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Bloomberg Singapore home prices fell less than initially estimated in the first quarter, with an extended lockdown threatening to further push down values as the residential property comes to a standstill. Housing prices fell 1% in the three months ended on March 31, data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority showed. That compares to a preliminary estimate of a 1.2% decline. ...

Bloomberg The Philippines is known for training nurses and exporting them to all corners of the world, but now the nation finds itself shorthanded just as its number of coronavirus infections and deaths skyrocket. The islands’ death toll from Covid-19 has surged nearly fivefold since April 1 to 462, and the confirmed cases have tripled to 6,981 as of April ...

Bloomberg German business confidence extended its slump in April with much of the global economy in lockdown and companies anticipating a prolonged period of subdued demand. The Ifo Institute’s index dropped to a record-low 74.3, well below economists’ median estimate. Reduced spending power from millions of furloughed workers and the persistence of the coronavirus pandemic in some of Germany’s largest ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump signed a $484 billion spending package that includes more money for small businesses, the latest bid by Washington lawmakers to rescue an economy devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. “Great for small businesses, great for workers,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “This is a tremendous victory.” The new law would revive a small-business loan program that ...

Bloomberg Intel Corp. withdrew its full-year sales forecast, citing “significant economic uncertainty” caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The company’s shares fell more than 5% in late trading. The world’s largest semiconductor maker reported a 23% jump in first-quarter revenue and better-than-projected profit, bolstered by demand for chips that run the laptops and server machines companies need to keep people working ...

Bloomberg Renault SA is poised to get a state-backed loan of about $5.4 billion to cushion the struggling French carmaker from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic that has clobbered the auto industry. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said the funding package is still under negotiation, while at the same time announcing an even bigger one for Air France-KLM, ...

Bloomberg British insurers are on the hook for more than 1.2 billion pounds ($1.5 billion) in claims from businesses and individuals hit by the coronavirus pandemic, according to the industry’s trade body. Initial estimates put payments for business interruption at 900 million pounds, followed by a record 275 million-pound payout for canceled travel, the Association of British Insurers said on ...

Bloomberg More than a year after the billionaire chairman of Xpeng Motors labelled as “questionable” Tesla Inc.’s allegations that an engineer stole Autopilot secrets before bolting to the Chinese startup, the questions from Elon Musk’s company keep coming. As Tesla tries to amass proof in its lawsuit portraying the engineer as a traitor, it’s asking a judge to force the ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM The Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) helped reunite 400 people from several countries with their families, upon the directives of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in Al Dhafra Region and Chairman of the ERC. The ERC paid for their travel expenses from the UAE to their countries and other related costs, despite ...

Bloomberg Oil refiners are hunting for vessels to store jet-fuel and gasoline that nobody is buying, sending freight rates sharply higher, an indication that the global refining system is fast approaching a breaking point. Until now refiners had mostly been storing unwanted product on site, but the latest indication from the tanker market suggests they are now being forced to ...