Author: therawinformant

  • Expedia tops revenue estimates $2.21B vs expected $2.11B

    Expedia tops revenue estimates $2.21B vs expected $2.11BExpedia Group reported their first quarter earnings after the bell on Wednesday, showing a revenue drop of 15% year over year at $2.21B. Jared Blikre joins The Final Round to go over the numbers.

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  • Oxford Vaccine Gets $1 Billion; Surge in Brazil: Virus Update

    Oxford Vaccine Gets $1 Billion; Surge in Brazil: Virus Update(Bloomberg) — Global coronavirus cases topped five million, doubling in the past month, and infections rose at a record pace in Brazil and Indonesia. AstraZeneca received $1.2 billion in U.S. funding to develop a vaccine, while CanSino Biologics signed a deal to test and sell a Canadian vaccine candidate.U.S. President Donald Trump suggested Chinese leader Xi Jinping was behind a “disinformation and propaganda attack,” and is set to tour Ford’s ventilator facility on Thursday. Cases stabilized in Russia and the emergency in Tokyo may soon be lifted.The euro-area economy started to claw its way out of its downturn and U.S. jobless claims will probably continue to trend lower. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration has started making changes to airport screening and EasyJet said it plans to resume flights from some European airports in June.Key Developments:Virus Tracker: Cases reached 5 million; deaths exceed 328,000Why a new cluster in China is triggering alarms: QuickTakeTrump’s push to reopen repels some GOP supportersWHO is caught in a dangerous place between Trump and ChinaTrump gambles on a resurrection, with lives and livelihoodsSubscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team here. Click VRUS on the terminal for news and data on the coronavirus. See this week’s top stories from QuickTake here.Natixis Losses on Equity Derivatives Soar (7:10 a.m. NY)Natixis SA, the French investment bank that embraced complex trades as a key money maker, has lost about 250 million euros ($274 million) so far this year on equity derivatives. About 150 million euros of the losses have occurred since April, according to people familiar with the matter. The results are partly driven by corporations slashing their dividends because of the coronavirus.Turkey Cuts Rates Again (7:02 a.m. NY)Turkey’s central bank delivered a ninth straight interest-rate cut after measures to prop up the lira drove out foreign investors, helping the currency recover from an all-time low. By escalating their defense of the lira, authorities have opened the way for lower borrowing costs, a linchpin of the government’s strategy to keep cheap credit flowing to consumers and businesses as it tries to mitigate the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.Texas Sees Power Demand Rebound (7 a.m. NY)Texas has started seeing a slight increase in power use this week in one of the first signs that electricity demand is bouncing back in the U.S. as lockdowns ease. While power use in the Lone Star state is still depressed, the state’s main grid operator noticed a slight improvement in electricity use during early morning hours, according to a report.TSA Makes Changes to Airport Security Screening (6:47 a.m. NY)Ahead of the Memorial Day holiday weekend in the U.S., the Transportation Security Administration has started making changes to airport screening. “In the interest of TSA frontline workers and traveler health, TSA is committed to making prudent changes to our screening processes to limit physical contact and increase physical distance as much as possible,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said.The agency said it had seen a steady growth of travelers coming through airport checkpoints over the past couple of weeks.U.K. Home Sales Crater (6:09 a.m. NY)U.K. home sales collapsed last month as the government effectively shut down the market to help slow the coronavirus outbreak. The number of residential property deals plunged by 53.4% compared with April last year, according to provisional data published by the U.K. tax authority on Thursday. About 46,440 home sales were recorded.Insurance giant Aviva Plc expects residential property prices to drop 12% and commercial real estate to decline by 15% because of the impact of the pandemic, it said in an earnings update on Thursday. The company sees long-term growth for house prices after they trough. The insurer also said it expects to pay out around 160 million pounds in coronavirus-related claims.Philippine Apologizes for ‘Second Wave’ Confusion (5:52 p.m. HK)The Philippines’ Health Department corrected a statement made by its top official that the country is already experiencing its second wave of coronavirus infections, apologizing for the confusion it caused.The Southeast Asian nation is still in the first wave, driven by the local community transmission of the virus, Health Director Beverly Ho said in a virtual briefing. Secretary Francisco Duque told lawmakers on Wednesday that the first wave already occurred in January when three Chinese tourists tested positive for the virus.Tokyo Emergency May Be Lifted Soon (5:22 p.m. HK)Japan could lift the state of emergency in Tokyo and surrounding prefectures as soon as Monday, if current trends continue, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said. The measure was lifted Thursday for Osaka and the two adjoining prefectures of Kyoto and Hyogo after the move was endorsed by a government panel of health experts earlier in the day. The emergency declaration will stay in effect for Tokyo and surrounding prefectures, as well as for the northern island of Hokkaido, for the time being, he said.Italian PM Urges Banks to Speed Up Loans (5:18 p.m. HK)Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte ramped up the pressure on Italy’s banking sector, urging lenders to speed up delivery of state-backed loans to businesses paralyzed by a nationwide lockdown to counter the coronavirus.