Business

LONDON — US oil prices dived to 22-year lows at just $11 on Monday after crashing almost 40 per cent in a market flooded with crude and slammed by evaporating demand.

      Just before 12:00 GMT, the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for May delivery tanked to $11.04 -- the lowest level since 1998.

      Trade, however, was also technically driven as investors closed out their positions ahead of the May contract expiry on Monday. The June contract was down 11.9 per cent at $22.06.

      "The real problem of the global supply-demand imbalance has started to really manifest itself in prices," said Rystad Energy analyst Bjornar Tonhaugen.

      "As production continues relatively unscathed, storage is filling up by the day. The world is using less and less oil and producers now feel how this translates in prices."

      The European benchmark contract, London Brent North Sea oil for June delivery, was down 6.1 per cent at $26.38 per barrel.

      Signs that the coronavirus may have peaked in Europe and the United States failed to lift Asian and European financial markets generally.

      Traders are instead becoming more and more concerned that oil storage facilities are reaching their limits, as stockpiles continue to build owing to the crash in demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

      Analysts said this month's agreement between OPEC and its peers to slash output by 10 million barrels a day was having little impact because of the virus lockdowns and travel restrictions that are keeping billions of people at home.

      WTI was hit particularly hard as its main US storage facilities in Cushing, Oklahoma, were filling up, with Trifecta Consultants analyst Sukrit Vijayakar saying refineries were not processing crude fast enough.

      There are also plenty of supplies from the Middle East with no buyers as "freight costs are high", he told AFP.

      AxiCorp's Stephen Innes added: "It's a dump at all cost as no one... wants delivery of oil, with Cushing storage facilities filling by the minute.

      "It hasn't taken long for the market to recognise that the OPEC+ deal will not, in its present form, be enough to balance oil markets."

      Stock markets were mostly lower despite governments starting to consider how and when to ease the lockdowns that have crippled the global economy.

      Italy, Spain, France and Britain reported drops in daily death tolls and slowing infection rates, while Germany began allowing some shops to reopen and Norway restarted nurseries.

       'No time to get cocky'

      In the US, Andrew Cuomo, governor of badly hit New York state, said the disease was "on the descent", though he cautioned it was "no time to get cocky".

      Mounting evidence suggests that the lockdowns and social distancing are slowing the spread of the virus.

      That has intensified planning in many countries to begin loosening curbs on movement and easing the crushing pressure on national economies.

      Investors are keeping an eye on Washington, where Congress and the White House are working towards a $450 billion economic relief plan for small business to add to the trillions already pledged to support the economy.

BRISBANE, Australia — Australia will force Google and Facebook to pay media outlets for their content, the government announced on Monday, vowing to lead the world in making the tech giants share lucrative advertising revenues with traditional media.

      Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said a mandatory code of conduct -- to be fully unveiled by July and made law soon after -- will require the US-based firms to reimburse Australian media companies for using their news and other content.

      "It is about holding these tech titans to account, about ensuring genuine competition, (and) it is about delivering a level playing field," Frydenberg said.

      "It is about keeping jobs in journalism and it is about ensuring a fair outcome for all."

      Google and Facebook have had a huge impact on Australia's news industry, capturing two-thirds of online advertising spending.

      In response to falling revenues, Australian news outlets have slashed 20 per cent of jobs in the last six years.

      If Australia is successful in its efforts to ensure more advertising revenue flows to publishers, it would be the first country to do so.

      France last year became the first European state to implement an EU copyright directive that requires payment for reproduced news content, but Google has so far refused to pay and instead said it would no longer display French reports.

      The impasse has prompted the country's competition authority to order the firm negotiate with publishers.

      A similar battle has played out in Spain, where Google News has not reopened since the country passed legislation in 2014 requiring payment for articles.

      'Mountain to climb'

      The mandatory code in Australia follows an 18-month inquiry into the power of digital platforms by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which recommended an overhaul of existing regulations.

      Frydenberg said the government was imposing the measures after discussions on a voluntary code failed to make headway, with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on advertising revenues hastening the need for action.

      "We understand the challenge that we face," he said. "This is a big mountain to climb. These are big companies that we are dealing with, but there is also so much at stake, so we're prepared for this fight."

      ACCC chair Rod Sims said the consumer watchdog had advised the government it was "unlikely" the digital platforms would agree to pay for Australian news.

