Author: LoveWorld UK

China has increased U.S. crude purchases with some buyers snapping up cargoes at the widest discounts ever as sellers seek to offload excess supplies in Asia, six trade sources said on Wednesday. Beijing started processing in March applications from Chinese companies to waive import tariffs on U.S. energy goods as part of the Sino-U.S. Phase 1 trade deal and they have since bought liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from the United States. The world’s largest crude importer is boosting U.S. energy imports at a time when the world is swamped with excess supply after the Organization…

The first medical ventilators which Britain has recently ordered from businesses will be ready this weekend and available to the National Health Service next week, as the country seeks to boost capacity in the coronavirus outbreak. Britain has ordered 10,000 of the breathing machines from a consortium including Ford, Airbus and McLaren with other companies such as vacuum cleaner-maker Dyson also producing their own equivalents. “This weekend the first thousands of new ventilator devices will roll off the production line and be delivered to the NHS next week,” cabinet office minister Michael Gove told reporters. “From there they will be…

IKEA, the world’s biggest furniture brand, said on Tuesday it has started making protective gear such as aprons and facemasks for hospitals battling the spread of coronavirus, and aims to step up output further. Demand for its office furniture is holding up well as many work from home due to the coronavirus, Henrik Elm, global purchase manager at brand owner Inter IKEA Group, which is in charge of supply, told Reuters. He said supply chain disturbances had increased as the coronavirus spread to Europe and America, with malfunctioning or closed borders a key bottleneck. IKEA had however been prepared and…

France will seek a debt moratorium for the poorest countries as part of a package of measures to help them cope with the coronavirus crisis, France’s finance minister said on Tuesday. Bruno Le Maire said he would call for “massive and immediate aid” for developing countries when finance ministers from Group of 20 economic powers hold a conference call later on Tuesday. Le Maire said he would call for an increase in special drawing rights (SDRs), the currency of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and special credit lines to complement swap lines between central banks. “We will also call for…

Oil prices firmed on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to talks aimed at stabilising energy markets, with benchmarks climbing off 18-year lows hit as the coronavirus outbreak cut fuel demand worldwide. Brent crude LCOc1 was up by 61 cents, or 2.7%, at $23.37 a barrel by 0833 GMT, after closing on Monday at $22.76, its lowest finish since November 2002. U.S. crude Clc1 was up by $1.04, or 5.2%, at $21.13 a barrel, after settling in the previous session at $20.09, its lowest since February 2002. Oil markets have faced a double whammy…

The coronavirus outbreak at the heart of the UK government spread on Monday with Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s senior adviser, Dominic Cummings, self-isolating with symptoms just days after the British leader himself tested positive. Johnson, who announced on Friday that he was infected with the virus but would continue to lead the government’s response to the outbreak, chaired a meeting on Monday from self-isolation in Downing Street. “The prime minister chaired the 9.15 meeting and was full of vigour and giving us the leadership we need, and we’re a united cabinet team in terms of getting the country through this…

British grocery sales soared 20.6% year-on-year in the four weeks to March 22, as shoppers stocked-up before the country went on coronavirus lockdown, making it the biggest month on record for grocery sales, industry data showed on Tuesday. Market researcher Kantar said growth was driven by people shopping more frequently and buying slightly more on each trip, with the average household spending an extra 62.92 pounds ($77.36) over the four weeks, equivalent to adding five days worth of groceries. Grocery sales were 10.8 billion pounds in the period, which ended a day before Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a full…

Ukraine is dusting off Soviet-era ventilator designs that lay forgotten in a mothballed military factory for years in a bid to ramp up domestic production of equipment that could help in the fight against the coronavirus. In response to an urgent appeal by hospitals to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for ventilators, some of the country’s wealthiest men chipped in to buy machines from abroad. But representatives of state defence conglomerate Ukroboronprom, which runs the state-run Burevisnyk plant in Kiev, are leading an initiative for Ukraine to boost domestic output based on technology developed there long ago. Deputy Director General of Ukroboronprom,…

China reported a drop in new coronavirus infections for a fourth day as drastic curbs on international travellers reined in the number of imported cases, while policymakers turned their efforts to healing the world’s second-largest economy. The city of Wuhan, at the centre of the outbreak, reported no new cases for a sixth day, as businesses reopened and residents set about reclaiming a more normal life after a lockdown for almost two months. Smartly turned out staff waited in masks and gloves to greet customers at entrances to the newly-reopened Wuhan International Plaza, home to boutiques of luxury brands such…

A new version of a breathing aid that can help coronavirus patients has been developed in less a week by a team involving Mercedes Formula One, and is being trialed at London hospitals. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) devices have been used in China and Italy to deliver air and oxygen under pressure to patients’ lungs to help them breathe without the need for them to go on a ventilator, a more invasive process. The new CPAP has already been approved by the relevant regulator and now 100 of the machines will be delivered to University College London Hospital for…