Trading Ideas

U.S. gold futures gained 0.8% to $1,770.50. “Markets are pricing in that the (economic) recovery is going to be a little slower than previously expected, and that’s probably going to require an environment of lower rates,” said IG Markets analyst Kyle Rodda, adding that Friday’s “really poor” U.S. economic data was the big catalyst. Data out on Friday showed U.S. retail sales and industrial production both plunged in April, putting the economy on track for its deepest contraction since the Great Depression. …read more […]

As Italy’s already massive public debt soars further due to the coronavirus crisis, its authorities are calling on ordinary citizens to help fund recovery efforts. Italy’s public debt has long been seen as a fault-line for the survival of the euro zone, and analysts say the pandemic is raising fresh questions about the sustainability of Rome’s borrowings. For now, even with a debt which economists see heading towards at least 170% of national output this year, Italy is safe thanks to the European Central Bank’s massive bond purchases, recently expanded under its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP). …read more […]

SoftBank Group Corp is in talks to sell “a significant portion” of its T-Mobile US stake to controlling shareholder Deutsche Telekom AG, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing unidentified sources. A deal would see Deutsche Telekom’s stake in the carrier, which merged with SoftBank’s wireless unit Sprint last month, rise above 50%, the newspaper reported. It did not say how much of SoftBank’s 24% stake in T-Mobile US the Japanese conglomerate was planning to sell down, nor how much it would raise for it. …read more […]

A member of Canada’s air-force aerobatics team was killed and the pilot injured in a jet crash during a performance in support of front-line workers fighting the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: Jonathan Hayward/Associated Press …read more […]

May.18 — Izumi Devalier, head of Japan economics at Bank of America, discusses the prospects for the Japanese economy and policies amid the coronavirus outbreak. The economy sank last quarter into a recession that’s likely to deepen further as households limit spending to essentials and companies cut investment, production and hiring to stay afloat. Devalier speaks with Rishaad Salamt and Haslinda Amin on “Bloomberg Markets: Asia.” …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Gold rose to the highest in more than seven years after the Federal Reserve said stocks and asset prices could suffer a significant hit from coronavirus, and warned the process of economic recovery may stretch through until the end of next year. Palladium surged more than $100 in 20 minutes.Commercial real estate could be among the hardest-hit industries should the health crisis deepen, the U.S. central bank said in its twice-yearly financial stability report Friday. Separately, Chairman Jerome Powell said in an interview with CBS that a full recovery of the U.S. economy could drag through 2021 and …read more […]

May.17 — Phillip Zhong, Asia senior equity analyst at Morningstar Investment Management, discusses China’s property market and when he thinks it will recover from the coronavirus pandemic. He speaks on “Bloomberg Markets: China Open.” …read more […]

May.17 — Jessica Weiss, associate professor of government at Cornell University, discusses what to expect from China’s National Party Congress and how the coronavirus has impacted U.S.-China relations. She speaks on “Bloomberg Markets: China Open.” …read more […]

Oil prices jumped by more than $1 a barrel on Monday to their highest in more than a month, supported by ongoing output cuts and signs of gradual recovery in fuel demand as more countries ease curbs imposed to stop the coronavirus pandemic spreading. The world’s top exporter Saudi Arabia announced last week that it would cut an additional 1 million barrels per day in June, while OPEC+ wants to maintain existing oil cuts beyond June when the group is next due to meet. …read more […]

SoftBank Group Corp said on Monday that Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma will resign from its board, in the latest departure by a high-profile ally of CEO Masayoshi Son. The departure of Ma, who retired as Alibaba’s executive chairman in September, comes as he pulls back from formal business roles to focus on philanthropy. The number of board members will expand to 13. …read more […]

Asian shares crept ahead on Monday and oil prices hit a five-week high as more countries re-opened their economies, stirring hopes the world was nearer to emerging from recession. “The economies of Europe and the U.S. likely bottomed out in April and are slowly starting to come back to life,” wrote Barclays economist Christian Keller in a note. “However, incoming data from most economies highlight the depth of the contraction, raising risks of longer-term scarring that might undermine the recovery.” …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Since its founding more than three decades ago, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has built its business by working behind the scenes to make customers like Apple Inc. and Qualcomm Inc. shine. Now the low-profile chipmaker has landed squarely in the middle of the U.S.-China trade war, an incalculably valuable asset that both sides are vying to control.The Trump administration opened up a new front in the conflict on Friday by barring any chipmaker using American equipment from supplying China’s Huawei Technologies Co. without U.S. government approval. That means TSMC and rivals will have to cut off Huawei unless …read more […]

May.17 — Jane Golley, director of the Australian Centre on China in the World at Australian National University, discusses the rising tensions between the two countries. After Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government last month initiated calls for an independent probe into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, Beijing responded by claiming Australia was doing U.S. President Donald Trump’s bidding. Golley speaks on “Bloomberg Daybreak: Asia.” …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — SoftBank Group Corp. doubled the amount it plans to spend buying back shares and announced changes to its board, including the resignation of long-time director Jack Ma.The company plans to repurchase as much as 500 billion yen ($4.7 billion) worth of its own stock by March 2021, it said in a statement. That’s on top of an equally sized re-purchase it had announced in mid-March.The Tokyo-based company also announced several changes to its board, including the departure of Ma, the co-founder of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Three new directors have been nominated, including Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto. …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Apple Inc. said it’s reopening more than 25 stores across seven U.S. states this week, adding to nearly 100 global locations that have reopened to customers after the Covid-19 pandemic forced them to close. Some stores will offer only curbside or storefront service, the company added in an email statement.In a letter to customers by Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president for retail and people, the company said it’s “focused on limiting occupancy and giving everybody lots of room,” with a renewed emphasis on one-to-one service throughout each store. There’ll be temperature checks conducted at the door and …read more […]