Bloomberg Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to do “whatever it takes” to help UK workers through the pandemic, in a further sign the government will extend its job support plan. Asked whether the furlough program would be extended past April if the UK remained under lockdown, Johnson said the government would “support livelihoods” as it had done through the crisis. ...

Bloomberg US credit card delinquencies reached record-low levels in 2020, as Americans took advantage of stimulus checks and adjusted their spending habits, according to a new report. Delinquencies on bank-issued cards stood at 1.53% in the third quarter of 2020, virtually unchanged from the previous quarter, after rising to 2.62% at the onset of the pandemic as millions of Americans ...

Bloomberg Germany cut its prediction for economic growth as the extension of coronavirus lockdowns hits activity at the start of the year. The government now expects a 3% expansion in 2021, down from 4.4% forecast at the end of October, according to a person familiar with its annual economic report to be published next week. Economy Minister Peter Altmaier is ...

Bloomberg France is set to go back into lockdown “within days” amid concerns over a new wave of contaminations driven by the UK variant of the coronavirus, Journal du Dimanche (JDD) said, citing unidentified people with knowledge of the matter. A decision is imminent, JDD wrote, saying French President Emmanuel Macron could announce lockdown — the country’s third — on Wednesday ...

Bloomberg Brexit drove the second-biggest jump in UK delivery times in at least 30 years this month, adding to Britain’s economic woes as Covid shut down services. IHS Markit said that UK output falls at the quickest rate since May, hurt by additional red tape from leaving the European Union single market and a severe lockdown at home. That followed ...

Bloomberg The high-yield bond market is wrapping up what’s likely to be the busiest January on record next week as investors continue to pour cash into risky assets as they hunt for higher returns. Sales stand just about $1.2 billion below the current January peak of $37 billion, which was set in the first month of 2020. Yields on CCC ...

Bloomberg Citadel Securities went from strength to strength in 2020, as the pandemic spurred wild swings across finance. To cap the tumult, Ken Griffin’s firm, one of the world’s biggest market makers, just posted record revenue — some of it from a rapidly constructed Florida trading floor. Fourth-quarter net trading revenue of $1.7 billion brought the firm’s full-year total to ...

HARGEISA / WAM A delegation from the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation has opened a kidney dialysis centre in the Republic of Somaliland for the benefit of more than 30 patients per day. The move comes in line with the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the support of HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed ...

Bloomberg Hours after taking office, President Joe Biden made good on a campaign promise to cancel the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Later that day his Interior Department mandated that only top agency leaders could approve new drilling permits over the next two months. Next week, according to people familiar with the plans, Biden will go even further: suspending the sale ...

SHARJAH / WAM The Year 2020 was arguably one of the most challenging years in human history. The onset of Covid-19 strapped the global economy on a roller-coaster ride, affecting both lives and livelihoods of people worldwide. On the business side particularly, the pandemic has revealed the resilience of cities like Sharjah, which continued to grow amid crisis by allowing ...