Bloomberg Standard Bank Group Ltd. said first-quarter net income declined 27% after Africa’s largest lender prepared for a surge in loan defaults as measures to contain the coronavirus batter business and personal incomes alike. Credit-impairment charges for the three months through March were “significantly higher” than in the prior year, the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement. “The increase was ...

Bloomberg A former Deutsche Bank AG veteran’s Japanese cryptocurrency exchange is poised to start trading services just as Bitcoin shows signs of a recovery from coronavirus-fuelled turmoil. More than two years after its foundation, FXcoin Ltd. plans to offer Bitcoin transactions on its platform from May, it said in a statement on Thursday. The firm has recently begun accepting applications ...

Bloomberg Last month HSBC Holdings Plc shocked investors by announcing it would scrap its dividend. For the Hong Kong Medical Association, a group in charge of community public health programs instrumental in the fight against the coronavirus and a long-time investor in the city’s biggest bank, the news meant it would lose 7% of its annual spending budget. With more ...

Bloomberg The European Central Bank (ECB) will accept some junk-rated debt as collateral for its loans to banks in a move that aims to shield the euro area’s most vulnerable economies as they face the risk of credit downgrades in the coronavirus. The ECB will accept bonds as long as they had at least the lowest investment grade on April ...

Bloomberg A South Korean bank is offering bonds to fund the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, joining issuers worldwide issuing such debt. Kookmin Bank is marketing five-year dollar notes whose proceeds will be used to support small and medium-sized firms and mom-and-pop businesses affected by the virus. Investor demand for debt to battle the coronavirus outbreak is expected to grow ...

Bloomberg The co-owner of Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd said it’s unable to invest more in Richard Branson’s struggling UK airline, and raised the possibility it could face going through insolvency proceedings. Delta Air Lines Inc, which owns a 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic, can’t help out because it’s consumed with its own problems and has already bumped up against UK ...

Bloomberg Delta Air Lines Inc is seeking to raise $3 billion from loans and bonds as it grapples with a global travel shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The company is offering a $1.5 billion first lien term loan due 2023 and the same amount in senior secured bonds maturing in 2025, it said in a statement. The debt, which ...

Bloomberg Boeing Co is tapping Mark Jenks, the head of its 737 programme, to oversee a drive to improve manufacturing practices across all of its commercial aircraft programs, according to an internal memo viewed by Bloomberg. The changes are part of a broader shake-up at Boeing’s commercial division under Stan Deal, who took control late last year as the planemaker ...

Bloomberg The retail shutdowns sweeping the country amid the coronavirus outbreak have put L Brands Inc in a tough spot. With a deal to sell its iconic Victoria’s Secret brand now in jeopardy, things just got a lot worse. The future of the ailing inner wear business is in limbo after Sycamore Partners said it wants out of the deal ...

Bloomberg American Airlines Group raised the cost of checking a bag on a trans-Atlantic flight by 25% for customers buying its cheapest ticket as carriers worldwide struggle with the collapse of travel demand due to coronavirus. The fee to check a first bag rose to $75 from $60 for passengers who purchase a Basic Economy ticket after April 21, American ...