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A U.S. ban on new offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, which presidential hopeful Joe Biden promised to enact if elected, would lead to hundreds of thousands of job losses and billions in lost government revenue over 20 years, an offshore drilling industry group said on Tuesday. The report by the Washington-based National Ocean Industries Association comes as Biden and other Democrats hoping to unseat Republican President Donald Trump in November’s election have vowed to shift the country away from planet-warming fossil fuels to help avert the worst impacts ...

The prosperity index of China’s aluminum industry declined by 1.2 points to 17.8 points in April, the lowest level since the report was first launched on November 12, 2015, the latest report released by China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association showed. Although China’s primary aluminum demand will continue to pick up in the coming months along with the recovery in economic activity, the index might remain low for some time to come, as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on downstream aluminum demand outside of China and how long it will ...

They are accustomed to their husbands being out on the sea for months at a stretch but even their patience is running out as the men have been in their ships for far too long now, unable to find their way back home due to the worldwide lockdown forced by COVID-19. As a result, the wives of merchant navy officers have started a campaign on social media for the return of the sailors. “A captain or chief engineer typically has a contract of only four to six months because of ...

Britain’s retailers suffered another sharp slide in sales in May but there were some signs that the sector was past the worst of the hit from the coronavirus lockdown which the government is gradually easing, an industry survey showed on Tuesday. Eight out of 10 British retailers reported cash flow difficulties, down modestly after a nightmarish April, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said. Its monthly gauge of retail sales rose to -50 from in May, still a historically weak reading but up from a joint record low of -55 ...

The Bank of England is not remotely close to any decision to take interest rates below zero for the first time as a way to help Britain’s economy cope with the coronavirus crisis, the central bank’s Chief Economist Andy Haldane said. Haldane said the key factors for the BoE to consider were the consequences of negative rates for Britain’s banks and lenders, which would see a squeeze on margins, and how such a move would affect confidence in the broader economy. “Those are the aspects that we’ll look at,” Haldane ...

EU leaders may meet for a face-to-face summit in the coming weeks to bargain over the next joint budget and a linked coronavirus recovery fund, suspending lockdown rules imposed o contain the pandemic, diplomats and officials said. The European Union has struggled to run on video conferences since going into a gradual lockdown in March to curb the spread of coronavirus, which has ravaged the EU’s economy and thwarted regular gatherings of its national leaders. Few in the bloc’s hub Brussels, however, believe the intense horse-trading common for EU budget ...

The Kuwait Port Authority has joined hands with the Public Authority for Industry (PAI) for the design and construction of an industrial port in the south of the country, reported Kuwait News Agency (KUNA). The MoU, which also includes a joint study for the project, aims to elevate Kuwait’s position worldwide and enhance its local manufacturing capability, stated the report. A public sector body run on a commercial basis under the Ministry of Communications, the Kuwait Port Authority manages three commercial ports in Kuwait namely Shuwaikh, Shuaiba and Doha ports. ...

Economic activity in the U.S. fell to the lowest level on record in April amid strict lockdowns aimed to curb the spread of the coronavirus, data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago showed Tuesday. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index was minus 16.74 in April, down from a downwardly revised minus 4.97 reading in March. This is by far the lowest figure of the historical series, which started in 1967. An index value below minus 0.35 has been historically associated with periods of recession. The CFNAI is composed of ...

As pundits and journalists forecast the future of America’s shale oil industry, beware the naysayers who believe the investors and lenders will not want to do business with U.S. shale oil firms in the future. We have had over 160 years of experience to show us that if there is a plan for oil, a skilled business leader can get the financing. Opportunities in oil are too enticing for many financiers to ignore. Moreover, we should not mistake what good entrepreneurs and investors are looking for in oil today. They ...

German consumer sentiment is set to rise in June, recovering from the coronavirus shock, market-research group GfK said Tuesday. GfK’s forward-looking consumer-sentiment index is set to increase to minus 18.9 points in June from an upwardly revised minus 23.1 points for May. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a score of minus 18.0 points for June. Despite the increase, minus 18.9 is the second-lowest value that has ever been recorded for the GfK consumer climate in Germany, GfK said. “Uncertainty among consumers is high,” said Rolf Buerkl, consumer ...

China’s central bank will provide more targeted financial support for companies grappling with the coronavirus pandemic, People’s Bank of China Gov. Yi Gang said. Those measures include extending the deadlines for small companies to repay loans, enhancing government guarantees for small businesses and helping them issue more bonds, Mr. Yi said in an interview with state media released by the PBOC on Tuesday. When asked about Beijing’s financial-relief efforts compared with those of other major economies, Mr. Yi said that since February, Chinese authorities have implemented relief policies worth 5.9 ...

India’s months-long-lockdown may not have succeeded in flattening the infection curve but it has flattened the economic growth curve, the latest edition of the Mint Macro Tracker shows. 14 of the 16 high-frequency indicators considered in the tracker were in the red (below their five-year growth trend) in April. Only two indicators – core retail inflation and import cover- were in the green (above their five-year growth trend). This is the worst performance of the Indian economy since the tracker was launched 19 months ago. The Mint Macro Tracker, launched ...

India’s wheat procurement has crossed last year’s levels despite the country being under a nationwide lockdown for two months now. India’s wheat procurement has crossed last year’s levels despite the country being under a nationwide lockdown for two months now. This year, wheat procurement has touched 341.56 lakh million tonnes till May 24 as government agencies procure wheat during Rabi Marketing Season (RMS) 2020-21. Last year, these figures stood at 341.31 million tonnes, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said on Monday, The Indian Express reported. However, Uttar ...

When the U.S. government first rolled out forgivable loans to small businesses in early April under the Paycheck Protection Program, loan officers at Bank of the West in Grapevine, Texas worked nights and weekends to process a tsunami of applications. But since those first few frantic weeks, demand has “just dried up,” said bank president Cindy Blankenship. On May 15 the bank stopped taking applications for PPP loans. Nationally the program remains active. But data from the Small Business Administration shows net weekly PPP lending has actually been negative since ...

Singapore will pump an additional 33 billion Singapore dollars (US$23.17 billion) into relief measures for businesses and workers hurt by the Covid-19 pandemic amid signs that the economy is on pace for its worst annual performance on record. The fiscal package unveiled Tuesday is aimed at softening the impact on businesses and workers affected by the government’s ongoing movement restrictions to contain the spread of the coronavirus, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said in parliament. The spending, which brings the total amount the government has allocated to pandemic-related stimulus packages ...