International News

Bloomberg The world’s governments and central banks are shifting from rescue to recovery mode as the deepest slump since the Great Depression shows signs of bottoming out. After rolling out trillions of dollars worth of measures to prevent their economies and markets from collapsing, they are now doubling down with even more spending to backstop a recovery as coronavirus lockdowns ...

Bloomberg AstraZeneca Plc has approached rival drugmaker Gilead Sciences Inc. about a potential merger, according to people familiar with the matter, in what would be the biggest health-care deal on record. The UK-based firm contacted Gilead last month about a possible tie-up, the people said, asking not to be identified because the details are private. AstraZeneca didn’t specify terms for ...

Bloomberg The US economy is unlikely to snap back quickly and may not return to normal until 2021, according to the chief of one of the nation’s biggest ports, after a government report raised hopes for a faster-than-expected rebound from a pandemic-induced recession. Even after the Labour Department’s surprisingly positive numbers on employment in May, “I’m still not convinced that ...

Bloomberg An investment company backed by billionaire banker Joseph Safra is considering a takeover bid for airport foreign exchange provider Travelex Holdings Ltd, the Mail on Sunday reported, citing financial industry sources. The Safra bid comes after Finablr-owned Travelex appointed PWC to find a buyer for the unit. On April 30, Finablr disclosed that its debt burden stood at around ...

Bloomberg Canada’s labour market is showing signs of strength after months of Covid-19 destruction, but weakness in the jobs market for women is holding back the pace of the recovery. Recent labour market data show men are disproportionately benefiting from the phased reopening of the economy while women are struggling. In May, men recouped 14% of the nearly 1.5 million ...

Bloomberg Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki is optimistic that the country’s economy will perform better than expected by analysts this year, thanks in part to government relief efforts. The European Union forecast a 4.3% decline in Poland’s gross domestic product in 2020, the best performance expected among the bloc’s 27 nations during the coronavirus pandemic. The median forecast from a ...

Bloomberg German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz is planning to raise more debt this year and next to help pay for the government’s massive stimulus program. Scholz will propose to raise debt by at least 30 billion euros ($33.9 billion) in a supplement to this year’s budget that will require parliamentary approval, according to people familiar with the discussion. Further borrowing ...

Bloomberg Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said the company will review content policies after employees blasted their leader for his decision to leave up controversial posts from US President Donald Trump. The company will review policies on posts that promote or threaten state use of force or voter suppression techniques, and will also look into options for flagging ...

Bloomberg Bank of Spain Governor Pablo Hernandez de Cos is keeping up pressure on the government and lawmakers to ensure emergency spending on the coronavirus crisis is accompanied with a long-term plan to address the debts it will incur. “The measures have to include prudent forecasts about what would be the results of proposed spending cuts or of a proposed ...

Bloomberg Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said it’s “time to break up Amazon” in a tweet, escalating a rivalry with Amazon.com Inc. CEO Jeff Bezos, another billionaire investing in space exploration. “Monopolies are wrong,” Musk tweeted while tagging Bezos, the world’s wealthiest man. The online retailer is among tech companies being scrutinised by federal regulators and lawmakers for ...