“The banking system is making a contribution, but it can and must do more to accelerate procedures to deliver state-backed loans,” Conte said in a speech to the lower house of parliament. “The liquidity decree allows for guaranteed loans to be delivered in 24 hours, especially for requests under 25,000 euros ($27,400).”Conte’s government and banks have been blaming each other for delays in guaranteeing liquidity to companies, as more than two months of containment measures weigh on the economy. The European Commission forecasts Italy’s output will shrink 9.5% this year, while Bloomberg Economics expects a 13% contraction.Indonesia Cases Top 20,000 After Record Surge (4:56 p.m. HK)Indonesia recorded a record surge in new coronavirus cases, adding 973 infections to take the total in the country to 20,162. The increase was driven by 502 infections reported in East Java. Earlier this week, President Joko Widodo ruled out an immediate easing of social distancing rules and ordered officials to strictly enforce a ban on travel during the busy holiday season to prevent a spike in new coronavirus cases.The spike in infections in recent weeks may delay plans to reopen Southeast Asia’s largest economy as early as next month as an overwhelmed healthcare system fails to ramp up testing of those with even explicit Covid-19 symptoms. With reports of a large number of people traveling to their hometowns to celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr later this month in defiance of the ban on such travel, known as mudik, fears have increased of a fresh wave of infections.China Vaccine Maker Agrees to Canada Deal (4:37 p.m. HK)Leading Chinese vaccine developer CanSino Biologics Inc.. has agreed to a deal to test and sell a separate Canadian vaccine candidate. In addition to developing its own vaccine with the Chinese military, CanSino will partner with Vancouver-based Precision NanoSystems Inc. to co-develop another potential vaccine.The company will conduct testing of Precision’s experimental vaccine and has the right to commercialize it in Asia excluding Japan. Widely viewed as one of the front-runners in the race for successful vaccine, the deal adds to CanSino’s chances of being among the first to deliver.CanSino’s own vaccine is currently in the second of three phases of human testing and is among five Chinese candidates to have reached that advanced stage — more than the U.S. and Europe combined. The stock surged in Hong Kong on Thursday morning before abruptly reversing gains in the afternoon.Euro-Area Economy Reaches Trough (4 p.m. HK)The euro-area economy started to claw its way out of its deepest downturn ever as the relaxing of coronavirus lockdowns allows thousands of businesses to reopen. The big question is how long it stumbles along at the bottom before a meaningful recovery starts to take shape. While a report from IHS Markit on Thursday offered some hope, it also suggested that improvement will be slow.“Demand is likely to remain extremely weak for a prolonged period, putting further pressure on companies to make more aggressive job cuts as government retention schemes expire,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit. Growth could slump by almost 9% in 2020, and a full recovery could “take several years,” he said.Cases Stabilize in Russia (3:40 p.m. HK)The number of confirmed new infections rose by 8,849 over the past day in Russia, to 317,554. The country reported 127 more fatalities, taking the total to 3,099.Infections in the country have nearly tripled from the end of April, but new cases have since started to level off. Thursday’s 2.9% increase in cases is in line with Wednesday, and below the five-day average.Human Development Set for First Decline Since 1990 (3:30 p.m. HK)Global human development — a measure that combines education, health and living standards — will decline for the first time in at least three decades, the United Nations Development Programme warned.Global income per person is expected to fall 4% this year, and, when adjusted for those who don’t have Internet access, the percentage of primary school-age children who are getting an education is at the lowest level since the 1980s. The death toll from the virus has exceeded 300,000 so far.