Weekly Market Update

Author : Rachel Poole
Date : June 20, 2020

Global Market News

Global equities back on the rise
After last week’s dip, global equities rose this week amid signs the global economy is recovering. Markets seem to be assuming that the worst is behind us. The yield on the US Treasury dropped 2 basis points by Friday afternoon, landing at 0.69%. On the other hand, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose slightly, flirting with $40 but falling just short by Friday’s close. Volatility, as measured by the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), changed very little, dropping only 1 point on the week.

Federal Reserve to purchase more bonds
The US Federal Reserve announced this week that it will shift from buying ETFs to purchasing individual corporate bonds. Fed chairman, Jerome Powell, claims this plan of action will be better for supporting market liquidity and market function. Powell has pledged to be flexible with the central bank’s toolkit and has also called on lawmakers to increase fiscal assistance in order to limit long-term economic damage.

Updated Market Figures

Coronavirus Updates

Covid-19 by the numbers
Global Confirmed Covid-19 cases: 8,630,000 Global Covid-19 deaths: 459,000
US Confirmed Covid-19 cases: 2,260,000 US Covid-19 deaths: 121,000
*As of Friday evening

COVID-19 flare-ups
Various COVID-19 flare-ups have been seen around the world. Beijing is back under partial lockdown after a renewed outbreak of the virus which has infected at least 180 people so far. Travel in and out of Beijing has been halted and schools and universities have been closed. Brazil and India are both struggling to control the spread and several states in the US, including Texas, Arizona, and California, have reported an uptick in cases. Interestingly enough, there have not been any new outbreaks as a result of the recent widespread protests across the US.

Geopolitics Spotlight

China-India border dispute turns deadly
Despite last week’s steps to de-escalate, the China-India border dispute turned deadly this week after Indian army officials reported clashes that resulted in 20 deaths. China’s government has not reported casualty figures for Chinese troops but Indian news outlets reported more than 40 deaths. Both countries have blamed each other for the incident but Indian and Chinese foreign ministers have agreed to avoid actions that might escalate the conflict. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a national address “India wants peace. But on provocation, India will give a befitting reply.”

US Political & Social Developments

Barr tries to fire top prosecutor in Trump-related trials
On Friday night, Attorney General William P. Barr tried to fire Geoffrey S. Berman, a top federal prosecutor in Manhattan. However, Berman is refusing to leave. Berman and his team have led several corruption inquiries of President Trump’s inner circle and successfully prosecuted Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. The attempt to fire Berman puts a spotlight on the efforts the Trump administration has taken to get rid of officials who the president deems are disloyal. Political tensions in the Justice Department have already been high as the publication of former national security adviser, John Bolton’s book is debated.

Supreme Court sides with the Dreamers
On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration could not immediately proceed with its plan to end the Obama-era program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. This program protects nearly 700,000 young immigrants who arrived to the US as children, known as Dreamers, from deportation. The court’s decision was only provisional, so the Trump administration could still try to redress the issue. However, this would take many months, if not years, therefore pushing a final resolution to the case past this year’s presidential elections. For now, Dreamers have been granted a temporary sigh of relief.

Demands for justice and racial equality continue
Since George Floyd’s murder on May 25th, protests against police brutality and systemic racism have rocked the US. Despite the threat of COVID-19, thousands upon thousands of people have been coming together to demand justice for Floyd, as well as many other black men and women who have died at the hands of police officers, and call for systemic reform. Juneteenth, the anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, was celebrated across the nation yesterday, with many states approving the day a new holiday.

Corporate/Sector News

Shopify and BlackBerry launch COVID-19 app The companies, Shopify and BlackBerry, have announced a new coronavirus contact tracing app which is expected to launch in Canada in July. The app is called COVID Alert. It will, reportedly, use Bluetooth connects to swap randomly generated codes with users in a geographic vicinity. After a locally developed tracking system did not work, the United Kingdom has switched to the Apple and Google model for its test-and-trace app.

US pulls out of digital tax talks with EU The US pulled out of talks with European countries on digital taxes. The US says the talks were not making any progress. France has called the move a “provocation” and a top EU official said the bloc would act on its own if a deal with the US cannot be reached. France said it will apply duties on US tech companies regardless, increasing the likelihood of a trade and tariff dispute between the two countries.

Image of the Week

Video of the Week

Palestinians in Jericho on edge over Israeli annexation

Source: DW News