Bloomberg When their doors finally open after mandatory shutdowns, American malls could face another hurdle: consumer fears. Only one-third of American adults surveyed said that they will feel safe shopping in a mall after stores reopen, according to a new study by retail predictive analytics company First Insight Inc. More respondents said they’ll feel safe shopping in grocery, drug and ...

Bloomberg E-commerce companies have emerged as a favourite play on Wall Street during the coronavirus pandemic, amid a growing consensus that upcoming results will reveal a potentially permanent shift in consumer behaviour towards online shopping. While online sales have long been growing their market share as a percentage of overall retail spending, the trend has been accelerated as shutdowns force ...

Bloomberg A Walmart Inc store near Denver has been shuttered by local authorities after three people with ties to the location died from coronavirus. The closing came after a series of complaints from employees and shoppers about a lack of social distancing, according to the Tri-County Health Department. This included workers not wearing face masks and too many people in ...

HADRAMAUT / WAM The UAE, through its humanitarian arm, the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) provided 4,000 food parcels weighing 171 tonnes to the residents of Al Shihr district in the Yemeni Governorate of Hadramaut on the occasion of the Holy Month of Ramadan. The aid package was administered in line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed ...

Bloomberg Oil edged lower for the week after paring losses following the dramatic collapse that saw prices in New York plunge below zero for the first time in history. West Texas Intermediate for June delivery rose 2.7%, closing the curtain on a tumultuous week of wild price swings. US operators have started to shut old wells and halt new drilling, ...

Bloomberg The European Union’s (EU) foreign and diplomatic wing said there’s evidence of a “coordinated push” by official Chinese sources to deflect blame for the coronavirus pandemic and promote its response to the virus. Official Chinese sources have been “publicising announcements and deliveries of bilateral assistance, with polls in certain countries showing China being perceived as more helpful in fighting ...

Bloomberg India distributed about $14 each to more than 350 million people to ease their financial stress amid a nationwide lockdown enforced to prevent the coronavirus from spreading, the government said. The assistance totaling more than 370 billion rupees ($4.84 billion) was given under a state program named “PM Garib Kalyan,” KS Dhatwalia, a spokesman for the administration said. That’s ...

Bloomberg The Trump administration faces significant hurdles in getting the Federal Reserve to help rescue an oil industry squeezed by plunging crude prices given the central bank’s aversion to helping specific industries and its lack of authority to help businesses that are insolvent. The Fed regards loan programmes aimed at a specific industry as credit allocation — something Chairman Jerome ...

Bloomberg India Grid Trust, an infrastructure investment trust backed by private equity fund KKR & Co and Singapore’s GIC Pte, is looking to add as much as $786 million of solar power projects to its portfolio and expects some financially stressed assets to become available in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The move is part of the firm’s plan ...

Bloomberg The rebound in oil after a historic crash drove a surge in ETFs that track energy producers amid skeptical calls from analysts. State Street’s $2 billion SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF, or XOP, has jumped about 40% so far in April — on track for its best month on record. Meanwhile, the $8.8 billion Energy ...