- Antiflu Avigan Not Showing Apparent Efficacy In Coronavirus Treatment
- Experts: Moderna Didn’t Produce Data Critical To Assessing COVID-19 Vaccine
- Fed's Powell: New Lending Programs To Launch By June 1
- Fed’s Kashkari: Fed Can Use Other Tools Before Negative Rates
- Fed’s Rosengren Warns Premature Reopening Of Economy Carries Risk
- US Tsy Ready To Increase Investments In Fed Lending Programs
- US Pres. Trump: US Should Consider ‘Terminating’ Cattle Imports
- CBO Projects 5.6% Decline In 2020 GDP; 4.2% Growth In 2021
- US Housing Starts Slide 30% To Lowest Level Since 2015
- ECB's Lane: ECB Is Monitoring Markets, Ready To Boost Bond-Buying
- UK Chancellor Warns Of 'Severe Recession The Likes Of Which We Have Not Seen'
- UK’s Draft EU Trade Deal Shows How Far They Are From Agreement
- Airbus Officially Opens Its A220 Production Facility In US
- EU Said To Consider VAT Exemption For Zero-Emission Cars

In a surprisingly upbeat labour market report, the ILO jobs data in the three months to March showed strong employment growth—up until the last week in the month at least –with a sharp rise in the more prescient claimant count.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the number of people employed rose 211,000 in the three months to March to reach a new record high of 33.1mln, or a rate of 76.6pct. This is up from a rise of 172,000 in the three months to February and 184,000 in the three months to January.
The report said claimant count unemployment spiked by 856,500 in April to nearly 2.1mln, taking the rate to 5.8pct from 3.5pct previously. In March, claims rose by just 5,400 people. (LiveSquawk – Continue Reading)
The UK and EU will fail to agree a Brexit trade deal before the end of the current transition period on December 31, a majority of experts believe.
Nearly three quarters (71%) of 100 leading social scientists do not expect a deal to be struck in 2020, a Brexit policy panel survey by the UK In A Changing Europe think-tank showed.
And they were almost equally split on whether the transition period, during which there has been little to no serious change in the UK-EU trade relationship, would be extended to allow more time for negotiations.
More than half (53%) of the academics believed it will be extended to allow more time for negotiations despite Boris Johnson ruling out a longer transition period.
But if there is no extension an overwhelming majority (80%) thought leaving the transition without a trade agreement would be equally or more damaging than a no-deal Brexit, which the prime minister avoided by striking a limited withdrawal agreement with the EU last year. (Huffington Post – Continue Reading)
A study completed by UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) with the Yale School of Medicine found that older COVID-19 patients with hypertension taking angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors had a lower risk of COVID-19 hospitalization. A pragmatic clinical trial will be a critical next step.
The study, which was recently submitted for peer-reviewed publication, analyzed retrospective data from about 10,000 patients testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 who were enrolled in Medicare Advantage or commercially insured plans, and had a prescription for one or more anti-hypertensive medications. The use of ACE inhibitors was associated with an almost 40% lower risk of COVID-19 hospitalization for Medicare Advantage patients. A younger, commercially insured group did not have the same result. Use of the medication was not found to reduce mortality risk in individuals once hospitalized with COVID-19.
