Bloomberg US airlines probably will avoid applying for some $25 billion in loans under a federal aid package designed to help them survive the collapse in travel from the new coronavirus, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. But the carriers will tap a similar amount in cash assistance for payrolls that should eliminate the risk of near-term bankruptcies, JPMorgan analyst ...
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Malaysia explores M&A, debt measures to bail out airlines
Bloomberg Malaysia is exploring the possibility of bailing out domestic airlines that have been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Officials have been studying ideas including setting up a vehicle to take over the debt of companies like Malaysia Airlines Bhd and AirAsia Group Bhd, the people said. The government is also ...
Read More »Nike’s corporate playbook to cope with virus worldwide
Bloomberg Nike Inc doesn’t have a cure for coronavirus, but the company does have a plan for coping with the pandemic globally. After delivering better-than-expected quarterly results, the sportswear giant’s top executives discussed their experiences dealing with the virus in China — Nike’s top growth market and the place where the Covid-19 outbreak began. They expect the disruption and recovery ...
Read More »Vietnam PM orders cut in flights from Hanoi
Bloomberg Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc ordered the transport ministry to cut the number of flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to other Vietnamese cities from March 28 as the government moves to slow the novel coronavirus outbreak across the country, according to a post on government’s website. This suspension of flights could last a week or longer, ...
Read More »One institution in US is working: The Fed
As the coronavirus crisis has rocked the world, America has been a sluggish and unreliable global leader except in one critical area — the Federal Reserve’s prompt moves to pump cash into traumatised international financial markets. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome H Powell has been innovative in creating new monetary tools that can keep money and confidence flowing. The system was ...
Read More »Covid-19: Will armchair experts stop
One of the noteworthy aspects of our current coronavirus moment is the rapid proliferation of self-appointed data analysts. These armchair epidemiologists seem to believe they can project the trajectory of Covid-19 better than actual epidemiologists who have spent their whole careers studying the spread of disease. You know who I’m talking about: It’s not just the guy on Medium whose ...
Read More »Bored, isolated citizens are a win for Facebook
The tension between the media and technology industries has long been characterised as a fight for users’ attention. The more of it they have, the greater the opportunity to sell new products and services. The advertising technology giants Facebook Inc and Google have turned that into a $200 billion-a-year business. Now that millions of people are stuck at home trying ...
Read More »Hoarding chloroquine won’t cure coronavirus
The need for any kind of treatment to help stem the coronavirus outbreak is acute as cases and hospitalisations continue to mount. But there’s a strong need to balance urgency and evidence. President Donald Trump’s cheerleading of chloroquine and its derivative hydroxychloroquine — older malaria drugs with limited evidence of efficacy in Covid-19 — is arguably dangerous. As he touts ...
Read More »Modi’s India shutdown an unprecedented gamble
Since 2016, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced at a prime-time television address that he was withdrawing most of India’s currency overnight, such speeches have been preceded by wild speculation. Modi’s message was even starker than most expected. From midnight [March 24], this country of 1.3 billion will shut down: “For 21 days, forget what going out means.†Modi is ...
Read More »Sheltered in place? Then make masks
It’s no secret that US hospitals are facing a dire shortage of personal protection equipment for their workers. The surgeon general even urged the public to stop buying masks, stating, “They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if health care providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities ...
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