20Apr2020 Midday Update: Wall Street Has Risen From Session Lows, DOW Still In The Red At -210 Points, WTI Crude At 6.51 And Falling Fast, US Dollar Slips, Gold Steady At 1695

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

North and South American markets are lower today with shares in Mexico off the most. The IPC is down 0.59% while U.S.’s S&P 500 is off 0.40% and Brazil’s Bovespa is lower by 0.33%.

Coronavirus pushes Latin America’s budding startups into survival mode

The chief executive of Colombian food technology startup Muy had expected to spend the past few weeks gearing up to raise a dollop of fresh funds from venture capital firms for an ambitious expansion plan.

U.S. crude futures plunge to lowest on record on scant storage, weak demand

Oil prices tumbled on Monday, with the U.S. crude futures contract plunging more than 50% to the lowest price on record, as investors worried about lack of storage and German and Japanese data indicated a bleak global economy.

Volkswagen in Brazil to keep factories closed through April

Volkswagen AG said on Monday it will keep its factories in Brazil, South America’s top auto producer, shut through the end of the month, but that a decision has not been made on whether it will reopen them in May or later.

Plunge in U.S. oil prices sinks equities; bonds yields edge lower

Plunging U.S. crude oil prices pulled global equity markets lower on Monday, kicking off a busy week of data and earnings that will further reveal the economic damage of the coronavirus pandemic.

Carrefour halves dividend due to coronavirus outbreak

Carrefour , Europe’s largest retailer, said on Monday it was halving its 2019 dividend and would hold its May 29 annual shareholders meeting behind closed doors due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Vivendi shareholders approve dividend of 0.60 euro per share

Vivendi’s shareholders approved on Monday the payment of a dividend of 0.60 euro per share for the fiscal year 2019, with 99.52% of shareholder votes supporting the plan.

FCC approves Ligado plan to deploy mobile broadband network

The five-member Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously to approve an order to allow Ligado Networks[MOSAV.UL] to deploy a low-power nationwide 5G network despite objections from the U.S. Defense Department, other federal agencies and major U.S. airlines.

Atlantia unit eyes govt guarantee scheme to fight virus impact – sources

The motorway unit of Italian infrastructure group Atlantia is considering tapping government-backed liquidity to temper the impact of coronavirus on its business, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Monday.

IMF’s Georgieva fears coronavirus impact on developing countries

Developing countries may be the hardest hit economically by the coronavirus, International Monetary Fund managing director Kristalina Georgieva said on Monday, adding the IMF stands ready to help.

Investing In The Age Of COVID…

Investing In The Age Of COVID…

Via AdventuresInCapitalism.com,

Four weeks ago, the stock market was in free-fall and I made the point that œif you aren’t buying stock down here, you’re simply doing it all wrong. I fortuitously published it on the day that the market bottomed. Looking back at my call to œbuy stuff, the Fed did exactly what I expected by unleashing an alphabet-soup of acronym programs – forcing people to buy stocks. In fact, many of the oversold shares I was buying into the darkest days of March proceeded to bounce dramatically since then. They gave money away and I hope you got some.

As the market has rallied, I’ve had some time to think and put things into perspective. On one hand, œProject Zimbabwe is in full force. Now that the Federal Reserve has accepted that the US Dollar will be collateral damage in their bailouts, they won’t accept anything less than new highs in the stock market. On the other hand, the global economy has forever changed.

Oilmageddon – WTI Crashes To $7 Handle, Canadian Oil Prices Negative

Oilmageddon – WTI Crashes To $7 Handle, Canadian Oil Prices Negative

Update (1210ET): The May WTI Crude futures contract just crashed to a $7 handle..

Platts: 6 Commodity Charts To Watch This Week

Platts: 6 Commodity Charts To Watch This Week

Via S&P Global Platts Insight blog,

A revived agreement from OPEC+ on oil production cuts, China’s gradual restart after lockdown, and power markets in the doldrums are illustrated in charts picked by S&P Global Platts editors, in this week’s selection of trends from energy and raw materials markets.

Oil price wars 1. OPEC+ pulls a deal out of the bag, but will cuts be deep enough?

United Reports $2.1BN Loss As Airlines Brace To Fire 100,000 Once Bailout Loans Expire

United Reports $2.1BN Loss As Airlines Brace To Fire 100,000 Once Bailout Loans Expire

United Airlines confirmed the carnage hitting US airlines today when it reported a $2.1 billion loss for first quarter as the coronavirus pandemic drove travel demand down to the lowest level in decades.

Why India suddenly banned medical evacuation flights

Why India suddenly banned medical evacuation flightsIndia’s ban on medical evacuation was partly driven by concern that super-rich may fake needing treatment.

What’s keeping India’s biggest private lender safe from Covid

What’s keeping India’s biggest private lender safe from CovidThe Mumbai-based bank reported a healthy profit after tax growth of nearly 18% at the end of the March quarter.

A fresh war is brewing between India, China

A fresh war is brewing between India, ChinaIndia’s move to tweak FDI rules to curb Chinese takeovers may open a new flashpoint between the two neighbours.

Deep Dive: These U.S. oil companies are most at risk in the danger zone

Survival will be difficult on plunging oil prices and mounting debt.

The Ratings Game: Here’s what could lift Apple stock to $500

The biggest driver of a massive rally for Apple Inc.’s stock may not be particularly exciting.

Market Extra: Mark Mobius says stocks could retest lows as coronavirus toll on earnings becomes clear, but be ready to snap up ‘incredible bargains’

Mark Mobius, the emerging-markets investing pioneer, is confident the world economy will bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic and offer investors a round of bargains “but sees the potential for another round of pain.