1.Chevron, the US oil giant, said it had agreed to buy Noble Energy on an all-share deal, valuing it at about $5 billion. The move will allow Chevron to expand its operations in Permian basins in West Texas and New Mexico and could save Chevron $300 million a year. US shale producers have been hit hard by the collapse in oil prices as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic and the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia, after a Deloitte study pointed out that if international oil prices hovered at a low of $35 a barrel, about 30% of US shale producers would be insolvent.

2.Reuters: French Finance Minister Lemerre said France will not ban Huawei from investing in 5G in France.

3.US Defense Secretary Esper said that he hopes to visit China before the end of the year to discuss areas in which the two countries share common interests.

4.Although adversely affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, thanks to strong demand from China and other Asian markets, export revenues from New Zealand’s primary industry, such as dairy and meat products, have risen instead of falling so far this year, with an increase of nearly NZ $1 billion (US $664 million) over the same period last year.

5.Gold futures for August delivery in COMEX rose $21.20, or nearly 1.2%, to close at $1865.10 an ounce, the highest closing price since September 2011.

6.WTI crude oil futures fell 1.1% to $41.45 / barrel, while London Brent crude futures fell 1.02% to $43.87 / barrel.

7.The Bank of Korea said on Thursday that it would end its interim proposal to provide unlimited funds through repurchase operations by the end of July, given the improved financing situation and weak demand of South Korean financial institutions.

8.The Thai Rice exporters Association will lower its rice export estimate for this year from 7.5 million tons to 6.5 million tons, the lowest estimate for rice exports in nearly 20 years.

9.Government of California: in order to meet the needs of anti-epidemic supplies, it has signed a new order with BYD’s North American subsidiary for 420 million masks, including 120 million N-95 masks and 300 million surgical masks. The contract is worth 315 million dollars.

10.International Semiconductor Industry Association: global sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment are expected to increase to US $63.2 billion this year, up 6 % from the same period last year. Sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment are expected to hit a record $70 billion in 2021.