Trading Ideas

General Electric Co. (GE) said it reopened portions of its prior debt offerings as it seeks to raise $3 billion in total proceeds to bump up its cash buffers to cope with the coronavirus crisis.The company said the reopening was in “response to a reverse inquiry from a long-term strategic investor”. Shares rose 7.4% to $8.46 on Monday.GE expects to use these proceeds to reduce shorter-duration debt, including repaying a portion of GE’s intercompany debt obligations to GE Capital and lower GE Capital’s outstanding debt obligations.“The combination of transactions is expected to be leverage neutral over time,” the company said …read more […]

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(Bloomberg) — Libya’s battered oil industry suffered another blow as the conflict-ravaged North African country’s biggest field closed less than two days after resuming following a five-month halt.Work at the Sharara deposit in the southwest has stopped, according to people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified as the information isn’t public. Armed men had entered the field on Monday and told employees to end activities.The setback threatens a revival of exports from Libya, which has been producing almost no crude since January because of a civil war that led to almost all its ports and …read more […]

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Shares in Macy’s, Inc. (M) spiked 15% in Monday’s after-hours trading after the company announced the closing on approximately $4.5 billion of new financing.This included its previously announced $1.3 billion of 8.375% senior secured notes, as well as a new $3.15 billion asset-based credit agreement.In addition, the company has amended and substantially reduced the credit commitments of its existing $1.5 billion unsecured credit agreement. Macy’s intends to use the proceeds of the notes offering, along with cash on hand, to repay the outstanding borrowings under the existing $1.5 billion unsecured credit agreement.With the closing of these financings, M now expects …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — European stocks and U.S. futures edged lower, as momentum slowed in risk assets after a historic rally. Treasuries advanced.The Stoxx Europe 600 Index opened with declines in banks undercutting gains in travel shares. Asian shares continued higher, just hours after investors pushed the S&P 500 Index back into positive territory for 2020. The dollar strengthened for the first day in nine sessions.With global equities rebounding to their levels in February, concern that the bounce back has far overshot the economic recovery continues to weigh on investors. The World Bank warned the global economy will contract the most since …read more […]

Gilead Sciences (GILD) has now filed for conditional marketing authorization (CMA) of its antiviral medicine remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19 with the European Medicines Agency (EMA).The EMA reports that it has now formally started its evaluation of remdesivir under a reduced timeline and an opinion could be issued within weeks. The speed will depend on the robustness of the data and whether further information is required, says the EMA.Such a short timeframe will only be possible because some data have already been assessed during the first cycle of a rolling review, which started on 30 April and ended on …read more […]

Shares in Beyond Meat (BYND) soared 22% after announcing a partnership with food distributor Sinodis to further expand the reach of its famous plant-based beef in China.The news sent shares up 22% to $162.46 on Monday. The financial terms of the partnership weren’t disclosed.Sinodis, a subsidiary of French group Savencia, is a distributor of imported food products to more than 4500 wholesalers, restaurant chains, and hotels in China.”Our goal is to increase availability of plant-based meat globally, providing consumers with more choices, and access to nutritional and environmental benefits of plant-based meat,” said Beyond Meat’s chief growth officer Chuck Muth. …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Oil was anchored near $38 a barrel as expectations U.S. crude stockpiles extended declines offset a decision by Saudi Arabia to cease extra voluntary production cuts by the end of this month.Futures added 0.5% in New York after snapping a four-day rally on Monday. U.S. crude inventories probably fell for the fourth time in five weeks, according to a Bloomberg survey before government data Wednesday. Saudi Arabia said the additional supply cuts, which amounted to about 1.2 million barrels a day and included contributions from allies in the Persian Gulf, would only take effect in June as planned.Oil …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. announced a HK$39 billion ($5 billion) recapitalization plan that includes preference shares and a rights issue as it battles through unprecedented difficulty brought on by the coronavirus pandemic and protests in Hong Kong.The rights issue proposal is on the basis of seven rights shares for every 11 existing shares held and would raise about HK$11.7 billion, Cathay said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange. The preference shares would raise HK$19.5 billion and warrants HK$1.95 billion, subject to adjustment.Aviation 2020 Ltd., a Hong Kong government-connected entity, is extending a HK$7.8 billion bridge …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — PG&E Corp. said it plans to sell its iconic downtown San Francisco headquarters and relocate to Oakland, a move aimed at lowering costs after the California power giant exits bankruptcy.PG&E, which has called San Francisco its home since the utility’s founding in 1905, will move in phases starting in 2022, the company said in a statement Monday. It plans to lease its new building at 300 Lakeside in Oakland, with the option to purchase the property from developer TMG Partners.With the move, PG&E becomes one of the most high-profile companies to leave San Francisco for Oakland, a cheaper …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Embattled Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. and its two main shareholders, Swire Pacific Ltd. and Air China Ltd., suspended trading of their shares Tuesday pending an announcement.The move comes as Cathay contends with a slump in traffic brought on by the coronavirus outbreak and the travel restrictions that ensued. The curbs hit Cathay particularly hard because it has no domestic market to fall back on, whereas carriers in China are rebuilding capacity on flights within the mainland.Even before the pandemic, Cathay was under enormous financial and political pressures as it found itself caught up in the …read more […]

“The high quality of our real estate portfolio positioned us well to execute this offering,” Chief Executive Officer Jeff Gennette said in a statement. Gennette said the funding gives the retailer sufficient flexibility and liquidity to steer the business for the foreseeable future. …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Tesla Inc. shares are at an all-time high. Hertz Global Holdings Inc.’s are well above where they were before the company went bankrupt. But no stock in the automotive sector is a better indication of equity-market exuberance than Nikola Corp.The aspiring battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell truck maker debuted on the Nasdaq last week following a reverse merger with a blank-check company headed by a former General Motors Co. executive and board director. It’s forecasting zero revenue for 2020 and its first $1 billion year won’t be until 2023.Ford Motor Co., by comparison, is expected to report about $115 …read more […]

Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd and its major shareholders Swire Pacific Ltd and Air China Ltd halted trading in their shares in Hong Kong on Tuesday pending announcements. Cathay’s management team on Friday met with the leaders of pilot unions at Cathay Pacific and its regional arm Cathay Dragon to brief them on condition of confidentiality ahead of an announcement expected on Tuesday, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. A fourth person said Hong Kong’s Cathay was poised to announce a new chief executive at Dragon along with some other senior management …read more […]