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Bloomberg The Philippines has temporarily barred doctors, nurses and other health workers from leaving for overseas work amid the coronavirus outbreak, a move that irked its top diplomat who pledged to fight the ban. The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration issued a resolution on April 2 halting the departure of workers in 14 medical professions for the duration of the nation’s ...

Bloomberg China’s largest food-delivery site Meituan has hit back against allegations that it charged onerous commissions to restaurants during the Covid-19 outbreak, underscoring the delicate balance the company must strike to get its business back on track. Responding to complaints from a restaurant association in the southern province of Guangdong, Meituan said its average profit per delivery order was less ...

Bloomberg China’s securities regulator punished two high-flying startups for misleading shareholders, barring them access to public markets for new funding. Shares of Ningbo Ronbay New Energy Technology Co and Zhejiang HangKe Technology Inc closed down at least 10% in Shanghai after the companies were told they wouldn’t be allowed to sell stocks or bonds publicly for a year. The punishment ...

Bloomberg Gross domestic product (GDP) in the Latin America and Caribbean region, excluding Venezuela, is expected to shrink 4.6% in 2020, according to the World Bank. The dramatic drop in demand from China and G7 countries due to the Covid-19 pandemic is affecting commodity exporters in South America and exporters of manufactured goods and services in Central America and the ...

Bloomberg The UK has paid out more than 1 billion pounds ($1.25 billion) to small businesses across the country to help them weather the coronavirus pandemic. Almost 100,000 firms have so far drawn on the cash from the government’s grants programs for small businesses, retailers and the hospitality sector, the Local Government Association said in an emailed statement on Monday. ...

Bloomberg Mexico’s employment market had its worst March in a quarter of a century as the global coronavirus pandemic took its toll on Latin America’s second largest economy. The country lost more than 130,500 jobs in the month from February after the employment market shrank 0.6%, according to a statement from the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS). The net job ...

Bloomberg Argentina will make an offer to its creditors “in the coming days” that will reflect the economic hit from the coronavirus pandemic, President Alberto Fernandez said in a newspaper interview. While debt talks are “going well,” calculations of debt sustainability will be affected by the impact of the virus, Fernandez was quoted as saying by Perfil. “The coronavirus affects ...

Bloomberg The G-20 is close to a deal to allow lower income countries to freeze their government debt repayments, the Financial Times reported. The deal would put a moratorium on payments for at least six to nine months, with the possibility of going through to 2021. The move would be part of a plan to help the nations grapple with ...

Bloomberg As the coronavirus pandemic leads to anxiety over the strength of the world’s food supply chains, everyone from governments to banks are turning to the skies for help. Orbital Insight, a California-based Big Data company that uses satellites, drones, balloons and cell phone geolocation data to track what’s happening on Earth, has seen inquiries about monitoring food supplies double ...

ABU DHABI / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, on Sunday launched the National Home Testing Programme for People of Determination, for UAE citizens and residents, to ensure all segments of the community have adequate access to testing facilities. The new programme supports ...