Trading Ideas

The United States has signaled to Iraq its willingness to extend sanctions waivers enabling the country to continue importing vital Iranian gas and electricity imports, three Iraqi officials said this week, a move that would be a key test of Baghdad-Washington ties. The decision comes amid strained U.S.-Iraqi ties following last month’s Washington-directed airstrike in Baghdad that killed a high-profile Iranian general and a senior Iraqi militia leader. The three officials said the U.S. State Department, which issues such waivers, has conveyed its readiness to extend the waiver for another three months — if Iraq is able to …read more […]

Feb.10 — The global death toll from the coronavirus outbreak has reached 910 as we enter what many experts see as a crucial period in determining the trajectory of the virus’ spread. Bloomberg’s Yvonne Man and Selina Wang report on “Bloomberg Markets.” …read more […]

Samsung Electronics, the world’s top smartphone maker, gave a glimpse of new square-shaped foldable phones in a surprise TV commercial aired during the Academy Awards on Sunday. The ad, broadcast only in the United States, comes two days before its Galaxy Z Flip phones, which open and close vertically like a flip phone, are due to be unveiled at an event in San Francisco. “The new Galaxy Z Flip foldable phone will create a halo effect for Samsung’s brand and help it better compete with Apple’s pricey models,” said Tom Kang, an analyst at research firm Counterpoint, adding …read more […]

Spot gold was little changed at $1,569.05 per ounce by 0313 GMT. U.S. gold futures were flat at $1,572.70. A team of international experts led by the World Health Organization left for Beijing to help investigate the epidemic that claimed more than 900 lives in mainland China, surpassing the death toll from the SARS epidemic. …read more […]

Asian shares pared early losses on Monday as Chinese authorities lifted some coronavirus-related restrictions on work and travel, helping businesses resume work though overall sentiment was still jittery as the death toll from the epidemic climbed. More than 900 people have so far died in China’s central Hubei province as of Sunday with most of the new deaths in the provincial capital of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak. To contain the spread, China’s government had ordered lockdowns, cancelled flights and shut schools in many cities. …read more […]

Feb.09 — Scott Darling, head of regional oil & gas research at JPMorgan, discusses his outlook for energy markets. He speaks with Haidi Stroud-Watts on “Bloomberg Markets.” …read more […]

Feb.09 — Steven Cochrane, chief APAC economist at Moody’s Analytics, discusses the spread of coronavirus and its impact on China’s economy. He speaks with Shery Ahn on “Bloomberg Markets.” …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world threatened by trade wars. Sign up here. The most cheerful people on Earth are about to get some help managing their finances.In Finland, which topped the most recent United Nations World Happiness Report, the central bank is drawing up a financial-literacy strategy for citizens.The idea, conceived in a country that already outperforms much of the rich world in education, is to figure out whether a bit more financial acumen will help Finns borrow less.Finnish household debt has doubled in the past two decades against a backdrop of …read more […]

Feb.09 — Loreen Gilbert, WealthWise Financial Services President, discusses the markets reaction to Coronavirus. She speaks with Shery Ahn and Haidi Stroud-Watts on “Bloomberg Markets.” …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Just as it looked like Beijing was starting to get a handle on its regional banking crisis, a much more severe threat is engulfing the world’s largest banking system as a deadly new virus hits the country’s economy.The impact of the spreading coronavirus risks bringing to life the worst-case economic scenarios contained in China’s annual banking stress tests. Last year’s exercise envisaged annual economic growth slowing to as low as 4.15% — a scenario which showed that the bad loan ratio at the nation’s 30 biggest banks would rise five-fold. Analysts now say that the outbreak could send …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Gold climbed for a fourth straight day as investors weighed the unfolding coronavirus crisis, including a blunt warning from the head of the World Health Organization about the potential for more cases beyond China.Prices rose as the global death toll from the outbreak topped 900 and the WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus voiced concern over the spread from people with no travel history to China, saying “we may only be seeing the tip of the iceberg.” Beijing will spend at least $10 billion to fight the outbreak.Bullion’s trading near the highest since 2013 as investors assess the impact …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Oil briefly fell past the psychologically important $50 a barrel mark as hopes for an extraordinary OPEC+ meeting to decide on further production cuts to deal with the demand hit from the coronavirus diminished.Ministers from the group and its allies are unlikely to hold an early meeting this month, while one planned for March will go ahead, Azerbaijan Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov told the RIA Novosti newswire. Russia has been resisting Saudi Arabian efforts to reduce output after OPEC+ technical experts recommended an additional cut of 600,000 barrels a day through June.Crude has tumbled around 10% over the …read more […]

Feb.09 — China has upped the global death toll from the coronavirus to 908. The first wave of medical experts being sent by the World Health Organization are heading to the epicenter of the disease. Bloomberg’s Selina Wang speaks with Shery Ahn and Haidi Stroud-Watts on “Bloomberg Markets.” …read more […]

Oil prices on Monday extended their decline from an early January peak above $70 as the specter of excess supplies loomed over the market after the spreading coronavirus outbreak hit demand in China, the world’s largest oil importer. U.S. West Texas Intermediate fell 38 cents to $49.94 a barrel after striking a low of $49.56. Worries over supply were not alleviated on Friday when Russia said it need more time to decide on a recommendation from a technical committee that has advised the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies to cut production by a …read more […]

Feb.09 — Loreen Gilbert, Wealthwise Financial Services President, discusses the markets reaction to Coronavirus. She speaks with Shery Ahn and Haidi Stroud-Watts on “Bloomberg Markets.” …read more […]