International News

Bloomberg German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government should finance a stimulus plan worth as much as 150 billion euros ($162 billion) to help offset the economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis, Bavarian state leader Markus Soeder said. Measures taken by Merkel administration, including an existing $610 billion liquidity program for companies, are insufficient, Soeder said. His comments come as the government ...

Bloomberg The Swiss watch industry has survived lickings before, but Rolex, Omega and Cartier now face a combination of economic punches putting them back on their heels. The industry was adapting to downturn from political protests in its largest market, Hong Kong, when coronavirus outbreak hit. Meanwhile, Swiss franc, surging gold prices, and store closures are set to saddle firms ...

Bloomberg As companies and government agencies send their employees home to avoid contact with the coronavirus, many cybersecurity teams are facing the unenviable challenge of securing sprawling, vulnerable networks. Every time an employee connects to their corporate network from home, they’re creating possible access points for hackers to exploit. When this happens 1,000 times on a single network almost overnight, ...

Bloomberg India’s top court ruled out a reassessment of $19 billion in past dues to be paid by telecom companies, a move that could send indebted carrier Vodafone Idea Ltd into bankruptcy. A three-judge panel, headed by Justice Arun Mishra, said it will consider a proposal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration seeking a 20-year payment plan for dues worth ...

Bloomberg Nissan Motor Co will end vehicle manufacturing at its plant in Indonesia as the struggling Japanese company tries to improve profitability. “The end of vehicle production is part of an optimisation plan that includes rightsising, production optimization and reorganising of business operations,” Isao Sekiguchi, president of PT Nissan Motor Indonesia, said in an emailed statement on Wednesday. Chief Executive ...

Bloomberg CanSino Biologics Inc said it received Chinese regulatory approval to start human trials of a vaccine against the novel coronavirus, another example of a potential weapon against the illness being fast-tracked for testing as the global death toll escalates and nations impose lockdowns on their citizens. The vaccine, co-developed by the Hong Kong-listed company and China’s Academy of Military ...

Bloomberg Indonesia has pledged to boost stimulus efforts aimed at countering the coronavirus crisis by as much $1.8 billion, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawti said, as the outlook for Southeast Asia’s biggest economy continues to deteriorate. The government is preparing a raft of new measures to support the economy, Indrawti said on Wednesday, including re-allocating as much as 10 trillion ...

Bloomberg After the coronavirus outbreak caused a nationwide shortage of face masks in January, Chinese officials were quick to ensure that Tesla Inc wouldn’t be left without. China’s government helped the California-based carmaker secure the sought-after supplies that allowed it to reopen at a time when many of its competitors were still shut down. Tesla received 10,000 masks, cases of ...

Bloomberg Angela Merkel signalled she may be open to joint European Union (EU) debt issuance to help offset the impact of the coronavirus, an apparent softening of entrenched German opposition that could transform the finances of the 27-nation bloc. The unexpected opening from the leader of Europe’s dominant economy came after the chancellor and her EU counterparts agreed by video ...

Bloomberg Boris Johnson’s government announced a massive rescue package of loans and grants for businesses in a desperate attempt to stop the coronavirus pandemic wrecking the UK economy. Ministers promised help with mortgage payments, and support for airlines, shops and the hospitality industry, with 350 billion pounds ($424 billion) worth of government-backed loans, grants and tax cuts for struggling companies. ...