Year: 2020

(Bloomberg) — Airbus SE cut back wide-body jet production after burning through an added 4.4 billion euros ($5.2 billion) in the second quarter, retrenching further to safeguard cash while it waits out a collapse in demand.The world’s biggest planemaker will now aim to produce five A350 aircraft a month rather than the six targeted in April, it said in a statement Thursday. The company booked 900 million euros of Covid-19 related charges against earnings and said a future restructuring provision could total 1.6 billion euros.Airbus delivered 74 planes in the quarter, when global fleets were largely grounded, less than one-third …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Tech and pharma may be getting the attention these days, but three mining billionaires are quietly padding their fortunes with an investment that’s decidedly more old school.Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Al Amoudi and Russia’s Alexander Nesis and Suleiman Kerimov have the largest exposure to gold among the world’s wealthiest people, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. As a result, they’ve collectively become $2.8 billion richer this year.With the coronavirus pandemic devastating economies and central banks and governments boosting stimulus measures, gold is once again king. Investors flocking to the precious metal pushed its price to a record high this …read more […]

Chief Executive Pascal Soriot has driven a change in the company’s fortunes by investing in varied products and betting on newer medicines, which jolted the drugmaker onto the global stage. The company reiterated it was on track with late-stage trials for its coronavirus vaccine. Newer drugs for diabetes, heart conditions and cancer, including its top selling lung cancer drug Tagrisso, performed well in the quarter and AstraZeneca remains on track for a third consecutive year of growth in sales. …read more […]

Volkswagen unveiled a first-half operating loss on Thursday after suffering a 27% drop in vehicle deliveries due to the coronavirus pandemic, which forced the carmaker to slash its dividend. Volkswagen predicted a significant decline in full-year sales from 2019 levels, even though it said global sales had staged a gradual recovery as lockdowns eased. The carmaker posted an adjusted operating loss of 800 million euros ($940 million) in the January to June period, down from a 10-billion euro adjusted operating profit in the year-earlier period, and said it will cut its dividend for 2019. …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s mammoth oil trading business saved the company from what was expected to be its worst quarterly result of its modern era.Investors had already been warned that the coronavirus pandemic had affected almost all parts of the energy giant’s business — from forecourts to its upstream division. But that impact was offset by gains from buying and selling crude and fuels, the company said in a statement on Thursday.Like its peers Total SE and Equinor ASA, who reported similar gains, Shell’s oil trading business benefits from its extensive infrastructure, giving the company an advantage in …read more […]

ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker, reported higher than expected second quarter earnings and said its core markets were showing signs of recovery, albeit from exceptionally low levels. ArcelorMittal, which withdrew its guidance for global steel consumption in May, said the speed and course of the demand recovery following the pandemic remained uncertain. …read more […]

Jul.30 — Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth Gaines discusses the company’s projects, demand and business outlook. The world’s fourth-largest iron ore producer sees a path to lift export volumes further after shipments climbed to an annual record and it advances a slate of growth projects. Gaines speaks with Haslinda Amin and Rishaad Salamat on “Bloomberg Markets: Asia.” …read more […]

A record-breaking flood of gold investment that has driven prices to all-time highs was not enough to stop a collapse in jewellery sales from cutting global demand for the metal by 6% in the first half of 2020, the World Gold Council (WGC) said. The coronavirus pandemic triggered stockpiling of gold in Europe and North America as insurance against inflation and market turmoil, driving prices up almost 30% this year to more than $1,950 an ounce. Investors amassed a record 1,131 tonnes of gold, worth $60 billion, over the six months to June, up from 595 tonnes in …read more […]

The stock, seen as an e-commerce investment play, was already up 44% since PayPal last reported results on May 6. The company said it expected the trends to continue and that it now expected earnings per share for the full year to increase about 25% on 22% revenue growth. “We have more confidence in the elevated e-commerce trends we are seeing,” Chief Financial Officer John Rainey told analysts. …read more […]

In a securities filing, Vale’s board also approved an interest on equity payment of 1.41 reais ($0.27) per share, to be paid on Aug. 7. The resumption of payments to shareholders is sure to please investors and analysts who have repeatedly pressed the iron ore company on the matter. Vale said its payments to shareholders were resumed following the reduction of uncertainties related to the novel coronavirus pandemic. …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Saudi Arabia may have little choice but to reduce the price of its oil as OPEC and allied producers start to ease output curbs amid weakening demand that’s crashed the value of physical supplies.Aramco is expected to cut the official selling price for its flagship Arab Light grade by 48 cents a barrel for September sales to Asia, the median estimate in a survey of eight traders and refiners across the region shows. It would be the first drop in four months after a series of hikes that came as OPEC+ cut output and consumption recovered as Asian …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Chinese carmaker Li Auto Inc. raised $1.1 billion in an above-range U.S. initial public offering, adding to the market focus on electric-vehicle companies, according to terms of the deal reviewed by Bloomberg.Li Auto sold 95 million American depositary shares for $11.50 each on Wednesday after marketing them for $8 to $10. The Beijing-based company is valued in the listing at about $10 billion fully diluted, based on a calculation by Bloomberg.A representative for Li Auto declined to comment.The company joins other electric-vehicle makers in tapping the U.S. capital market. Shares of NIO Inc., a Chinese rival, have doubled …read more […]

COVID-19 has put several little-known pharma companies on the map. Going hand in hand with these nano-caps’ pursuit of coronavirus solutions, hopeful investors have sent the small players’ shares to previously unimaginable heights.Vaxart (VXRT) might be the purest example of this phenomenon. At the start of the year, the vaccine specialist’s market cap stood at $17.39 million, with each share going for $0.34. Fast forward to July 29, and the biotech is valued at $1.2 billion, with shares changing hands for $11 apiece, an increase of an amazing 3,135%.Vaxart is not an outlier, as several other names have also recorded …read more […]

The CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google sat for a 5-hour grilling before the House Judiciary Committee, with dramatically different results for each company. …read more […]

Until recently, shares of Bionano Genomics (BNGO) had been on an almost constant downward trend, declining by 90% since August 2018. However, sentiment appears to have improved as evidenced by a gain of 50% over the past month.According to Oppenheimer analyst Kevin DeGeeter, there’s still a long way up from here. The 5-star analyst reiterated an Outperform (i.e. Buy) rating on BNGO shares along with a $1.50 price target. The implication for investors? Mighty upside potential of a further 100%. (To watch DeGeeter’s track record, click here)For starters, the heart of the bullish case for Bionano is its role in …read more […]