      Facebook Australia and New Zealand managing director Will Easton said the company was "disappointed" by the government's announcement, which came ahead of an agreed May deadline to produce the voluntary code.

      "We believe that strong innovation and more transparency around the distribution of news content is critical to building a sustainable news ecosystem," he said.

      Easton said Facebook had invested "millions of dollars" into partnerships, training and content arrangements to support Australian publishers.

      A Google spokesperson said the company had participated in the voluntary process and would continue to engage with both publishers and the ACCC.

      "We've worked for many years to be a collaborative partner to the news industry, helping them grow their businesses through ads and subscription services and increase audiences by driving valuable traffic," she said.

      The drive for the new Australian rules has been led by powerful media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who has accused Facebook and Google of having "popularised scurrilous news sources" over reputable outlets.

      Michael Miller, executive chairman of Murdoch's News Corp Australasia, welcomed Monday's announcement as a vital step.

      "For two decades, Google and Facebook have built trillion-dollar businesses by using other people's content and refusing to pay for it," he said.

      "The Australia media industry is at a tipping point and a mandatory code that leads to the platforms paying a fair -- and very significant price -- must be put in place urgently."

      Australia's new regulations will also cover the sharing of data, and the ranking and display of news content, to be enforced by binding dispute resolution mechanisms and penalties.

      An estimated 17 million Australians use Facebook each month and spend an average of 30 minutes on the platform a day, while 98 per cent of Australian mobile searches use Google.

By Holly Robertson

BEIRUT — A five-star hotel in Beirut that once hosted royalty and survived the civil war has been forced to close over Lebanon's economic crisis and coronavirus lockdown, its manager said on Saturday.

      Lebanon is grappling with its worst financial crunch since the 1975-1990 civil war, now compounded by a nationwide lockdown since March 15 to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.

      The crisis has pushed the owners of Le Bristol to close down the landmark hotel after almost seven decades in business, its general manager Joseph Coubat said.

      "It's because of the economic situation which has become unbearable," he said.

      "Now with the coronavirus, and with the financial problems we are going through in the country, the level of occupancy has fallen very low," he told AFP, saying it was less than 10 per cent.

      He said the owners had decided to shut the hotel "while waiting for better days", but that for the moment the closure was definitive.

      Designed by French interior designer Jean Royere, Le Bristol was first opened in 1951.

      It boasts the oldest ballroom in Beirut and once housed Lebanon's first ever skating rink before it was turned into a conference room.

      Its guests have included the late shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and his wife Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari, American jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, and former French president Jacques Chirac.

      Le Bristol never closed during the civil war, when it hosted foreign journalists, though it was shuttered for refurbishment between 2013 and 2015, when owners poured millions of dollars into its renovation.

      Between 2004 and 2005, the political opposition met there in what was the first large gathering against the then Syrian presence in Lebanon. The group was dubbed the "Bristol meeting".

      Occupancy at the hotel started dropping from October last year, Coubat said, when a crumbling economy and frustration with the political elite led to an unprecedented anti-government street movement.

      After the COVID-19 pandemic reached the country, the airport's closure from March 19 as part of measures to halt the spread of the virus dealt a further blow to the hospitality sector.

      Many hotels have zero occupancy at the moment, the head of the hotel owner syndicate has said.

      "It's catastrophic. Those in charge now need to really think up a rescue plan," Coubat said, referring a new government struggling to redress the economy since January.

      Over the past months, tens of thousands have lost their jobs or part of their salaries in various sectors due to the economic crunch, even as the cost of living has soared.

      The value of the Lebanese pound has plummeted by half on the parallel exchange market, and poverty has risen to 45 per cent, according to official estimates.

      With a debt equivalent to 170 per cent of its gross domestic product, one of the highest in the world, Lebanon defaulted on its payments for the first time last month.

      The country has registered 672 cases of COVID-19, including 21 deaths.

ABU DHABI — The emirate of Abu Dhabi said on Sunday it had sold $7 billion of bonds in the third major sale this month by Gulf sovereigns seeking to counter slumping oil prices.

      OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia last week raised $7 billion in a bond sale, while gas-rich Qatar sold bonds worth $10 billion two weeks ago.

