Squawk Box Europe Express

U.S. tensions continue with the Pentagon moving 1,600 troops to the Washington D.C. area in anticipation of more violence following the police killing of George Floyd. The U.S. government launches a probe into nine countries which are threatening to impose digital taxes on tech firms. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has warned that the U.S. will “take appropriate action to defend U.S. busin...

President Trump vows to send in the army should state governors fail to quell the violent protests raging across U.S. cities following the police killing of George Floyd. Some Facebook employees stage a virtual walkout, demonstrating against the social media platform’s failure to act on President Trump’s “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” post. In Hong Kong, CEO Carrie Lam hits out at...

Anger in America… protests and looting rage on across the U.S. following the police killing of a black man in Minneapolis. Curfews have been imposed and the National Guard is called in to quell the violence. Retailers Walmart, Target and Apple are forced to shut due to the unrest and Amazon restricts deliveries. In Asia, the Hang Seng shrugs off President Trump’s announcement that Hong Kong has lo...

Talking tough… Asian equities fall, with the Nikkei retreating from three-month highs as President Trump says he is “not happy” with Beijing following its approval of a controversial Hong Kong security bill. The U.S. President also promises to weaken a law protecting social media firms, saying they have breached their “unchecked powers”, while Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg tells this channel th...

Autonomy in question: The U.S. government declares it no longer considers Hong Kong autonomous from China in a decision that could end the territory's special trade status and further raises tensions with Beijing. The Dow crosses the 25,000 mark for the first time since March, as back-to-work stocks boost U.S. averages. In Brussels, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveils a €750bn rec...

Crossing key levels… U.S. stocks rally with the Dow briefly topping the key 25,000-level and the S&P 500 surpassing 3,000 for the first time since March. Banks lead the strong moves higher, after JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says the lender is “very valuable” at this price and also saying there is a good chance of an economic recovery in H2. The ECB says that soaring public debt levels will put pr...

A support system…the Nikkei rallies to a 10-week high after the Bank of Japan pledges to slash rates and increase asset purchases if needed, while the PBOC also vows to continue to support the Chinese economy. In Hong Kong, chief executive Carrie Lam says a new security law proposed by Beijing will not impose on the city's rights and freedoms after police used tear gas to break up weekend demonstr...

Hong Kong havoc…protests erupt in the territory after Beijing announces it will be imposing new security legislation at the beginning of the National People’s Congress. The tensions prompt the Hang Seng to fall nearly 5 per cent, weighing on other Asian markets. President Trump has vowed firm action if the law goes ahead. Also at the NPC, Premier Li Keqiang says the government has dropped its grow...

The Federal Reserve discusses using forward guidance and longer-term measures to support the damage to the U.S. economy, such as capping interest rates. However, Dallas Federal Reserve President, Robert Kaplan, tells CNBC that consumer confidence and a sense of safety will drive the recovery rather than monetary policy. In the UK, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey changes the BOE’s policy sta...

Mixed messages…Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and U.S. Treasury Secretary give different assessments of the post-Coronavirus recovery in testimonies to Congress. But both defend their monetary and fiscal stimulus measures, as lawmakers challenge them on giving preference to Wall Street over Main Street. The U.S. Congressional Budget Office has forecast GDP will plunge 38 per cent in the se...

President Trump threatens to withdraw the U.S. from the WHO after accusing it of mis-handling the Coronavirus pandemic and being China-centric. However, Beijing pledges an additional $2bn in funding for the global health body. Asian stocks follow the Wall Street rally after the Dow soared more than 900 points on encouraging vaccine trial news from U.S. biotech firm Moderna. French President Emmanu...

Pandemic problems… Japan slips into recession for the first time in nearly 5 years as the country’s Q1 GDP data shrinks by 3.4 per cent. In the U.S., Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell says that a vaccine is key to economic recovery while Fitch downgrades France’s credit rating to negative due to depressed productivity and a widening deficit. FCA has been permitted to apply for a €6.3bn credit...

Industrial improvement… Chinese output rises for the first time this year but retail sales and fixed asset investment continues to decline. Tensions between the U.S. and China escalate as President Trump warns he could completely cut ties with China, saying he has no reason to talk to President Xi Jinping right now. CNBC learns the President is set to sign an executive order to require key medicin...

