S&P Cuts Oil Nations Ratings
Several oil-producing nations woke up to lower credit ratings from S&P amid the latest oil price rout, Reuters reports, listing Oman, Nigeria, Mexico, Angola, and Ecuador among those downgraded and Continue Reading
Global Economic Fallout Grows as Coronavirus Cases Pass 600,000
Concerns about the financial toll of the coronavirus pandemic continued to grow as the number of infections globally topped 600,000 Saturday, with the International Monetary Fund warning of an economic Continue Reading
Dollar edges up but headed for biggest weekly fall since 2016
The dollar edged higher on Friday but remained on track for its biggest weekly decline in four years, as trillions of dollars worth of stimulus efforts by governments and central Continue Reading
U.S. consumer sentiment near three-and-a-half year low, spending sluggish
U.S. consumer sentiment dropped to near a 3-1/2-year low in March as the coronavirus epidemic upended life for Americans, and consumer spending was sluggish in February, strengthening economists’ expectations of Continue Reading
U.S. Car Sales Decimated By Coronavirus Crisis
If any company is bracing for the shock of falling U.S. auto sales, it’s got to be Group 1 Automotive. The company owns and operates 186 auto dealerships along with Continue Reading
Ford aiming to restart North American production beginning April 6
Ford is aiming to restart production at some of its North American plants as early as April 6, the company said Thursday. Ford said it is planning to resume production Continue Reading
G20 leaders to inject $5 trillion into global economy to fight coronavirus
Leaders of the Group of 20 major economies pledged on Thursday to inject $5 trillion in fiscal spending into the global economy to blunt the economic impact of the coronavirus Continue Reading
World Trade Rocked by Virus Sees Worst Collapse in a Generation
The global economy’s most abrupt and consequential shock in at least a generation is unfolding at ports and other hubs of international commerce as the U.S. and Europe struggle to Continue Reading
U.S. Equipment Orders Fell More Than Forecast in February
U.S. factories received fewer orders for business equipment than forecast in February, just before the coronavirus-related demand shock that will likely lead a massive pullback in corporate investment. Core capital goods Continue Reading
G7 ministers urge oil-producing nations to help stabilize world economy, amid price war
Finance officials from the G7 major industrial nations on Tuesday called on “oil-producing countries to support international efforts to promote global economic stability,” as the collapse in crude prices threatens Continue Reading
Surveys show coronavirus pandemic savaging global economy
Evidence of the devastation wreaked on the global economy by the coronavirus pandemic mounted on Tuesday as activity surveys for March from Australia and Japan showed record falls, with surveys Continue Reading
U.S. Recession Risks and Depression Fears: Coronavirus News
The U.S. is entering a recession. The ultimate fear is that could turn into a protracted malaise that has some flavor of a depression. That’s far from the base case, with Continue Reading
Virus News: Fed’s Bullard Says Jobless Rate May Soar to 30%
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard predicted the U.S. unemployment rate may hit 30% in the second quarter because of shutdowns to combat the coronavirus, with an Continue Reading
U.S. OIL PRICE COLLAPSE = U.S. ECONOMIC COLLAPSE
The oil price collapse is a bad omen for much worse things to follow. The global contagion is impacting the U.S. economy and the domestic oil industry far greater than Continue Reading
Goldman Sachs says GDP could fall 24 percent in second quarter
The U.S. economy may have entered a recession and Americans could see the economy shrink by an annualized 6 percent in the first quarter and an astonishing 24 percent in Continue Reading
Dow drops more than 900 points, ending worst week since 2008
Stocks sank to their worst week since the financial crisis of 2008 as traders went into full retreat out of fear that the coronavirus will plunge the U.S. and other Continue Reading
U.S. economy deteriorating faster than anticipated as 80 million Americans are forced to stay at home
The U.S. economy is deteriorating more quickly than was expected just days ago as extraordinary measures designed to curb the coronavirus keep 84 million Americans penned in their homes and Continue Reading
US credit card lenders reel as borrowers get laid off
Fears that the coronavirus will lead to widespread unemployment and a spike in consumer defaults have wiped more than two-thirds from the value of US credit card lenders and left executives Continue Reading
Trump Administration Asks States to Keep Quiet About Jobless Figures
The Trump administration asked states to abstain from releasing unemployment-claims figures prior to the publication of a national compilation of weekly U.S. jobless claims, according to a state labor department Continue Reading
Markets tumble as scale of stimulus programs numbs investors
Global equities tumbled anew on Wednesday, with bond and gold prices also falling in an unusual tandem, as markets grappled with the scale of government programs aimed at softening the Continue Reading
Detroit automakers shutter U.S. plants in move to stop coronavirus spread
The Detroit Three automakers will shut down their U.S. plants to stop the spread of coronavirus, bowing to pressure from the union representing about 150,000 hourly workers at those facilities, Continue Reading
Call It a Layoff, a Furlough or a Cut Shift: Americans are Losing Work
Employers are cutting shifts, suspending work and starting to lay off workers as the new coronavirus devastates business across the country. Companies from restaurant operators to wedding caterers have started Continue Reading
NYSE to Shut Trading Floors Monday After Two Are Infected
The New York Stock Exchange will temporarily shut its trading floors starting Monday and move to fully electronic trading after an employee and a person who worked on the floor Continue Reading
Harried Traders Gird for a Frantic Friday
The S&P 500 has risen or fallen at least 4% in eight straight sessions, the longest streak in history, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The Cboe Volatility Index, the Continue Reading
Trump presses for $1 trillion stimulus as U.S. coronavirus deaths cross 100
The Trump administration pressed on Tuesday for enactment of a $1 trillion stimulus package, possibly to include $1,000 direct payments to individual Americans, to blunt the economic pain from a Continue Reading
Goldman Sees China’s Economy Slumping 9% in First Quarter
