14th Apr 2020 11:35
(Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Tuesday.
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COMPANIES
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AstraZeneca said its Tagrisso Phase III Adaura trial will be unblinded early after "overwhelming efficacy" in the treatment of patients with EGFR-mutated lung cancer. Tagrisso, known chemically as osimertinib, is one of AstraZeneca's flagship oncology therapies. AstraZeneca noted that its plans for regulatory submission are already underway. In addition, the Cambridge-based drugmaker said it was rushing through testing for Calquence - which is currently used to treat some blood cancers - after encouraging early clinical results suggested that suppressing the inflammation caused by the immune response could reduce the respiratory harm caused by the coronavirus.
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Carnival said it has cancelled cruises worldwide until June 26 and extended the pause in its North American operations. Last month, the Miami, Florida-based cruise line operator had cancelled departures through to May 10. However, Carnival now has cancelled further cruises after the US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention last week extended a 'no sail order' for cruise ships due to Covid-19.
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Glencore noted the extension of a quarantine in Colombia and the lockdown in South Africa, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the decision to halt operations for two weeks at its Antamina joint venture in Peru. More positively, although the government of Quebec, Canada, has extended its order for non-essential businesses to stay closed until May 4, mining is considered to be "an essential activity" starting April 15. As such, Glencore's Raglan nickel and Matagami zinc operations in Quebec are currently "analysing options to restart operations" before May 4.
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Next said it will begin selling online again on Tuesday after putting extra safety measures in place to ensure warehouse staff can work safely. The fashion and homewares retailer closed its online operations in late March in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. But a statement posted on the Next website said warehouse managers have "successfully tested opening and taking a limited number of orders today" and invites customers to shop online again from Tuesday.
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British Gas parent Centrica confirmed that Chris O'Shea will become chief executive of the company on a permanent basis, effective immediately. O'Shea became interim CEO in March, having been chief financial officer since late 2018. The search for a new CFO is underway, the utility company said. The company in March announced the departure of Iain Conn as chief executive and Charles Berry as chair. It subsequently named O'Shea as interim boss and Wheway as chair.
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Wizz Air will slash 1,000 jobs and cut salaries of remaining staff, including the chief executive and members of the board, as part of an effort to mitigate the financial impact of Covid-19-related travel restrictions. The central and eastern Europe-focused low-cost airline also said underlying net profit for the financial year that ended March 31 will be in line with the company's "latest guidance" range of between EUR350 million and EUR355 million. Statutory net profit is estimated between EUR270 million to EUR280 million. In financial 2019, the company recorded net profit, excluding discontinued operations, of EUR295 million. Total net profit amounted to EUR292 million.
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MARKETS
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London shares were mostly lower after the Easter break, with the FTSE 100 hindered by a strengthening pound. Oil was down after the output cut agreed by OPEC and Russia before the weekend failed to lift sentiment. US stock market futures were pointed higher amid signs of a pickup in the Chinese economy. Ahead, major US banks JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo will report first-quarter results before the opening bell in New York.
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FTSE 100: down 0.4% at 5,817.81
FTSE 250: down 1.4% at 16,171.24
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.7% at 751.04
GBP: up at USD1.2541 (USD1.2455)
EUR: flat at USD1.0944 (USD1.0942)
GOLD: up at USD1,720.40 per ounce (USD1,677.77)
OIL (Brent): down at USD31.52 a barrel (USD33.18)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Coronavirus deaths in the hard-hit US were flat for a second consecutive day, with New York's governor saying the "worst is over" as many countries weigh a gradual reopening of their shattered economies. The US recorded 1,509 deaths related to the coronavirus pandemic over the past 24 hours, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. More than 550,000 people infected with the virus in the US. President Donald Trump tweeted that any decision to end shutdowns rested with him, even though it was individual governors who rolled out the lockdowns.
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The US Supreme Court said it will hear arguments by teleconference in May over whether Trump can continue to shield his tax returns from Congress and New York prosecutors. The nation's highest court had been scheduled to hear arguments in the cases on March 31 but they were delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. The court said it would hear the consolidated cases by telephone conference in May, a move that could allow it to deliver a ruling before the November presidential election.
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China's foreign trade fell again in March even as businesses returned to work after the coronavirus outbreak, with the global pandemic weighing on the manufacturing powerhouse's outlook. Exports fell 6.6% in March from a year earlier and imports dropped 0.9%, according to Customs data released Tuesday. However, the contraction was less than a Bloomberg economist forecast that predicted a 10% or more decline in both figures.
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France extended its nationwide lockdown for another month in a bid to halt the coronavirus pandemic, as other hard-hit countries considered easing their measures with hopes rising that death rates may soon plateau. Spain started to ease lockdown orders on Monday and Austria readied to reopen some shops. But France did not follow suit, extending a lockdown in place since March 17 until May 11, after which schools and businesses are set to gradually reopen.
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The UK government has insisted its plan to tackle the coronavirus pandemic "is working" but warned the nationwide lockdown will not be lifted this week. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab showed some cautious optimism as he revealed the latest data suggested the UK was "starting to win this struggle", three weeks after restrictions were imposed. But he insisted the virus was not yet past its peak and that it was "far too early" to talk about relaxing the measures, with reports suggesting the lockdown will be extended for at least another three weeks.
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