      Abu Dhabi, which has the biggest sovereign wealth fund in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), said that its offering was oversubscribed by more than six times.

      The transaction contained three tranches -- a $2 billion five-year tranche, a $2 billion 10-year segment, and a third tranche of $3 billion maturing after 30 years -- the Abu Dhabi department of finance said in a statement.

      The richest of seven sheikhdoms that make up the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi sits on the bulk of the federation's oil wealth.

      Saudi Arabia's finance ministry said its international bond issuance attracted bids worth $54 billion, more than seven times the value of its offering.

      Qatar's finance ministry said its own sale was oversubscribed by more than four times.

      The Kuwaiti government has sent legislation to parliament seeking to borrow $65 billion over the next 10 years.

      The six GCC member states, which also include Bahrain and Oman, depend heavily on oil income for between 65 per cent and 90 per cent of public revenues.

      Global oil prices have slumped this year due to population lockdowns and a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia.

      An agreement by OPEC and its allies, including Russia, to cut output by a record 9.7 million barrels per day last week failed to revive prices.

      According to the International Monetary Fund, the combined economies of GCC states are forecast to shrink by 2.7 per cent this year.

NEW YORK  —  Wall Street stocks finished sharply higher on Friday, closing out a second week of gains as US officials moved forward with plans to gradually reopen the economy.

      The Dow Jones Industrial Average added more than 700 points, or 3.0 per cent, ending at 24,242.49.

      The broad-based S&P 500 gained 2.7 per cent to 2,874.56, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 1.4 per cent to 8,650.14.

      Analysts pointed to a number of positive catalysts, including a report of promising research on a Gilead Sciences drug to treat coronavirus, Boeing's announcement that it will resume US commercial plane production and the release of a White House blueprint to reopen the economy.

      In one of the first moves by a major US state, Texas Governor Greg Abbott approved retailers to employ a "to go" model that requires reopened stores to deliver items to customers' cars or homes.

      But Abbott said Texas schools would remain closed for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year.

      TD Ameritrade Chief Market Strategist J.J. Kinahan cautioned investors not to expect the recovery to come quickly.

      "Investors seem optimistic that there's light at the end of the tunnel," Kinahan said. "Investors should be cautious though, as the 'getting going' might end up being slower than expected."

      All three major US indices finished the week higher, shrugging off atrocious economic data, including another spike in jobless claims and a big drop in retail sales.

      Boeing jumped 14.5 per cent after announcing it will begin to ramp production back up at its Washington state commercial plane plants, bringing back around 27,000 workers.

      Gilead surged 9.7 per cent following a news report about promising research on an antiviral medication from the drugmaker being tested to treat the coronavirus.

      Apple dropped 1.4 per cent following a downgrade from Goldman Sachs, which predicted weak demand for iPhones due to the economic slowdown.

RIYADH — Saudi oil giant Aramco said on Friday it would market 8.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude from May under a producers' agreement to restrict supply and boost plummeting prices.

      The deal came after a price war between Riyadh and Russia saw the kingdom boost supplies to records of over 18 million bpd earlier this month.

      In a brief statement on the website of the Saudi bourse, the firm said on Friday it would make available 8.5 million bpd, without clarifying whether or how this would be split between exports and domestic supply.

      Global oil prices have collapsed amid economic turmoil due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, along with a supply glut and the Saudi-Russian price war.

      But the OPEC+ alliance of major producers, led by Riyadh and Moscow, agreed Sunday to slash daily production by 9.7 million bpd over the next two months.

      According to the deal, Saudi Arabia and Russia will cut 2.5 million bpd each from their October 2018 production levels of 11 million bpd.

      Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman was quoted by local media on Tuesday as saying that G-20 producers outside OPEC+ have pledged to cut 3.7 million bpd.

      Taken alongside the OPEC+ pledges and strategic reserves purchases, this could reduce global supply by 19.5 million barrels per day, he said.

PARIS — Amazon France said on Thursday it did not know when it would reopen its distribution centres, shuttered after a court ordered it to limit deliveries to essential goods pending a review of anti-coronavirus safety measures for its staff.

      The online retailer closed its French centres on Thursday in response to the ruling by a court outside Paris. It initially said it was closing for five days, during which period employees would be paid their full salaries.

      The facilities are key in preparing orders submitted online for delivery to clients.