"While not yet actionable, these findings provide an impetus to test whether this common, inexpensive class of drugs can mitigate the impact of the virus," said Dr. Harlan Krumholz, the Harold H. Hines, Jr. professor of medicine at Yale and the director of the Yale New Haven Hospital Center for Outcomes Research. (Business Wire – Continue Reading)
- Fed's Powell: New Lending Programs To Launch By June 1 – ABC
- Fed’s Kashkari: Fed Can Use Other Tools Before Negative Rates – TeleTrader
- Fed’s Rosengren Warns Premature Reopening Of Economy Carries Risk – WSJ
- US Tsy Ready To Increase Investments In Fed Lending Programs – Morningstar
- US Pres. Trump Says US Should Consider ‘Terminating’ Cattle Imports – BBG
- CBO Projects 5.6% Decline In 2020 GDP; 4.2% Growth In 2021
- WH Kudlow: Nobody Can Confidently Invest In Chinese Companies - BBG
- Canada-US Border To Remain Closed For Another Month As Provinces Slowly Reopen – CBC
- ECB's Lane: ECB Is Monitoring Markets, Ready To Boost Bond-Buying – BBG
- UK Chancellor Warns Of 'Severe Recession The Likes Of Which We Have Not Seen' – ITV
- UK’s Draft EU Trade Deal Shows How Far They Are From Agreement – BBG
- Britain Says EU Is Offering 'Relatively Low Quality' Trade Agreement - RTRS
- Spain Seeks To Extend State Of Emergency To June 7 – BBG
- Spanish EconMin Calvino: Spain Will Work To Improve German, French Proposal – BBG
- Tsy Yields Fall Slightly As Investors Monitor Powell Testimony – CNBC
- UK Sees Record GBP53 Bln Demand For New 40-Year Bond – RTRS
- Italy's New BTP Italia Issue Gets Stronger Demand Than Last One – RTRS
- USD/JPY Bulls Looking To Extend The Momentum Beyond 50-Day SMA – FXStreet
- GBP/USD Extends Daily Gains, Flirts With 1.2300 – FXStreet
- EUR/USD Loses Bullish Momentum, Clings To Modest Gains Around 1.0930 – FXStreet
- USD/CAD Steadies Below 1.3900 Despite Falling Crude Oil Prices – FXStreet
- USD/MXN Drops Again, Mexican Peso Keeps Testing The 23.50 Area – FXStreet
- NZD/USD Hits One-Week Highs Above 0.6100 – FXStreet
- Oil Jumps 2% On Signs Of Output Cuts And Demand Hopes – CNBC
- Gold Futures Finish Higher To Recoup Over Half Of Their Monday Loss – MarketWatch
- NZ Change In GDT Price Index 19-May: 1.0% (prev -0.8%)
- Dow Slips After Monday’s 900-Point Surge, Home Depot Falls On Earnings – CNBC
- Europe Lower As Investors Monitor Coronavirus Vaccine Progress, Economic Data – CNBC
- Home Depot Hit With $850 Mln Coronavirus-Related Charge – FBN
- Walmart Sales Surge As Stockpiling Brings ‘Unprecedented’ Demand – FT
- Advance Auto Parts Rallies, Profit & Sales Miss But Outlook Is Upbeat – MarketWatch
- Kohl's Swings To Loss As Revenue Falls Below Estimates During Pandemic – MarketWatch
- Antiflu Avigan Not Showing Apparent Efficacy In Coronavirus Treatment – Kyodo
- Vaccine Experts: Moderna Didn’t Produce Data Critical To Assessing COVID-19 Vaccine - Stat
- Airbus Officially Opens Its A220 Production Facility In US
- Ryanair Proposes 336 UK Pilot Redundancies And 20% Pay Cuts – LSE
- Lufthansa Expects Hundreds Of Aircraft To Be Grounded Until 2022 – RTRS
- easyJet Says Hackers Accessed Data Of 9 Mln Customers – BBG
- Asda CEO Expects Resumption Of Stake Sale Talks When Walmart Ready – RTRS
- Apple Plans Vietnam Production For 'AirPods Studio' Headphones – AppleInsider
- Renault Reaches Deal On EUR5 Bln State-Backed Loan - RTRS
- Clothing Retailers Tap Banks For $31 Bln In Funding - BBG
- Microsoft Sued For Trademark Infringement By Azure Knowledge Corporation – PRN
- Renault To Cut 400 Jobs At Its Slovenia Unit – RTRS
- Facebook Launches Shops To Bring More Businesses Online During The Pandemic – Verge