Trump says US will report virus origins, gives no timeline

WASHINGTON (REUTERS) – President Donald Trump on Tuesday (May 5) said the United States would release its report detailing the origins of the novel coronavirus over time, but gave no other details or timeline.

“We will be reporting very definitively over a period of time,” the Republican President told reporters at the White House.

Mr Trump, who initially praised China over its response to the outbreak but has since blamed Beijing harshly over the virus, also said that he has not spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Narcan use on overdose calls spikes to record levels in Saskatoon: Medavie

Paramedics in Saskatoon have responded to a record number of overdose calls requiring the use of Narcan in the past week, Medavie Health Services West reported Tuesday.

Medavie spokesperson Troy Davies said paramedics were called to 88 overdose calls between April 27 and May 4.

European Economics Preview: UK Final Services PMI Data Due

Final Purchasing Managers’ survey data from the UK is due on Tuesday, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

At 1.45 am ET, Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs releases final consumer confidence survey data. According to initial estimate, the confidence index fell to -40 in April from -9.4 in January.

At 2.30 am ET, the Federal Statistical Office is set to issue Swiss consumer prices for April. Consumer prices are forecast to fall 0.8 percent on year versus a 0.5 percent drop in March.

At 3.00 am ET, Spain unemployment data is due from the labor ministry.

Half an hour later, quarterly national accounts, industrial production and new orders are due from Statistics Sweden.

At 4.30 am ET, IHS Markit is scheduled to issue UK final services PMI data. The final score is seen at 12.3 in April, unchanged from flash estimate, and down from 34.5 in March.

At 5.00 am ET, Eurostat is slated to publish euro area producer prices for March. Economists forecast producer prices to fall 2.6 percent on year after easing 1.3 percent in February.

British Airways Announce Plans To Cut Nearly 12,000 Jobs

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG), the parent company of British Airways, has announced plans to cut nearly 12,000 jobs at the UK carrier as Covid-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the aviation industry.

In a statement, IAG said, “The proposals remain subject to consultation, but it is likely that they will affect most of British Airways’ employees and may result in the redundancy of up to 12,000 of them.”

IAG added that it would take several years for the passenger demand to recover to 2019 levels. IAG also owns Spanish airline Iberia and Ireland’s Aer Lingus.

Airline companies have been struggling as the coronavirus lockdown has grounded almost all the planes around the world. British Airways had furloughed more than half of its 45,000 workers. British Airways had earlier also reached agreement with its 4,000 pilots to take four weeks of unpaid leave in April and May.

British Airways CEO Alex Cruz wrote in a letter to staff: “In the last few weeks, the outlook for the aviation industry has worsened further and we must take action now. We are a strong, well-managed business that has faced into, and overcome, many crises in our hundred-year history. We must overcome this crisis ourselves, too.”

AMC signals sharp revenue drop on ‘Walking Dead’ finale delay

AMC Networks warned on Tuesday that second-quarter US ad revenue will be down about 30 percent as the season 10 finale of “The Walking Dead” gets pushed back amid the coronavirus crisis.

The broadcasting giant, which operates AMC, IFC, WE tv, BBC America and SundanceTV, likewise cited delays in the debut of its new spinoff series “World Beyond” as it posted lower first-quarter results, as fallout from the coronavirus shrank its US advertising revenue nearly 11 percent.

AMC said Tuesday that it began to feel the impact of the virus on its business in mid-March. Although viewership of its networks saw a “significant” increase as coronavirus lockdowns took hold, ad revenue dropped, said Chief Executive Josh Sapan.

“Beginning in mid-March, the company experienced adverse advertising sales impacts and suspended content production, which has led to delays in the creation and availability of some of its television programming,” Sapan said, adding that ad categories like travel, auto, restaurants and movies had been particularly hard hit.

A 10.8 percent decline in ad sales to $213 million weighed down total revenue, which fell 6.4 percent to $734.4 million. Wall Street was looking for EPS of $1.86 on revenue of $739 million.

In the first quarter, the company said net income slid to $68.7 million, or $1.22 a share from $143.4 million, or $2.48, a year earlier. Adjusted EPS totaled $1.47.

Despite the results, AMC’s stock rose nearly 3 percent in early trading Tuesday.

RPM Sees Q4 Sales To Be In Range Of Previous Guidance

RPM International Inc. (RPM) said that it expects its sales for its fourth quarter ending May 31, 2020 to be within the range of its prior guidance. Previously, it anticipated sales for the fourth quarter to be down 10% to 15%.

The company noted today that the positive momentum of consumer take away with the start of the spring season should result in sales for its Consumer Group being flat to slightly up.

The company’s more internationally exposed Construction Products and Performance Coatings Groups expect double-digit sales declines in the fourth quarter principally due to the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak which resulted in jurisdictional shutdowns, factory closures and workers remaining offsite due to stay-at-home orders.

The company’s Specialty Products Group will also see a decline in sales partially offset by incremental demand for its cleaning and sanitizing products.