Bloomberg For a government with a lot of debt, timing is everything when it comes to embarking on a fiscal splurge, according to research by the European Central Bank (ECB). Interest rates at the effective lower bound can enhance the impact of a public-spending shock on the economy and largely mute debt-sustainability concerns, Niccolo Battistini and Giovanni Callegari wrote in …

Bloomberg South Africa’s rand headed for a near-four-year low, stocks entered a correction and bonds slumped as concerns about a looming credit-rating downgrade to junk compounded fears about the effect of the coronavirus on the country’s economy. The stampede away from risk assets hammered commodities from oil to copper and iron, driving the Bloomberg Commodity Index to a 33-year low …

Bloomberg Citigroup Inc expanded restrictions on employee business travel this week as the coronavirus continued its spread around the world, according to people familiar with the matter. The bank added Italy to the list of countries off-limits to employees after restricting travel to and from Asia for the last several weeks, the people said, asking not to be named discussing …