March, 2020

• 30 March

  S African banks ‘underwhelm’ with response to virus fallout

  

  Bloomberg South African banks are being criticised by labour unions and small business owners for not doing enough to help struggling customers as the coronavirus lockdown looms. “The response is quite underwhelming,” said Matthew Parks, a parliamentary coordinator for the Congress of South African Trade Unions. “There are too many ifs and buts. It’s hitting too few people. It’s just …

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• 30 March

  Bank Rakyat draws bidders in revived unit stake sale

  

  Bloomberg PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia has revived its plan to sell a stake in its life insurance arm, which is attracting interest from suitors in a deal that could fetch about $500 million, according to people familiar with the matter. FWD Group Ltd., backed by Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li, and BNP Paribas Cardif SA are among potential bidders for …

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• 30 March

  Deutsche’s Jamal Al Kishi joins Bahrain’s GIB as CEO

  Bloomberg Jamal Al Kishi, Deutsche Bank AG’s chief executive officer (CEO) for the Middle East and Africa, has quit to join Bahrain-based Gulf International Bank (GIB). Al Kishi, who had been with the German lender since 2007, will become CEO of GIB’s parent company and deputy group CEO, the bank said in a statement. Headquartered in Bahrain, GIB is almost …

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• 30 March

  EasyJet grounds fleet, plans to build buffer over virus blow

  

  Bloomberg EasyJet Plc grounded its entire fleet after completing customer-repatriation flights, and said it’s in talks to build a cash cushion to see it through the gap in business caused by the coronavirus. The restart of scheduled flights will depend on government restrictions as well as demand, the UK discount carrier said in a statement. The shares fell as much …

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• 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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