Bloomberg Europe kicked into high alert as countries from Italy and Spain to France reported rising numbers of cases of coronavirus, struggling to limit its spread. Vast swathes of the Lombardy and Veneto regions of Italy, stretching from Milan to Venice, remained in a virtual lockdown. Spain kept about 700 guests confined to a Canary Islands hotel as they undergo …

Bloomberg Oil extended declines to the lowest in a year on fears the fast-spreading coronavirus will take a major toll on the global economy. Futures in New York fell 1.4% after plummeting more than 7% over the previous three sessions. Top US health officials warned of a domestic outbreak of the infection, triggering another sell-off on Wall Street and in …

Abu Dhabi / WAM Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, UAE Minister of Economy, discussed ways to further develop economic cooperation frameworks with Mexico during a number of bilateral meetings held with Mexican ministers and other government officials, in connection with UAE delegation’s participation in the “Mexico-UAE Business and Trade Forum” hosted by Mexico. During Al Mansoori’s meeting with Miguel Torruco …

Bloomberg India’s federal government will encourage inefficient state power utilities to seek privatisation and other institutional reforms to turn around money-losing operations and ensure reliable supplies to consumers, according to the top bureaucrat in the federal power ministry. States with electricity utilities that lose more than 15% of revenue due to archaic networks, power theft and sloppy billing and collections …

Bloomberg Iberdrola SA expects sharp growth in profit this year, driven by rising power output after earlier investments in renewable energy and transmission assets ramped up. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation rose 8.1% to a record $11 billion in 2019 from a year earlier, roughly meeting the average estimate of 10.01 billion euros by 19 analysts surveyed by …

Bloomberg Stocks dropped globally and US index futures fluctuated on Wednesday as investors fretted fresh evidence of the widening coronavirus outbreak. Gold advanced and Treasuries were steady. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell for a fifth straight session, suffering its longest losing streak since July, as companies including Diageo Plc and Danone SA warned the virus outbreak will hit their …

Bloomberg Thailand confirmed three more novel coronavirus cases, taking the country’s total to 40, and said it will step up efforts to contain the disease. The stock market slumped the most since 2014. The new cases are in one family and include two people who returned from Hokkaido in Japan and are thought to have contracted the illness there, Permanent …

Bloomberg China’s tech-heavy ChiNext Index saw losses accelerate on Wednesday in another volatile session for mainland stocks. The index declined as much as 5%, after closing February 25 at the highest level since July 2016. The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.8% to close below the key 3,000 point level, joining a global rout. Volume was about 70% higher than the 30-day …

Bloomberg It is “still too soon” to say whether the coronavirus outbreak will cause a material change in the US outlook, said Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida, signalling officials won’t be rushed to judgment on the need to cut interest rates. “Monetary policy is in a good place and should continue to support sustained growth, a strong labour market, …

Bloomberg If the coronavirus outbreak morphs into a regional economic crisis, the European Central Bank (ECB) isn’t yet poised to rush to the rescue. With interest rates deep below zero and the latest batch of asset purchases still ongoing, room for additional monetary support is severely limited. For policy makers in Frankfurt, that makes their case for governments such as …