HANNOVER / WAM The Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS) – a joint initiative by the UAE Ministry of Energy and Industry and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) on Monday announced that the third edition of its Summit (GMIS 2020) will be converted into a series of digital sessions. The summit invited thought-leaders from the global manufacturing community …

Sydney / WAM Australia will spend AU$130 billion ($79.85 billion) to subsidise the wages of an estimated six million people, marking a third tranche of stimulus designed to limit the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic on the country’s economy, Reuters has reported. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the six months of funding was necessary to ensure businesses were able …

Bloomberg Oil demand is getting hammered at a faster pace than anyone had predicted and landlocked crude production in the US, Russia and Canada is most vulnerable, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Consumption will drop by 26 million barrels, or 25%, this week as social-distancing measures to contain the coronavirus now impact 92% of global GDP, analysts including Jeff …

Bloomberg Daniel Kretinsky, the owner of a $7.8 billion Czech energy conglomerate EPH, said he tested positive for coronavirus on March 12 and has been self-isolating himself since then. Kretinsky told newspapers E15 and Blesk, which both belong to his media unit, that he is running his businesses remotely and spends 12 hours a day on the phone. He said …

Bloomberg US equity futures fluctuated and stocks slipped on Monday as investors weighed a weekend full of negative coronavirus news against the stimulus measures that triggered a bounce in risk assets last week. The dollar rebounded, Treasuries edged higher and oil sank. Contracts on the S&P 500 Index swung between losses and gains after President Donald Trump abruptly abandoned his …

Bloomberg Indonesian stocks snapped a two-day winning streak as investors remained wary about rising Covid-19 cases domestically and globally. The Jakarta Composite Index fell 2.9% on Monday, taking the monthly decline to most since October 2008. The benchmark gauge hit a 5% circuit breaker, triggering the first trading halt since the Indonesia Stock Exchange implemented a shorter operational schedule. Indonesian …

Bloomberg Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. were granted approvals to take control of their securities joint ventures in China as policy makers push ahead with the opening of the nation’s $45 trillion finance industry even as they fight to contain the coronavirus outbreak. Morgan Stanley plans to boost its stake to 51% from 49% with the approval from …

Bloomberg The Bank of Korea (BOK) will provide $12 billion to banks in its first round of dollar injections using a currency swap line with the Federal Reserve. The auction will be held on Tuesday at 10 am Seoul time, and banks may apply for seven-days debt of up to $300 million, and 84-days debt of up to $1.5 billion, …

Bloomberg The two-decade run of record profits at China’s biggest banks, which even survived the financial crisis, is facing its biggest test. Banks such as Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the world’s largest by assets, are caught in a vise as their operations are hammered by the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus. At the same time, they are …

Bloomberg South African banks are being criticised by labour unions and small business owners for not doing enough to help struggling customers as the coronavirus lockdown looms. “The response is quite underwhelming,” said Matthew Parks, a parliamentary coordinator for the Congress of South African Trade Unions. “There are too many ifs and buts. It’s hitting too few people. It’s just …