Month: February 2020

Markets were mixed in Asia on Monday, with Japan’s benchmark slipping 0.8% after the government reported the economy contracted 6.3% in annual terms in the last quarter. China’s shares got a boost after the central bank stepped in to help the economy with a rate cut, extra buying of securities and tax cuts. South Korea’s Kospi was flat, at 2,242.50, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong climbed 0.5% to 27,953.73. …read more […]

At the Moving America Forward forum in Las Vegas on Sunday, Tom Steyer said that instead of the government subsidizing the production of electric vehicles, he believes it is more likely, “the government ends up buying back polluting vehicles so people can go and buy cleaner vehicles without loss.” Photo: AP …read more […]

At the Moving America Forward forum in Las Vegas on Sunday, former Vice President Joe Biden said the transportation network needs to change when asked if he would implement a national toll to reduce road congestion. Photo: AP …read more […]

(Bloomberg Opinion) — Bullion prices are at their highest in seven years, closing in on $1,600 an ounce. Gold held by exchange-traded funds is at all-time records and rising, thanks to worries over the economic damage inflicted by the coronavirus outbreak. Reserves, meanwhile, are depleting. It’s a heady mixture for miners, but perhaps not yet an intoxicating one.Take Polyus PJSC, Russia’s largest gold digger. The $17 billion company said last week that it would pay down debt before beginning to spend seriously on its $2.5 billion Sukhoi Log project, set to add 1.6 million ounces a year to supply. That’s …read more […]

Feb.16 — China said the death toll from the coronavirus rose to 1,770, while the province at the epicenter of the outbreak reported 1,933 new cases. Meanwhile, Hong Kong is facing “tsunami-like” shocks, and may incur a record budget deficit in the next fiscal year as the city counts the costs of the coronavirus outbreak after months of social unrest, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said. Tom Mackenzie and Yvonne Man report on “Bloomberg Markets: China Open.” …read more […]

General Motors says it’s pulling out of Australia, New Zealand and Thailand as part of a strategy to exit markets that don’t produce adequate returns on investments. The company said in a statement Sunday that it will wind down sales, engineering and design operations for its historic Holden brand in Australia and New Zealand in 2021. It also plans to sell its Rayong factory in Thailand to China’s Great Wall Motors and withdraw the Chevrolet brand from Thailand by the end of this year. …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — China’s stock benchmark recouped all its losses from a record $720 billion sell-off earlier this month, a sign that investor confidence is improving after policy makers acted to ease the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.The CSI 300 Index added as much as 0.9% Monday, surpassing its 4,003.9-point close from Jan. 23, the last trading day before a Lunar New Year break that saw a surge in virus infections. The index plunged 7.9% on Feb. 3 as Chinese markets reopened to a health crisis that paralyzed most of the world’s second-largest economy. The measure remains well below its …read more […]

General Motors Co is retreating from more markets outside of the United States and China, saying on Sunday that it will wind down sales, design and engineering operations in Australia and New Zealand and retire the Holden brand by 2021. It also said China’s Great Wall Motor Co Ltd had agreed to buy GM’s Thailand manufacturing plant, a transaction expected to be completed by the end of 2020. In rearranging its global operations, GM is accelerating its retreat from unprofitable markets, becoming more dependent on the United States, China, Latin America and South Korea. …read more […]