Bloomberg India’s economy, already in the grip of a slowdown, is in for more pain after Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to citizens to stay at and work from home to curb the coronavirus outbreak. The services sector, which accounts for about 55% of India’s gross domestic product, is poised to be the worst hit after Modi, in an address, ...

Bloomberg Thailand’s capital imposed a partial shutdown from Sunday after novel coronavirus cases surged past 400 with a rising number of people in critical condition. Malls in Bangkok will be closed, and shops offering food and essential services will be among the few that can remain open, Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang said in a briefing. The restrictions will last from ...

Bloomberg Even as its neighbours and countries around the world are aggressively shutting down restaurants, theatres and other non-essential businesses to contain the spread of the coronavirus, Singapore is boldly resisting that move. The city-state — seen as a litmus test for containing the spread of the coronavirus — is “doing its utmost” to prevent the spread without having a ...

Bloomberg Palm oil dropped to a five-month low on concern about poor purchases by top buyer India, Malaysia’s move to allow the industry to operate during a nationwide lockdown and an overnight slump in petroleum. The world’s most-consumed edible oil fell 1.3% to close at its lowest level since October as a rout in crude oil prices to an 18-year ...

Bloomberg As a 17-year-old trainee bellboy, Kuok Meng Xiong spent a summer opening doors at his family’s Island Shangri-La hotel in Hong Kong. It was here, sweating through back rooms and service corridors, that he started to learn the hard truths of running a business. Now, after more than 20 years and a career spent helping run the family’s operations ...

Bloomberg The biggest utility bankruptcy in US history appears to be drawing to a close after PG&E Corp reached a deal with California Governor Gavin Newsom over the company’s restructuring plan. The agreement calls for PG&E to put itself up for sale if the bankruptcy court doesn’t approve its plan by June 30 or if the company fails to emerge ...

Bloomberg Coal miners including Consol Energy Inc and Contura Energy Inc must shutter their operations in Pennsylvania after the governor ordered “non-life-sustaining” businesses to close. The order took effect from March 19, according to a statement from Gov. Tom Wolf. Pennsylvania is the latest state to order commercial activities to shut down as governments move to slow the spread of ...

Bloomberg South Africa’s state-owned utility has yet to agree a supply contract for the bulk of coal needed for its newest power station, more than a decade after approving a plan to negotiate with Anglo American Plc. In 2007, an Eskom Holding SOC Ltd committee signed off on the start of talks with Anglo for as much as 17 million ...

Bloomberg Mexico slashed the price for its flagship Maya crude, the latest producer to discount its cargoes as the coronavirus pandemic destroys fuel demand and Saudi Arabia floods the world with crude. Petroleos Mexicanos’s trading arm PMI lowered its Maya crude differential into US Gulf Coast by $2 to minus $10.05 a barrel for April, PMI said. The so-called K ...

Bloomberg Microsoft Corp. unveiled new features for its Teams corporate-chat software, timed to the product’s third anniversary and arriving amid a surge of interest in digital workplace communications tools spurred by the Covid-19 outbreak. Several of the tools may be especially useful for employees in the new world of work from home. Real-time noise suppression should block out the sounds ...