How much more calamity can East Africa take? Already struggling with the twin crises of the coronavirus pandemic and a Biblical scourge of locusts, the region is now being lashed by exceptionally heavy rainfall, with floods that threaten life and livelihood from Ethiopia to Tanzania, and all parts in between. For the continent’s most economically vibrant region, the trifecta of ...

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida expressed confidence earlier this month that the US could avoid an outbreak of deflation. Can we avoid such an outcome as rising anecdotal evidence of wage cuts reveals the magnitude of the negative demand shock that has slammed through the US economy? It was common early in the crisis to view the viral outbreak ...

Europe’s banks have often complained about too much regulation hampering their ability to lend. The Covid-19 epidemic shows that when times are bad the real constraint lies elsewhere: in the financial markets. The European Central Bank (ECB) has gone to great lengths during the coronavirus crisis to ensure that lenders can keep pumping credit into the economy. It immediately provided ...

As the coronavirus crisis rinds on, many companies and university research labs are trying to develop vaccines. Let’s hope one of them achieves a breakthrough — the sooner the better. But as my Bloomberg Opinion colleague Max Nisen pointed out recently, the challenge doesn’t stop there. Once a vaccine is found, you have to manufacture it and deliver it to ...

If we have learned anything during the Covid-19 pandemic, it is that the quality of national healthcare systems contributes to healthy economies. South Korea, Taiwan and New Zealand, the countries with the fewest coronavirus cases and deaths per million people, are proving that right now. The link between economic and physical health also happens to be at the core of ...

Bloomberg European stocks fluctuated while Asian shares gained with US equity futures as investors countdown to more big earnings, a Federal Reserve policy decision and American economic data. The dollar fell for a third day and oil advanced. Declines for healthcare and travel shares offset gains for oil companies and banks in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. Barclays Plc jumped ...

Bloomberg Indian stocks rose for a third day, sovereign bonds and the rupee also advanced as investors monitored discussions around plans to restart business activities ahead of a scheduled ending of a lockdown in the world’s second-most populous country on Sunday. The S&P BSE Sensex climbed 0.9% to 32,386.64 as of 9:43 am in Mumbai, while the NSE Nifty 50 ...

Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG warned revenue will probably decline this year as a trading boost that lifted Wall Street banks in the first quarter fades and the coronavirus pandemic ripples through the economy. The first quarter was flat from a year earlier as a 13% increase in fixed-income trading helped offset lower income in the corporate bank and asset management, ...

Bloomberg Standard Chartered put aside $956 million against potential losses as souring loans spike during coronavirus pandemic, even as a trading boom lifted first-quarter revenue. The emerging markets-focused lender reported the biggest provisions since 2015 as clients across Asia, Africa and the Middle East got into difficulty because of lockdowns and travel restrictions. That reflects similar warnings from other global ...

Bloomberg A blockbuster quarter for Barclays Plc’s traders was overshadowed by a 2.1 billion pound ($2.6 billion) bad-loan charge stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. The securities division reported a 77% jump in first-quarter trading revenue on Wednesday as the virus whipsawed markets, beating the average 30% gain at US peers. However, the lender set aside its biggest quarterly provision in ...