Week of April 10, 2020 Weekly Recap & The Week Ahead
“Most people view risk taking primarily as a way to make money. Bearing higher risk generally produces higher returns…But it can’t always work that way, or else risk investments wouldn’t be risky. And when risk bearing doesn’t work, it really doesn’t work, and people are reminded what risk’s all about.” ― Howard Marks
1. U.K. prime minister moved to intensive care — Boris Johnson, who is fighting a serious coronavirus infection, was admitted to an ICU in London. He deputized his foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, to run the government. More than 10,000 people in the U.S. have been killed by the coronavirus. The U.S. has more than double the number of coronavirus infections of any other nation. Meanwhile, there are signs that social distancing has helped slow the spread of the disease in other regions, such as Europe.
2. Exxon slashed capital spending — Exxon slashed capital spending by 30% to $23 billion and CEO Darren Woods said the company has capacity to further increase cuts if required. The Permian Basin will bear the largest share of the reduction, which exceeded the expectations of some analysts. Exxon aims to meet its projected investment of $20 billion on Gulf Coast manufacturing facilities. Continental Resources is also cutting production and suspending its dividend.
3. Joe Biden is the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee — Bernie Sanders dropped out of the race after suffering a series of primary defeats across the country, clearing the field for the former VP. Biden must now bring together often discordant factions within the party to try and defeat President Trump during a national health crisis that has all but eliminated public events and dramatically curtailed in-person voting.
Howard Marks Memo regarding the Corona-19 Bear Market
Howard_Marks_Calibrating
The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com:
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