Bloomberg Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the army to send military staff and medical equipment to help the country’s largest gold miner, Polyus PJSC, fight the Covid-19 outbreak at its Siberian unit. Personnel and more than 2 tons of medical equipment, including respirators, masks, gloves and protective suits, were delivered by aircraft to the city of Krasnoyarsk, the defense ministry ...

Bloomberg There is a mystery that hangs over Giuseppe Conte, of how an unassuming professor few expected to last became a political survivor and, at the height of the Covid pandemic, had more power than any Italian leader since Benito Mussolini. It’s all the more intriguing when you consider he has no power base of his own and looked out ...

Bloomberg After initially being lauded for his decisive response to the coronavirus crisis, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has been forced onto the defensive over his administration’s handling of one of the world’s most severe lockdowns. Some of the most stinging criticism came from Glenda Gray, a member of a panel that’s advising the government on the pandemic, who said ...

Bloomberg Indonesian President Joko Widodo ruled out an immediate easing of social distancing rules and ordered officials to strictly enforce a ban on travel during the busy holiday season to prevent a spike in new coronavirus cases. With new infections soaring 80% so far in May, Jokowi, as the president is known, asked officials at a cabinet meeting to increase ...

Bloomberg The UK has pushed back the roll-out of its coronavirus-tracing mobile phone application, in a potential setback for its bid to ease the nation’s lockdown. While Health Secretary Matt Hancock said last week that the app would be ready in mid-May, it is now planned to be released nationally within “weeks,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman James Slack said. ...

Bloomberg German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz is planning a 57 billion-euro ($62 billion) aid package to help municipalities being hit by the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, a person familiar with the matter said. The plan, which Scholz announced on Saturday without giving the size of the measures, would help local governments cover outstanding debt and tax shortfalls caused ...

Bloomberg Italy is set to open businesses, while Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s government decided to unblock the country’s national borders and allow citizens to move freely within country starting June 3. Italians will be allowed full free movement, according to a government decree published in the early hours of Saturday morning. The statement confirmed that some businesses will reopen May ...

Bloomberg France is at higher risk of a credit downgrade by Fitch after the outlook on the country’s AA rating was revised to negative. Fitch cited the substantial worsening in public finances and economic activity expected this year due to the pandemic. “The combination of much reduced economic activity due to containment measures introduced from March and government policies to ...

Bloomberg Tesla Inc. told employees it received approval to resume operations at its factory after Elon Musk threatened to move the company’s headquarters and future programs following a move by a California county to block the reopening. The company said Alameda County’s interim health officer had approved its Fremont work plan and safe measures, according to an email sent to ...

Bloomberg More than $8 trillion has been thrown at the Covid-19 crisis by governments around the globe and hundreds of billions more by central banks from Washington to Wellington. And that means investors are finding a swath of opportunities from investment-grade bonds to emerging-market equities. Looking where central banks themselves are buying, even if it’s been well flagged, still has ...