International News

Bloomberg SoftBank Group Corp unveiled a plan to raise as much as 4.5 trillion yen ($41 billion) over the coming year to buy back stock and slash debt, a dramatic attempt to reassure investors about the stability of its empire amid fallout from the global outbreak of Covid-19. Billionaire Masayoshi Son’s investment giant said it’s authorised the sale or monetisation ...

Bloomberg Baby Devi has already lost 80% of her monthly earnings to the spread of the coronavirus — and the worst in India may be yet to come. The 38-year-old mother of four, who cleans homes for a living, lost jobs with two of her three employers. Like many relatively well-off Indians, they’ve begun social distancing to fight the highly ...

Bloomberg India is facing an economic shock as many parts of the country go into lockdown and the government will have to spend more and abandon fiscal deficit targets to cope, analysts said. Growth may weaken to 3% in the first three months of this year from 4.3% estimated previously, according to Oxford Economics, while Jefferies sees room for the ...

Bloomberg Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard predicted the US unemployment rate may hit 30% in the second quarter because of shutdowns to combat the coronavirus, with an unprecedented 50% drop in gross domestic product. Bullard called for a powerful fiscal response to replace the $2.5 trillion in lost income that quarter to ensure a strong eventual ...

Bloomberg Germany signed off on taking on billions in new debt as part of an unprecedented package totaling more than 750 billion euros ($800 billion) to cushion the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Under a supplementary budget, the government will borrow 156 billion euros to fund additional social spending and direct company aid. Germany has also agreed to set up ...

Bloomberg Europe’s tech companies announced nearly $500 million in deals on Monday as venture-capital backed firms defied the gloomy markets. Lilium, an Uber-like service for private jets, closed a funding round of more than $240 million to continue development of its electric air taxis and to build manufacturing facilities, the Munich-based company said. The round was raised by existing investors, ...

Bloomberg The UK government stepped in to shore up the country’s rail operators after Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Britons they face “tougher measures” to fight the coronavirus outbreak, including a potential full lockdown if they continue to ignore calls to stop social gatherings. The Department for Transport said on Monday that it will take on the revenue and cost ...

Bloomberg Italy is being dragged deeper into a recession after the coronavirus outbreak that’s crippling its northern regions forced the government to ban movement inside the country and shutter almost all industrial production. The impact of virus on the economy will be strong even as measures by the European Central Bank and European governments help limit the intensity and length ...

Bloomberg Royal Philips NV is ramping up production of ventilators to double output within the next eight weeks and is targeting a four-fold increase by the third quarter to meet demand from hospitals overwhelmed by patients suffering from severe forms of Covid-19. The most-needed products are vital sign monitors, portable ventilators and medical equipment to treat a range of respiratory ...

Bloomberg Singapore said it will bar all short-term visitors and limit foreign workers from entering to reduce the risk of imported cases of the coronavirus. The government will allow the entry or return of work-permit holders to those providing essential services in sectors such as health-care and transport, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong, who co-chairs a ministerial task force to ...