Bloomberg The Italian government is negotiating with banks to provide breaks from debt payments including mortgages, as individuals and businesses are hit by a nationwide lockdown to contain the coronavirus. The country is also studying relief for temporary layoffs and additional fiscal measures to support the economy, Deputy Finance Minister Laura Castelli said in a radio interview. A new decree …

Bloomberg Kazakhstan, the biggest oil producer in central Asia, raised its benchmark interest rate by 2.75 percentage points to 12% at an emergency meeting and started selling foreign currency to help support the tenge. The National Bank of Kazakhstan raised the base rate from 9.25% to protect the tenge from increased external risks, support price stability and hold down the …

Bloomberg Iceland’s central bank cut its benchmark interest rate to its lowest level ever at an emergency meeting called to counter the impact of the coronavirus. The 7-day term deposit rate was cut by 0.5 percentage points to 2.25%, Sedlabanki said in a statement. “Furthermore, the Committee has decided to lower deposit institutions’ average reserve requirement from 1% to 0%. …