News

Bloomberg German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz is planning a 57 billion-euro ($62 billion) aid package to help municipalities being hit by the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, a person familiar with the matter said. The plan, which Scholz announced on Saturday without giving the size of the measures, would help local governments cover outstanding debt and tax shortfalls caused ...

Bloomberg Italy is set to open businesses, while Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s government decided to unblock the country’s national borders and allow citizens to move freely within country starting June 3. Italians will be allowed full free movement, according to a government decree published in the early hours of Saturday morning. The statement confirmed that some businesses will reopen May ...

Bloomberg France is at higher risk of a credit downgrade by Fitch after the outlook on the country’s AA rating was revised to negative. Fitch cited the substantial worsening in public finances and economic activity expected this year due to the pandemic. “The combination of much reduced economic activity due to containment measures introduced from March and government policies to ...

Bloomberg Tesla Inc. told employees it received approval to resume operations at its factory after Elon Musk threatened to move the company’s headquarters and future programs following a move by a California county to block the reopening. The company said Alameda County’s interim health officer had approved its Fremont work plan and safe measures, according to an email sent to ...

Bloomberg More than $8 trillion has been thrown at the Covid-19 crisis by governments around the globe and hundreds of billions more by central banks from Washington to Wellington. And that means investors are finding a swath of opportunities from investment-grade bonds to emerging-market equities. Looking where central banks themselves are buying, even if it’s been well flagged, still has ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Abu Dhabi University (ADU) College of Engineering (COE) has rallied its engineering labs to join the fight against Covid-19, and by working closely with hospitals in Abu Dhabi produced over 1,000 clips required for face masks within just two days. Additionally, ADU has successfully developed its first prototype of a face shield to be provided ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Mohammed Rashid Al Marzouqi, Executive Director of Relations at Etihad Rail, stated that the total value of contracts for the second phase of its national railway network project amounted to AED18 billion. In his exclusive statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM) Al Marzouqi said the project is progressing well, and Etihad Rail has begun construction ...

Bloomberg The government of Nigeria, whose revenue could be slashed by more than half this year due to the oil-price slump, finalised plans for a revised budget that keeps spending almost intact, and that will mean more borrowing. Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed got approval from the West African’s nation’s cabinet to go ahead with the new budget that cuts expenditure ...

Dubai / WAM The Auto Renewal service of Dubai Economy accounted for 68 percent of the trade licences renewed (49,997) during the first four months of this year. Among them 73 percent were commercial, and 24 percent were professional. The Business Registration & Licencing (BRL) sector in Dubai Economy also witnessed a 62 percent increase in auto renewal transactions during ...

DUBAI / WAM Local tourism and domestic travel are expected to lead the UAE and wider GCC’s recovery from Covid-19 as we begin to see the easing of lockdown restrictions, according to the latest research released ahead of Arabian Travel Market (ATM) Virtual, a newly-launched three-day event that will take place from June 1-3. The research from Colliers International, in ...