Written by Gary
The major US stock market indexes are down this morning (SPY -0.2%). 1 out of every 5 Americans is out of work.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
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What Is Moving the Markets
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
 | Oil at highest since March on lower U.S. inventories, recovering demandOil rose on Thursday to its highest since March, supported by lower U.S. crude inventories, OPEC-led supply cuts and recovering demand as governments ease restrictions on people’s movements imposed due to the coronavirus crisis. |
| Lufthansa closes in on $10 billion state rescue dealLufthansa is in advanced talks over a 9 billion euros ($9.9 billion) state bailout that would see Germany take a 20% stake in its flagship airline, as countries battle to save an aviation industry hammered by the coronavirus pandemic. |
| Could coronavirus help Amazon workers unionize?Warehouse employees last month staged a walkout in Michigan to demand safer working conditions at their facility. So did workers in New York, Illinois and Minnesota. |
| TJX’s quarterly sales more than halve amid pandemicTJX Cos Inc’s first-quarter sales more than halved on Thursday, as the off-price retailer’s stores and online operations remained shut for most of the quarter due to coronavirus-led lockdowns. |
| Exclusive: Baidu considers leaving the Nasdaq to boost its valuation – sourcesChinese search engine giant Baidu Inc is considering delisting from the U.S. Nasdaq and moving to an exchange closer to home to boost its valuation amid rising tension between the United States and China over investments, three sources said. |
| Macy’s warns of up to $1 billion quarterly loss due to lockdownsMacy’s Inc said on Thursday it could rack up operating losses of up to $1.11 billion in the first quarter, as the department store operator was forced to shut stores due to lockdowns aimed at curbing the spread of the new coronavirus. |
| Futures retreat as trade tensions add to pandemic woesU.S. stock index futures fell on Thursday as growing trade tensions with China added to worries about the pace of a recovery from a coronavirus-fueled economic slump even with several countries easing lockdowns. |
| Gap rushes in more robots to warehouses to solve virus disruptionU.S. apparel chain Gap Inc is speeding up its rollout of warehouse robots for assembling online orders so it can limit human contact during the coronavirus pandemic, the company told Reuters. |
| Best Buy revenue, profit beat estimates as online sales surgeBest Buy Co Inc’s quarterly revenue and profit topped analysts’ estimates on Thursday due to a surge in online sales of electronics needed for consumers to work from home. |
| Another 2.4 Million Unemployed Last Week: 38 Million Jobless, Nasdaq +35% In COVID AmericaAnother 2.4 Million Unemployed Last Week: 38 Million Jobless, Nasdaq +35% In COVID America Tyler Durden Thu, 05/21/2020 – 08:36 The string of unprecedentedly huge spikes in jobless claims continues. In the last week 2.44 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits for the first time (slightly worse than the 2.40 million expected). |
| In Africa, COVID-19 Cases Near 100k As Global Total Passes 5 Million: Live UpdatesIn Africa, COVID-19 Cases Near 100k As Global Total Passes 5 Million: Live Updates Tyler Durden Thu, 05/21/2020 – 08:26 Summary: African CDC says cases pass 95k Russian deaths top 3k WHO blames Russia, Brazil for global jump of 100k new cases for first time in weeks NYPost pressures de Blasio to reopen NYC MSM already blaming Trump for failing to stop ‘second wave’ of virus Nigerian doctors in Lagos end day-long “Doctor’s strike” over police harassment UK launches study into effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine as a COVID prophylactic * * * The world reached a particularly powerful coronavirus milestone last night: The number of cases confirmed across the world topped the 5 million mark roughly 5 months after the first cases of the virus were confirmed in Wuhan back in December. We also noted that Brazil is on track to overtake Russia as the second-largest outbreak in the world (after the US, of course) as it continues to break records with its daily number of confirme … |
