also among interested investors, the people said.Wall Street is on the hunt for bargains on assets that will probably gain in value once the pandemic eases. Some cash-hungry REITs have already sold mortgage portfolios at steep discounts and talks have heated up over similar deals or even equity stakes in the companies themselves, the people said. In those discussions, hedge funds and private equity firms are seeking returns of...
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- In the eyes of Moscow hardliners, the shale boom that turned the U.S. into a leading oil exporter has also encouraged Washington’s belligerence. Back in early March, low prices were a welcome means of pushing American producers over the edge; Russia’s bolstered state finances and its lower-cost oil companies meant it could take the pain.But that was then.Now, the unfolding coronavirus epidemic has forced the country into a shutdown that will last until the end of April, while dealing an unprecedented blow to oil demand. It’s a double whammy just as President Vladimir Putin, whose approval ratings have been slipping, prepares to extend his stay at the top. An output-cutting deal with other producing nations, even one that can merely cushion the revenue drop, is now desirable, to stop the economy — and the president’s popularity — from fraying further. Achieving that on the Kremlin’s terms will be another matter.Russia is certainly less vulnerable than in the past, in part thanks to financial buffers...
Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s (NASDAQ: INO) Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-backed DNA vaccine for the novel coronavirus enters human trials.What Happened Inovio Pharmaceuticals announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration had accepted the New Drug application for INO-4800, a vaccine that is designed to prevent COVID-19, clearing the way for Phase 1 clinical testing in healthy volunteers. The company administered the first dose on Monday.Inovio Pharmaceuticals' CEO, Dr. J. Joseph Kim said about the development, "This is a significant step forward in the global fight against COVID-19. Without a new, safe and effective vaccine, the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to continue to threaten lives and livelihoods." In a statement, Kim lauded the commitment of his team saying, "Our dedicated team of staff, partners and funders, have been mobilized since the genetic sequence of the virus became available in early January and continues to work around the clock to ensure that...