      On Thursday, Amazon France director general Frederic Duval said: "We will try to reopen as soon as possible, but I cannot today confirm the date."

      He told the RTL broadcaster the duration of the closure was "unknown".

      Amazon France's biggest labour union, the SUD, took the company to court saying workers were being forced to work in close proximity in contravention of strict infection-busting social distancing measures announced by the government.

      The court in Nanterre ruled that Amazon France had "failed to recognise its obligations regarding the security and health of its workers" and gave it a month to carry out an evaluation of the measures in place.

      In the meantime, the company could continue deliveries of food as well as hygiene and medical products only, or risk a fine of one million euros ($1.08 million) for each day of non-compliance.

      Amazon had said it was "perplexed" by the ruling as it had given the court evidence about temperature checks, physical distancing orders and use of personal protective equipment.

      On Wednesday, a company committee voted to close the distribution centres to clean them and evaluate the health risks as ordered by the court.

      "The labour action that led to this result will have big consequences for many people in France, for millions of clients who use our services to have products delivered to their homes during this confinement period, for our employees who will have to stay at home, for thousands of small and medium enterprises that use our services to do business by shipping via Amazon," Duval said.

      "In these circumstances, taking into account the fine, we are compelled to close our sites," said Duval.

      France, like many other countries, has closed all non-essential businesses -- only supermarkets and pharmacies are open in many areas.

      Online retailers have continued to sell products now unavailable elsewhere, and in many countries Amazon has added thousands of staff to meet a surge in orders.

SAN FRANCISCO — The Facebook-backed Libra Association unveiled plans on Thursday to seek approval for digital coins in individual currencies, revamping its cryptocurrency initiative in a move aimed at minimising disruption to the global monetary system.

      The new plan submitted to Swiss regulators could scale back the ambitious digital money initiative unveiled last year and touted as tool for financial inclusion but slammed by global monetary leaders.

      Under the new plan, separate "stablecoins" would be created and pegged to real-world money such as the US dollar and the euro.

      The Swiss-based association, which includes Facebook and a variety of partners, said a shift to using individual currencies was made after hearing comments and complaints on its original proposal.

      "A key concern that was shared was the potential for the multi-currency Libra Coin to interfere with monetary sovereignty and monetary policy," the association said in a white paper.

      "We are therefore augmenting the Libra network by including single-currency stablecoins" in addition to the multi-coin Libra.

      The association is seeking approval by Swiss authorities for digital payments and plans to register in the United States as a money service business, a spokesman said.

      Libra, a high-profile project launched by social network giant Facebook, is tentatively scheduled to launch this year but has been battered by severe criticism from some of the world's most influential financial authorities.

      Central bank officials and others have expressed concern about a blow to their sovereignty from a new Libra coin pegged to a basket of currencies.

      Late last year, French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire bluntly expressed his concerns, saying, "Libra is not welcome on European soil."

       Pulling away from Facebook

      Facebook has touted the currency initiative as a way of lower costs for people around the world, eliminating the high fees of cross-border transfers.

      Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has contended that Libra could extend US "financial leadership" while providing "a safe, low-cost, and efficient way of sending and receiving payments around the world."

      Critics have said the plan would give too much power to Facebook, but the California company has argued the system would be managed by an independent board which includes companies and nonprofit organisations.

      The Libra Association said Thursday that it passed an "important milestone" by starting a process to license its payment process with the Swiss Financial Markets Supervisory Authority.

      The objective is for Libra to complement existing currencies and monetary policies while cutting costs and enabling broader access to banking and financing for people and businesses, the association said in a white paper.

      Libra is bolstering the Libra financial compliance network when it comes to thwarting money-laundering and other illicit activities such as funding terrorism or avoiding sanctions, according to the association.

      Libra also said that it is hardening defenses of its technology platform and the reserve that is backing digital currencies.

LONDON — European stock markets climbed on Thursday as investors focused on plans to ease some coronavirus lockdown restrictions, while the dollar rose as well.

      US investors brushed off another 5.2 million first-time unemployment claims, which took the number of jobs lost since mid-March to 22 million, as President Donald Trump was to announce plans for lifting lockdowns in the world's top economy.

      Oil prices rose modestly, a day after hitting an 18-year low as traders believe that a producers' deal to slash output is not large enough to offset a crash in demand caused by coronavirus fallout.

