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Bloomberg SoftBank Corp made official its plans for a fifth-generation cellular networking service, something all Japanese carriers are racing towards, in Tokyo. SoftBank, the reliable revenue stream underpinning Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Group Corp, will start by selling four 5G smartphones from March 27. It’s getting out ahead of incoming rival Rakuten Inc, whose 4G network will begin service on April ...

Bloomberg Japan’s government will offer financial assistance to small businesses as part of a second round of emergency measures against the coronavirus, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said. Japan Finance Corp, wholly owned by the government, and other organisations will provide interest-free loans for small- and medium-size companies that are experiencing a sharp drop in revenue, he said. The government aims ...

Bloomberg Huawei Technologies Co says coronavirus is making it harder to defend itself against a US racketeering and trade-secrets theft prosecution. Thomas Green, a lawyer for the Shenzhen, China-based telecommunications giant, said at conference in the case that travel restrictions have made it impossible for defence lawyers to gather evidence. The US State Department last month issued a do-not-travel warning ...

Bloomberg Lots of female chief executive officers have stories about conquering adversity. Radhika Gupta’s begins when she entered the world with a broken neck. The birth complication left Gupta’s neck with a permanent tilt, a feature that at times had an impact on her self esteem but has now become a source of inspiration for doing things differently. At 36, ...

Bloomberg Italy’s stimulus plans to cushion the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak won’t be factored in when assessing the country’s compliance with the European Union’s fiscal rules, the bloc’s executive arm said. In a letter to the government in Rome, the European Commission’s top economic officials approved the recently announced spending plans, saying such one-off measures won’t be considered ...

Bloomberg Germany will expand government loans and guarantees if demand and supply disruptions intensify because of the spread of the coronavirus. While offerings such as bridge loans and credit guarantees are currently sufficient, the authorities are prepared to make more funds available and expand programs if factory closures become more widespread, the economy ministry said, a day before the ruling ...

Bloomberg The UK market watchdog wants big British public companies to disclose more about their exposure to climate risks — or tell investors why they can’t. The proposal from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is part of a growing effort by policy makers and money managers to confront how companies will manage the shift to a lower carbon economy. The ...

Bloomberg Uber Technologies announced it would begin offering compensation to drivers affected by the coronavirus in the US. The benefit follows similar company moves in Mexico and the UK and comes as the virus accelerates its spread in the US. People diagnosed with Covid-19 or placed in quarantine by a public health authority qualify for up to 14 days in ...

Bloomberg Record winter warmth around the globe has raised pressure on weather forecasters from utilities and financial markets that depend on models to work out the economic impact of climate change. Abnormally high temperatures led to billions of dollars of lost revenue for energy producers, which have curtailed fuel supplies because everyone from homeowners to heavy industry didn’t need as ...

Bloomberg Finance chiefs from the world’s top industrial and emerging nations committed to “take further actions” to aid the world economy amid mounting fears the coronavirus is dragging it towards a recession. At the end of a week in which the virus spread and an emergency Federal Reserve rate cut failed to calm investors, Group of 20 finance ministers and ...