With traders working from home, markets may be even less stable.
Ever since the coronavirus pandemic forced thousands of traders, sales representatives, analysts, bankers and risk managers out of their workplaces and into their homes, the foot soldiers of finance have been making do with technology that’s far more ordinary than many of them are used to.
Two computer screens instead of four. Slower wireless connections. Plain old cellphones — missed calls and all — instead of a specialized telephone known as a “turret.” Instant messaging and video conferencing replacing quick bursts of conversation across a floor.
The individual inconveniences are relatively minor but together, they have had a noticeable impact on the functioning of markets, according to traders, investors and regulators. The rapid-fire, split-second nature of global trading has slowed slightly because communicating decisions takes longer. And that, in turn, has added a layer of unexpected friction to already volatile markets.
Companies invest heavily in technology and have elaborate setups meant to simplify communication between trading desks, analysts and clients. Milliseconds make a difference in this environment, because prices can change swiftly.
Troy Rohrbaugh, the head of global markets at JPMorgan Chase recalled how, one day in mid-March, when the market was swinging wildly, a large client needed to sell a significant chunk of bonds. Mr. Rohrbaugh, who was in his office at the bank’s Midtown headquarters, stepped onto the trading floor to confer with a couple of traders and a salesman.
“We were done and dusted and shelling a price to a client in two minutes, three minutes,” he said. “Can you imagine that conversation taking 30 minutes or longer in markets that are moving as rapidly as they are now?” He continues to work from the office despite a recent outbreak of the coronavirus there.
“Trading floors are designed the way they are to most effectively and most efficiently socialize information,” said Joshua Younger, a bond market analyst at JPMorgan. Running a trading operation from home is like “a football team running a play by text,” he said. “It wouldn’t work as well. All the information would get conveyed, but not at the speed and the pace that’s required.”
Farmers are destroying tens of millions of pounds of fresh food.
Here is a ghastly effect of the pandemic: After weeks of concern about shortages in grocery stores, and scenes of food banks overrun by millions of unemployed and hungry Americans, farmers are liquidating their crops because big institutional buyers, like schools and hotels, have closed.
In Wisconsin and Ohio, farmers are dumping thousands of gallons of fresh milk into lagoons and manure pits. An Idaho farmer has dug huge ditches to bury one million pounds of onions. And in South Florida, tractors are crisscrossing bean and cabbage fields, plowing perfectly ripe vegetables back into the soil.
“It’s heartbreaking,” said Paul Allen, a co-owner of R.C. Hatton Farms, who has had to destroy millions of pounds of beans and cabbage in South Florida and Georgia.
Some farms have tried to donate crops to food banks and other charitable groups, but there is only so much perishable inventory that these organizations can absorb, with their limited numbers of refrigerators and volunteers. And many farms, already hurting financially, cannot take on the storage and transportation costs.
Farms are not well set up to sell into retail stores. The machines used by dairy processors, for example, are designed to package shredded cheese into large bags for restaurants, or put milk in small cartons for schools. Updating that equipment to make supermarket-friendly bags of cheese would require millions in capital.
Exporting much of the excess food is not feasible either, farmers say, because many international customers are also struggling through the pandemic and recent currency fluctuations make exports unprofitable.
China said it would delay the delivery of masks and ventilators to address quality concerns.
Hospitals struggling to cope with the coronavirus pandemic could face new delays in acquiring critical gear, after China announced that it will inspect shipments of N95 respirator masks, ventilators and other medical supplies before export. Depending on the city, the delays could range from a few hours to a few days or longer.
There has been a slew of complaints about defective Chinese-made protective equipment arriving in Europe. China is the world’s leading producer of a long list of medical supplies, and has expanded its manufacturing capacity since the crisis unfolded. At the start of February, the country produced 10 million respirators daily. Just a month later, its factories were producing 116 million, in part because facilities that once made, for example, cranes or winches were suddenly being repurposed.
The new rules come as countries have complained that a global free-for-all for personal protection equipment has left acute shortages for doctors and nurses.
Oil prices rise on deal for record production cut
Oil prices rose on Monday, one day after petroleum-producing nations agreed to the largest production cut ever negotiated.
Sunday’s agreement marked an unprecedented coordinated effort by Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United States to stabilize oil prices and, indirectly, global financial markets.
Saudi Arabia and Russia typically take the lead in setting global production goals. But President Trump, facing a re-election campaign, a plunging economy and American oil companies struggling with collapsing prices, took the unusual step of getting involved after the two countries entered a price war a month ago. Mr. Trump had made an agreement a key priority.
It was unclear, however, whether the cuts would be enough to bolster petroleum prices. Before the coronavirus crisis, 100 million barrels of oil each day fueled global commerce, but demand is now down about 35 percent. While the cuts agreed to on Sunday were significant, they still fall far short of what is needed to bring oil production in line with demand.
The plan by OPEC, Russia and other allied producers in a group known as OPEC Plus will slash production by 9.7 million barrels a day in May and June, or close to 10 percent of the world’s output.
Analysts expect oil prices, which soared above $100 a barrel only six years ago, to remain below $40 for the foreseeable future. The American oil benchmark price was just over $23 a barrel on Sunday night.
“This is at least a temporary relief for the energy industry and for the global economy,” said Per Magnus Nysveen, head of analysis for Rystad Energy, a Norwegian consultancy. “The industry is too big to be let to fail.”
On Monday oil markets cheered the prospect of production cuts. Futures for West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. oil price benchmark, were up more than 4 percent to about $24 a barrel. Futures for Brent crude rose by a similar amount, to about $33 a barrel.
Asian markets fall as investors weigh oil deal and outbreak news.
Global markets began the week in the red on Monday, as investors in Asia weighed the latest coronavirus developments as well as the new oil deal between major petroleum-producing nations.
Major markets in Japan and elsewhere were down at least 1 percent. Futures markets predicted Wall Street would open lower as well.
Investors on Monday were parsing the implications of the oil production deal between members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other major countries to trim output to put a floor on fuel prices. Low oil prices are generally good for the world economy, but the disruptions to the energy industry and to countries that depend on selling petroleum have unnerved investors. Oil prices rose by about 5 percent on Monday in the wake of the deal.
Many markets were also trading for the first time since Thursday after being closed for the Good Friday holiday. While the United States and other countries appeared to continue to make progress in containing the coronavirus outbreak, signs of disarray within the Trump administration cast a shadow over global prospects.
Reflecting the mixed sentiment, prices for U.S. Treasury bonds were lower, generally an indication of improved sentiment.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index was down 1.6 percent midday. South Korea’s Kospi was down 1 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index in mainland China was down 0.3 percent. Hong Kong markets were closed for a holiday.
Catch up: Here’s what else you need to know.
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After slashing the majority of its trips domestically and abroad, United Airlines said it would add a few international routes next month. The carrier plans to start daily service on May 4 on three routes: Chicago to London, Newark to Amsterdam and Washington to Frankfurt. It also plans to offer three flights a week between Washington and Buenos Aires starting on May 5.
David Yaffe-Bellany, Michael Corkery, Matt Phillips, Clifford Krauss and Carlos Tejada contributed reporting.
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