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 London stocks fell on Friday, with the index set to underperform its European rivals for the week, as weak oil prices weighed on major energy names, and alongside concerns that next week's summer statement from the U.K. Chancellor will lack big tax cuts.
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Another major downturn could put your retirement at risk, but there's one thing you can do to protect yourself.
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 (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Deutsche Bank AG is lining up to buy a piece of history — a remnant of scandal-ridden Wirecard AG. It's not the only one sniffing around. But however many expressions of interest there may be, and however credible the buyers, the proceeds from selling off even the best assets of the German payments company will be tiny relative to the losses incurred.When Wirecard was a stock market darling, investors weren't piling into the shares because of its Wirecard Bank subsidiary, the piece that potentially interests Deutsche Bank. The lending arm was a sideshow as the rest of the operation appeared to expand. Of course, the growth reported by the group is now heavily in doubt following the admission that the accounts overstated cash balances by 1.9 billion euros ($2.1 billion).Deutsche Bank says it is considering providing financial support for Wirecard Bank should it be required. Precisely what that means is unclear. Wirecard's bank is not subject to insolvency proceedings. If it needs assistance, there should be other avenues. It's not Deutsche Bank's job to be lender of last resort. But there could be some logic to a straight takeover at the right price.Extreme due diligence will be critical. Wirecard Bank has looked like a simple deposit-taking institution that's been growing nicely. Question one is whether its 1.7 billion euros of deposits have stayed put as the parent company has unraveled. Then any buyer would need to kick the tires on the credit quality of the assets.And however much comfort D
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 (Bloomberg) -- Shares of Ballard Power Systems Inc. rallied to a 17-year high after the company announced a $7.7 million order from China.The Vancouver-based hydrogen fuel-cell maker jumped as much as 8.3% to its highest since December 2002 after the receiving a purchase contract from Guangdong Synergy Ballard Hydrogen Power Co., a 10%-owned joint venture located in China.The company's technology currently powers over 650 electric buses and more than 2,200 electric trucks in China, according to Alfred Wong, managing director at Ballard."This follow-on order from the Synergy-Ballard joint venture is an important indicator of the continued progress and market demand for Ballard fuel cell technology," Wong said in a statement Thursday. "We expect to see high adoption of fuel cell electric vehicles in China."Ballard is the second-best performing stock on Canada's benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index this year with a 165% rally, pushing its market value to almost C$6 billion ($4.4 billion) amid burgeoning speculation that wide-scale adoption of hydrogen fuel cells may at long last be around the corner."We believe Ballard fuel cell technology will offer a compelling value proposition, including high reliability and durability," Wong said in the company statement.(Updates to add value of contract in first paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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The latest on stock market and business news during the coronavirus outbreak.
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A pair of encouraging jobs reports helped the major indices close in the black Thursday, and drove the Nasdaq Composite to yet another record-high finish.
Early Thursday, the Labor Department reported that the U.S. added 4.8 million jobs in June to easily surpass economists' consensus expectations for 3.7 million, while the unemployment rate dropped from 13.3% to 11.1%. Meanwhile, last week's jobless claims trickled lower to 1.34 million, from 1.38 million a week prior.
Pros' Picks: The 15 Best Nasdaq Stocks You Can Buy
"It is difficult to downplay the incoming June employment numbers, with both surveys showing sizable flows of workers returning to employment last month as states continued to remove restrictions on non-essential activity following the COVID-19 lockdowns in March and April," Barclays analysts wrote in a Thursday note.
"One thing that we are certain about," writes Rick Rieder, BlackRock's Chief Investment Officer of Global Fixed Income, "and is most relevant to markets, is that virtually all the numbers this month have displayed some tangible improvement, some clear reopening of the economy, albeit still very uneven by sector and region.
"We are confident that the industries that can be effective in a work-from-home framework and/or those that are deemed essential, such as healthcare or education, are showing tangible signs of improvement and employment durability. However, it is also clear that leisure, travel, energy, etc., are very uncertain in their path forward today."
Dow component Pfizer (PFE, 2.3%) enjoyed follow-through buying after Wednesday's encouraging COVID-19 vaccine news, and Walgreens (WBA, 2.7%) headed higher, too,
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 We are almost done with the second quarter. Investors decided to bet on the economic recovery and a stock market rebound. S&P 500 Index returned almost 20% this quarter. In this article we look at how hedge funds traded Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) heading into this quarter and whether they were right about the […]
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European stocks surged on Thursday as the U.S. economy regained 4.8 million jobs in June, adding to the global optimism engulfing investors.
