Bloomberg New Zealand’s world-beating run of being Covid-free has come to an end, with the detection of new cases prompting the government to put largest city Auckland into lockdown. Authorities have detected four cases of coronavirus in one Auckland household from an unknown source, and contact tracing is now underway to prevent further spread, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said late ...

Bloomberg Britain’s mounting labour market crisis was underscored by a 220,000 slump in employment during the height of the coronavirus lockdown, the worst decline since the global financial crisis. The fall in the second quarter coincided with a period that saw the most strict restrictions to contain the spread of the disease. The Office for National Statistics said early indicators ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump’s decision to extend a student-loan freeze will take away a financial risk for tens of millions of US households, who now won’t have to resume paying back about $1.2 trillion of debt until at least 2021. The measure, one of four executive actions Trump took on August 8, keeps both repayments and the accumulation of interest ...

Bloomberg Hertz Global Holdings Inc. is seeking debtor-in-possession financing more than two months after filing for Chapter 11 protection, reflecting the reality that it still faces trouble ahead if travel doesn’t bounce back. The bankrupt rental-car giant said it is looking for new sources of cash with the travel business in a deep slump and proceeds from the sale of ...

Bloomberg Mark Carney, the only person to run two major nations’ central banks, is helping Justin Trudeau craft next steps in a plan to pull Canada out of a deep recession sparked by the coronavirus. Five months after stepping down as Bank of England governor, Carney has become an informal adviser on policy matters with the Canadian prime minister. Trudeau ...

Bloomberg Finland will quarantine travellers from most of the world to halt the spread of Covid-19. Just 25 countries are currently exempt from the mandatory quarantine, Krista Kiuru, minister for family affairs and social services, told reporters. Passengers who fail to comply face at most three months jail time or a fine and airlines will be required to disclose transit ...

Bloomberg Visa sold bonds at a record low yield as it became the first consumer finance company to issue debt to fund environmentally friendly projects. The world’s largest payments network, sold $3.25 billion of debt in three parts. The shortest portion of the deal is a seven-year green note with at 0.75% coupon, sliding past Google parent Alphabet Inc.’s record ...

Bloomberg Equities rise globally alongside US index futures after President Donald Trump said he’s considering a tax cut on capital gains. Gold slipped for a third day. From carmakers to energy stocks, a broad rally swept the Stoxx Europe 600 Index higher. Momentum carried forward from Asia, where a benchmark gained the most in a week, and from the US, ...

Bloomberg India’s benchmark equity index rose, in line with peers in Asia, as investors weighed the prospect of business recovery against the pace of new coronavirus infections. The S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.7% to 38,434.13 as of 10:06 am in Mumbai, set for its longest stretch of gains in three weeks. The NSE Nifty 50 Index also advanced 0.6%. India’s ...

Bloomberg South Africa’s main stock index climbs 1.6% by 9:43 am in Johannesburg as gains in diversified miners and a rally in Richemont counters weakness in index giant Naspers Ltd. It’s the market’s first trading session of the week following Monday’s holiday. Sasol reverses earlier weakness to be 0.9% higher. Stock retreated as much as 3.1% after the company said ...