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UAE activates remote work system from today for two weeks

ABU DHABI / WAM The Federal Authority For Government Human Resources (FAHR) will activate the Remote Work System for all ministries, authorities, and federal institutions, effective from Sunday (March 29] for a renewable period of two weeks. According to the decision, which will be subject to revision and reassessment, a maximum of 30 percent of the workforce of each entity ...

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TRA says UAE mobile phone disconnections put on hold

DUBAI / WAM In support of “Stay Home” initiative, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) in the UAE issued a circular to the telecommunications companies to put on hold the suspension and disconnection of mobile services due to the expiry of the supporting documents and the Emirates ID. Accordingly, mobile service of subscribers with expired ID documents will not be disconnected ...

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Chinese health firm that just started selling masks launches IPO

Bloomberg A Chinese maker of medicines and health supplements that recently added surgical masks and other “anti-epidemic” products to its portfolio launched a Hong Kong initial public offering on March 26. Tycoon Group Holdings Ltd is touting itself as a “top anti-epidemic pick” as it seeks to raise about HK$400 million ($52 million), according to Soochow Securities Co, one of ...

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Japan says its economy is ‘extremely depressed’

Bloomberg Japan’s government slashed its assessment of the economy, downgrading a range of components hit by the coronavirus pandemic as schools were shut, factory production lines halted and the Olympics postponed. In its monthly report for March, the Cabinet Office cut its view of the economy, characterising it as in a “severe situation” and “extremely depressed” by the virus outbreak. ...

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All eyes on China’s Wuhan for way back after lockdowns

Bloomberg The lockdown that has gripped the original epicenter of the coronavirus for more than two months is finally set to end, spurring investors into action as they gauge which companies will benefit most. The resumption of movement in and out of Wuhan, scheduled for April 8, may serve as a template for markets the world over that have been ...

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China to ramp up stimulus as Covid-19 impact widens

Bloomberg China’s top leaders pledged to widen the fiscal deficit and sell sovereign debt, signalling that Beijing is preparing larger-scale stimulus to counter the economic fallout from the coronavirus. China will increase its fiscal deficit as a share of gross domestic product, issue special sovereign debt and allow local governments to sell more infrastructure bonds as part of a package ...

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Singapore advises public to stay indoors and buy food online

Bloomberg Singapore advised the public to stay at home in its latest effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus, a day after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the city state is facing a grave economic challenge posed by the pandemic. The public should only head to malls for essential items such as food, the government said in an ...

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Covid-19: India likely to miss sugar export target

Bloomberg Sugar mills in India, the world’s third-biggest shipper, will probably miss their export target this year as a nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disrupts logistics at ports. The country won’t be able to ship 5 million tons in the year to September, as expected earlier, because of a shortage of labor at ports and mills, ...

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IMF to make $50b available in emergency aid

Bloomberg The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will provide $50 billion in emergency facilities to low-income and emerging-market countries to mitigate the economic shocks of the coronavirus, including $10 billion in concessional loans. “Our member countries need us more than ever,” the IMF said on its website Wednesday. “Discussions between IMF teams and country officials are advancing quickly.” The IMF has received ...

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Canada workers face Covid-19 slump

Bloomberg They’d just bet millions on a hotel makeover, were waiting tables while pursuing their dream, or toiling in an already tough oil market. Canadians have seen their world upended in a matter of days as the coronavirus shuts down huge swaths of the economy. Now, they’re trying to figure out how to make ends meet and negotiate a maze ...

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