Sadly, there was one thing on everyone’s feed this morning: Brussels. More than 20 people are reported dead after explosions at Zaventum airport and the Brussels metro station, thought to be in retaliation for the arrest of a Paris bomber earlier this week. The “volatile markets” reported by Thomas Cook (LON:TCG) were in action today as its shares dipped 6% following the tragic terror attack. Thomas Cook told the media that it was reducing bookings in trouble-spots such as Middle-East destinations, but that customers were leaving it later to book while they decide whether it is safe to travel this summer. Elsewhere on the FTSE 100, other travel companies felt the shockwaves of terror: British Airways fell more than 4%, EasyJet fell 3.5%, and TUI down 3%. On the other side of the world, Brazilian oil titan Petrobras dominated social media chatter after it reported a record $10bn quarterly loss today. The group is also in the throes of a corruption scandal, dubbed ‘carwash’. The scandal has gone to the top ranks of government and some of its former executives have been jailed. Yesterday police arrested a man in Portugal who was laundering payments for two of the jailed execs. Petrobras has significantly reduced its spending and is looking to raise more than $14bn by selling some of its assets. To make matters worse, Brazil is knee-deep in the worst recession the nation has seen for a hundred years, leading to a weak home demand for fuel. Thankfully one forward thinker was able to see the entertainment value in all of it:
'Narcos' executive producer developing series on Petrobras corruption scandal: https://t.co/JLAo5bYqxt
— Speakeasy (@WSJspeakeasy) 21 March 2016
eSports platform Gfinity (LON:GFIN) saw losses widen causing the share price to tank more than 15%. Although revenues for the first half rose more than fourfold to £624,000, the group was hit by high administrative costs and one-off investment expenditure. Revenue for the full year is also expected to fall short of targets due to contract delays.
Warning of the day: online sports co Gfinity expects revenue from new sponsorships delayed to next FY. $GFIN.L dives 20%.
— MrContrarian (@MrContrarian) 22 March 2016
“Looking ahead, the eSports sector is growing unabated and the potential opportunities for Gfinity remain vast. We have now created a very strong position from which to monetise,” assured chief executive Neville Upton.