Stocks jump despite record slump for Chinese GDP

ITN, the producer of news for ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, has furloughed staff, frozen senior manager and cut salaries for top bosses by 20% to manage costs during the coronavirus lockdown.

Plans to furlough a “small number” of staff will mainly impact the sport and commercial production departments, while some staff have been asked to work part-time.

A company email to staff said:

These talented and hardworking teams have been hardest hit simply because of the economic downturn in the sectors in which they work.

Top management, including chief executive Anna Mallett and the ITN board, are to reduce their salaries by a fifth for the period of the government lockdown “to help with the financial challenge”.

The cost saving measures also include a recruitment “pause” and halting investment in some projects.

The appointment of BlackRock, the world’s largest investor, to carry out a study on potential new environmental rules for banks by the European Commission, faces scrutiny from members of the European Parliament.

Three MEPs have written to the commission asking it how it intends to avoid a conflict of interest, given that BlackRock holds huge stakes in both fossil fuel companies and the banks.

It comes after the Guardian reported that environmental campaigners were concerned about the potential conflict of interest. Urgewald said the appointment was “like letting the fox guard the henhouse”.

The MEPs from the Greens/European Free Alliance – Rasmus Andresen, Monika Vana and Jutta Palus – asked the commission to also consider how BlackRock’s control of stakes in power plant operators fitted with plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

BlackRock had $7.43tn (£5.97tn) in assets under management on 31 December (before the coronavirus pandemic caused asset values to fall). The majority of those assets are in products that track equity and bond indices, meaning the company by default controls large stakes in many of the world’s biggest companies.

BlackRock previously told the Guardian that it was honoured to be selected by the commission.

China’s economy will do well to grow at all in 2020.

That’s the stark warning from Yue Su, an economist focusing on China at The Economist Intelligence Unit.

She says China will continue to struggle this year as its trading partners around the world grapple with their own Covid-19 recessions.

The GDP contraction in January-March will translate into permanent income losses, reflected in bankruptcies across small companies and job losses.

In addition, the international spread of the pandemic will push the country’s major trading partners into recession, leading to a slump in exports in the second quarter and knock-on impacts on domestic investment and employment.

China’s economy will do well to grow at all in 2020 as a whole.

Investors poised for China rate cut after Q1 GDP plunge

There’s a growing expectation that China will cut its benchmark lending rate as early as Monday, following the 6.8% contraction in first quarter growth.

A Reuters survey shows that all 52 traders and analysts polled are expecting a cut to China’s Loan Prime Rate on Monday in order to reduce financing costs for companies that are struggling to get back on their feet after the pandemic.

If their hunch is right, it would be the second cut to the benchmark so far this year.

Jacqueline Rong, a senior China economist at BNP Paribas in Beijing, said:

Judging from high frequency economic data and progress of work resumption in April, we believe the central bank will continue its easing stance for the time being despite some signs of loose liquidity in the banking system.