“The world has seen many crises over the past 30 years,” UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner said in a statement. “Each has hit human development hard but, overall, development gains accrued globally year-on-year. Covid-19 –- with its triple hit to health, education and income — may change this trend.”Lufthansa Nears Rescue (3:23 p.m. HK)Deutsche Lufthansa AG said it’s close to a multibillion euro bailout deal that would see the state become its biggest shareholder after the coronavirus punctured a decades-long boom in air travel. Lufthansa shares gained as much as 5.8% Thursday after Europe’s largest carrier confirmed it’s in advanced talks with Germany’s WSF Economic Stabilization Fund for aid of as much as 9 billion euros ($9.9 billion).The package would include a 3 billion-euro loan, a so-called silent participation and the WSF obtaining a 20% stake through a capital issuance, Lufthansa said.EasyJet Plans to Restart Flights (3:20 p.m. HK)EasyJet Plc will resume flights from 22 European airports on June 15, becoming one of the first airlines in the region to begin building up services as coronavirus lockdowns ease. Britain’s biggest discount carrier will start with mainly internal flights in the U.K. and France before announcing more routes in coming weeks as travel restrictions are lifted and demand picks up.Passengers, cabin crew and ground staff will be required to wear face masks, in line with guidance this week by the European Aviation Safety Agency and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. No food will be served on the first flights and customers will be asked to sit apart from others not in their party, though only where spare seats are available.German Infection Rate Under Key Threshold (2:44 p.m. HK)Germany’s new coronavirus cases dropped below 1,000 and the number of new fatalities remained under 100, as the country’s infection rate stayed below the key threshold of 1.0. There were 695 new cases in the 24 hours through Thursday morning, bringing the total to 178,473, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. That’s down from 1,227 on Wednesday.AstraZeneca Gets $1 Billion From U.S. to Make Vaccine (2:18 p.m. HK)AstraZeneca Plc received more than $1 billion in U.S. government funding to develop a Covid-19 vaccine from the University of Oxford, and said it has supply agreements for 400 million doses. The investment accelerates a race to secure vaccine supplies, seen as a key step toward getting global economies moving again after a lockdown-induced slump.Drugmakers around the world are looking for manufacturing capacity to ramp up output. The Oxford vaccine is one of the world’s fastest-moving, and AstraZeneca has said it expects to have doses ready as soon as September. BARDA has also provided funding for French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, including $30 million for its Covid vaccine and a $226 million award in December to increase production capacity for its pandemic influenza vaccine.Coronavirus Cases Reach 5 Million (2 p.m. HK)It’s the latest milestone for the worst pandemic in a century that has upended every aspect of modern life and hammered the global economy. The number of infections worldwide has doubled over the past month. The U.S. accounts for almost a third of the cases, five times the number seen by Russia, the No. 2 country on the list. Brazil, one of the latest hot spots, has the third largest number of cases.Milestones in the pandemic have become commonplace and only amount to an approximate guidepost. Health experts widely believe the actual count is higher than the official numbers, as Covid-19 has proved difficult to detect and track. The official death toll is at more than 328,000, with the U.S. fatalities exceeding 93,000.Thai Panel to Propose Extending Emergency (12:17 p.m. HK)Thailand’s National Security Council will propose an extension of a state of emergency through June 30, the panel’s Secretary-General Somsak Rungsita told reporters. The NSC will propose the extension at the Covid-19 meeting chaired by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha on Friday.Diamond Princess’s Cases Reveal Pattern of Disease (12:03 p.m. HK)Months after the coronavirus infected more than 700 people on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan, scientists are still gleaning insights into the patterns of illness it causes.Women Job Losses Could Shave $1 Trillion Off GDP (8:47 a.m. HK)Of 44 million workers in vulnerable sectors, about 31 million female workers face potential job cuts compared to 13 million men, underscoring that women globally are more vulnerable to losing their jobs during the crisis, according to Citigroup Inc. The assessment excludes China, with the figure likely to be higher if the world’s second-largest economy was included.Virus-Ravaged USS Theodore Roosevelt Returns to Sea (8:38 a.m. HK)The USS Theodore Roosevelt “left Naval Base Guam and entered the Philippine Sea May 21 to conduct carrier qualification flights for the embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 11,” the U.S. 7th Fleet Commander said in a statement. The ship moored in Guam after crew members tested positive for Covid-19.China Reports 2 New Cases, Including 1 in Shanghai (8:33 a.m. HK)One local coronavirus infection is reported in Shanghai and one imported case is in Guangdong province, National Health Commission said in a statement. 31 asymptomatic cases are reported; three of them are from overseas.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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  • AstraZeneca Can Make Up To 1B Covid-19 Vaccine Doses, Signs First Supply Pacts