| “Leave My Mom Out Of It”: Virtual Debate Between Caruso-Cabrera And AOC Turns Ugly“Leave My Mom Out Of It”: Virtual Debate Between Caruso-Cabrera And AOC Turns Ugly Tyler Durden Thu, 05/21/2020 – 08:24 Michelle Caruso Cabrera, former CNBC anchor, has been trying to engage with her political opponent, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, for months now. MCC has continually prodded AOC to debate her on a public stage, with little to no response from the reining Democratic socialist representative. That was, of course, until this week’s BronxTalk virutal debate. The two political opponents finally got into a bit of a kerfuffle via social media after MCC accused AOC of staying in her “luxury” apartment in DC (“with a Whole Foods in the lobby”) while her constituents in the Bronx-Queens district are left to deal with the coronavirus pandemic on their own. AOC responded by saying that MCC once lived in a Trump-owned building in NYC and that her family still has roots in her district, according to the NY Post. œThis is where my uncle is. There is where my brother is. This is where my family is, AOC said. |
| China’s Baidu Considers Delisting From Nasdaq; Stock Tumbles, Drags Chinese Megacaps LowerChina’s Baidu Considers Delisting From Nasdaq; Stock Tumbles, Drags Chinese Megacaps Lower Tyler Durden Thu, 05/21/2020 – 08:24 The US can’t kick out Chinese companies from US stock exchanges if said Chinese companies delist first. That is probably what went through the head of Chinese search giant Baidu – metaphorically speaking – one day after the Senate passed a bill on Wednesday that could stop some Chinese companies listing on U.S. exchanges unless they follow standards for U.S. audits and regulations in an escalation of a long-running dispute between Washington and Beijing about giving U.S. regulators access to Chinese audits. In response, Reuters reports that Chinese search engine giant Baidu is considering delisting from the Nasdaq and moving to an exchange closer to home “to boost its valuation” amid rising tension between the United States and China over investments, three sources said. It wasn’t clear how moving away from the biggest pool of megatech bubbles in the world, the Nasdaq, to some other exchange would “boost its valuation” but whatever: clearly the political feud between Trump and Xi is now translating into soft capital controls, and explains why Baidu stock tumbled on the news, sliding briefly below $100 after dropping first yesterday on news of the Senate bill. |
| Vodafone Idea is using the lockdown time to build itself a life raftVodafone Idea is using the lockdown time to build itself a life raftThere is a clear signal that the cash-strapped telco is preparing to stay and fight in the market. |
| Got a pay cut? Here’s more bad news for youGot a pay cut? Here’s more bad news for youIf a pay-cut is not reflected in the components of your salary, you may still be taxed on your original CTC. |
| TikTok parent dances its way to $100 bn clubTikTok parent dances its way to $100 bn clubByteDance’s valuation has risen at least a third to more than $100-bn in recent private share transactions. |
| Documentary Of The Week: Epidemics From The Black Death To NowWritten by John Lounsbury This week Democracy Now! presented an interview of historian Frank Snowdon by Amy Goodman discussing the history of epidemics throughout the centuries. He says that there are common sociopolitical factors from history that persist even today when a pandemic occurs. Also, very interestingly, he is of the opinion than there will be no “cure” for COVID-19, and it will become an endemic disease we will have to learn to live with.
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| Economic Report: Philly Fed manufacturing index shows continued weakness in MayThe Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index in May rose to -43.1 in May from -56.6 in the prior month |
| Economic Report: Jobless claims jump 4.4 million in mid-May as applications for federal benefits surgeMore than 4.4 million unemployed Americans applied for jobless benefits last week through the states or a temporary federal-relief program, reflecting persistent pressure on struggling companies to slash payrolls even as the U.S. economy slowly reopens for business. |
| The Wall Street Journal: U.S. to invest $1.2 billion to secure potential coronavirus vaccine from AstraZeneca, Oxford UniversityThe U.S. government has agreed to hand AstraZeneca PLC up to $1.2 billion to secure the supply of a potential coronavirus vaccine that could be ready as early as October. |
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