Year: 2020

Warren Buffett famously said, ‘Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.’ So it might be obvious that you need to… …read more […]

The free-money ride to the moon continues.
Everywhere we look, we see folks tapping their foot as they poke Uncle Sam in the belly with their hat-filled hand.
“Hurry up and give us our money” seems to be the theme of the week – perhaps the decade.
And why not… it sure seems to be working.
Despite the atrocities of a global shutdown, most folks made more money during the first half of the year thanks to the coronavirus than they would have made if the bug had passed us by.
The latest personal income figures show – thanks to a whopping 10.8% stimulus-fueled surge …read more […]

(Bloomberg Opinion) — Sharp swings in the crude price have been an unmitigated pain for the oil industry, right? Not entirely. The silver lining has been a lucrative environment for the oil majors’ trading operations. This was on stark display in the second-quarter performance of Royal Dutch Shell Plc. But it creates a challenge for investors. How do you value this unpredictable and opaque source of income?Shell warned last month that its three-month earnings, released Thursday, would include a colossal impairment charge reflecting the impact of the pandemic on energy demand and prices. That writedown came in at $17 billion …read more […]

Shareholders might have noticed that Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) filed its quarterly result this time last week. The… …read more […]

Top news and what to watch in the markets on Thursday, July 30, 2020. …read more […]

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(Bloomberg) — Volkswagen AG cut its dividend after losing 2.4 billion euros ($2.8 billion) in the second quarter, when the Covid-19 pandemic shuttered showrooms and factories in key markets.The German manufacturer lowered its proposed 2019 payout by a quarter to help save roughly $1 billion after global deliveries contracted in the six months through June. VW expects markets to recover in the second half after business in July improved from the previous month.The results show the dramatic impact of the industry’s biggest slump since World War II. Europe’s largest automaker cut its full-year outlook in April, echoing peers and parts …read more […]

Panasonic Corp plans to boost the energy density of “2170” battery cells it supplies to Tesla Inc by 20% in five years and commercialize a cobalt-free version “in two to three years”, the head of its U.S. EV battery business said. This is the first time Panasonic, a leading cell provider for the world’s top electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla, has outlined these targets, putting down a marker in a highly competitive sector to stay ahead of the game. Panasonic introduced the “2170” lithium-ion cells, with the nickel-cobalt-aluminium (NCA) cathode chemistry, for Tesla’s Model 3 in …read more […]

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Royal Dutch Shell avoided its first quarterly loss in recent history, helped by a booming trading business, but announced nearly $17 billion in impairment charges reflecting a pessimistic outlook for oil and gas prices. Shell had warned last month it was set to slash the value of its oil and gas assets by up to $22 billion as the coronavirus crisis hollowed out energy demand. “Shell has delivered resilient cash flow in a remarkably challenging environment,” CEO Ben van Beurden said in a statement on Thursday. …read more […]

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(Bloomberg) — Stocks in Europe slipped with U.S. equity futures as investors weighed the prospect of more stimulus against a slew of earnings and the continued spread of the coronavirus. The dollar climbed.Banks and car-makers dragged the Stoxx Europe 600 Index lower at the open. Contracts on the three main American equity gauges pointed to modest losses on Wall Street, after an advance on Wednesday that was spurred by the Federal Reserve’s pledge to use all of its tools to support the economic recovery.Total SE rose after posting better-than-expected results thanks to trading gains that offset a slump in oil …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Lloyds Banking Group Plc’s profit was wiped out by a fresh 2.4 billion-pound ($3.1 billion) charge for bad loans in the second quarter as the lender braces for more pain from the coronavirus pandemic.Britain’s biggest mortgage lender said Thursday it now expects to set aside between 4.5 and 5.5 billion pounds during this year to cover the economic fallout from months of lockdown and the end of government support programs.“The outlook has clearly become more challenging since our first quarter results, with the economic impact of lockdown much larger than expected at that time,” said Chief Executive Officer …read more […]