Advertisement
Here's what you need to know before the markets open. Warren Buffett is too 'pessimistic' about airlines' coronavirus recovery, Southwest's CEO says. The famed investor dumped his stakes in Southwest and other carriers in April, partly because he wasn't sure that demand for air travel would rebound. Bank of England warns the UK economy could contract by 30% in the first half as coronavirus hammers activity. The central bank refrained from announcing additional stimulus measures and kept interest rates at 0.1%. Documents show the UK may re-engineer its contact-tracing app to work with Google and Apple's technology. The UK previously said it would not use the specially-released Apple-Google API as it would mean promising to keep user data decentralized. 'Solid irony here': The co-founder of speaker firm Sonos called out Spotify billionaire Daniel Ek for criticizing Apple's closed system. Spotify's Ek had said Apple has a long way to go before it's an "open and fair platform." Qatar Airways in talks with banks for billions of dollars in loans. The state-owned carrier also said it would start re-opening routes it was forced to abandon during the outbreak that virtually halted international travel. Italy to inject 3 billion euros in new Alitalia. The government will inject fresh capital in the ailing carrier Alitalia which is being nationalized following financial problems. H&M sales fall 57% year-on-year in March through early May. Online sales alone grew 32% in the same period, the Swedish fashion retailer said. European and US stocks are up. In Europe, Germany's DAX rose 0.8%, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.8%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 rose 0.7%. In Asia, China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.2%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.6%, and Japan's Nikkei rose 0.3% at the close. In the US, futures underlying the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq rose between 1.2% and 1.4%. Earnings expected today. Bristol-Myers, Enbridge and Nintendo are highlights. 10. On the economic front. More jobless claims are due. |