Trading Ideas

(Bloomberg) — Consumers stocking up on frozen food and medicine provided a short-term boon for both Nestle SA and Sanofi SA in the first quarter.Nestle, the largest company in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index by value, posted its fastest sales growth in nearly five years in the first three months of 2020 as consumers snapped up frozen food, while French drugmaker Sanofi said pandemic-related stockpiling accounted for about half of its revenue increase in the period.Away from those near-term lifts, pessimism abounds in other industries, nowhere more so than in energy markets, where Italy’s Eni SpA slashed its production outlook, …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a $484 billion coronavirus aid package, replenishing funding to aid small businesses and provide support for hospitals and virus testing.The number of cases and deaths in Germany rose by the most in nearly a week, while U.S. infections increased at the slowest pace in three weeks. Singapore reported 897 new cases after infections topped 1,000 for four straight days.U.K. retail sales fell the most since records began, though consumers stocking up on frozen food and medicine provided a short-term boost for Nestle SA and Sanofi SA. Gilead Sciences Inc. shares sank …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Deutsche Lufthansa AG risks running low on cash within weeks, with the German airline saying the global oil rout has deepened its distress, and its survival now depends on a multibillion-euro bailout from four states.Liquidity will fall sharply if Europe’s largest carrier is unable to soon access aid, Lufthansa said late Thursday. The coronavirus pandemic has forced the sprawling airline group to halt most flights, choking off revenue while outgoing costs for ticket refunds and financial obligations strain its reserves.Lufthansa is discussing a package worth up to 10 billion euros ($10.7 billion) including guarantees, loans and some form …read more […]

Continental Resources Inc , the company controlled by billionaire Harold Hamm, stopped all drilling and shut in most of its wells in the state’s Bakken shale field, three people familiar with production in the state said on Thursday. Global oil prices have plunged because of excess supplies and tumbling demand due to the coronavirus crisis. U.S. crude prices plunged into negative territory this week – meaning suppliers had to pay people to take oil – due to lack of storage space, prompting moves by operators to halt output. …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Gold headed for a weekly advance on expectations there’ll be more stimulus measures to boost coronavirus-hit economies, with RBC Capital Markets predicting allocations to bullion will increase, at least for now.“The combination of low rates, massive stimulus, and high uncertainty point toward gold allocations rising regardless of whether equity markets improve materially,” though that may not coincide with higher prices, analysts led by Helima Croft said in a note.Bullion is trading near the highest in more than seven years as the pandemic triggered an unprecedented wave of stimulus from governments and central banks, and investors seeking a haven …read more […]

French drugmaker Sanofi confirmed its 2020 outlook on Friday after posting stronger first-quarter results led by its specialty care unit and demand for its medicines to treat pain and fever in the light of the new coronavirus outbreak. Sanofi said around half of growth in sales and profits was attributable to the coronavirus pandemic adding it expected this effect to fade in the second quarter. …read more […]

Oil prices jumped again on Friday, gaining more ground as producers like Kuwait said they would move to cut output and as the United States approved another package to cope with the economic disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak. Brent crude was up $1.07, or 5%, at $22.40 by 0432 GMT, after having climbed 5% on Thursday. U.S. oil gained $1.12, or nearly 7%, at $17.62 a barrel, having surged 20% in the previous session. …read more […]

Job losses, pay cuts, extra bills to stockpile groceries all cut into a family’s ability to pay the rent, the car loan and juggle other bills. …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Hertz Global Holdings Inc. brought in restructuring advisers to rework the rental-car company’s debt amid a bleak outlook for business trips and vacations.Management is seeking advice from restructuring bankers at Moelis & Co. on ways to boost liquidity and avoid filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to people familiar with the situation.One of the options that has been under discussion with bankers is raising cash by issuing new debt, Bloomberg previously reported. The maneuver would need an amendment to a secured debt facility, the people said, asking not to be identified while discussing a private matter. The situation …read more […]

Hertz Global Holdings Inc is working with debt restructuring advisers to explore options for shoring up its finances after the coronavirus pandemic killed demand for car rentals, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The Estero, Florida-based company, whose largest shareholder is billionaire investor Carl Icahn, is reeling from the impact of the pandemic on global travel. Hertz has enlisted restructuring experts at law firm White & Case LLP and investment bank Moelis & Co to help it address a cash crunch that has made its $17 billion debt pile potentially unsustainable, the sources said. …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — An investor who’s consistently topped peers betting on stocks in the developing world says the asset class has never looked so promising.Leon Eidelman, whose $7.4 billion JPMorgan Emerging Markets Equity Fund has trounced 96% of peers through five years, said the firm forecasts 18% annualized returns for a basket of some 1,200 developing-nation stocks over the next half decade. The JPMorgan model jumped to an all-time high last month. He says his fund, which has about half its money in China and India, will do even better.About 19% of Eidelman’s portfolio is invested in four Asian technology firms: …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he’s considering the creation of a government lending program for U.S. oil companies, which are looking for federal aid as they cope with a devastating plunge in prices.“One of the components we’re looking at is providing a lending facility for the industry,” Mnuchin said in a Bloomberg News interview on Thursday. “We’re looking at a lot of different options, and we have not made any conclusions.”The program would be run out of the Federal Reserve, according to a person familiar with the matter. The administration is also considering taking financial stakes in exchange …read more […]

Oil prices rose on Friday, gaining further ground as some producers like Kuwait said they would move to cut output swiftly to try to counter the evaporation in global demand for fuels caused by the coronavirus pandemic. “The disruption relating to the coronavirus is set to cause the steepest fall in global GDP since the Second World War,” Capital Economics said in a note, forecasting a 5.5% contraction in global economies this year, dwarfing the 0.5% fall seen during the global financial crisis. …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks slipped Friday as investors weighed signs of progress in the fight against the coronavirus against data showing the severity of the impact on economies. Oil climbed back above $17 a barrel.Japanese shares dipped along with those in Hong Kong and Korea, while Australian equities edged higher. S&P 500 contracts fell after the index erased a 1.6% gain in Thursday’s session to end little changed. Gilead Sciences Inc.’s antiviral drug remdesivir was reported to have flopped in its first randomized clinical trial, though the company disputed that characterization. Treasuries added to gains and the dollar was little …read more […]

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