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Bloomberg Lloyd’s of London, the world’s largest insurance exchange, estimates the industry will suffer around $203 billion in losses from the coronavirus pandemic this year. The projected losses include about $107 billion from underwriting claims, with the rest from insurers’ investment portfolios, Lloyd’s said in a statement. The claims costs are on a par with some of the most catastrophic ...

Bloomberg Italy is trying to prop up its battered economy with a second stimulus package worth 55 billion euros. It may not be enough. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s government approved the much-delayed measures in a bid to reduce the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The plan focuses on liquidity for businesses and aid to families hurt by over two ...

Bloomberg Not all of Elon Musk’s projects have been thwarted by the coronavirus pandemic. While the billionaire clashed this week with local officials over restarting production at a Tesla Inc. factory in California, his tunnel-drilling company hit a new milestone in Nevada. A giant drill called Godot Plus broke through a wall near the spot where it will connect to ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE’s banking system strengthened its support for the agricultural sector in the first quarter of 2020, by providing financing valued at more than AED500 million to agricultural projects from January to March this year. This support is in line with the country’s efforts to achieve its food security strategy, which is a top priority of ...

FUJAIRAH / WAM Oil product stockpiles at the Middle East’s key oil hub of Fujairah rose 6.4 percent in the week, climbing to a record high for a second consecutive week as light, middle and heavy distillates all saw builds. Total product stocks were 27.859 million barrels, up from the previous high of 26.192 million barrels a week earlier, according ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Thursday will witness a global united effort where individuals from all walks of life and belief systems will come together in reflection and prayer. The Higher Committee for Human Fraternity (HCHF) initiated the ‘Prayer for Humanity’ call, inviting religious leaders and faithful around the world to a day of fasting, prayers and supplications for “the good ...

Bloomberg India will provide collateral-free loans worth $40 billion to boost liquidity for small businesses and help the economy tide over the coronavirus outbreak. The loans will benefit up to 4.5 million small businesses, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in New Delhi on Wednesday. The program will be open until October 31. “Essentially this is to spur growth and to ...

Bloomberg In China’s latest efforts to pit renewable energy against fossil fuels, it is again betting on size. Resources such as wind and solar don’t stand much of a chance if there isn’t a way to store energy when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine. So some of China’s biggest state-owned companies are pouring in billions of ...

Bloomberg Afghan President Ashraf Ghani ordered government forces to resume operations against the Taliban and other insurgent groups after 40 people, including newborn babies, were killed when armed militants opened fire inside a hospital and at a funeral ceremony. The Taliban denied involvement in the attacks on the hospital in a Shiite neighbourhod of capital Kabul and on a funeral ...

Bloomberg As the coronavirus inflicts ever more death and economic carnage across the US, President Donald Trump is resorting to his preferred and battle-tested tactic to fight the biggest threat to his re-election: diversion. The shift was clear on Mother’s Day, when he flooded Twitter with 126 posts, including promoting a tweet that called his own Justice Department “corrupt.” A ...