In response to the spread of the coronavirus, the U.S. has closed its borders to anyone who has visited Iran in the previous 14 days and is warning against travel to South Korea and parts of Italy. The Trump administration also has threatened to close the U.S.-Mexico border. The strictures add to the travel industry’s troubles. Lufthansa, the German airline,...
RETAILERS ON A SLIPPERY SLOPE
Macy’s department store chain reports slowing sales and supplies due in part to the coronavirus. The chain has about 70 stores for which Asians are a significant market. Sales have dropped, but “it’s nothing to be concerned about yet,” said Jeff Gennette, Macy’s CEO. He added that inventory coming from China also has slowed and the company is “watching this...
NO ENERGY IN ENERGY
U.S. energy stocks are performing farther below the S&P 500 average than at any time since Japan attacked the U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbor in 1941, according to the Bank of America. Meanwhile, in mid-month, investors rushed to dump energy-related junk bonds, driving borrowing costs for the riskiest companies to their highest since August 2016. The immediate causes: oil prices...
PRESIDENTIAL REALITY SHOW®: DEMS FEAR “THE BERN”
Former Vice President Joe Biden won a clear victory in the South Carolina Democratic primary last Saturday, breathing life into his campaign after poor finishes in the first three primary states. Mr. Biden won 48.4 percent of the vote along the lion’s share of delegates while Bernie Sanders finished second with close to 20 percent of the vote. Billionaire Tom...
AFGHANISTAN: GIVE PEACE A CHANCE
After a successful seven-day truce period, last Saturday, the United States officially signed a peace agreement with the Taliban. While the agreement has conditions to be met in the future, this appears to be the best chance yet for the U.S. to finally extricate itself from the longest war in its history. The U.S.-Taliban peace deal was signed in the Middle...
TURKEY/SYRIA: THREATS & ULTIMATUMS
As reported in last week’s Trends Journal, the threat of an expanding war is ever present as Turkey seeks to maintain a military presence in Syria’s northwest region of Idlib. This region has been controlled by rebels trying to oust the Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad since 2011, but, over the past few weeks, the conflict has escalated...
BANK STOCKS HIT BY VIRUS
Share prices for many of Europe’s biggest banks closed down as much as 7 percent last week, dropping further than many market indexes hit by the coronavirus scare. Standard Chartered PLC, which focuses on Asia, has warned of new difficulties meeting its 2020 profit targets. It has temporarily halted face-to-face services in many Asian branches, has allowed some clients to...
CORONAVIRUS: ECONOMIC EPIDEMIC
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 3,500 points last week, vaporizing about $6 trillion in investors’ assets. After back-to-back 1,000-point drops during the seven-day rout, stocks last Friday shaved that day’s loss to 356 points, indicating the virus-sparked panic may be fading and confidence cautiously returning. Markets in Europe and Asia lost about 3 percent of their values last week....
CORONAVIRUS 9/11: SPREADING TERROR
Last week, you couldn’t open a mainstream newspaper, turn on the TV news, or check out the news online without being met with another blaring headline about the spread of the coronavirus. Some examples: “Coronavirus: Two new cases confirmed in UK” “France bans large gatherings to slow spread of coronavirus” “High school student in Washington latest coronavirus community spread victim”...