March, 2020

• 9 March

  Risks stack up for Philippine central bank chief in 2nd year

  

  Bloomberg Philippine central bank Governor Benjamin Diokno’s plate is full as he starts his second year in office. Diokno must enforce a range of new laws, including ones allowing the central bank to issue bonds and boost the country’s stubbornly low saving rate. And he ends his first year in office with a fresh global worry: the coronavirus outbreak weighing …

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• 9 March

  Pressure on SNB to cut hasn’t been this high in years

  Bloomberg Swiss National Bank (SNB) logic would dictate that it’s time to cut interest rates. With markets in a tailspin due to the coronavirus, the spread between Swiss and German bond yields that SNB President Thomas Jordan has repeatedly cited as necessary to prevent the franc from appreciating has melted away. The yield on German 10-year government bonds plunged to …

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• 9 March

  Lufthansa seeks government support amid virus fallout

  

  Bloomberg Deutsche Lufthansa AG fell with other airline stocks after saying it was looking into government support amid the “immense” fallout from the coronavirus, which could burden travel demand for months. To avoid layoffs after slashing capacity by as much as 50%, the airline is examining the implementation of so-called short-time work, the company said in an emailed statement to …

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• 9 March

  Asia airports face $3b revenue loss on virus

  

  Bloomberg Air traffic in the Asia Pacific is set to plunge 24% in the first three months of this year because of the coronavirus’s impact on travel, erasing $3 billion in revenue for the region’s airports, a regional industry group said. “Unlike airlines, who can choose to cancel flights or relocate their aircraft to other markets to reduce operating costs, …

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• 9 March

  London Heathrow’s baggage handlers test positive for virus

  

  Bloomberg Coronavirus has reached UK’s busiest airport, after two British Airways baggage handlers at London Heathrow tested positive for the disease. The affected workers are recovering in isolation at home, British Airways parent IAG SA said in an email. A small number of the luggage handlers’ colleagues are also being tested, a person familiar with the matter said. The outbreak’s …

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• 9 March

  Ethiopia Air crash victim families seek more than money

  

  Bloomberg One year after losing his wife in the Boeing Co 737 Max crash in Ethiopia, it’s the lack of information about what happened that is prolonging Bayihe Demissie’s grief. More than 500 family members of victims of the disaster will gather at the crash site outside the capital, Addis Ababa, to commemorate the first anniversary of the tragedy. As …

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• 9 March

  Modell’s Sporting Goods to file for bankruptcy

  Bloomberg Modell’s Sporting Goods Inc is preparing a bankruptcy filing that could come soon after the retailer failed to garner enough support from its vendors and landlords. Following weeks of negotiations with its stakeholders, the family-owned retail chain is looking to file for Chapter 11 protection and sell assets through a court-supervised bidding process, Chief Executive Officer Mitchell Modell said …

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• 8 March

  Saudi’s Acwa, Uzbekistan ink $2.5b energy security deals

  

  TASHKENT / WAM ACWA Power announced the signing of three new strategic agreements, potentially worth up to $2.5 billion, with the Ministry of Energy of Uzbekistan to amplify power generation and develop technical expertise. The agreements include a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), and Investment Agreement – with a total investment value of $1.2 billion – for the development, construction …

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• 8 March

  Saudis plan big oil output hike

  

  Bloomberg Saudi Arabia plans to boost oil output next month to well above 10 million barrels a day, as the kingdom responds to the collapse of its Opec+ alliance with Russia. The world’s largest oil exporter engaged in an all-out price war by slashing pricing for its crude by the most in more than 30 years. State energy giant Saudi …

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• 8 March

  Eskom warns of 8,000 megawatts power cuts if maintenance delayed

  

  Bloomberg Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd warned that its maintenance plan must be supported by the government or South Africa can expect regular blackouts from power cuts of 8,000 megawatts by mid-2021, a move that would cripple the economy. Shortly after taking up the role in January, Chief Executive Officer Andre de Ruyter said more planned power outages, known locally as …

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