Stocks Rise as Oil Prices Show Some Steadying: Live Updates

April 22, 2020
Business

Catch up: Here’s what else is happening.

Australia will capitalize on historically low oil prices by spending $59 million to buy oil to bolster its fuel reserves, the country’s energy minister said. He said the oil would be initially kept in the United States as the Australian government explored local storage options. Australia is highly dependent on imports of liquid fuel from Asia and the Middle East.
China’s state-controlled banking sector is pushing out extra loans as part of a government-led effort to limit the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. But non-performing loans are already starting to increase across the banking system, Chinese regulators announced on Wednesday morning.
General Motors said on Tuesday that it was shutting down its four-year-old car-sharing service, Maven, the latest such venture to close its doors. Maven, which allows customers to rent cars by the hour, has struggled to build a substantial following. It was forced to suspend services in March because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Lyft said Tuesday that it was withdrawing its financial guidance for 2020. The ride-hailing company had said it expected revenue of $4.5 billion to $4.6 billion this year, but demand has plummeted since early March.

Netflix reported first-quarter earnings on Tuesday that showed a surge in demand for the service with stay-at-home orders in place around the world. The company said 15.7 million new customers signed up in the first three months of the year. Before the pandemic, Netflix expected about seven million.

Reporting was contributed by Isabella Kwai, Niraj Chokshi, Keith Bradsher, Edmund Lee, Clifford Krauss, Vindu Goel, Kate Conger, Neal E. Boudette, Mohammed Hadi, Alan Rappeport, Carlos Tejada, Mike Ives and Kevin Granville.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/22/business/live-stock-market-trading-coronavirus.html