    AstraZeneca Can Make Up To 1B Covid-19 Vaccine Doses, Signs First Supply PactsUK-based pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca Plc (AZN) on Thursday disclosed that it has the capacity to produce 1 billion doses of its coronavirus vaccine should it prove to be successful. The stock rose 3.5% to $55.65 in pre-market U.S. trading.The drugmaker said it has signed first agreements for at least 400 million doses and has secured total manufacturing capacity for one billion doses of the potential vaccine, which it is developing with Oxford University. Start of deliveries are planned for September 2020, the company said in a statement.AstraZeneca is also working on entering into additional agreements supported by several parallel supply chains, which is aimed at expanding capacity further over the next months to ensure the delivery of a globally accessible vaccine, the company said.All of this though will be dependent on getting data results from the vaccine candidate’s Phase I/II clinical trial, which the drugmaker expects shortly and if positive, would lead to late-stage trials in a number of countries.“AstraZeneca recognises that the vaccine may not work but is committed to progressing the clinical program with speed and scaling up manufacturing at risk,” the company said in the statement.Moreover, AstraZeneca announced that it has received more than $1 billion from the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) for the development, production and delivery of the vaccine, starting in the fall. The development programme includes a Phase III clinical trial with 30,000 participants and a paediatric trial.The drugmaker informed investors that Thursday’s announcement is not expected to have any significant impact on its financial guidance for 2020.“Expenses to progress the vaccine are anticipated to be offset by funding by governments,” the company said.Shares in AstraZeneca have ballooned 42% in the past two months as the drugmaker joined the list of companies engaged in the development of a coronavirus vaccine.TipRanks data shows that Wall Street analysts have a bullish outlook on the stock boasting only Buy ratings. Following the recent share rally, the $57.50 average price target puts the upside potential at 6.9% in the coming 12 months. (See AstraZeneca stock analysis on TipRanks).Related News: Gilead and Galapagos Score Positive Topline Results For Ulcerative Colitis Trial Moderna Spikes 21% Amid “Positive” Early-Stage Covid-19 Vaccine Data AstraZeneca-Merck Lynparza Prostate Cancer Treatment Gets FDA Approval More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Akorn Plummets 27% In Pre-Market On Bankruptcy Filing * Google, Apple Roll Out Coronavirus Contact Tracing Technology * Visa Makes Analytical Play With GoodData Investment * Expedia Q1 Gross Bookings Plunge 39%, And Worse To Come

