Recap May 9: Warren Buffett loses $50 billion – Record unemployment (Recap Ep070)

In this week’s recap, one of the most important news was the loss of more than $50 billion by Berkshire-Hathaway in the 1st quarter, its worst quarter in a decade, with its CEO Warren Buffett admitting the $6.5B recently divested investment in the airlines, was a mistake. However, the firm still retains $137B of cash on hand, with a market capitalization of some $444B.

World shares rose on Thursday after China’s exports came in far stronger than expected, suggesting an economic recovery there was already underway thus supporting global growth in the process, but the dollar fell from 2-week highs as millions more Americans became jobless.

U.S. Treasury will borrow a record $3 trillion in Q2 to subsidize economic rescue efforts due to the corona-virus. That’s in addition to Q1 borrowing of $477 billion & an anticipated $677 billion for Q3. All the massive deficit spending (national debt is near $25 trillion) has some analysts worried about a potential debt crisis.

A key U.S. April jobs report to show a historic surge in unemployment later today, due to coronavirus pandemic induced, the government ordered lock-downs. Data are likely to indicate a loss of a staggering 22M last month, in what will be the steepest plunge in payrolls, since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

International Energy Agency bets on green hydrogen; China and US resume talks on phase 1 of their trade deal; Uber’s shares go up; Norway’s central bank cuts interest rates again; Lord & Taylor is preparing to liquidate its inventory; 2 U.S. citizens have been detained in Venezuela; The U.K. reports the highest official death rate from coronavirus in Europe.

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