Month: August 2020

(Bloomberg) — Stocks in Asia began the week mixed as investors assessed soured U.S.-China ties, with Chinese stocks outperforming after the central bank injected cash. The dollar slipped.China’s central bank injected liquidity into the financial system to support banks. Hong Kong also rose. Equities in Japan and Australia were lower. South Korea is closed for a holiday. S&P 500 futures rose and crude oil climbed. Gold declined, building on last week’s slide. Treasuries were steady, with the 10-year yield at 0.70%.The U.S. and China postponed talks planned for over the weekend that had been aimed at reviewing progress at the …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — A flotilla of tankers plying the waters between China and South Korea has been hauling unusually large volumes of a lesser-known fuel called light-cycle oil — or LCO — to Asia’s biggest crude consumer.Almost 800,000 tons of LCO arrived in China from its neighbor in July, the most in at least three years and more than twice the monthly average in the first half, data intelligence firm Kpler said. The flurry of activity, which looks to be accelerating this month, is being driven by both pull and push factors for LCO, a low-quality petroleum product that’s blended into …read more […]

Oil prices climbed higher on Monday, lifted by China’s plans to ship in large volumes of U.S. crude in August and September, outweighing concerns over a slowdown in demand recovery after the coronavirus pandemic and an uptick in supplies. Brent crude rose 21 cents, or 0.5%, to $45.01 a barrel by 0023 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 27 cents, or 0.6%, to $42.28 a barrel. Chinese state-owned oil firms have tentatively booked tankers to transport at least 20 million barrels of U.S. crude for August and September, Reuters reported on Friday, as China ramped …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — China’s top banking watchdog cautioned that U.S. dollar dominance combined with the massive stimulus unleashed by the Federal Reserve could push the world to the edge of another financial crisis.In a rare act of public criticism, China Banking Regulatory Commission Chairman Guo Shuqing also lashed out at developed nations seeking to divert blame from their own failures to contain the virus outbreak and moves by the U.S. to blacklist Chinese companies and entities.“In an international monetary system dominated by the U.S. dollar, the unprecedented, unlimited quantitative easing policy of the U.S. actually consumes the creditworthiness of the dollar …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Chaparral Energy Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection for the second time in four years, another financial reckoning for one of the many cash-starved shale drillers punished by sluggish oil prices.The company filed for Chapter 11 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. It listed estimated liabilities and assets both in the $500 million to $1 billion range.The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a surge in energy industry bankruptcies, as lockdowns strangle demand and prompt lenders to cut credit lines. So far in 2020, the tally has included California Resources Corp., the state’s largest crude producer, and shale gas driller …read more […]

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McDonald’s accuses former CEO Steve Easterbrook in a lawsuit of having sexual relationships with employees and destroying nude videos and photos. …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Oil advanced ahead of this week’s meeting of the OPEC+ producer bloc, following recent signals that supply and demand are returning to balance.Futures in New York were up 0.7%, after dipping 0.5% on Friday. The U.S. benchmark has rallied more 4% in the past two weeks, with American crude stockpiles declining after imports from Saudi Arabia dropped and gasoline consumption rose. Adding to support, some data points show bright spots in the economic outlook, with U.S. industrial production increasing for a third straight month in July.Oil retreated on Friday after the U.S. and China postponed talks planned for …read more […]

Contracts on the three major indices rose, teeing up the S&P 500 to approach record levels again. …read more […]

Bitcoin returns are beating crypto hedge funds, but other recent developments point to more favorable tailwinds for those funds in the long term. …read more […]

Journal Editorial Report: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos says unions are blocking a return to classroom instruction. Image: Reuters/Brendan McDermid …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — The emerging-market rally that has all but wiped out the losses since the start of the coronavirus pandemic looks headed for a late-August reappraisal amid a resurgence of trade tensions and delays to a U.S. stimulus.Indexes of stocks, currencies and domestic bonds rose in tandem last week, with the MSCI equity gauge clocking up its longest sequence of weekly gains since January, even as idiosyncratic risks across developing nations mounted. China’s retail sales and industrial production data missed estimates, Malaysia’s economy shrank the most since the Asian financial crisis, Brazil suffered a fresh bout of political turmoil and …read more […]