Bloomberg European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde belatedly joined the crowd of leading central bankers pledging to take action if needed against the economic damage from the coronavirus outbreak. In a statement, Lagarde said the outbreak is a “fast-developing situation, which creates risks for the economic outlook and the functioning of financial markets.” That echoes communications by the US ...

Bloomberg Malaysia cut its benchmark interest rate on Tuesday, with analysts predicting more easing to come as global central banks boost stimulus to counter the coronavirus’s impact on economic growth. Bank Negara Malaysia reduced the overnight policy rate for a second time this year, lowering it by 25 basis points to 2.5%, as forecast by 15 of 24 economists surveyed ...

Bloomberg Australia kicked off an expected worldwide policy response to China’s slowdown and fallout from the coronavirus with an interest-rate cut that’s set to operate in tandem with fiscal measures to cushion the economic blow. Reserve Bank chief Philip Lowe reduced the cash rate by a quarter percentage point to 0.5%, a new record low, as expected by traders and ...

Bloomberg Visa Inc became the latest payments firm to face a hit from the spread of coronavirus. The company warned that cardholders’ spending overseas has slowed sharply, especially for travel related purchases, and that this quarter’s revenue growth will be about 2.5 to 3.5 percentage points lower than the outlook it shared on January 30. Visa said it won’t give ...

Bloomberg Several of the biggest US banks and the nation’s largest life insurer expanded their restrictions on employee travel, curbing all non-essential trips abroad as the coronavirus spreads across the globe. Citigroup Inc, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo & Co told employees not to travel internationally without approval from top company executives, expanding earlier restrictions that targeted countries where the ...

Bloomberg The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it’s ready to act to counter financial market volatility amid the coronavirus outbreak, reiterating comments from global central bankers in recent days. While spillovers into domestic financial markets have been relatively contained, the RBI said in a statement on Tuesday it “stands ready to take appropriate actions to ensure orderly functioning of ...

Bloomberg JD.com Inc surged to its highest since June 2018 after its forecast for at least 10% revenue growth this quarter suggested online retail in China was proving more resilient to the coronavirus epidemic than anticipated. Its shares rose more than 12.4% in New York, their biggest gain since August, after the company reported fourth-quarter revenue of 170.7 billion yuan ...

Bloomberg Frankfurt airport is operating again after several drone sightings prompted the suspension of all flights for almost two hours. German air navigation service provider DFS suspended all incoming and outgoing flights between about 11.20 am and 1 pm on March 2 after a pilot spotted a drone, Fraport AG spokesman Dieter Hulick said by phone. Airlines cancelled 77 flights ...

Bloomberg Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines Inc last week, taking advantage of bargain prices amid market declines. Berkshire acquired more than 976,000 shares for about $45.3 million, or an average price of $46.40, according to a filing. Delta stock dropped about 20% last week as markets plummeted on concern about the coronavirus. Buffett, ...

Bloomberg Global airline and transportation shares are reeling from the disruptions caused by the coronavirus epidemic. Yet one stock has bucked that trend and is now the second-best performer on South Korea’s benchmark index this year. Hanjin Kal Corp, the holding company that owns shares in Korean Air Lines Co and Jin Air Co, has soared 102% in 2020. As ...