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Bloomberg Canada cut the projected cost of its wage subsidy program while boosting the price tag for direct support to individuals, suggesting a slow return to work in the wake of Covid-19. The federal government’s wage subsidy program, meant to be its flagship measure to buffer the economy from the pandemic, will cost C$45 billion ($33 billion), 38% less than ...

Bloomberg The European Union (EU) said its trade with the rest of the world would slump this year by as much as 868 billion euros ($963 billion), or more than 10%, in a gloomier updated forecast that offers fresh evidence of the global economic damage caused by the coronavirus. EU exports of goods and services will fall by 282 billion ...

Bloomberg Portugal will delay the planned reopening of malls in the Lisbon region after recording new clusters of the coronavirus outbreak. Malls in the area will remain closed until June 4, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said at a press conference. Portugal reported the biggest daily increase in coronavirus cases in three weeks due to new infections in the region. The ...

Bloomberg Argentina and its key bondholders are getting closer to a $65 billion debt restructuring deal after the country defaulted on its overseas debt for the ninth time in its history. While still at odds over several key issues, the latest changes in the proposals by the government and two groups of creditors published signal the difference between both sides ...

Bloomberg The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved an $11 billion credit line for Peru as the South American nation’s economy endures a slump that may be the deepest in more than a century. The two-year flexible credit line is a precautionary measure that should boost market confidence and provide insurance against downside risks, the fund said. Peru becomes the third ...

Bloomberg UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak kept the spending taps firmly on as he announced plans to taper his job support program, unveiling an incremental withdrawal in a bid to avert a mass wave of unemployment this summer. Self-employed workers will be offered a further grant of as much as 6,570 pounds ($8,082) in August to cover another ...

Dubai / WAM DP World has announced the completion of the early stages of the integration with TradeLens, a blockchain-based digital container logistics platform, jointly developed by A.P. Moller – Maersk and IBM. The collaboration between DP World and the TradeLens platform will help accelerate the digitisation of global supply chains. DP World aims to connect all its 82 marine ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM National banks invested AED200 million ($54.45 million) in local stock markets in April after stock prices reached attractive levels, an increase of 2.2 percent compared to March. This investment led to an increase in the prices of many stocks, which positively affected general indexes over the past weeks. Attractive stock prices encouraged individuals and traders to ...

Bloomberg South Africa is seeking investments from multilateral lenders, commercial banks and pension funds in what a senior ruling party official said will be a $20.5 billion infrastructure program. The program will focus on “network industries such as rail and ports, energy, broadband connectivity, water, sanitation and human settlements,” Paul Mashatile, the treasurer-general of the African National Congress, said in ...

Bloomberg Oil extended declines after an industry report showed US crude inventories swelled for the first time in three weeks. Futures fell 1.4% in New York, following Wednesday’s 4.5% decrease. The American Petroleum Institute reported that stockpiles expanded by 8.73 million barrels last week, according to people familiar with the data, raising questions about the strength of the market’s return ...