There are a few hard truths worth grappling with when it comes to the Covid-19 pandemic. First, life may not fully return to normal until an effective vaccine is developed, manufactured in mass quantities and distributed worldwide. Anything but the cautious reopening of economies in the meantime will likely lead to significant second-wave outbreaks and renewed physical distancing. There’s no ...

California declared its independence from the federal government’s feeble efforts to fight Covid-19 — and perhaps from a bit more. The consequences for the fight against the pandemic are almost certainly positive. The implications for the brewing civil war between Trumpism and America’s budding 21st-century majority, embodied by California’s multiracial liberal electorate, are less clear. Speaking on MSNBC, Governor Gavin ...

With death rates beginning to peak in Western countries, the epicenter of the coronavirus crisis is moving towards the developing world. Yet bare hospitals, armies of informal workers and sprawling slums mean the poorest nations have struggled to pull down the shutters. Experiences in Asia and elsewhere suggest that limiting chaotic mass migration to rural areas can be a start. ...

Bloomberg The novel coronavirus outbreak has derailed Myanmar’s move to open its stock market to foreign investors. Only two of the country’s five listed securities have attracted international traders since rules were relaxed on March 20, leaving their foreign-shareholding ratios at minimal levels. Officials had hoped to attract funds from both expatriates and non-resident foreigners. “After two trading days when ...

Bloomberg Canada shares rose, capping the biggest one-week advance since January 2009 despite a record plunge in employment in the country and another surge in jobless claims in the US. Investors focused instead on another dose of economic support south of the border. The S&P/TSX Composite index climbed 1.7%, bringing the weekly gain to 9.5%, the biggest since January, 2009, ...

Bloomberg US stocks posted biggest weekly gain since 1974 as investors looked past staggering jobless numbers when Federal Reserve released new measures to cushion fallout from coronavirus. Oil fell as investors saw a supply-curb proposal as insufficient. The S&P 500 Index rallied for the third time in four days, bringing this week’s increase to 12%. The Fed announced another series ...

Bloomberg The Philippine central bank is ready to cut its policy rate to below 3% to support an economy reeling from a “once in a lifetime crisis,” according to Governor Benjamin Diokno. “It is now clear that reverting to where we were in 2018 — policy rate at 3.0% — is no longer an appropriate policy goal,” the governor said ...

Bloomberg JPMorgan Chase & Co will raise mortgage borrowing standards starting Tuesday, Reuters reported, citing Chief Marketing Officer for home lending businesses Amy Bonitatibus. Customers applying for a new mortgage will need a credit score of at least 700 and will be asked to pay 20% of the home’s value as a down payment, according to the report. JPMorgan & ...

Bloomberg The Federal Reserve may not be done with its all-out blitz to help the US economy survive a coronavirus-induced shutdown, even after launching an unprecedented $2.3 trillion in lending programs. The central bank used up only about 40% of the as much as $454 billion in seed capital that Congress provided it in extending help to small and mid-sized ...

Bloomberg The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has raised its stake in Housing Development Finance Corp. to just over 1%. China’s central bank held about 17.5 million shares at the end of March, according to quarterly data filed by India’s biggest mortgage lender to exchanges. It is mandatory for companies to disclose shareholding of more than 1% at the end ...