Bloomberg Germany is mulling an additional aid program for small- and medium-sized companies worth 300 billion euros ($324 billion) as the government seeks to limit the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The new loan guarantees would come on top of a barrage of measures to counter what Chancellor Angela Merkel has called the biggest challenge to the country since ...

Bloomberg The euro area economy is in a slump of unprecedented scale, and the contraction may deepen even further as lockdowns to contain the coronavirus are extended. IHS Markit said its monthly measure of services and manufacturing points to an annualised economic contraction of about 10%. With new business, confidence and employment all down, there is “worse inevitably to come ...

Bloomberg Italy will broaden defenses against hostile takeovers as the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic lowers valuations and leaves key industries vulnerable. The government is planning to strengthen the so-called Golden Power protections to protect “a heritage that must not be sold off,” Economic Development Minister Stefano Patuanelli said in a message on his Facebook page. “It will be extended ...