WORLDWIDE : HEADLINES
EU trade chief insists he broke no COVID-19 rules on Irish trip
BRUSSELS/DUBLIN – The Irish government on Tuesday evening said there were clear breaches of COVID-19 public health guidelines during European Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan’s recent trip to his native Ireland.
Hogan attended a golf dinner last week that outraged the Irish public and led to the resignation of an Irish minister and the disciplining of several lawmakers. He insisted on Tuesday he had adhered to all rules during the trip.
“It is clear that breaches of public health guidelines were made by Commissioner Phil Hogan since he travelled to Ireland,” Prime Minister Micheal Martin and deputy prime minister Leo Varadkar said in a statement.
“The government guidelines clearly required him to restrict his movements for 14 days.”
Full coverage: REUTERS
Brent rises on U.S. output cuts ahead of biggest storm threat in 15 years
SINGAPORE – The price of Brent crude oil edged higher on Wednesday, lifted by U.S. producers shutting most of their offshore output in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of Hurricane Laura and optimism over China-U.S. trade talks.
But gains were capped amid renewed concern over the coronavirus pandemic, which has squeezed fuel demand, after reports from Europe and Asia of patients being re-infected with COVID-19, raising concerns about future immunity.
Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 added 8 cents, or 0.2%, to $45.94 a barrel by 0134 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 was down 2 cents, or 0.1%, at $43.33 a barrel. Both benchmarks settled at a five-month high on Tuesday.
“Crude oil prices gained, dragged higher by surging gasoline futures as Hurricane Laura heads towards the U.S. Gulf Coast,” ANZ analysts said in a note on Wednesday.
Full coverage: REUTERS
WORLDWIDE : FINANCE / ECONOMY / STOCK MARKET
Asian shares slip from two-year top as economic strains pile up
SINGAPORE/WASHINGTON – Asian stocks eased from a two-year high on Wednesday, as a mixed bag of economic data had investors a touch more circumspect about the global recovery, while oil jumped to a five-month peak owing to a hurricane disrupting output in the Gulf of Mexico.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged down 0.1% after hitting its highest since mid-2018 on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei was off 0.1%.
The U.S. dollar nursed small losses in currency trading, though moves were muted ahead of a key Thursday speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in which he is expected to outline the central bank’s next steps. [FRX/]
Full coverage: REUTERS
Dollar dogged by economic worries, yuan gains on trade deal relief
TOKYO – The dollar nursed losses against most currencies on Wednesday as traders braced for U.S. data expected to show a slowdown in durable goods orders and a key speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
The yuan rose toward a seven-month high after U.S. and Chinese trade officials reaffirmed their commitment to a Phase 1 trade deal, which eased concerns about a diplomatic standoff between the world’s two-largest economies.
The greenback took a hit after data on Tuesday showed U.S. consumer confidence tumbled to the lowest in more than six years due to concern about the coronavirus-induced job losses.
Full coverage: REUTERS
Oil hits five-month highs as U.S. producers cut output ahead of hurricane
NEW YORK – Crude oil prices rose to a five-month high on Tuesday as U.S. producers shut most offshore output in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of Hurricane Laura even as rising coronavirus cases in Asia and Europe capped gains.
Brent futures LCOc1 rose 73 cents, or 1.6%, to settle at $45.86 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 rose 73 cents, or 1.7%, to settle at $43.35.
That was the highest closes for both benchmarks since March 5, the day before Saudi Arabia and Russia failed to agree on a new plan to cut output and about a week before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic.
Full coverage: REUTERS
S&P 500, Nasdaq close at record highs on trade, vaccine developments
NEW YORK – The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit all-time closing highs on Tuesday, but a drop in Apple stock capped gains from positive developments in U.S.-China trade and fresh progress in the medical battle against the coronavirus pandemic.
The Dow, which has yet to reclaim its February high, ended the session lower.
Apple Inc weighed heaviest on all three indexes, its stock retreating 0.8% days ahead of its 4-to-1 stock split.
That split, which will reduce Apple’s weight in the Dow, prompted a reshuffle in the blue-chip industrial average, with Salesforce.com replacing Exxon Mobil Corp, Amgen Inc taking Pfizer Inc’s spot, and Raytheon Technologies Corp ousted by Honeywell International Inc.
Salesforce.com, Amgen and Honeywell shares advanced 3.6%, 3.2% and 5.4%, respectively.
Full coverage: REUTERS
