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Bloomberg France is setting up a 4 billion-euro ($4.3 billion) package to help the country’s startups survive the coronavirus pandemic and maintain cash levels in between their fundraising. “Our goal is for startups to pass that crisis and then continue with their growth,” Digital Minister Cedric O said on Wednesday. “Startups represent between one-sixth and one-fifth of jobs created in ...

Bloomberg Germany took a step towards declaring a state of emergency to unlock a historic rescue package to cushion the blow of the coronavirus pandemic. Finance Minister Olaf Scholz urged lawmakers to open up constitutional debt limits to combat a crisis that threatens modern life. New borrowing of $169 billion, equivalent to half of the country’s normal annual spending, will ...

Bloomberg The biggest Nordic economy may be about to sink into its worst recession in living memory, with the fallout of the coronavirus likely to do more damage than the financial crisis of 2008. Gross domestic product will probably fall about 4% this year, Swedbank economists said in a new report on Wednesday. But the decline could be as bad ...

Bloomberg CVS Health Corp. said it plans to hire 50,000 people in full-time, part-time and temporary jobs to tackle surging demand for drugstore services and health goods during the US coronavirus outbreak. The drugstore chain said it plans to hire store workers, delivery drivers, distribution center workers and customer service employees. CVS and other pharmacies are inundated with people stocking ...

Bloomberg UK inflation slowed slightly in February before the impact of the coronavirus really hit the economy. Consumer prices rose 1.7% from a year earlier, from 1.8% previously, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. Since the information was gathered the inflation outlook has been thrown into turmoil by economic crisis wrought by coronavirus pandemic, and the curbs on ...

Bloomberg Google and other digital advertising companies are seeing revenue growth wither as marketers slash spending ahead of an expected recession triggered by the coronavirus. The global pandemic and the ensuing slump in economic activity is crushing several industries that have been big buyers of Google and Facebook Inc. ads, including online travel agents, automakers, restaurants and retail. “I’m hearing ...

Bloomberg Deere & Co. is halting production in agricultural behemoth Brazil as the coronavirus outbreak erodes sales for the world’s biggest tractor maker. In a bid to protect employees and families, Deere said it will suspend two facilities in Brazil on Wednesday for an undetermined period while four other units will stop on Monday. Deere, the world’s biggest tractor maker, ...

Bloomberg The global economy is taking a battering not seen in decades, the outcome of severe restrictions on businesses and households by governments desperately trying to contain a pandemic that’s killed almost 17,400 people worldwide. The first major numbers outlining the damage tell a story of companies seeing demand plunge at a record pace, activity shrinking and confidence dropping. Government ...

Bloomberg The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of UAE has lifted restrictions on some programs that allow voice calls over the Internet, including Microsoft Skype for Business and Google Hangout, to help people work from home and avoid spreading the coronavirus. The applications allowed on all networks in the country are: Microsoft Times, Zoom, and Blackboard. The applications, which will be compatible with ...

SHARJAH / WAM HH Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, has directed a 10 percent reduction in the Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (Sewa) bills in the Emirate of Sharjah for three months. The move is in line with the precautionary measures taken by the government and aimed at facilitating the customers ...