Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day
Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day
(Bloomberg) --
Good morning. HSBC Holdings Plc reported a large bad debt charge, oil continues to tumble and lockdown easing plans are in focus. Here’s what’s moving markets.
HSBC Charge
HSBC took its biggest charge for bad debt in almost nine years and warned of deepening loan losses as it pushes back parts of its restructuring program. Expected credit losses swelled to $3 billion in the first quarter, almost double estimates, while adjusted pretax profit also missed consensus as Chief Executive Noel Quinn’s plan to boost profitability at Europe’s biggest lender is curtailed by the virus outbreak. UBS Group AG, meanwhile, indicated the “high quality” of its credit portfolio among rich clients and in Switzerland may shield it from more widespread loan losses.
Oil Tumbles Further
Crude oil is tumbling again with West Texas Intermediate briefly falling below $11 a barrel after the biggest oil exchange-traded fund unexpectedly began selling all its holdings of the most active contract amid rapidly dwindling storage capacity. Futures fell almost 17% in New York after losing a quarter of their value on Monday. In stocks, European futures are marginally higher after a mixed session in Asia.
Vaccine Timeframe
A vaccine to halt the coronavirus pandemic could be available as early as this year for vulnerable groups such as health-care workers, even faster than initially thought, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations said. The group, which is funding nine different coronavirus vaccine projects, has previously suggested a shot could be ready within 12 to 18 months, an already ambitious target. The update comes as a study supports the notion that Covid-19 can spread through tiny airborne particles known as aerosols.
Latest on Lockdowns
UK. Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged the British public to keep obeying lockdown rules even as the number of daily deaths fell to its lowest in a month, while Spain and France are set to spell out plans to ease restrictions, despite concerns that such steps could backfire. Here’s what back to school might look like post-lockdowns and here’s a lesson on response speed from a small, landlocked nation. In the U.S., the White House issued a strategy to expand testing, accelerating President Donald Trump’s push to reopen the economy.
Coming Up…
Earnings season roars back, with reports already out from HSBC Holdings Plc, UBS Group AG, drug giant Novartis AG and Swiss engineering firm ABB Ltd. Numbers are due later from oil major BP Plc. It remains relatively quiet for economic data, with U.K. retail sales and French consumer confidence on the way.
What We’ve Been Reading
This is what’s caught our eye over the past 24 hours.
- Norwegian shareholders may face wipeout.
- U.K. betting firms to remove TV ads.
- Trump says he knows where Kim Jong Un is.
- There are not enough Nintendo Switch consoles.
- Stale beer turns into whiskey and hand sanitizer.
- Retail investors can’t get enough of gold.
- Advertisers ponder if it is too early for lockdown jokes.
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