Bloomberg Japan was set to approve on Thursday the antiviral drug remdesivir for use against the novel coronavirus, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, without giving details. The relatively quick move by Japan’s usually conservative authorities is expected days after the US authorised Gilead Sciences Inc’s drug for emergency use on virus patients. Abe did not indicate in an interview earlier ...

Bloomberg Prudential Financial Inc. expects coronavirus deaths to cut earnings by about $200 million this year after it swung to a net loss in the first quarter. The life insurer’s earnings will be hardest hit in the second quarter, by an estimated $135 million, company executives told analysts on a conference call. That assumes 100,000 fatalities in the US and ...

Bloomberg Telefonica SA and Liberty Global Plc have agreed to create the UK’s largest phone and internet operator, threatening their rivals and marking another industry-defining deal for billionaire John Malone. The deal values the new company at 31 billion pounds ($38 billion), with Telefonica’s O2 being valued at 12.7 billion pounds and Liberty’s Virgin Media valued at around 18.7 billion ...