Italy’s government has congratulated itself for showing the rest of the Western world how to enforce a lockdown in a democratic society. Nearly two months after that draconian decision, politicians are still keeping their citizens in the dark over the thinking behind their actions. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced that he would lift a number of measures that have restricted ...

Amazon.com Inc has come under pressure in a locked-down Europe for doing what it does best: selling consumers everything they need. An appeals court in France said the US online retailing giant must limit its range to essential items: food, health products and computer equipment. In Germany, competition authorities are monitoring the company after complaints from retailers. It has endured ...

Bloomberg European and Asian stocks edged higher with US equity futures on Tuesday as the earnings season gathered pace and governments contemplated reopening their economies. Crude oil extended sharp losses after plunging on Monday. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index nudged higher at the open. Banking giant HSBC Holdings Plc slipped after it cautioned that bad loan charges may climb to ...

Bloomberg Australian shares may revisit the seven-year low reached last month as oil volatility and worries over the financial impact of the coronavirus dampened a recent rally. The S&P/ASX 200 index has reclaimed about 17% from the trough on March 23, having faltered last week after entering a technical bull market earlier this month. With the Reserve Bank of Australia ...

Bloomberg JPMorgan Chase & Co. is looking to help blue-chip companies untether trillions of dollars locked up in corporate supply chains globally through a new technology partnership. The bank is working with Taulia Inc., a platform that provides working capital solutions, to redistribute liquidity to smaller suppliers of large, investment-grade companies. The multinational firms will have the option to pay ...

Bloomberg Bank of America Corp. (BofA) Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan said the US government’s small business loan program should be fully funded, rather than having companies scramble for the cash required to get through the economic hit from coronavirus. “If you qualify for this program it’s like getting unemployment authorization and then you have to win a foot race ...

Bloomberg Problem loans at some of Standard Chartered Plc’s large clients may top $600 million as a string of corporate scandals coincides with woes at firms hit by the coronavirus pandemic. NMC Health Plc, the hospital operator that’s uncovered evidence of fraud, and Hin Leong Trading, the Singaporean trading house being investigated by police, represent nearly $500 million of lending ...

Bloomberg Funders of South Africa’s largest agricultural bank are offering to help the state-owned lender recover from a loan default, but first need an indication from the government on how much support it is willing to give. The Land and Agricultural Development Bank, which provides about 30% of loans in the agricultural industry, failed to make repayments on a credit ...

Bloomberg The US Small Business Administration (SBA) is capping the value of loans individual banks can arrange under a federal economic relief program for small businesses after a fresh infusion of funding. The move reflects concerns among advocates for small businesses that the biggest US banks, which are ready to flood the SBA with applications, could dominate the lending and ...

Bloomberg China should maintain liquidity at a reasonably ample level and offer targeted support to companies hit by the coronavirus epidemic, China’s central bank Governor Yi Gang said. The impact from the virus on China’s economy will be short-lived, and the fundamentals won’t change, according to the article by Yi published by the Economic Research Journal in its March issue. ...