Bloomberg Central banks stepped up their emergency efforts to calm financial markets and support their economies in a historic week of market losses as more of the world shuts down to contain the coronavirus outbreak. Meeting into their nights, policy makers at the Federal Reserve launched a program to support money market mutual funds, hours after those at the European ...

Bloomberg Indonesia’s central bank cut its benchmark interest rate for a second straight month and slashed its economic growth forecast, joining global policy makers seeking to shore up their economies amid the coronavirus crisis. Bank Indonesia lowered the seven-day reverse repurchase rate by 25 basis points to 4.50%, in line with the forecasts of 14 of 26 economists surveyed by ...

Bloomberg India’s most-valuable bank is betting big on the nation’s businesses at a time when a slumping economy and souring loans have forced peers to retreat. HDFC Bank Ltd.’s lending to large and small companies surged 63% over the two years through December 31 as India’s economy went from world-leading growth to its slowest expansion in six years. Behind the ...

Bloomberg The Bank of Korea (BOK) said it will purchase 1.5 trillion won ($1.2 billion) in government bonds in order to stabilise markets amid the coronavirus crisis. Futures on the bonds rose after the announcement. The BOK routinely buys government bonds, but the last time it bought them for the stated purpose of market stability was in 2016 when volatility ...

Bloomberg Norway’s central bank said it is ready to intervene after the bottom seemed to fall out of the krone market. “In recent days, there has been an extraordinary situation in the market for Norwegian kroner and movements in the exchange rate have been historically large,” the central bank said. “Against this background Norges Bank is continuously considering whether there ...

Bloomberg The Bank of England (BOE) cut interest rates to a record-low 0.1% and added 200 billion pounds to its asset-purchase program in its latest emergency action to mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The pound rose. The decision, just days into the tenure of new Governor Andrew Bailey, saw the central bank lower rates by 15 basis points ...

Bloomberg US airlines are strenuously pushing the Trump administration and Congress for cash grants, arguing behind the scenes that a Senate proposal to hand them billions of dollars in taxpayer-backed loans isn’t sufficient to guarantee their long-term health, two people familiar with the matter said. Industry lobby group Airlines for America had been urging the White House to agree to ...

Bloomberg South African Airways (SAA), the cash-strapped national airline, suspended all flights outside its home country until the end of May after a government travel ban aimed at stopping the transmission of the coronavirus. Routes to New York, London and other global cities were scrapped after President Cyril Ramaphosa declared some of the destinations high risk. The state-owned carrier initially ...

Bloomberg Walmart Inc is hiring 150,000 temporary workers to meet surging demand for everyday goods, as the US retail giant prepares to start coronavirus tests in store parking lots over the weekend. The new employees will largely work in distribution centres and many will become permanent staff over time, Walmart said in a statement. The company is also slated to ...

Bloomberg Delta Air Lines Inc is suspending its dividend and share repurchase programme as US carriers seek a $58 billion government bailout. The airline also entered into a $2.6 billion secured credit facility, enhancing liquidity amid a daily cash burn of $50 million as travel demand collapses because of the coronavirus pandemic. The company is also drawing $3 billion under ...