International News

Bloomberg India’s government is likely to divide the country into three zones — red, orange and green — during the proposed extended period of lockdown and might permit a few services to function in safe zones, the Economic Times reported, citing people it didn’t identify. No activity will be allowed in the red zones where sizable number of cases were ...

Bloomberg Canadian lawmakers approved a bill to subsidise wages by 75% in a bid to stabilize the economy as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the coronavirus his generation’s greatest challenge yet. The flagship C$73 billion ($52 billion) program — more than one-quarter of the government’s emergency fiscal plan to date — was passed in an emergency sitting of the House ...

Bloomberg Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government plans to dramatically ramp up stimulus measures to prop up an economy that is lurching towards recession. The government will roll out about 1 trillion rubles ($13.5 billion) of new spending, according to two people familiar with the plans, who asked not to be named because discussions are ongoing. Some of the money will ...

Bloomberg Virgin Trains USA is poised to win $10 million in tax credits from California’s economic development agency for its proposed passenger rail to Las Vegas from a southern California desert city. The company, backed by Fortress Investment Group private equity funds, has said the project will generate construction jobs and full-time and part-time posts, as well as boost housing ...

Bloomberg UK businesses are struggling to access the cash they need as government efforts fall short, according to the British Chambers of Commerce. Just 1% of companies surveyed by the BCC had managed to access Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). Eight percent said they had been unsuccessful, citing the complexity of the application process, slow responses ...

Bloomberg Ride-hailing company Bolt Technology OU is seeking credit support from the Estonian government after a switch to quarantine-friendly services didn’t make up for lost revenue and it couldn’t access bank lending under existing state guarantee terms. The service formerly known as Taxify, a rival to Uber Technologies Inc., is asking for $54 million in loans through a state fund ...

Bloomberg In late March, Arnold Mergell delivered an urgent message to Germany’s political elite. Standing in front of a row of blue metal barrels, he complained that the funds needed by small and mid-sized companies like his to survive the coronavirus crisis weren’t getting through fast enough. “The bazooka’s been loaded, but the trigger is stuck,” said Mergell, who runs ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong is catching up with global peers in its fiscal response to the coronavirus outbreak with the announcement of an “unprecedented” HK$137.5 billion ($17.7 billion) stimulus package focussed on avoiding mass job losses. The fresh stimulus raises inevitable comparisons with spending measures unveiled by its geographic neighbour and financial-hub rival Singapore, with the two governments among the first ...

Bloomberg Doctors are accounting for a large proportion of deaths from Covid-19 in the Philippines and Indonesia, two of the most medically under-served nations in Southeast Asia. At least 26 doctors have died in Indonesia out of the country’s toll of 240 while in the Philippines about a dozen have passed away among the 182 fatalities, according to the latest ...

Bloomberg Freelancers and entrepreneurs are the worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on Malaysia. Statistics department found 46.6% of self-employed workers lost their livelihood while 23.8% of entrepreneurs reported the same, according to a March 18-31 survey. Among the sectors, agriculture was most affected with 21.9% of respondents saying they’ve lost their jobs, followed by services industry with 15%. ...