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  • Boston Scientific Sinks on $1.5B Capital Raise Announcement

    Boston Scientific Sinks on $1.5B Capital Raise AnnouncementShares in Boston Scientific (BSX) pulled back 2% in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the company announced concurrent offerings of $750 million of shares of its common stock and $750 million of shares of its Series A Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock.The medical device manufacturer also expects to grant the underwriters separate 30-day options to purchase up to an additional $112.5 million of common stock and up to an additional $112.5 million of preferred stock.According to the statement, Boston Scientific will use part of the proceeds from to repay in full the remaining $750 million outstanding under its $1.25 billion term loan credit facility maturing on April 2021 and to pay the related fees, expenses and premiums.The remaining proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, says BSX, which may include refinancing or repayment of other outstanding indebtedness and funding potential future acquisitions and investments.The closing of each offering is not contingent upon the closing of the other offering.J.P. Morgan and BofA Securities are acting as joint book-running managers for the offerings.On May 15, Boston announced the pricing of a public offering of $1.7 billion senior notes with $500 million in aggregate 1.9% notes due 2025 and $1.2 billion in aggregate 2.65% notes due 2030.BSX has plunged 18% year-to-date, but analysts are retaining an optimistic outlook on the stock’s potential. The Street has a Strong Buy consensus on Boston Scientific, with an average analyst price target of $43 (16% upside potential). (See BSX stock analysis on TipRanks)“Despite short-term delays and disruption to current launches and the product pipeline, we continue to like BSX’s innovation and growth profile” explains BTIG’s Marie Thibault. She reiterated her Buy with a $44 PT, but ‘meaningfully’ reduced her revenue forecast for 2020 as global revenue is expected to decline 45-50% y/y in April.Related News: Bluebird Prices New Shares At $55, Seeks To Raise $500 Million Gilead and Galapagos Score Positive Topline Results For Ulcerative Colitis Trial AstraZeneca-Merck Lynparza Prostate Cancer Treatment Gets FDA ApprovalPopular in the Community More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Akorn Plummets 27% In Pre-Market On Bankruptcy Filing * AstraZeneca Can Make Up To 1B Covid-19 Vaccine Doses, Signs First Supply Pacts * Google, Apple Roll Out Coronavirus Contact Tracing Technology * Visa Makes Analytical Play With GoodData Investment

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  • Why Retiring Early Is a Bad Idea Now

    Why Retiring Early Is a Bad Idea NowIf you are near retirement and recently unemployed, you have a lot of company. Roughly 600,000 Americans between the ages of 55 and 64 left the workforce in April, according to the New School’s Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis … Continue reading ->The post Why Retiring Early Is a Bad Idea Now appeared first on SmartAsset Blog.

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  • While U.S. economy slides, heartland auto dealers cry out for more trucks

    While U.S. economy slides, heartland auto dealers cry out for more trucksJerry Bill is worried the novel coronavirus could hurt business at the Des Moines auto dealership he runs, but not because of a shortage of buyers for the big Ram pickups on his lot. “Our biggest issue will be if we don’t get more inventory,” said Bill, general sales manager of Stew Hansen Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, which sells around 2,700 new vehicles a year in Urbandale, a suburb of Iowa’s capital Des Moines. After a drop in sales in April when consumers stayed home, Bill expects pickup truck sales to end May similar to where they were a year earlier.

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  • China’s Got a New Plan to Overtake the U.S. in Tech

