Bloomberg India’s southwest monsoon, which waters more than half of the country’s farmland and is crucial for economic growth, is expected to be normal this year, the weather office said. Annual rainfall during the June-September rainy season is likely to be 100% of the long-term average, Madhavan Nair Rajeevan, secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, said.

Bloomberg One of the biggest Texas shale explorers warned it will halt all drilling if the state imposes Opec-style production caps, raising the stakes in a debate over a contentious proposal to arrest free-falling oil prices. The stark pronouncement from Diamondback Energy Inc’s finance chief stunned observers of the virtual hearing by the Texas Railroad Commission, which oversees oil output ...

Bloomberg The pain felt by Big Oil from the coronavirus-led plunge in demand may derail global efforts to cut pollution, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said. The slowdown and falling prices “undermines the ability of the oil industry to develop some of the technologies needed for clean energy transitions around the world,” said the Paris-based agency. The industry has repeatedly ...

Bloomberg Denmark may issue securities in foreign currencies for the first time in years as the government debt office pulls out the stops to finance programs to support the economy through the coronavirus crisis. While issuing in Danish kroner is the preferred option, Denmark is “one of the few countries in the world with the highest credit rating” and therefore ...

Bloomberg The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said all European countries can and should react “forcefully” to the economic crisis unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic, endorsing governments’ efforts to increase spending. “Fiscal deficits in Europe are said to increase by about 6% of GDP in 2020. This is large, but it’s entirely appropriate in the current crisis,” European Department Director Poul ...

Bloomberg The US government will nearly double the amount it pays hospitals and medical centers to run Abbott Laboratories’ large-scale coronavirus tests, an incentive to get facilities to hire more technicians and expand testing that fallen significantly short of machines’ potential. Abbott’s m2000 machines, which can process up to 1 million tests per week, haven’t been fully used because not ...

Bloomberg Brazil’s economic team wants to adopt a flexible fiscal target for 2021 as uncertainties caused by the novel coronavirus make it difficult to estimate the impact of the crisis, according to four people with direct knowledge of the matter. The government has until April 15 to send a bill to Congress with forecasts for next year. The bill has ...

Bloomberg Tesla Inc. is headed for its seventh straight session of gains after Credit Suisse upgraded the electric-car company whose stock has been on a tear since its first-quarter delivery report. Shares of the Model 3 maker rose as much as 8.1% before the start of regular trading, putting them on track for a more than 50% climb in the ...

Bloomberg A protracted lockdown could see the UK economy shrink by more than a third this quarter, increasing unemployment by more than 2 million and sending the budget deficit to its highest since World War II. The dire projections were outlined by Office for Budget Responsibility. They are based on a scenario in which Britain remains in lockdown for three ...

Bloomberg SAP SE, Europe’s biggest tech company by market value, is exploring the sale of a unit that helps telecommunications operators route calls and text messages, people with knowledge of the matter said. The German firm is working with an adviser to gauge interest in the business and has been speaking to potential buyers, said the people, who asked not ...