Bloomberg Europe’s economy suffered a massive blow in April when government restrictions to contain the coronavirus left companies scrambling to stay afloat. An estimate of private-sector activity in the euro area plunged to just 13.5 from 29.7 in March, IHS Markit said on Thursday. The drop was far sharper than economists had anticipated and marks the lowest reading for the ...

Bloomberg Pacific Investment Management Co. is seeking to raise another $3 billion for a distressed credit fund as the rush to capitalise on dislocations in the fixed-income market grows. Pimco’s latest money pool — Distressed Credit Opportunities Fund III — will invest in public market securities, including corporate credit, according to documents from a Fresno County Employees’ Retirement Association meeting ...

Bloomberg Volkswagen AG is pressing ahead with the manufacturing of the ID.3 electric car and expects to start European deliveries this summer as planned, despite lingering uncertainty surrounding demand for vehicles amid the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Efforts to finish the car’s software are “on the home stretch” and the schedule for the rollout at VW’s German factory in Zwickau remains ...

Bloomberg German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a Europe-wide economic stimulus program to be financed by the European Union’s budget, making a national appeal that helping its partners would be good for Germany. “A European growth program could support an upswing over the next two years and we’ll work for that,” Merkel said in a speech to the lower house ...

Bloomberg Italy’s government expects its budget deficit to spiral to 10.4% of gross domestic product (GDP) this year as the economy paralysed by a nationwide lockdown is seen shrinking by 8%. The government is set to request parliamentary approval for broadening the budget deficit by 55 billion euros ($59.4 billion) to fund a new stimulus package, according to officials, who ...

Bloomberg The coronavirus pandemic is putting untold pressure on the supply chains that produce and transport the world’s food. Yet there’s one vital factor even harder to control than panic buying — the weather. A period of extreme weather that devastates harvests could force countries to deploy more protectionist food policies, creating a ripple effect through global trade. Concerns over ...

Bloomberg Zoom Video Communications Inc., the San Jose, California-based company, has been lambasted for its security flaws, but the backlash hasn’t slowed growth. The company reported a 50% surge in use of the online meeting application in the past three weeks. On April 21, more than 300 million people used Zoom’s flagship videoconferencing app, up from about 200 million on ...

Bloomberg Whatever the state of Kim Jong-un’s health, he has already put North Korea in its strongest position to resist US pressure in decades. Eight years after Kim filled the power vacuum left by the death of his reclusive father, Kim Jong Il, North Korea is more secure and less isolated. The 36-year-old supreme leader has achieved two key marks ...

Bloomberg Scotland broke with the UK government to set out what needs to happen before the nationwide lockdown imposed to limit the spread of the coronavirus can be lifted. It is time for a “grown up” conversation with the country, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told reporters in Edinburgh on Thursday, days after UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock ruled out ...

Bloomberg India has opened a new all-weather access in a disputed part of its border with China to enable faster movement of troops and artillery, another potential irritant in relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. The new bridge, which can take 40 tons of weight, was built in Arunachal Pradesh in India’s remote northeast, a region that’s claimed by China ...