Bloomberg The African Development Bank (AfDB) said it issued the world’s biggest social bond yet by selling $3 billion of notes to fight the impact of the coronavirus on the continent. Africa’s biggest multilateral lender received $4.6 billion in bids for its Fight Covid-19 social bond, it said in a statement. More than half of bids for the three-year bond, …

Bloomberg Bank of America Corp. (BofA) said it won’t cut any jobs this year as a result of the coronavirus, and is helping clients affected by the pandemic through increased commercial lending to companies and expanded forbearance for Main Street customers. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender has hired 2,000 people this month and is shifting more than 3,000 employees to …

Bloomberg Morgan Stanley won US antitrust approval for its $13 billion acquisition of discount brokerage E*Trade Financial Corp., according to a person familiar with the matter. The Justice Department’s antitrust division has signed off on the takeover without requiring any changes, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the decision hasn’t been made public. A Morgan Stanley …

Bloomberg The Bank of Canada announced a large scale asset purchase program and cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low in a bid to ease financial-market strain and shield the nation’s economy from coronavirus fallout. The central bank lowered its policy rate last week by another half a percentage point to 0.25%, adding in a statement that the …

Bloomberg Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) cut its prime rate by 50 basis points (bps), matching Bank of Canada’s latest emergency rate cut. Canada’s largest lender by assets reduced the key rate to 2.45% from 2.95%, the Toronto-based bank said in a statement. Canada’s central bank unexpectedly cut its overnight lending rate by another half a percentage point to 0.25% …

Bloomberg Walmart Inc has taken on 25,000 new employees and given offers to thousands more in the first week of a hiring push, as the biggest private employer in the US scrambles to keep its shelves stocked and checkouts staffed during the coronavirus pandemic. The retailer has compressed a hiring process that can often take two weeks into as little …

Bloomberg Seven airlines in Thailand are set to start talks with the Finance Ministry for a 16 billion baht ($491 million) bailout, the Bangkok Post reported. The airlines have jointly agreed to seek help, the newspaper said, citing Tassapon Bijleveld, executive chairman of Asia Aviation Pcl, the largest shareholder of Thai AirAsia. The seven carriers are Thai AirAsia, Thai Lion …

Bloomberg Southwest Airlines Co is losing “big money” on every flight, raising the risk of worker furloughs in the longer-term despite billions of dollars in immediate aid from the US government. The biggest US discounter is “appreciative” of the package of loans and cash assistance approved by the Senate and awaiting a vote in the House of Representatives, CEO Gary …

Bloomberg Singapore Airlines (SIA) shares fell after the carrier unveiled a plan to raise about S$8.8 billion ($6.2 billion) to contend with the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The company will issue S$5.3 billion in new stock at S$3 apiece, 54% lower than the last closing price last week, as well as convertible bonds, according to a statement. State …

Bloomberg LVMH said revenue for the last quarter dropped 10% to 20%, compared with the same period last year, as its luxury brands temporarily closed stores and shoppers tightened their wallets due to the coronavirus pandemic. The French luxury-goods maker will disclose first-quarter results on April 16. The company said the outbreak’s full impact “cannot be accurately calculated at this …