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 U.S. stock-index futures added to gains on Thursday after a closely followed report on the health of the labor market showed that the U.S. added 4.76 million jobs in June and the unemployment fell to 11.1% from 13.3% in May, suggesting that the employment picture is improving after a stunning collapse due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Economists polled by MarketWatch had predicted 3.7 million jobs were created or restored in June, with some estimates ranging as high as 8 million. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 438 points, or 1.7%, at 26,013 those for the S&P 500 index added 40.65 points, or 1.3% at 3,144, while Nasdaq-100 futures were 106.25 points, or 1%, higher at 10,375. Meanwhile, a separate report showed that Americans filed for 1.43 million new unemployment claims in the latest week.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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 (Bloomberg) -- Elon Musk provoked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the course of taking a victory lap on Twitter over Tesla Inc.'s surging share price.The chief executive officer first taunted short sellers in a string of tweets, writing that the electric-car maker would "make fabulous short shorts in radiant red satin with gold trim." That's an apparent reference to jokes he's repeatedly made about sending "short shorts" to investors who bet against Tesla's shares, such as hedge fund manager David Einhorn.Musk, 49, then wrote Thursday that he would send shorts to the SEC, referring to the agency again as the "Shortseller Enrichment Commission." He first used that phrase in October 2018 after the regulator sued him for securities fraud.Musk then tweeted a cryptic but profane play on the agency's initials, prompting Ross Gerber, a fund manager who regularly engages with him on Twitter, to write back: "Dangerous." Musk responded: "But sooo satisfying."Musk and the SEC have a combative history. The agency sued him in September 2018 over tweets he sent a month earlier claiming that he had secured funding to take Tesla private at $420 a share. As part of a settlement agreement, Musk was required to pay a $20 million fine, step down as Tesla's chairman for three years and have some of his tweets pre-approved by a company lawyer.The SEC took Musk back to court last year after he failed to clear a tweet about Tesla's production with his in-house counsel. The two sides eventually agreed to amend the earlier settlem
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U.S. stocks clung to their gains at the end of Thursday after a stronger-than-expected employment report confirmed the labor market's rapid recovery at the end of the second-quarter. Wall Street will be shuttered on Friday in honor of the Independence Day holiday. The S&P 500 gained 0.5% to 3,130. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 92 points, or 0.4%, to end around 25,827, based on preliminary numbers. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.5% to 10,208, booking an all-time closing high for a second straight day. The U.S. added 4.8 million jobs in June compared with expectations for a rise of 3.7 million and the unemployment rate fell for the second straight month to 11.1%. Still, analysts worry the resurgence of new coronavirus cases across the U.S. could hold back further improvements in the broader U.S. economy.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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A hotly anticipated exchange-traded fund with a timely theme has outpaced the broader market in its first week in existence, even as recent flare-ups of COVID-19 may have bolstered its investment case. The Direxion Work From Home ETF has gained 4.5% since it launched on June 25, edging the 3.4% gain in the S&P 500 and the 3.8% gain in the Nasdaq Composite Index during that time. As previously reported, the fund contains 40 stocks that allow investors to tap into the technologies that enable many office workers to stay home: remote communications, cyber security, project and document management, and cloud technologies. Those companies include lesser-known names like Ping Identity Holding - but also pandemic darlings like Zoom Video Inc. and heavyweights like Amazon.com Inc and Microsoft Inc. [s:MSFT], both of which are on track for their best weekly gain since April 17.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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U.S. stock benchmarks opened sharply higher Thursday morning after a closely followed report on the health of the labor market showed that the U.S. added 4.76 million jobs in June and the unemployment fell to 11.1% from 13.3% in May, suggesting that the employment picture is improving after a stunning collapse due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Economists polled by MarketWatch had predicted 3.7 million jobs were created or restored in June, with some estimates ranging as high as 8 million. Meanwhile, a separate report showed that Americans filed for 1.43 million new unemployment claims in the latest week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 356 points, or 1.4%, at 26,085, the S&P 500 index added 36 points, or 1.2%, at 3,152, while the Nasdaq Composite Index opened at an intraday record at 10,272, and was trading 1.2% higher. In corporate news, shares of Tesla Inc. were trading sharply higher after a Wedbush analyst boosted his stock price target to $2,000 and after the electric-vehicle maker released a better-than-expected sales report. U.S. financial markets will be closed on Friday and the bond market will close an hour early at 2 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday with the Independence Day holiday observed on Friday instead of July 4th.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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