World exports in the second quarter of this year experienced an unprecedented decline: in monetary terms, the total volume of trade in annual terms dropped by 21% at once, in physical terms (excluding the decline in energy prices and a number of other factors) - by 14.3%. Experts note that in the summer, world trade was actively recovering, but now leading indicators of the state of business...

The organization that manages the real estate of the British monarchy reported a decrease in the value of its assets by more than $ 700 million due to the spring quarantine. Despite this, it managed to earn a profit for the treasury. The Crown Estate, which manages real estate in West London and the UK countryside on behalf of the Queen, said its asset value fell by $ 716 million following a...

Microsoft founder Bill Gates believes the coronavirus epidemic will end "at its best" in 2022. According to him, if the use of the vaccine is approved at the beginning of 2021, then the situation "will begin to return to normal" by the summer in the United States, and by the beginning of 2022 "activities will return to normal." He believes that for this, the United States should help other...

Prices for precious metals fell 1-4.5% on September 17, returning to the levels of a week ago. The bearish play was promoted by the results of the meeting of the Federal Reserve System (Fed): it did not expand the monetary stimulus, which was expected by the market participants. Gold lost the least in price, although if the correction continues, the quotes may drop by another 2%. After the rise,...

In the United States, there has been an increase in the number of so-called zombie companies that do not earn enough to pay off debts. Only once during the observation period were there more of them - after the dot-com bubble burst. In the United States, the number of so-called zombie companies unable to service debt obligations from their profits has approached the maximum since September 2000,...

International investors are actively buying platinum: the total assets of all exchange-traded funds have risen to a new all-time high of 115.5 tons. In four months, the assets have grown by a quarter. Interest in the metal is going up amid its undervaluation compared to other precious metals, as well as the recovery of the auto industry in China. Analysts expect the trend to continue and metal...

Brent crude will rise to $ 50 a barrel in the second half of 2021 on the back of a weaker dollar and higher inflation. This forecast was presented by analysts of the American bank Morgan Stanley on September 9. The price of WTI crude oil will also rise in the third quarter of 2021 to $ 47.5 per barrel. "The unprecedented expansion of the money supply weakens the dollar and puts upward pressure...

The pre-holiday sales season in the United States this year may start several weeks earlier - even before Halloween (October 31), writes the Financial Times. The pandemic has forced retailers including Macy's Inc., Kohl's Corp., Calvin Klein, Guess Inc. and Target Corp., to rethink their sales promotion tactics. Target CEO Brian Cornell said the company is gearing up to launch sales earlier "than...

Saudi Arabia has decided to cut oil prices. According to Bloomberg, this means that the world's largest exporter is preparing for fluctuations in fuel demand in the face of new outbreaks of the coronavirus. Saudi Arabia has slashed oil prices, indicating that the world's largest exporter expects fuel demand to fluctuate amid new coronavirus outbreaks around the world, Bloomberg writes. In...