Investors seek safe haven from stock market volatility

The Nasdaq 100 is at its highest relative level since the technology bubble

If gold retreats to $1,580, the price chart suggests a major buying opportunity

A rally in the corn price has failed at its previous high – suggesting a drop is to come

If the UK stock market is in for more of a hiding, the FTSE 100 is likely to outperform the FTSE 250

Metal offers protection from sledgehammer approach to quantitative easing

Copper is well poised to make new all-time highs

Risk of further bad news from the high street

Currency seen as safe haven from eurozone debt crisis

Investors seek better-quality government bonds

Hidden flaws of the euro

To a believer in sound money – gold – the idea that a paper currency can ever be high-quality is fatuous

There’s an increasingly good chance that many leading stock market indices will regain the highs they reached in the year 2000

Considering that it is the most precious of all the metals, platinum certainly turns up in some insalubrious places

Much is made of the contrast between Anglo-Saxon and German ideas aboutfinancial and economic matters

I suggested on October 23 – when silver was trading at around $23.50 – that $31.75 was one obvious place for its next sell-off to begin

Shares in BG Group, the oil and gas explorer, hit a 30-month high earlier this week

Shares in Mears, a smaller rival, came under pressure, losing 16 per cent of their value within a week

Shares in the educational IT provider rose 4.2 per cent

The eurozone’s problems run far deeper than anything that can be solved by a splurge of foreign cash

The 10 per cent plunge in Enterprise Inns’ share price on Tuesday surprised the company.

The idea of dropping bank notes from planes to stimulate inflation will be forever associated with Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke

When currency traders are nervous, they don’t head for the hills, but for the mountains

Target, which already owns on-demand delivery service Shipt, is in the process of acquiring technology assets from same-day delivery service Deliv. The retailer is characterizing the deal as more of an R&D type of acquisition and not one that will have an immediate consumer-facing impact. Deal terms were not disclosed, but we understand the deal […]

A rebranded and expanded version of the CBS All Access streaming service will arrive this summer, ViacomCBS announced this morning. The service, now run by ViacomCBS following the merger, today offers a mix of live TV, on-demand video, original programming, streaming news, local broadcast stations and sports. Now the company is accelerating its plan to […]

Google today is launching a new app, Read Along, that aims to help elementary school students practice their reading skills and stay educationally engaged amid school closures due to coronavirus. The new Android app is based on Google’s existing application, Bolo, which launched in India last year with a catalog of read-along stories in both […]

YouTube TV is expanding its lineup of channels thanks to a new, multi-year distribution agreement with ViacomCBS, announced this morning. The Google-owned streaming TV service is gaining 14 new ViacomCBS channels as a result of the deal, including news, sports, and entertainment offerings. It will also continue to carry CBS broadcast stations, CBS Sports Network, […]

TiVo today is launching a new device, its would-be Fire TV Stick competitor known as the TiVo Stream 4K. First announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, this $50 Android TV-powered HDMI dongle is TiVo’s attempt to insert itself into the streaming media device market. The new dongle arrives at a time when TiVo […]

Tinder will add a video dating feature in the second quarter of this year, parent company Match announced on Tuesday as part of its Q1 2020 earnings report. The company also detailed the coronavirus impact, which slowed Tinder user growth in the quarter, as social distancing requirements and government lockdowns went into effect. Match didn’t […]

Pinterest is introducing new features that make it easier for those planning recipes, virtual events and other quarantine activities. These include the ability to add a date or notes to a board as well as automated ways to better organize your pins on a given board, with the aid of machine learning technology. The company […]

Twitter announced today it’s introducing a new layout for replies that will use lines and indentations to make it easier to understand who you’re replying to and how the conversation is flowing. The company will also test putting engagement actions — including likes, Retweet and reply icons — behind an extra tap to make replies […]

Cutting the cord with cable or satellite TV used to mean a cost savings. But with the growing number of streaming services on the market, many consumers are finding that becoming a cord cutter is just as expensive, if not more so, as being a pay TV customer. As a result, many consumers continue to […]

Free streaming service Pluto TV is expanding. The company has today gained access to streaming sports network CBS Sports HQ as a result of the ViacomCBS merger. It has also forged new distribution deals with Verizon and TiVo, both of which were detailed this week. The free streamer had been acquired by Viacom for $340 […]

Tumblr is making a change to how it deals with hate speech on its blogging platform. The company announced today it will also remove the reblogs (repostings) from any blogs that were suspended for violating its policies around hate speech. Already, the company says it’s identified nearly 1,000 blogs that were banned for blatant violations […]

Music streaming service Soundcloud is capitalizing on consumer demand for live entertainment amid the COVID-19 quarantine with the launch of its own slate of originally produced live programming. The company today announced its plans for a new Twitch channel where it will air live chat series and other panel conversations, plus music sets and shows […]

Facebook is expanding its Community Help hub to better serve local communities amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The hub has already seen significant usage by those requesting food, supplies and information about local resources, as well as use by volunteers and groups willing to lend a hand. Now, Facebook is adding more features to the hub […]

Mobile app market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, which provides data-driven insights about the app economy, has raised $45 million in new funding from Riverwood Capital. This is the first significant investment the now-profitable company has seen since its $1 million seed round in 2013. The investment speaks to the growing demand for data about the […]

This week we continue to look at how the coronavirus outbreak is impacting the world of apps, plus the use of live-streaming apps as fundraising tools and more.

Record usage of grocery delivery services amid the COVID-19 pandemic has led to delayed orders, fewer open delivery windows and, on occasion, an inability to even book a delivery time slot. Walmart now hopes to capitalize on the increased demand for speedier delivery with the introduction of a new service that allows consumers to pay […]

The coronavirus outbreak has driven more consumers to turn to their smart speakers for news, information, music and entertainment, according to new data released today by NPR and Edison Research. Around three-quarters of U.S. adults 18 and up said their routines have been impacted due to COVID-19 and their media habits have changed as a […]

Twitch is doubling down on esports in this new era of social distancing as a number of traditional sporting events have been cancelled. The company this week introduced a new esports directory on its site that will make it easier for viewers to find live matches, information on players, games with active competition leagues, a […]

Facebook is today rolling out a tool that will allow users in the U.S. and Canada to export their Facebook photos and videos to Google Photos. This data portability tool was first introduced in Ireland in December, and has since been made available to other international markets. To use the feature, Facebook users will need […]

Online retailer hopes to avoid fate of non-banks whose value surpassed country’s biggest lender

Impact of lockdown weighs on company earnings but stock markets look for optimism

Mike Mackenzie’s daily analysis of what’s moving global markets

Gulf between darkening Main Street and rebounding markets continues to widen

Contrary to some fears, equity calls on the London market have been relatively orderly

Mike Mackenzie’s daily analysis of what’s moving global markets

Equities rise but some Treasury yields hit record lows as investors weigh economic outlook