Democrats Postpone Nominating Convention to August

The Democratic National Committee on Thursday postponed its presidential nominating convention from July to Aug. 17 due to concerns about the coronavirus.

The delay comes after likely presidential nominee Joe Biden said it should be pushed back for safety.

“I have always believed that American innovation and ingenuity shine brightest during our darkest days, and for that reason, I’m confident our convention planning team and our partners will find a way to deliver a convention in Milwaukee this summer that places our Democratic nominee on the path to victory in November,” Joe Solmonese, chief executive officer of the the Democratic National Convention Committee said in a statement.

Solmonese said the convention will still be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as originally planned, just later in the summer.

“We remain inspired by the people who live and work here, and we remain committed to hosting this historic moment in their hometown,” Solmonese added.

Stock Alert: Walgreens Loses 6%; Covid-19 Impact Not Yet Known

Shares of drugstore chain Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) are down more than 6% Thursday morning to touch a new low of $39.40. While reporting second-quarter results today, the company said it is not in a position to forecast the future impacts of Covid-19.

WBA is currently trading at $40.33. It has recorded a 52-week high of $64.50.

Second quarter net earnings decreased to $946 million or $1.07 per share compared with the same quarter a year ago. Excluding items, earnings of $1.5 per share beat average estimate of 19 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters at $1.46.

Sales for the quarter increased 3.7 percent year-over-year to $35.8 billion. Analysts wer expecting $35.26 billion.

Stock Alert: Rite Air Slides Nearly 13%

Shares of Rite Aid Corp. (RAD) are down more than 12 percent, though there is no company-specific news to justify the deep slide. Most of the major indexes are bounced back on Thursday after the initial volatility.

Shares are currently at $12.30 after it ended Wednesday’s trade at $13.95. The retail drugstore chain stock has been on a decline since last week, in line with the general market trend. For the 52-week period, the shares have traded in a range of $5.04- $23.88.

Stock Alert: Walgreens Loses 6%; Covid-19 Impact Not Yet Known

Shares of drugstore chain Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) are down more than 6% Thursday morning to touch a new low of $39.40. While reporting second-quarter results today, the company said it is not in a position to forecast the future impacts of Covid-19.

WBA is currently trading at $40.33. It has recorded a 52-week high of $64.50.

Second quarter net earnings decreased to $946 million or $1.07 per share compared with the same quarter a year ago. Excluding items, earnings of $1.5 per share beat average estimate of 19 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters at $1.46.

Sales for the quarter increased 3.7 percent year-over-year to $35.8 billion. Analysts wer expecting $35.26 billion.

Britain to target 100,000 daily coronavirus tests by month-end

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain is aiming for 100,000 daily coronavirus tests by the end of April, health minister Matt Hancock said on Thursday, an increase of around tenfold from current levels.

“I am now setting the goal of 100,000 tests per day by the end of this month. That is the goal and I am determined that we will get there,” Hancock said at a news conference.

Treasury Reveals Details Of Long-Term Securities Auctions

On Thursday, the Treasury Department announced the details of this month’s auctions of three-year and ten-year notes and thirty-year bonds.

The Treasury said it plans to sell $40 billion worth of three-year notes, $25 billion worth of ten-year notes and $17 billion worth of thirty-year bonds.

The results of three-year note auction will be announced next Monday, the results of the ten-year note auction will be announced next Tuesday and the results of the thirty-year bond auction will be announced next Wednesday.

Last month, the Treasury sold $38 billion worth of three-year notes, $24 billion worth of ten-year notes and $16 billion worth of thirty-year bonds.

The three-year and ten-year note auctions attracted below average demand, while the thirty-year bond auction attracted modestly above average demand.

UK to announce new emergency loan package for midsize companies: Financial Times

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain will announce a new support package for midsize companies who fall between the criteria for existing coronavirus business support schemes, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

The report said the finance ministry could make an announcement as early as Thursday afternoon, and had been looking at a model that would allow firms with turnover of several hundred million pounds to take out loans of around 25 million pounds ($30.97 million).

The loans would not be interest free, the report said.

European Economics Preview: France Consumer Confidence Data Due

Consumer confidence survey data from France and house prices from the UK are due on Friday, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

At 2.00 am ET, consumer and industrial confidence survey results are due from Finland.

At 3.00 am ET, the Nationwide Building Society is set to release its UK monthly house price data. Economists forecast house prices to rise 2.1 percent on year in March, slower than the 2.3 percent increase in February.

At 3.45 am ET, France’s Insee is scheduled to issue consumer confidence survey results. The confidence index is forecast to drop to 92 in March from 104 in February.

At 4.00 am ET, Hungary’s unemployment data is due for February.

Half an hour later, Statistics Sweden is set to release retail sales for February. Sales had increased 0.9 percent on month in January.

At 5.00 am ET, Italy’s consumer and business sentiment survey results are due. The consumer sentiment index is forecast to fall to 100.5 in March from 111.4 in February. Likewise, the business confidence index is seen at 90 versus 100.6 a month ago.

In the meantime, Austria’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ survey results are due.

At 7.00 am ET, February retail sales data is due from Ireland. Sales had declined 3.4 percent on month in January.