Year: 2020

The revelation late last week that President Donald Trump had tested positive for Covid-19 amplified the already heightened uncertainty around the election, prospects for further fiscal stimulus and progress of the pandemic situation in the US. Markets on Friday reeled in response, with the three major indices tumbling at the end of last week before paring losses to close off of their session lows. …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — The U.S. government has taken an equity stake in a battery-metals company in a move that undercuts dependence on China for a key material used in electric vehicles.TechMet Ltd. received a $25 million investment from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation to help develop a Brazilian nickel and cobalt mine, the Dublin-based company said Monday in a statement. Cobalt is an important ingredient in cathodes of most electric-vehicle batteries and its refining capacity is largely under China’s control.“Investments in critical materials for advanced technology support development and advance U.S. foreign policy,” Adam Boehler, chief executive officer of the …read more […]

Oct.04 — President Donald Trump briefly left the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in a car to greet supporters gathered outside Sunday afternoon. …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Volatility eased in U.S. equity futures as optimism over President Donald Trump’s medical prognosis and hopes for fresh economic stimulus put a brake on selling that whipped up Friday.Dip buyers showed up at the 6 p.m. New York open, bidding up December contracts after Trump’s doctors insisted he’s doing well and could be discharged as soon as Monday. Markets fell on Friday after Trump’s diagnosis. They remained up for the week as some traders speculated the president’s illness raised the odds for aid to the economy from Congress and data showed job gains slowed in September and many …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — U.S. and Asian stocks looked set for gains Monday as traders reacted to the possibility President Donald Trump may be able to leave hospital as soon as Monday. The yen retreated.Futures pointed higher in Japan and Australia, where markets are open though volumes are expected to be low because of a holiday. S&P 500 contracts climbed after U.S. stocks finished lower on Friday in a volatile day for global financial markets. Crude oil ticked higher after Friday’s slump. The pound fluctuated following a weekend call between U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der …read more […]

(Bloomberg Opinion) — Losses in the main U.S. stock indexes on Friday will go down in history simply as small ones in an otherwise choppy week. But assessed in more detail, they provide a remarkable example of the intense tug-of-war that now grips markets and will most likely persist, if not intensify, in the weeks ahead.Two news developments dominated the run-up to the U.S. market open on Friday.First and foremost was the middle-of-the-night tweet from President Donald Trump confirming that he and his wife had tested positive for Covid-19. The immediate reaction in the futures market included an indication of …read more […]

Transport for London said the firm made more than 1,000 trips made by unlicensed drivers. …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Saudi Arabia kept its crude oil output broadly stable last month, pumping 8.974 million barrels a day in September compared with 8.988 million barrels a day in August, according to an industry official familiar with the kingdom’s production levels.The kingdom has been restraining production since May as part of an historic OPEC+ agreement to remove nearly a 10th of the world’s oil supply to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the energy market. Under the OPEC+ deal, Riyadh has a production target of just under 9 million barrels a day.With Brent crude under $40 a barrel …read more […]

Journal Editorial Report: The week’s best and worst from Kim Strassel, Bill McGurn and Dan Henninger. Images: Jim Melloan/AP/Getty Images Composite: Mark Kelly …read more […]

Journal Editorial Report: The nominee and mother comes under fire from feminists. Image: Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images …read more […]

Journal Editorial Report: How does it change the Trump-Biden race? Image: The White House/Getty Images …read more […]

Venezuela’s PDVSA has been knee-capped by U.S. sanctions, but it still manages to export some crude, and has now also managed to restart its only operating refinery …read more […]

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Oct.04 — Johns Hopkins’ Dr. Brian Garibaldi, who is on President Donald Trump’s medical team, said that “our hope is that we can plan for a discharge as early as tomorrow to the White House.” He spoke to reporters outside Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Sunday. …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Markets face the prospect of additional turmoil this week after Donald Trump’s hospitalization for coronavirus late Friday raised concerns over the U.S. president’s health and further roiled a Washington political landscape already riven by battles over fiscal stimulus and the Supreme Court.Foreign-exchange traders in the Asia-Pacific region will be the first to react Monday, with attention focused on the prospect of renewed gains by havens such as the Japanese yen and additional declines in riskier currencies like the Australian dollar.Market volatility jumped Friday as financial markets initially reacted to news of Trump’s diagnosis in a risk-averse manner. U.S. …read more […]