Pre-tax profits at Europe's largest bank HSBC slumped by 48 percent in the first three months of 2020, as the lender felt the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on its business. The bank has set aside $3 billion to cover losses from unpaid loans, 417 percent higher than the same period last year. Also today, US oil prices slumped again in early trading after an investment fund sold all its short-term contracts to buy crude. A plunge in demand for oil due to lockdown measures has resulted in a massive glut of supply in the market.
