International News

Bloomberg British insurers are on the hook for more than 1.2 billion pounds ($1.5 billion) in claims from businesses and individuals hit by the coronavirus pandemic, according to the industry’s trade body. Initial estimates put payments for business interruption at 900 million pounds, followed by a record 275 million-pound payout for canceled travel, the Association of British Insurers said on ...

Bloomberg More than a year after the billionaire chairman of Xpeng Motors labelled as “questionable” Tesla Inc.’s allegations that an engineer stole Autopilot secrets before bolting to the Chinese startup, the questions from Elon Musk’s company keep coming. As Tesla tries to amass proof in its lawsuit portraying the engineer as a traitor, it’s asking a judge to force the ...

Bloomberg South Korea’s virus-hit economy suffered the worst contraction since the global financial crisis in the first quarter, with a darkening outlook for global trade suggesting the country may fail to grow this year. Gross domestic product shrank 1.4% in the three months through March from the prior quarter, slightly above economists’ forecast of a 1.5% contraction, according to the ...

Bloomberg Thailand’s cherished Buddhist tradition of giving alms to monks is becoming yet another casualty of the coronavirus pandemic, leaving many of them without enough food. Traditionally, Thais bring food to monks in exchange for blessings when the orange-robed clergy undertake early-morning rounds, but there are far fewer people on the streets because of a partial national lockdown. The nation’s ...

Bloomberg Indonesia’s ride-hailing and food-delivery giant Gojek has acquired a mobile point-of-sale startup called Moka for about $130 million, according to people familiar with the deal. The transaction, which has been under negotiations since last year, was completed about a month ago, said the people, who asked not to be named because the information is private. It hasn’t been announced ...

Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG was stung by the collapse of Luckin Coffee Inc in China following an accounting scandal, which led to a five-fold increase in Asian loan-loss provisions. The Swiss bank set aside 97 million Swiss francs ($100 million) for soured loans, primarily related to three cases, the largest of which was Luckin Coffee, according to a person ...

Bloomberg Social Finance (SoFi) Inc acquired 8 Securities, a Hong Kong mobile investing startup, marking its first expansion outside of the US. Rebranded as SoFi Hong Kong, the company will be the only brokerage service that delivers fee-free stock trading on more than 15,000 US and Hong Kong stocks, as well as exchange traded funds, the company said. The acquisition ...

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 ...