Bloomberg The world economy is now on course for its weakest year since the financial crisis as the coronavirus damages demand in China and beyond, according to analysts at Bank of America Corp (BofA). Global growth will slip to 2.8% this year rather than the 3.1% previously predicted, the slowest since 2009, economists led by Ethan Harris said in a …

Bloomberg Standard Chartered Plc’s revenue will fall short this year and it will miss a key profitability target as the coronavirus outbreak and a weakened Hong Kong economy hammer the Asia-focused lender’s business. The slump in Asia, which accounts for the majority of the bank’s earnings, will contribute to 2020 revenue growth falling short of its own forecasts, according to …

Bloomberg When Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann was asked if he gets frustrated by frequent calls for a major fiscal stimulus in Germany, he couldn’t help smiling. That’s how he reacted in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Matt Miller, on a matter where colleagues at the European Central Bank must often be on his case. Since she became the institution’s chief …

Bloomberg Switzerland’s negative central bank policy rate that allows the government to get paid to borrow money “inevitably raises the question” whether fiscal policy isn’t too restrictive, according to UBS Group AG. Switzerland has a low debt-to-output ratio, with a constitutionally guaranteed debt break meant to prevent out-of-control spending. The burden of keeping the economy on track falls on the …

Bloomberg Shoprite Holdings Ltd’s decision to sell some properties and lease them back is to free up cash to invest in technology, growing online sales and upgrading supermarkets to offer more fresh food. These are the kinds of investments that “give us very good returns,” Chief Executive Officer Pieter Engelbrecht said in an interview after Africa’s biggest grocer reported first-half …

Bloomberg South Africa almost doubled the level of funding for the national airline to 16.4 billion rand ($1.1 billion), cash that will go towards supporting a restructuring plan for the technically insolvent carrier. The bailout will be used to service and pay debt previously guaranteed by the state over the “medium term,” finance minister Tito Mboweni said in his budget …

Bloomberg Airlines are turning to the world’s hardest-hitting disinfectants to rid planes of the coronavirus. Qantas Airways Ltd, Korean Air Lines Co and Singapore Airlines Ltd’s Scoot unit are among carriers that helped evacuate people from the outbreak’s epicenter, the Chinese city of Wuhan, and from a cruise ship off Japan. They’ve stepped up aircraft-cleaning efforts as a result, trying …

Bloomberg British Airways (BA) became the first major carrier to cut services to Italy following the spread of the coronavirus there, saying it will eliminate 22 round-trip flights to Milan through March 11. BA said that it took the decision following a reduction in demand for travel to the city in the Lombardy region, where the Italian outbreak is concentrated. …

Bloomberg Papa John’s International Inc fell after the pizza chain reported earnings that suggest little growth for its North American locations this year, along with concerns about the coronavirus that’s quickly becoming a threat to the global economy. While North American same-store sales rose 3.5% last quarter and exceeded analysts’ predictions, the chain isn’t planning on increasing its net store …

Bloomberg Nestle SA, the world’s largest food and beverage company, told employees to avoid travelling for business reasons until the middle of March to keep from contracting or spreading the coronavirus. The Swiss maker of KitKat and Nespresso capsules “shares global concerns over the spread and impact on public health of coronavirus,” it said. Nestle, which employs 291,000 people worldwide, …