(Bloomberg) -- Airlines worldwide raised more than $17 billion in bank loans in March to shore up their finances amid the coronavirus outbreak.U.S. carriers were the most active, borrowing $12.5 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Delta Air Lines Inc. is the top borrower this month, obtaining $5.6 billion, followed by Singapore Airlines Ltd., which secured a S$4 billion ($2.8 billion) bridge loan, and United Airlines Holdings Inc., which raised $2.5 billion.The airlines have borrowed new loans or drawn down on existing credit lines that they typically didn’t use before the health crisis. Companies in all industries globally have raised more than $230 billion from commercial banks since early March in response to the virus.Eleven other airlines, including British Airways Plc and Etihad Airways PJSC, have about $8 billion in combined revolving facilities that they may not yet have drawn, the data show.EasyJet Plc said Monday it’s in “ongoing discussions...
Mar.30 -- China's lifting of restrictions related to the coronavirus has been successful, according to research by Imperial College in London. "As movement increased and China restarted their economy, we didn't see an increase in transmission," says Dr. Kylie Ainslie, research associate in influenza dynamics in the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at Imperial. She speaks on "Bloomberg Markets: European Open."...
(Bloomberg) -- European and Asian stocks declined on Monday while U.S. equity futures fluctuated as investors weighed a weekend full of negative coronavirus news against the stimulus measures that triggered a bounce in risk assets last week. The dollar gained and oil fell.The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid led by energy shares as crude slumped again, dropping briefly below $20 a barrel in New York. For the first Monday in four weeks futures on the S&P 500 Index have yet to go limit-down, though headlines in the past few days have not been supportive. President Donald Trump has abruptly abandoned his ambition to return life to normal in the U.S. by Easter and said his “social distancing” guidelines would remain until at least April 30. Asian shares pared earlier declines but most benchmarks fell. Australian equities were the notable exception, surging by a record thanks to new stimulus measures. The dollar...
(Bloomberg) -- A crushing global shortage of ventilators needed to treat coronavirus patients has sent a German smallcap stock soaring, leaving analysts scrambling to value both the shares and the company’s ability to help combat the crisis.While major German indexes have lost between 17% and 28% in 2020, shares of Draegerwerk AG & Co KGaA have gained about 70%, taking off in mid-March after Germany ordered 10,000 ventilators and other medical equipment from the company. M.M. Warburg analyst Eggert Kuls estimates that each ventilator costs about 20,000 euros, making the deal worth 200 million euros ($221 million) in revenue for Draeger.“The ventilator super cycle could yield more upside,” for Draeger, Hauck & Aufhaeuser analyst Aliaksandr Halitsa wrote in a note last week, upgrading the stock to hold from sell. Halitsa estimates that the new ventilator demand will add 230 million euros to Draeger’s 2020 sales and will help boost earnings before...
(Bloomberg) -- U.S. and European equity futures gained, Asian shares came off their lows and Australia’s benchmark climbed by a record as some investors took encouragement from strengthening policy stimulus.It’s the first Monday in four weeks that futures on the S&P 500 Index haven’t gone limit-down in reaction to alarming weekend news. Still, the dollar snapped a four-session losing streak and equities were lower in most Asian markets as caution remains about the course of the coronavirus. Treasuries were flat, while the yen edged up. Oil tumbled again, dropping past $20 a barrel in New York for a time.In the latest stimulus moves, China’s central bank lowered short-term funding rates and injected cash into its financial system, Australia announced a job-support program and Singapore unveiled a modest easing in policy. For their part, JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists concluded that most risk asset markets have probably put their worst behind them.The...
(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock futures wiped out earlier losses to turn positive, as traders reacted to China’s rate cut on seven-day reverse repurchase agreements on Monday. As part of the stimulus, the People’s Bank of China injected 50 billion yuan ($7.1 billion) into the banking system.Contacts on the S&P 500 expiring in June rose 1.1% at 3:11 p.m. in Tokyo on Monday, erasing a drop that exceeded 3%. China’s central bank cut the interest rate it charges on loans to banks by 20 basis points, the biggest amount since 2015 as authorities ramp up their response to cushion an economic slowdown.U.S. Futures have “started picking up following China’s extensive cut of 20bps to 7 day repo rate, providing some support for the market,” said Jingyi Pan, market strategist at IG Asia Pte.In addition to the PBOC action, some also attributed the rally to a variety of other measures. “First, Trump puts...
