Bloomberg The trial of Malaysia’s former leader Najib Razak for his alleged role in 1MDB will resume next week as the country relaxes its lockdown. All relevant parties including Najib have been told to attend court on May 13, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib. The country allowed nearly all sectors of the economy to reopen starting on Monday ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong’s downturn is now the worst on record, extending the first recession seen in a decade as the coronavirus outbreak further battered an economy already weakened by political unrest. The city’s economy contracted 8.9% in the first quarter from year-ago levels, according to advance government data. The decline surpasses the previous record of -8.3% in the third quarter ...

Bloomberg Generating power without harmful carbon emissions has never been more urgent, yet one of the biggest sources of clean power is struggling to turn a profit. The nuclear industry has been vying for a role as the perfect partner to the surging, but intermittent, renewables sector for years, citing its role as a stable source of emissions-free power. Nations ...

Bloomberg A Russian pipe-laying ship that could help finish the Nord Stream 2 gas link to Europe has anchored at the Baltic Sea port of Kaliningrad after sailing for three months from the Pacific. The Akademik Cherskiy, which has changed destinations several times on its way, recently signaled it was set to arrive in Kaliningrad, tanker tracking data show. Late ...

Bloomberg The Philippines will impose a temporary 10% increase in the import duties of crude oil and refined petroleum products to raise funds for the government’s coronavirus response. The new rates, which will take effect immediately, shall be reverted when international oil prices increase and hit triggers set by the Department of Energy, according to President Rodrigo Duterte’s May 2 ...

Bloomberg European manufacturing will take a long time to overcome the damage caused by the coronavirus, after suffering an unprecedented slump in April. In its monthly report on factories, IHS Markit said the recovery from shutdowns will be “frustratingly slow.” With economies still not running at full speed for some time, that means businesses and jobs will remain under threat. ...

Bloomberg Telefonica SA and John Malone’s Liberty Global Plc have never been closer to finally creating the UK’s biggest telecom operator after flirting with various combinations over the years. Racing for a potential announcement as early as this week, talks hinge in part on striking equal control for the merger of O2 and Virgin Media, while structuring a deal that’ll ...

Bloomberg Canada officially entered a recession in the first quarter of 2020, according to the C.D. Howe Institute. Preliminary data for the first quarter showed a deep contraction in economic activity coupled with a weakening labour market. This was enough to suggest the country fell into a recession, the report said. The institute concluded that Canada hit the peak of ...

Bloomberg UK business confidence slumped the most on record last quarter as financial leaders said they see no quick recovery from the coronavirus downturn. On average, the 104 chief financial officers (CFOs) in Deloitte’s quarterly survey said they expect revenues this year to be more than a fifth lower than previously anticipated. Most said they do not see demand recovering ...

Bloomberg The UK risks failing to recruit the 50,000 customs agents the logistics industry says are needed before Britain’s final parting with the European Union, spelling potential chaos at the country’s busiest border. The coronavirus hampered efforts to train staff to handle the extra paperwork firms will need to complete after the UK exits the EU’s customs union at the ...