October, 2020

• 28 October

  One in four EU airports may face insolvency

  Bloomberg Many European airports will struggle to stave off insolvency without state help unless travel recovers from its pandemic slump by the end of the year, according to the continent’s main industry group. Airports Council International Europe predicts that 193 out of 740 airports in the region will soon struggle to pay their bills while government-imposed quarantine requirements remain in ...

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• 28 October

  ANA’s new budget carrier already faces skepticism

  Bloomberg ANA Holdings’s plan to launch a new low-cost carrier has doubters, given the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on airlines worldwide and an industry trend towards retrenching. The company said it will launch a new budget brand around fiscal year 2022, targeting medium-distance flights to Southeast Asia and Oceania. That coincided with the carrier unveiling a restructuring plan involving cost reductions ...

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• 28 October

  In tight Georgia battle, Asian Americans could decide vote

  

  Bloomberg When Joe Biden popped up in Warm Springs, Georgia to stump for votes, it underscored just how up for grabs the long-time Republican state has become this presidential election. And if Biden manages to become the first Democratic candidate to turn Georgia blue in 28 years, Asian Americans will likely play a decisive role in that victory. Their ranks ...

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• 28 October

  Philippines is building up fleet in South China Sea

  

  Bloomberg The Philippines is taking a page out of China’s book by building up its own fleet that includes fishing boats in the South China Sea, the Southeast Asian nation’s top diplomat said. “We are swarming the areas because that’s the Chinese strategy — to swarm the areas also with the fishing boats,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin said in ...

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• 28 October

  Malaysia king urges to back budget vote

  

  Bloomberg Malaysia’s king called on all lawmakers to support the government’s 2021 budget, in a move that could lend some stability to embattled PM Muhyiddin Yassin’s leadership ahead of a key parliament vote. The monarch expressed “full confidence” in the prime minister’s ability to lead the country through the crisis, and urged all politicians to cease their bickering, Indera Ahmad ...

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• 28 October

  Tanzania president faces opposition in tense vote

  

  Bloomberg Tanzanians started voting in general elections, with President John Magufuli’s party likely to extend its decades-long rule on the country that’s one of Africa’s top four gold producers. Magufuli, 61, whose Chama Cha Mapinduzi has governed for more than half a century, is seeking a second five-year term to continue major infrastructure works, including an expansion of Tanzania’s road ...

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• 28 October

  Merkel pushing for a partial lockdown in Germany

  

  Bloomberg Chancellor Angela Merkel is pushing for a partial lockdown in Germany that would include closing restaurants and leisure facilities through the end of November, as coronavirus infections continue to surge across Europe. Merkel is also urging citizens to keep private contacts to an absolute minimum, and to avoid all non-essential private travel, according to a draft federal government briefing ...

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• 28 October

  Europe’s capitals mull recovery loans with eye on soaring debt

  

  Bloomberg As the European Union (EU) seeks to disburse funds from its 750 billion-euro ($888 billion) recovery program as soon as next year, some of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic are struggling to work out how to best keep their finances in check once they take on billions of euros of new loans. Spain, Greece and Portugal plan ...

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• 28 October

  WTO recommends Nigeria’s candidate for top position

  

  Bloomberg The World Trade Organization’s (WTO) effort to name a new leader hit a new roadblock on Wednesday after the Trump administration said it won’t back the appointment of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to be the WTO’s next director-general. The US could not support a consensus decision to appoint Okonjo-Iweala, Deputy US Trade Representative Dennis Shea said during a meeting of WTO ...

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• 28 October

  Argentina considers fiscal incentives for job growth

  Bloomberg Argentina is considering fiscal incentives to encourage companies to hire workers after unemployment spiked to the highest in at least 16 years amid pandemic. Labour Minister Claudio Moroni said he’s been working with the Production Ministry to lower some employer contributions. The incentives will probably be aimed at hard-hit industries in Argentina’s least-favoured provinces, he said. “The idea is ...

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