Markets
McDonald’s workers shot in argument over closed dining room
Police were scrambled to the SW 89th and Pennsylvania Avenue McDonald's at 6:22pm on Wednesday evening, a spokesman confirmed. Two male workers were shot, one in the upper arm and the other in the shoulder. "We are fully cooperating with law enforcement as they investigate this matter". The dining area "was closed because of the virus". A third employee, a female, sustained lacerations to her ... [Full Article...]
COVID-19: Russian Federation records over 10,000 infection cases for second consecutive day
According to Anna Popova, Russia's regions in this case you will need to make a decision about the possibility of a weakening of quarantine measures, guided by three main factors: coverage testing, free the number of beds in medical institutions, as well as the growth rate of cases. [Full Article...]
British Pound Gains Ground After Bank Of England Keeps Rate Unchanged
The Bank said it expects gross domestic product (GDP) to fall by around 3% in the first three months of 2020 and then plunge by a further 25% in the second quarter, although it cautioned over uncertainty over the forecasts. Two of the nine policymakers wanted to increase the bank's stimulus program by another 100 billion pounds ($124 billion). In a statement, the central bank said: "The spread o... [Full Article...]
USA service sector activity hits record low
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The coronavirus has infected around 3.6 million people globally and killed over 250,000. But the effect of the collective efforts is limited. Markit's Purchasing Managers' Index ( PMI ) tumbled to 35.1 in April from 44.5 in March, its lowest level since the survey began in 2011. [Full Article...]
Small businesses slash more than 11 million jobs in April
Why it matters: "Job losses of this scale are unprecedented". Even though Zandi expects hiring to resume in June as states ease lockdowns, he cautioned that it will be a "slog" over several years to recover all the jobs lost in April. That's up from the 149,000 private jobs cut a month earlier. That report comes from payroll provider ADP, which counted the jobs lost at its business customers ... [Full Article...]
Crude oil prices rise above $31 as lockdown easings counter supply glut
Brent settled down $1.25, or 4%, at $29.72 a barrel, the first loss after six consecutive sessions of gains. Also, in a related development, the Brent crude surged to $31.06 per barrel, while the American WTI crude is selling at $24.69 per barrel. [Full Article...]
Amazon to hire 100,000 workers as online orders surge
As a result, Amazon will be limiting vendors and sellers' ability to send products that are outside the medical and household staple categories. Employees at Amazon's United Kingdom warehouses are being told to work overtime to tackle the huge demand, despite government advice to reduce social contact. [Full Article...]
Petrol, diesel prices hiked in Delhi: Details here
The government is expected to rake in around Rs 1 .6 lakh crore through this exercise. Global benchmark Brent crude futures fell 64 percent from its January high till April-end due to low demand globally on account of lockdown to limit the novel coronavirus or COVID-19 and heavy supply by OPEC and its allies. [Full Article...]