    China’s Got a New Plan to Overtake the U.S. in Tech(Bloomberg) — Beijing is accelerating its bid for global leadership in key technologies, planning to pump more than a trillion dollars into the economy through the rollout of everything from wireless networks to artificial intelligence.In the masterplan backed by President Xi Jinping himself, China will invest an estimated $1.4 trillion over six years to 2025, calling on urban governments and private tech giants like Huawei Technologies Co. to lay fifth generation wireless networks, install cameras and sensors, and develop AI software that will underpin autonomous driving to automated factories and mass surveillance.The new infrastructure initiative is expected to drive mainly local giants from Alibaba and Huawei to SenseTime Group Ltd. at the expense of U.S. companies. As tech nationalism mounts, the investment drive will reduce China’s dependence on foreign technology, echoing objectives set forth previously in the Made in China 2025 program. Such initiatives have already drawn fierce criticism from the Trump administration, resulting in moves to block the rise of Chinese tech companies such as Huawei.“Nothing like this has happened before, this is China’s gambit to win the global tech race,” said Digital China Holdings Chief Operating Officer Maria Kwok, as she sat in a Hong Kong office surrounded by facial recognition cameras and sensors. “Starting this year, we are really beginning to see the money flow through.”The tech investment push is part of a fiscal package waiting to be signed off by China’s legislature, which convenes this week. The government is expected to announce infrastructure funding of as much as $563 billion this year, against the backdrop of the country’s worst economic performance since the Mao era.The nation’s biggest purveyors of cloud computing and data analysis Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. will be linchpins of the upcoming endeavor. China has already entrusted Huawei to galvanize 5G. Tech leaders including Pony Ma and Jack Ma are espousing the program.Maria Kwok’s company is a government-backed systems integration provider, among many that are jumping at the chance. In the southern city of Guangzhou, Digital China is bringing half a million units of project housing online, including a complex three quarters the size of Central Park. To find a home, a user just has to log on to an app, scan their face and verify their identity. Leases can be signed digitally via smartphone and the renting authority is automatically flagged if a tenant’s payment is late.China is no stranger to far-reaching plans with massive price tags that appear to achieve little. There’s no guarantee this program will deliver the economic rejuvenation its proponents promise. Unlike previous efforts to resuscitate the economy with “dumb” bridges and highways, this newly laid digital infrastructure will help national champions develop cutting-edge technologies.What BloombergNEF SaysChina’s new stimulus plan will likely lead to a consolidation of industrial internet providers, and could lead to the emergence of some larger companies able to compete with global leaders such as GE and Siemens. One bet is on industrial internet-of-things platforms as China aims to cultivate three world leading companies in this area by 2025.Nannan Kou, head of researchClick here for researchChina isn’t alone in pumping money into the tech sector as a way to get out of the post-virus economic slump. Earlier this month, South Korea said AI and wireless communications would be at the core of it its “New Deal” to create jobs and boost growth.According to the government-backed China Center for Information Industry Development, the 10 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) that China is estimated to spend from now until 2025 encompasses areas typically considered leading edge such as AI and IoT as well as items such as ultra-high voltage lines and high-speed rail. More than 20 of mainland China’s 31 provinces and regions have announced projects totaling over 1 trillion yuan with active participation from private capital, a state-backed newspaper reported Wednesday.Separate estimates by Morgan Stanley put new infrastructure at around $180 billion each year for the next 11 years — or $1.98 trillion in total. Those calculations also include power and rail lines. That annual figure would be almost double the past three-year average, the investment bank said in a March report that listed key stock beneficiaries including companies such as China Tower Corp., Alibaba, GDS Holdings, Quanta Computer Inc. and Advantech Co.Beijing’s half-formed vision is already stirring a plethora of stocks, a big reason why five of China’s 10 best-performing stocks this year are tech plays like networking gear maker Dawning Information Industry Co. and Apple supplier GoerTek Inc. The bare outlines of the masterplan were enough to drive pundits toward everything from satellite operators to broadband providers.It’s unlikely that U.S companies will benefit much from the tech-led stimulus and in some cases they stand to lose existing business. Earlier this year when the country’s largest telecom carrier China Mobile awarded contracts for 37 billion yuan in 5G base stations, the lion’s share went to Huawei and other Chinese companies. Sweden’s Ericsson got only a little over 10% of the business in the first four months. In one of its projects, Digital China will help the northeastern city of Changchun swap out American cloud computing staples IBM, Oracle and EMC with home-grown technology.It’s in data centers that a considerable chunk of the new infrastructure development will take place. Over 20 provinces have launched policies to support enterprises utilizing cloud computing services, according to a March note from UBS Group AG. Tony Yu, chief executive officer of Chinese server maker H3C, that his company was seeing a significant increase in demand for data center services from some of the country’s top internet companies. “Rapid growth in up-and-coming sectors will bring a new force to China’s economy after the pandemic passes,” he told Bloomberg News.From there, more investment should flow. Bain Capital-backed data center operator Chindata Group estimated that for every one dollar spent on data centers another $5 to $10 in investment in related sectors would take place, including in networking, power grid and advanced equipment manufacturing. “A whole host of supply-chain companies will benefit,” the company said in a statement.There’s concern about whether this long-term strategy provides much in the way of stimulus now, and where the money will come from. “It’s impossible to prop up China’s economy with new infrastructure alone,” said Zhu Tian, professor of economics at China Europe International Business School in Shanghai. “If you are worried about the government’s added debt levels and their debt servicing abilities right now, of course you wouldn’t do it. But it’s a necessary thing to do at a time of crisis.”Digital China is confident that follow-up projects from its housing initiative in Guangzhou could generate 30 million yuan in revenue for the company. It’s also hoping to replicate those efforts with local governments in the northeastern province of Jilin, where it has 3.3 billion yuan worth of projects approved. These include building a so-called city brain that will for the first time connect databases including traffic, schools and civil matters such as marriage registry. “The concept of smart cities has been touted for years but now we are finally seeing the investment,” said Kwok.(Updates with more details on projects from around China in tenth paragraph)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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  • A three-phase recession will be ‘unlike anything we have seen in modern history’: Morning Brief

    A three-phase recession will be 'unlike anything we have seen in modern history': Morning BriefTop news and what to watch in the markets on Thursday, May 21, 2020.