Warnings on Wall Street… U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warns of prolonged economic damage, sending global stock markets into the red. Meanwhile, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester tells CNBC that the outlook for 2020 looks ‘dire’, adding that any recovery is likely to be slow, but shoots down expectations the central bank will lower rates into negative territory. President Trump...

Wall Street suffers steep losses with the Dow Jones falling more than 400 points and the Nasdaq breaking a six-day rally. This comes on the back of Dr Anthony Fauci’s Coronavirus Senate hearing where the White House’s top virus adviser warned against reopening the U.S. economy too soon. The pandemic also weighs on Commerzbank. The German lender swings to a loss in the first quarter and warns that...

China’s industrial deflation worsens as producer prices fall 3 per cent in April. It’s the largest slump in four years. New reports of Coronavirus clusters in Seoul and China weigh on Asian markets but on Wall Street the Nasdaq bucks the trend, posting a sixth consecutive day of gains for the first time since December. German steel giant ThyssenKrupp sees it net loss widen to nearly €1bn in the se...

From ‘Stay at Home’ to ‘Stay Alert’ - Prime Minister Boris Johnson lays out a conditional plan to lead parts of the UK population back to work but he refuses to lift the lockdown just yet. On the continent, France and Spain ease restrictions from today with just over half of Spaniards allowed to resume their normal lives as part of the first phase of the country’s exit. This comes after the countr...

Asian stocks rise on signs that relations between Washington and Beijing are warming after trade representatives from both countries agreed to stronger cooperation in implementing the first phase of the trade deal. U.S. non-farm payroll is expected to show that more than 20m jobs were lost last month. Siemens says it will hit the bottom in Q3 and see full-year revenue decline, after posting a...

A surprise recovery…Chinese exports unexpectedly rise in April with a sharp uptick in overseas shipments since December. However, lower domestic demand provides softer-than-expected import numbers. AB Inbev withdraws its full-year guidance after beer volumes fall nearly 10 per cent in Q1. The brewing giant says it has reopened all of its sites in China. Air France-KLM forecasts...

Media giant Disney cancels its 2020 dividend payout after suffering a $1.4bn hit to income due to the Covid-19 outbreak. It has announced plans to reopen its Shanghai theme park from next week. BMW lowers its margin outlook, saying that the negative impact of the virus is lasting longer than expected with second-quarter data being worse than the first. Unicredit suffers a bigger loss tha...

Crunch time for the ECB…Germany’s constitutional court is set to rule on whether the ECB’s sovereign bond-buying programme is appropriate in a decision that could hinder its QE measures. BNP Paribas' first-quarter profit falls by 33 per cent as market turmoil weighs on its trading unit. CFO Lars Machenil tells CNBC the economic outlook is difficult. WeWork founder Adam Neumann is suing Softbank fo...

Chinese oil and airline stocks have dragged the Hang Seng down and U.S.-China tensions weighed on sentiment. U.S. officials reportedly believe China covered up the Coronavirus outbreak to hoard medical supplies. President Trump has blamed Beijing and warned that U.S. deaths could top 100,000.  Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has sold off all airline positions and warns of g...

European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen tells CNBC exclusively that an investigation into the origins of Coronavirus is needed, with the cooperation of China. President Trump has threatened Beijing with fresh tariffs and says he has seen evidence that links the outbreak to a laboratory in Wuhan. The Dow Jones ends April on a high – its best monthly performance since 1987 – driven b...

A global rally…The S&P 500 is set for its best month in nearly 50 years following positive news on a Gilead drug trial. U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell says the American economy has suffered “an extraordinary shock” in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. He has warned of a severe economy contraction in the second quarter and says the central bank will maintain low rates for as lo...

Standard Chartered warns of severe market dislocation as its credit impairments jump sharply. Shares rise in Hong Kong as its CFO, Andy Halford, says the signals coming from Asia are positive. Airbus posts a net loss in Q1 and provides no guidance, blaming limited visibility. The French aerospace giant says the virus has prevented it from delivering 60 aircraft. Alphabet’s shares ri...