Europe’s lenders are staring at yet another possible crisis, this time not of their own making, and the brutal reality is that the European Central Bank can do very little to help them. That’s bad news for the real economy too. The economic hit from the rapid spread of the coronavirus will probably mean another spate of loans turning bad, ...

Even Richard Branson couldn’t provide the spark needed to save struggling Flybe. The UK’s largest domestic airline collapsed into administration on March 05 after failing to secure a last-ditch bailout from the government. There is no doubt that the coronavirus played a part in Flybe’s demise. The spread of the deadly disease is having a devastating effect travel and tourism. ...

Bloomberg After a decade-long uphill battle against passive investing, active funds are getting a rare moment of respite, courtesy of the worst equity sell-off since 2018. About 60% of large-cap mutual funds beat their benchmarks as the S&P 500 tumbled into a correction in February, the best hit rate in two years, according to data compiled by Bank of America ...

Bloomberg A second hit could be coming for China’s economy after its initial shock from the coronavirus, said Joe Davis, chief economist at fund giant Vanguard Group. While China has seen new cases of the virus slow, its spread is intensifying in the US and Europe. Should that trend keep hammering the economies of both regions, it could knock a ...

Bloomberg Global central bankers enter a new week under fresh pressure to outline the next steps in their battle to address the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. Policy makers got a wakeup call last week as the Federal Reserve’s emergency interest rate cut did little restore confidence, leaving officials hunting for innovative ways to add stimulus that can have a ...

Bloomberg Intesa Sanpaolo SpA will go ahead with its plan to take over smaller rival UBI Banca SpA if at least 50.1% of its shareholders adhere to the offer, Chief Executive Officer Carlo Messina said in an interview with Corriere della Sera. “Given the value of the deal for the country, as well as for Intesa Sanpaolo and UBI itself, ...

Bloomberg The fallout from the global spread of coronavirus may be starting to affect credit and funding markets, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. Supply-chain disruptions and demand shock from the virus fallout could already be causing cash-flow problems for businesses, JPMorgan strategist Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote in a note. That’s probably even more true for smaller companies and those in ...

Bloomberg The governing council of the European Central Bank (ECB) has ended the limit imposed on the exposure of Greek lenders to the country’s sovereign debt, Greece’s Finance Minister said. The ECB believes that the reasons and conditions that led to the March 2015 decision no longer exist, Christos Staikouras said in an emailed statement, citing rising deposits, the improved ...

Bloomberg The Czech central bank pushed back against billionaire Prime Minister Andrej Babis’s criticism of its efforts to curb inflation with higher borrowing costs. The surprising February rate increase — the only one globally this year — prompted a rebuke from Babis, who said such moves are boosting banks’ earnings while hurting the economy during a slowdown. The bank is ...

Bloomberg Brazil’s central bank announced it will sell dollars in the spot market for the first time this year, boosting its efforts to support the currency after a dire week. Policy makers will offer as much as $1 billion in a spot dollar auction. The central bank had been stepping into the foreign exchange markets only via swap auctions, of ...