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  • The “most profitable” ASX airline stock you probably never heard of

    pilot, flying, flight, aircraft, plane, webjet, flight centre

    Profits are nosediving for our ASX listed airlines as the COVID-19 pandemic grounded nearly all air travel.

    But there’s one in the sector that’s made a big profit upgrade, and chances are you haven’t heard of the stock before.

    The airline is Alliance Aviation Services Ltd (ASX: AQZ), which issued a trading update yesterday and forecasted a FY20 profit before tax (PBT) that is excess of $40 million.

    This is a big step-up from its March guidance of less than $33 million.

    Best performing ASX airline

    Most would have missed the good news as Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN), Regional Express Holdings Ltd (ASX: REX) and the defunct Virgin Australia Holdings Limited (ASX: VAH) dominated headlines.

    While much is written about the Qantas share price surging 50% since the bear market trough in March, it’s the Alliance Aviation share price that takes the crown for the sector as it flew 155%.

    Credit Suisse calls Alliance “Australia’s most profitable airline” and management’s profit upgrade is well above the broker’s $24 million PBT estimate for the current financial year.

    Earnings taking off

    “Some of the significant tailwinds in the 4Q are one-off (namely more FIFO [fly-in, fly-out] flights post social distancing rules),” said the broker.

    “However, of more relevance are medium-term contracts with new customers won as AQZ steps into the breach vacated by other RPT operators.”

    Alliance operates Regular Public Transport (RPT), leases aircraft and provides other aviation services.

    One of its customers was Virgin Australia, which went into voluntary administration but may be brought back to life by new owners.

    Virgin to provide second tailwind

    Regardless of what happens to Virgin, Credit Suisse believes Alliance is well placed to benefit in the new post COVID-19 world order.

    If Virgin is revived, the new operators will likely continue to or expand aircraft leasing from Alliance to contain costs. On the other hand, should Virgin be permanently shuttered, Alliance is best placed to fill the RPT and FIFO hole left by Virgin, explained Credit Suisse.

    “The second scenario would obviously require additional fleet (particularly given AQZ’s upgraded FIFO presence post recent events) and the market for aircraft presently favours the buyer,” said the broker.

    More upside in the wings

    Credit Suisse reiterated its “outperform” recommendation on the stock and upgraded its 12-momth price target to $3.20 from $1.90 a share.

    But the valuation may prove to be too conservative. The price target assumes that wet lease (short-term aircraft leases) hours returns to pre-coronavirus levels in FY23. There’s a real possibility that this will rebound sooner.

    One “All In” ASX Buy Alert, that could be one of our greatest discoveries

    Investing expert Scott Phillips has just named what he believes is the #1 Top “Buy Alert” after stumbling upon a little-owned opportunity he believes could be one of the greatest discoveries of his 25 years as a professional investor.

    This under-the-radar ASX recommendation is virtually unknown among individual investors, and no wonder.

    What it offers is an utterly unique strategy to position yourself to potentially profit alongside some of the world’s biggest and most powerful tech companies.

    Potential returns of 1X, 2X and even 3X are all in play. Best of all, you could hold onto this little-known equity for DECADES to come.

    Simply click here to see how you can find out the name of this ‘all in’ buy alert… before the next stock market rally.

    Find out the name of Scott’s ‘All in’ Buy Alert

    More reading

    Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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  • Coronavirus: AstraZeneca ready to supply potential vaccine in September

    Coronavirus: AstraZeneca ready to supply potential vaccine in SeptemberAstraZeneca has agreed deals to deliver at least 400 million doses of the vaccine, providing it works.

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