International News

Trump’s student-loan order keeps $1.2tn of debt on ice till 2021

Bloomberg President Donald Trump’s decision to extend a student-loan freeze will take away a financial risk for tens of millions of US households, who now won’t have to resume paying back about $1.2 trillion of debt until at least 2021. The measure, one of four executive actions Trump took on August 8, keeps both repayments and the accumulation of interest ...

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Hertz seeks bankruptcy loan

Bloomberg Hertz Global Holdings Inc. is seeking debtor-in-possession financing more than two months after filing for Chapter 11 protection, reflecting the reality that it still faces trouble ahead if travel doesn’t bounce back. The bankrupt rental-car giant said it is looking for new sources of cash with the travel business in a deep slump and proceeds from the sale of ...

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Trudeau taps Carney for help in crafting recovery program

Bloomberg Mark Carney, the only person to run two major nations’ central banks, is helping Justin Trudeau craft next steps in a plan to pull Canada out of a deep recession sparked by the coronavirus. Five months after stepping down as Bank of England governor, Carney has become an informal adviser on policy matters with the Canadian prime minister. Trudeau ...

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Finland to force quarantine on travellers

Bloomberg Finland will quarantine travellers from most of the world to halt the spread of Covid-19. Just 25 countries are currently exempt from the mandatory quarantine, Krista Kiuru, minister for family affairs and social services, told reporters. Passengers who fail to comply face at most three months jail time or a fine and airlines will be required to disclose transit ...

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Visa beats Google’s record low yield in debut green bond sale

Bloomberg Visa sold bonds at a record low yield as it became the first consumer finance company to issue debt to fund environmentally friendly projects. The world’s largest payments network, sold $3.25 billion of debt in three parts. The shortest portion of the deal is a seven-year green note with at 0.75% coupon, sliding past Google parent Alphabet Inc.’s record ...

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Trump orders extended jobless benefits, payroll tax deferral

Bloomberg President Donald Trump announced four executive actions on Saturday, including continued expanded unemployment benefits and a temporary payroll tax deferral for some workers, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to hobble the US economy. Trump also ordered continued eviction protection and student-loan relief. The moves could jeopardise negotiations with congressional Democrats over an additional coronavirus relief package, with the two ...

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Mexico’s tourism website in a daze due to strange translations

Bloomberg The sometimes literal nature of automated translation programs has tripped up plenty of tourists — or in the case of Mexico, its entire tourism board. Operators of the Visitmexico.com website were left red-faced when the English version of the tourism information portal suddenly sprouted a series of comic or literal translations. Confusion escalated to the point where Mexico’s government ...

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Florida luxury train cuts ties with Branson

Bloomberg Florida luxury train operator Brightline is dropping plans to rebrand as Virgin Trains USA and ending its relationship with Richard Branson’s Virgin Enterprises. The company had entered into a branding deal with Virgin in advance of a planned initial public offering, which was scrapped indefinitely on pricing day in February 2019. At the time, the companies touted synergies between ...

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Pandemic puts millions of Europeans on path to a debt crisis

Bloomberg More economic upheaval is on the horizon in Europe as plans to end the unprecedented support for workers during the coronavirus pandemic threaten to tip millions of households into a debt trap. Organisations that help individuals sort out their financial problems are warning of a sharp increase in the number of families burdened by bills they can’t pay. Even ...

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Trump’s WeChat ban could hurt iPhone sales in China

Bloomberg President Donald Trump’s order banning US companies from doing business with Chinese messaging app WeChat could damage iPhone sales in one of Apple Inc.’s most important markets. The order would block all transactions involving WeChat, which would prohibit Apple from distributing WeChat to mobile devices through its App Store. WeChat is central to digital life in China. It’s the ...

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