      "Investors are shrugging off the pessimism and (are) willing to focus on more positive things," said AvaTrade analyst Naeem Aslam.

      In afternoon eurozone deals, Paris stocks advanced by 0.6 per cent, and Frankfurt jumped by more than one per cent after German Chancellor Angela Merkel late Wednesday unveiled the first steps towards undoing coronavirus restrictions that have plunged the eurozone's biggest economy into recession.

      "Markets in Europe appear to be stabilising a touch on some limited relaxation of lockdown restrictions across the region," said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewon.

      "Germany has become the latest European country to say it would be loosening some measures on its lockdown over the coming weeks, which is clearly helping European sentiment for now.

      "Reports that the UK has seen a peak in its infection rates is also helping," he added.

      London stocks gained 0.6 per cent even as a survey showed plunging retail sales in March as the deadly virus outbreak kept British shoppers away from traditional stores.

      Total retail sales sank by 4.3 per cent in March from a year earlier, the British Retail Consortium said.

      "The crisis continues; the retail industry is at the epicentre and the tremors will be felt for a long while yet," said BRC chief Helen Dickinson.

      Milan stocks were up by 1.7 per cent after the Lombardy region, the nation's industrial heartland, signalled it wants to get back to work from May 4.

      Asia equities drop

      On the downside, Asian markets fell following overnight woes on Wall Street as more negative US economic data fuelled worries about the full impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

      There had already been a spate of grim economic forecasts this week, with the IMF warning of the worst global downturn in a century, and poor US economic figures Wednesday further spooked investors.

      The latest numbers from the United States, the world's biggest economy, highlighted the scale of the damage unleashed by lockdowns and social distancing measures imposed to stop the spread of the virus.

      US retail sales plunged in March while industrial production in the same month suffered its steepest drop since 1946, data showed.

      Other reports pointed to weak homebuilder sentiment and manufacturing conditions, while a US Federal Reserve report said economic activity "contracted sharply".

      President Donald Trump has said that on Thursday he will announce the first plans for lifting lockdowns in the US -- the worst-hit country.

      The World Health Organisation has warned, however, that lifting restrictions too early could have devastating consequences such as a possible second wave of infections.

DUBAI — Debt levels, unemployment and budget deficits will spike as the Middle East endures a coronavirus-led recession, piling pain on economies already hit by conflicts and an oil price slump, the IMF said on Wednesday.

      Almost all countries in the Middle East and North Africa will see their economies contract as they lose hundreds of billions of dollars in revenues, the global lender said.

      "The COVID-19 pandemic and the plunge in oil prices are causing significant economic turmoil in the region ... the impact could be long lasting," the International Monetary Fund said in its Regional Economic Outlook for April.

      "While there is considerable uncertainty around the depth and duration of the crisis, this pandemic will compound the region's unemployment problem and worsen the already high public and external debt."

      In its World Economic Outlook released on Tuesday, the IMF projected the MENA economy to contract by 3.3 per cent in 2020, the biggest slump in four decades.

      It said the combined shocks of the virus and low oil prices will shave off $323 billion, or 12 per cent, of the Arab world's economy -- $259 billion of that from the energy-dependent Gulf states alone.

      Arab governments' debt will rise by 15 per cent or $190 billion this year to reach $1.46 trillion, according to the IMF data, as the cost of borrowing jumps due to tightening financial conditions.

      Oil prices at these levels could result in more than $230 billion in lost annual revenue by Arab oil exporters plus Iran, it said.

      The fiscal deficit for the region is expected to deteriorate from 2.8 per cent of gross domestic product in 2019 to 10 per cent of GDP this year.

      To mitigate the impact, regional nations should bolster social safety nets, and provide temporary and targeted tax relief and subsidies, while monetary and financial policies should ensure liquidity in the system, the IMF said.

      "Governments could consider reorienting spending priorities, for example by reducing or delaying non-essential expenditures, or seeking external financing support or aid," it said.

      "A mishandling of the outbreak could elevate distrust in local governments, sowing seeds for further social unrest and adding to regional uncertainty."

      Arab countries ravaged by years of bloody conflicts, including Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Libya, have already seen their economies battered, leading to widespread poverty.

      The economies of these countries are expected to be hit particularly hard by the pandemic, the IMF said.