Bloomberg Hertz Global Holdings Inc. is discussing options with banks to raise cash as the rental-car company seeks to weather a worldwide slowdown in travel, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Among the options being discussed by the company and banks led by Barclays Plc are a first-lien loan, second-lien financing or collateralising the company’s vehicle fleet. Hertz ...

Bloomberg General Motors Co. (GM) agreed to a $120 million settlement over faulty ignition switches that allegedly caused cars to stall and air bags to deploy, in some cases triggering fatal accidents. The deal, which must be approved by a judge, would resolve hundreds of lawsuits filed before the automaker sought bankruptcy protection in 2009. Under the settlement, which was ...

Bloomberg Irish unemployment may surge to the highest level since the 1980s, as the coronavirus takes an unprecedented toll on the economy. The jobless rate could rise 18% in the second quarter, the government-backed ESRI think-tank said, should current restrictions remain in place for 12 weeks as planned. About 350,000 people would lose their jobs, the think tank said, with ...

Bloomberg The French government said it will cut or withhold financial support from companies paying dividends and urged boards to preserve liquidity to support staff and operations amid the economic fallout from the coronavirus. All companies that have delayed tax payments will have to reimburse the state and pay penalties if they proceed with dividends, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire ...

Bloomberg Italy’s coronavirus death toll topped 10,000 and Spain posted record fatalities, signalling that lockdowns in Europe won’t be lifted anytime soon while its leaders split along economic fault lines. Deaths in Italy slowed to 889 from a record 969 on March 27 and the 5,974 new infections were similar to the previous day’s level. Spain suffered another 832 deaths. ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump backed away from imposing a quarantine for New York and parts of New Jersey and Connecticut to stop the spread of Covid-19, after floating the idea on isolating those hard-hit areas earlier in the day. In an announcement on Twitter, Trump followed up on a suggestion he first raised on March 28 at the White House, ...

Bloomberg North Korea fired what appeared to be an unidentified missile into its eastern sea, the South Korean military said, raising regional security concerns as world leaders battle the spread of the coronavirus. The launch was at least its fourth this month, which Japan’s coast guards said likely fell outside its exclusive economic zone. The projectile likely flew as far ...

Bloomberg Russia, the largest country by area, will temporarily shut all its borders starting from Monday after the number of coronavirus infections increased sharply over the last week. Health officials on March 28 reported 228 new cases of coronavirus overnight, bringing the total to 1,264, with four deaths attributed to the illness. The order, posted on the government website, followed ...

Bloomberg Africa is two to three weeks away from the worst of the coronavirus storm and needs an emergency economic stimulus of $100 billion to bolster preventative measures and support its fragile healthcare systems, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa ( UNECA). Almost half of the funds could come from waiving interest payments to multilateral institutions. That ...

Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc warned it still expects to book higher credit losses on the back of the coronavirus pandemic, even after regulators gave it more leeway to deal with unpaid loans. Europe’s largest bank also put its job-cutting programme on hold. In an update to investors contained in the prospectus for its latest debt sale, disclosed in a US ...