Bloomberg Ericsson AB, the communications equipment supplier, has started a sale process for Iconectiv, its US call routing unit, people familiar with the matter said. The telecom infrastructure company is working with an adviser on the potential divestment, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Bidders include several private equity firms, the people said. ...

Bloomberg Small businesses that struggled to get loans from a government pandemic relief program still don’t know how much they may have to repay after the government missed a deadline to give specific guidance. The US Small Business Administration (SBA) was supposed to clarify by April 26 how loans it approved as part of the Trump administration’s multitrillion-dollar coronavirus stimulus ...

Bloomberg US President Donald Trump promised a “conclusive” report on the Chinese origins of the coronavirus outbreak, showing relations between the world’s biggest economies are set to remain rocky at least until the next election six months from now. Trump pledged the report in a “virtual town hall” with Fox News, in which he added that he had little doubt ...

Bloomberg The Trump administration’s relentless attacks on China over the cause of the coronavirus outbreak are targeted at a domestic audience in an election year. But they may have the effect of emboldening Beijing’s leaders. President Donald Trump promised a “conclusive” report on the Chinese origins of Covid-19, shortly after Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said — without providing proof ...

Bloomberg Eight people were killed and two were arrested after a group of “mercenaries” Venezuela’s vice president said were backed by the US and Colombia were caught trying to enter along its northern coast near the capital Caracas. Colombia’s government rejected any link to the incident, while Venezuela’s opposition said the alleged attack appeared to be staged. Speed boats came ...

Bloomberg New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she will join an Australian government cabinet meeting on Tuesday to discuss, among other issues, the eventual re-opening of borders between the two nations. Ardern accepted an invitation from Australian counterpart Scott Morrison to join his national cabinet meeting, which includes state premiers, via video link on Tuesday, she told a news ...

Bloomberg Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is facing a growing revolt by Italian business and political rivals against his strategy for ending a nationwide lockdown that’s being eased for the first time on Monday. Criticism of Conte’s recovery plans and anger among small businesses left out of the first phase of easing are percolating after almost two months of restrictions that ...

My good friend Joel Havemann died the other day. No, he wasn’t a victim of the coronavirus. Since early 1990 at age 46, he had been battling Parkinson’s disease, a struggle that he was bound to lose. The more he succeeded in prolonging life, the weaker he would become at the end of life. As his strength dissipated, he would ...

Crises tend to widen fault lines that already exist. The Covid-19 pandemic has been no exception. Before the virus hit, the unbalanced nature of recent economic growth was already straining federal structures around the world, from the US to India to Europe. The current crisis threatens to open new disagreements and deepen old ones — and transform some political entities ...

You can have a good war and still be seriously wounded. South Korea has been relatively successful at controlling Covid-19 infections, and made good progress in reopening its economy. But it’s still suffering a serious downdraft, with consumers pulling back at home and demand collapsing in key trading partners. Some kind of recession for this trade-dependent economy looks assured; only ...