China’s economy is set to post a 9% plunge in the first quarter from a year earlier, according to the latest forecast from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. A day after retail Continue Reading
Wall Street’s Big Coronavirus Mistake
Investment professionals on Wall Street spend their days reading financial reports and looking at numbers flash on screens. These numbers record the moment-to-moment changes in the collective wisdom of markets Continue Reading
‘D’ word rears head as coronavirus-hit markets brace for recession
The coronavirus shockwaves rippling through U.S. stocks are forcing investors to contemplate outcomes direr than a recession, including several quarters of declining economic activity, a credit crisis or even a Continue Reading
America’s Economy Begins to Shut Down as Pandemic Measures Take Hold
In some places, public officials and private business owners moved with stunning speed. In others, paralyzing hesitancy, defiant bravado or blithe disregard dominated. But by Monday, it was clear everywhere Continue Reading
Stocks dive as rescue bids by Fed, peers fail to calm panicky markets
Stock markets were routed and the dollar stumbled on Monday after the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates in an emergency move and its major peers offered cheap U.S. dollars to Continue Reading
Global recession already here, say top economists
The world economy has fallen into recession, suffering from a “wicked cocktail” of coronavirus and the dramatic action to limit its spread, according to four former IMF chief economists. As the Continue Reading
MAJOR ECONOMIC DEPRESSION AHEAD? Global Oil Demand To Fall Drastically
The world is heading towards a global depression, but the market hasn’t quite figured it out yet. Unfortunately, many analysts and economists continue to believe that the worldwide contagion will Continue Reading
Stock Market Today: Dow, S&P Live Updates for March 16
U.S. equity futures tumbled by their limits and Treasuries surged at the start of what’s set to be another volatile week, with investors responding to the rapidly escalating economic hit Continue Reading
The U.S. may already be in a recession, and it could linger even after the covid-19 crisis is over
There is a high likelihood that the United States will enter a recession in 2020. In fact, one may have already started. America is shutting down at lightning speed as Continue Reading
U.S. Economic Outlook Under Coronavirus Hinges on Layoff Decisions
The U.S. economic outlook hangs in large part on whether business leaders respond to the new coronavirus crisis as they have with many past shocks: by laying off masses of Continue Reading
House Passes Coronavirus Relief After Democrats Strike Deal With White House
President Trump declared a national emergency on Friday over the coronavirus pandemic and announced steps he said would speed the availability of testing, and early Saturday, the House passed a Continue Reading
Companies that feed America brace for labor shortages as coronavirus pandemic intensifies
The companies that feed America and provide basic staples are bracing for labor shortages as the novel coronavirus pandemic intensifies, which could leave them without enough workers to manufacture, deliver and Continue Reading
Global Recession Risk Spikes as World Powers Down, Markets Slump
A pandemic-driven global recession is becoming more likely by the day as the flow of goods, services and people face ever-increasing restrictions and financial markets slump. In just the past Continue Reading
Economists See Rising Risks of Recession World-Wide
The U.S. and world economies look increasingly likely to slip into recession as expanding swaths of commerce shut down and the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered its worst day since Continue Reading
Coronavirus Worries Mean Some U.S. GDP Estimates Are Negative
Economists are lowering their estimates for second-quarter growth in the U.S. as the coronavirus crimps demand and spending, in some cases penciling in what would be the first contraction since Continue Reading
Facing recession, Europe grasps for ways to limit damage
Suddenly staring recession in the face, European leaders are lining up an array of tax breaks, financial support for companies and likely central bank measures in the hope of preventing Continue Reading
Oil Price War Could Wreak Havoc On Eurasian Economies
A feud between Saudi Arabia and Russia that sent oil prices plunging on March 9 has rewritten economic forecasts across Eurasia. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia – the former Soviet Union’s Continue Reading
Junk Status? Oil Nations Face Serious Credit Downgrades
Ratings Agency Fitch warned on Tuesday that a new wave of sovereign rating downgrades could be in the works if the oil slump continues, according to Reuters . In additional, Continue Reading
Facing recession, Europe grasps for ways to limit damage
Suddenly staring recession in the face, European leaders are lining up an array of tax breaks, financial support for companies and likely central bank measures in the hope of preventing Continue Reading
Trump Prepares Aid Package To Relieve U.S. Oil Producers
The Trump Administration will review solutions to the pain felt by US oil producers as oil prices fall to multi-year lows on Monday, according to Bloomberg . Administration officials will Continue Reading
U.S. retailers face $700 million hit as virus disrupts ocean shipping
U.S. retailers face an estimated $700 million sales hit from the coronavirus and some shipping lines are sending vessels to retrieve empty cargo containers from Los Angeles to prevent further Continue Reading
Union tells Trump administration to take coronavirus seriously for government workers
A union representing U.S. government employees called on the Trump administration on Friday “to take the coronavirus seriously” for federal workers, especially those working in areas directly impacted by the Continue Reading
European mood turns grim on profit warnings, London stock slide
European shares headed lower on Thursday, as a slump in British stocks and profit warnings from several companies soured market sentiment even after central banks this week tried to ease Continue Reading
Virus Disruptions May Cause 20% Cargo Decline at U.S. Ports
The coronavirus has cut deeply into the volume of cargo crossing the docks at U.S. seaports in a further sign of the economic turmoil caused by the outbreak. First-quarter cargo Continue Reading
Human Consumption of Natural Resources Exceeds an Annual 100 Billion Tonnes
In 1969, the late Professor Albert Bartlett famously delivered a lecture, entitled “Arithmetic, Population and Energy” , which begins with the observation that, “The greatest shortcoming of the human race Continue Reading