Covid Crisis Drives Historic Drop in Global Trade

Global trade flows collapsed in the spring, marking the largest fall in two decades, as coronavirus lockdowns disrupted air and sea transport and dealt a blow to the demand for many consumer and investment goods. 


 
China's Top Diplomat Begins Europe Tour Aiming to Rekindle Cooling Ties

China's top diplomat began a weeklong tour of Europe seeking to counter growing wariness of Beijing's increasingly assertive foreign policy amid the coronavirus pandemic and worsening relations between Beijing and Washington. 


 
S&P Edges Higher to Record Close

Investors were cheered by trade talks among senior U.S. and Chinese officials following weeks of escalating tensions between the world's two largest economies. 


 
New Zealand's NZX Halts Trading

The operator of New Zealand's stock exchange halted trading on Wednesday to deal with a connectivity issue, having closed early a day earlier because of a cyberattack. 


 
U.S. Home-Price Growth Held Steady in June

Home-price growth held flat in June, as measured by the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, as home sales started to rebound following the pandemic-related lockdowns. 


 
Mortgage Refinance Surcharge Delayed by Fannie, Freddie

The mortgage finance giants will delay a 0.5% surcharge on refinanced home loans by three months, their regulator said. 


 
Senate Democrats Say Fed Should Do More on Climate Change, but See Progress

The Federal Reserve is making progress in incorporating climate change risks into its bank oversight activities, but its work is far from done, says a new report from a group of Senate Democrats. 


 
E-Commerce Warehouses Have Gotten Too Crowded

Tech fever has spread to the once-staid warehousing industry. It is hard to see how European real-estate investment trust Segro can live up to the hype. 


 
Retail Landlords Offer Pandemic Clauses in New Leases

Retail landlords are including pandemic language in new leases, as tenants seek protection after coronavirus shutdowns in March complicated their negotiations for rent relief. 


 
New U.S. Covid-19 Cases Remain Below Last Week's Levels

Daily new U.S. coronavirus infections rose slightly but continued their downward longer-term trend, as some states worked to manage outbreaks through natural disasters and universities grappled with outbreaks.