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Bloomberg The Spanish government is working to roll out a universal basic income as soon as possible, as part of a battery of actions aimed at countering the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Economy Minister Nadia Calvino. Social Security Minister Jose Luis Escriva is coordinating the project and plans to put some sort of basic income “in place ...

Bloomberg If UK debt issuance is anything to go by, this economic crisis is likely to be far worse than the last. Britain’s Debt Management Office will have to raise sales of government bonds to 285 billion pounds ($352 billion), according to Citigroup Inc. That’s over 50 billion pounds more than during the great financial crisis. Still, gilts have been ...

Bloomberg Italy’s government expanded its powers to block foreign takeovers and prepared a massive injection of liquidity into companies that risk bankruptcy amid the world’s deadliest coronavirus outbreak. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced new economic measures as the country enters its fifth week of lockdown, with all non-essential businesses shuttered and still no plan to relax restrictions. Italy reported 3,599 ...

Bloomberg European companies have been quick to slash or cancel their dividends in response to the coronavirus crisis, fueling calls from market participants that U.S. firms should take heed and preserve cash. The pandemic’s damage to profit as well as regulators’ calls for corporations to preserve liquidity have so far pushed 107 companies in the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index ...

DUBAI / WAM The National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed) acquired an 80 percent stake in Emaar Properties’ Downton Dubai district cooling business. The UAE-based district cooling developer announced the AED2.48 billion ($675 million) acquisition on Monday, noting that Emaar will retain a 20 percent stake as part of the long-term partnership. Downtown Dubai is Emaar’s flagship mega-development at the heart ...

Bloomberg Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced a 108 trillion yen ($989 billion) stimulus package, Japan’s largest ever, to rescue the coronavirus-hit economy with Tokyo and six other economic hubs set to be put in a state of emergency. The package, equivalent to about 20% of the nation’s economic output, will include cash handouts worth 6 trillion yen for households and ...

Bloomberg The European Union (EU) plans to impose tariffs on lighters, plastic fittings from the US in retaliation over controversial American duties on imported steel and aluminum, according to EU officials. The EU intends to apply a 20% tariff on lighters and a 7% levy on plastic fittings for furniture in response to a US decision in February widening the ...

Bloomberg Oil pared losses amid signs that Saudi Arabia and Russia are making progress towards an agreement to curb crude output as the coronavirus wreaks havoc on the global economy. Futures fell 3.3% in New York, having earlier plunged 11%. Large oil-producing nations are racing to negotiate a deal to stem the price crash, but hurdles remain. A meeting of ...

Dubai / WAM Emirates Post has announced that it will reduce working hours on a temporary basis at all its Dubai-based Customer Happiness Centres. This decision is in line with the latest directives of Dubai’s Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management aimed at containing the spread of the Covid-19. Starting today, Emirates Post Customer Happiness Centres in Dubai will ...

ABU DHABI / Emirates Business Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, will partner with Australian company Elenium Automation to trial new technology which allows self-service devices at airports to be used to help identify travellers with medical conditions, potentially including the early stages of Covid-19. Etihad will be the first airline to trial the technology, which can monitor ...