International News

Bloomberg India cancelled passenger trains and various states asked non-essential services to shut, as the world’s second-most populous country heads toward a complete lockdown to prevent the coronavirus from spreading locally. All except a bare minimum rail services will stop operating through March 31, the Ministry of Railways said in a statement on Sunday, hours into a self-imposed curfew called ...

Bloomberg About a week into the month-long lockdown of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon, businessmen are calling for a 281 billion peso ($5.52 billion) fiscal stimulus to soften the economic blow of the spreading coronavirus outbreak that has displaced millions of workers. More than 700 factories and 400 economic zones have been shut, while doctors are warning of a ...

Bloomberg India will set up a nearly 100-billion-rupee ($1.3 billion) fund to encourage companies to manufacture pharmaceutical ingredients domestically after supply chain disruptions due to the coronavirus pandemic exposed the country’s dependence on China and raised the specter of drug shortages. The programme includes spending on infrastructure for drug manufacturing centers, and financial incentives of up to 20% of incremental ...

Bloomberg China’s mass deployment of medical aid to fight the coronavirus reached Africa as Ethiopia received its first shipment of supplies, including protective gear and test kits, for distribution across the continent from billionaire Jack Ma. The Horn of Africa nation received 5.4 million face masks, more than 1 million testing kits, 40,000 items of protective clothing and 60,000 sets ...

Bloomberg Malaysia’s economy is set to grow at its slowest pace since the 2009 financial crisis as it struggles with a trio of troubles: coronavirus, oil-price crash and political upheaval. Analysts from Fitch Ratings to United Overseas Bank Ltd now expect Malaysia’s economy to grow about 2% this year. That compares with the government’s estimate that gross domestic product will ...

Bloomberg The European Union’s (EU) executive arm said this year’s recession may be much worse than previously anticipated, proposing a suspension of the bloc’s draconian fiscal rules to cushion the fallout from a deadly viral outbreak that has brought its economy to a halt. “Assuming an extension of the health crisis up to the beginning of June or beyond, the ...

Bloomberg The US risks losing $4 trillion in corporate revenue on the back of the novel coronavirus without “meaningful fiscal or monetary intervention,” according to the world’s biggest hedge fund. The loss would shrink the economy by more than 6%, executives at Bridgewater Associates wrote in a report. “We see the most extreme decline occurring in the second quarter, where ...

Bloomberg The cries of London’s iconic newspaper vendors are being silenced because the coronavirus is forcing millions of commuters to stay home and advertisers are snapping shut their wallets. The Evening Standard newspaper, which distributes about 800,000 free copies a day in the capital, said it will pivot to home delivery to reach workers who would normally pick up the ...

Bloomberg Financial-technology firms including PayPal Holdings Inc. are lining up to help speed lending to small businesses during the coronavirus crisis — and are pushing for a slice of emergency US government funding. Industry group Financial Innovation Now urged Congress to provide capital to online lenders including PayPal and Square Inc., and to permit firms to disperse Small Businesses Administration ...

Bloomberg Franco Fubini, who founded fruit and vegetables seller Natoora Ltd., is used to charging celebrity chefs a premium price for carefully tended produce, like white peaches from Italy, Sicilian pomegranate and Essex heirloom tomatoes. But in the past week, sales have evaporated. As shoppers empty supermarket shelves of pasta and dried beans, wholesalers like Natoora, which buys from more ...