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Showing posts from February, 2020

Oil price falls for 3rd day as virus fears accelerate on U.S. warning

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Wednesday, 26 Feb 2020 6:47 AM MYT Brent crude fell US$1.35, or 2.4%, to settle at $54.95 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped $1.53, or 3%, to settle at $49.90 a barrel. NEW YORK: Crude prices fell about 3% on Tuesday, dropping for a third day, as concerns about the spread of the coronavirus grew after the U.S. government warned Americans to prepare for the disease. The sell-off accelerated after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Americans should begin to prepare for the new coronavirus to spread after reports this week of new cases in several more countries. Stocks across the globe fell on Tuesday to their lowest since early December and the benchmark U.S. debt yield hit a record low on concerns about the economic hit of the spread of the virus. [MKTS/GLOB] Brent crude fell US$1.35, or 2.4%, to settle at $54.95 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped $1.53, or 3%, to settle at $49.90 a barrel. "Demand con

How To Make A Bold Bet On A Post-Virus Rebound In Chinese Stocks

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The new coronavirus from China has predictably saddled equities in the world's second-largest economy with recent losses. However, there were some signs of upside for the week ending Feb. 14 as the MSCI China Index gained nearly 3%. What Happened Chinese internet and consumer cyclical stocks, such as  Alibaba  (NYSE:  BABA ),  Baidu  (NASDAQ:  BIDU ) and  JD.com  (NASDAQ:  JD ), haven't been immune to coronavirus pressures, but an interesting scenario is emerging. Month-to-date, the  Direxion Daily CSI China Internet Index Bull 2X Shares  (NYSE:  CWEB ) is up about 20%, making it one of Direxion's best-performing  leveraged exchange traded funds  since Feb. 1. CWEB attempts to deliver  double the daily returns  of the CSI Overseas China Internet Index. Why It's Important It's certainly plausible to think that Chinese internet stocks would be decked by the coronavirus outbreak, but some analysts view CWEB components as possible beneficiaries from

Solar and other alternative energy stocks are enjoying a boom, and Wall Street is on board

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Alternative-energy stocks skyrocket amid renewed optimism about the industry Bloomberg News/Landov Solar cells are joined together as solar panels are manufactured at SunSpark Technology Inc. in Riverside, California, in 2018. Stocks directly involved or connected to alternative energy are riding high in Wall Street’s opinion, enjoying share gains that in some cases rival or surpass the meteoric rise and widespread appeal of Tesla Inc.’s shares. Analysts point to backlashes against power outages, climate-change risk, hopes of riding on the coattails of Tesla  TSLA,  -4.06%   stock, and recent building-code mandates against natural-gas hookups as some of the reasons behind their newfound popularity. Moreover, some believe it will last this time around. Earlier Thursday, shares of Plug Power Inc.  PLUG,  -7.12%   rose to a five-and-a-half-year high after the maker of hydrogen fuel cells used in forklifts and other warehouse equipment  announced a partnership to build zer

JPY: Troublesome Times

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FBS FX Empire February 20, 2020 On the outside Clearly, the extent of trade ties with China puts Japan in the frontline to suffer the damage done by the Coronavirus, after China itself. 20% of Japanese exports get shipped across the Yellow Sea, 25% of Japanese total imports originate from its western neighbor. That’s one of the largest proportions of trade balance tied up with the Chinese economy among all countries. Logically, the stronger the bond is with your trade partner, the harder you are hit if your partner takes the damage. Therefore, that is a fundamental factor to drag the  JPY  down, even if it is considered as a #2 safe-haven currency. On the inside Domestically, the Japanese economy is shrinking at an alarming rate. It is not entirely unexpected, because the sales tax introduced in Autumn 2019 couldn’t have come without notice. But still, knowing that the Japanese economy, the third-largest globally, slows down at a pace unseen during the last 6 yea

Oil prices rise about 1%, up from 13-month low as virus cases slow

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Wednesday, 12 Feb 2020 6:53 AM MYT Oil also got a boost from a rally in world equities, which resumed their climb towards record highs on Tuesday on hopes the virus is peaking. NEW YORK: Oil prices rose about 1% on Tuesday, up from 13-month lows as the number of new coronavirus cases slowed in China, easing some concern over the potential for lengthy oil demand destruction. The death toll surpassed 1,000 on Tuesday, though the number of new confirmed cases fell. The epidemic may be over by April, said the Chinese government's top medical adviser on the outbreak. Brent crude settled at $54.01 a barrel, up 74 cents, or 1.4%, having dropped on Monday to its lowest since January last year at $53.11. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $49.94 a barrel, up 37 cents, or 0.8%. "The market is trying to bottom, to be optimistic and look beyond the virus," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. Investors remain wary that Chi

Patient testimonials should be allowed in promoting medical tourism

Sunday, 09 Feb 2020 EFFORTS to promote Malaysia as a healthcare travel centre are welcomed. But some experts in the field are hoping the government will allow patient testimonials to be included in advertisements for medical services. The Association of Private Hospitals of Malaysia hopes the Medicines (Advertisement and Sale) Act 1956 will be reviewed as part of the blueprint being developed by the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC). Testimonials of treatment outcome by the patients should be allowed, says association president Datuk Dr Kuljit Singh. He explains that the blueprint would only be effective in attracting medical tourists if they know what our doctors are capable of. “Medical tourists who come here for treatment do so because of word of mouth. “If testimonials are still not allowed, Malaysia as a medical tourism destination will continue to be at a disadvantage compared with Singapore and Thailand although our fees are much