Bloomberg The S&P/ASX 200 index erased an early loss and surged out of bear market territory amid hopes for government measures that will offset the economic impact of the spreading coronavirus. Australia’s benchmark index rose 3.1% to close at 5,939.6, its largest gain since November 2016, after having earlier declined as much as 3.9%. The market flirted with a bear …

Bloomberg The coronavirus outbreak will add $100 billion in credit losses to banks in the Asia-Pacific region this year with Chinese lenders bearing the brunt of the damage, according to S&P Global Inc. “Some activity will be lost forever,” Shaun Roache, S&P’s Asia-Pacific chief economist, wrote in a note on Tuesday. “We estimate an income loss of about $211 billion, …

Bloomberg Bank of East Asia Ltd., (BEA) the Hong Kong lender that has been besieged by activist investor Paul Singer’s Elliott Management Corp., is considering options including a sale of insurance assets as part of its strategic review, according to people familiar with the matter. BEA could seek more than $1 billion from a sale of assets including its life …