March, 2020

• 30 March

  Eight killed in medical rescue jet fire in Manila

  

  Bloomberg Eight people were killed after a Lionair plane caught fire before it took off from Manila for Tokyo on a medical mission. The plane was a West Wind 24 aircraft bound for the Haneda airport in Japan with two passengers and six crew members on board, according to Manila airport authorities. Manila International Airport fire and rescue officials rushed …

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• 30 March

  United, Delta signal longer-term job cuts

  

  Bloomberg Two of the US’s biggest airlines are warning workers that the unprecedented loss of customers may leave both as smaller companies in the future, imperiling the nation’s airline jobs even after the government steps in with billions of dollars to help the industry weather the coronavirus pandemic. Top executives at Delta Air Lines Inc and United Airlines told their …

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• 30 March

  Lufthansa seeks German wage support

  

  Bloomberg Deutsche Lufthansa AG has applied for German subsidies to offset wages of some 31,000 workers that have been idled because the airline has largely grounded its fleet. The so-called Kurzarbeit programme affects cabin crew and ground staff, a spokesman confirmed to Bloomberg News by email. The company is in talks with its pilots union about similar measures, with a …

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• 30 March

  Airlines raise more than $17b from banks in weeks

  Bloomberg Airlines worldwide raised more than $17 billion in bank loans in March to shore up their finances amid the coronavirus outbreak. US carriers were the most active, borrowing $12.5 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Delta Air Lines Inc is the top borrower this month, obtaining $5.6 billion, followed by Singapore Airlines Ltd, which secured a S$4 billion …

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• 30 March

  Covid-19: Amazon closes US apparel returns warehouse

  

  Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc has extended the shuttering of a warehouse dedicated to returning apparel after three workers tested positive for Covid-19, the first known instance of the online retailer indefinintely idling a US facility in response to the pandemic. The move comes after employees expressed concern that returning to work to process returned sneakers and wristwatches wasn’t worth the risk …

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• 30 March

  Lululemon slips over ‘forecast’

  Bloomberg Lululemon Athletica Inc reported an acceleration of sales growth in the latest quarter, but refrained from offering an outlook for the current year because of the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The Vancouver-based retailer, which has closed many locations amid the health crisis, said the key metric of comparable sales, a gauge of retail success, accelerated to 20% …

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• 29 March

  Oil market broken as virus ravages global economy

  

  Bloomberg The global oil market is broken, overwhelmed by an unmanageable surplus as virus lockdowns cascade through the world’s largest economies. Onshore tanks in many markets are full, forcing traders to store excess oil in idle supertankers. Refineries are starting to shut down because nobody needs the fuels they produce. In physical oil markets, barrels are already changing hands for …

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• 29 March

  Saudi extends suspension of work, flights

  

  RIYADH / WAM The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced on Sunday that it will extend the suspension of workplace attendance in both public and private sectors and international passenger flights among efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus. In a statement issued by an official source at the Ministry of Interior, all domestic flights, trains, buses and taxis also …

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• 29 March

  Pipelines ask US oil drillers to curb output as tanks fill up

  

  Bloomberg American pipeline operators have begun asking oil producers to voluntarily ratchet back their output in the clearest sign yet that a growing glut of crude is overwhelming storage capacity. Plains All American Pipeline LP, one of the biggest shippers of crude in the US, sent a letter last week asking its suppliers to scale back production. The notice came …

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• 29 March

  Buffett-backed BYD to supply electric car parts to rivals

  

  Bloomberg BYD Co, the Chinese electric-vehicle maker backed by Warren Buffett, will start offering a full suite of EV components to rivals and aspiring auto manufacturers to diversify its revenue sources amid sputtering car demand. Among the parts that the Shenzhen-based company makes and now sells are electric-car batteries, powertrains and lights, founder Wang Chuanfu said in an online press …

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