October, 2020

• 18 October

  Uniqlo owner sees return to pre-pandemic profit

  

  Bloomberg Asia’s largest retailer Fast Retailing Co sees profits growing slightly beyond analysts’ expectations this fiscal year, driven by a robust recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic in the Uniqlo owner’s key China and Japan markets. Operating profit will probably be 245 billion yen ($2.3 billion) for the year through August 2021, the Japanese company said in a statement. That compares ...

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• 18 October

  Australia adds flights for stranded citizens

  Bloomberg Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government is adding more commercial flights from the UK, India and South Africa and boosting quarantine places so that more Australians stranded overseas by the pandemic can return home. Morrison said Qantas Airways Ltd will provide eight flights over coming weeks from London, New Delhi and Johannesburg. Australia’s capacity to let citizens and permanent residents ...

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• 18 October

  Pelosi sets deadline if Trump wants pre-election stimulus

  

  Bloomberg Nancy Pelosi remains hopeful a deal on a new stimulus bill can be reached before the November 3 election, but said that Monday is a deadline for more progress in talks with the White House to make that happen. “Are we going with it, or not? And what is the language?” the House Speaker said on ABC’s “This Week ...

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• 18 October

  Armenia, Azerbaijan ceasefire collapses within few hours

  

  Bloomberg A ceasefire between Azerbaijan and Armenia was in tatters hours after coming into effect, with both sides trading accusations of violations on Sunday. It’s the second truce brokered by Russia this month that has failed to stop the violence. Hundreds of people have been killed since the worst fighting in decades erupted between the countries over the breakaway region ...

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• 18 October

  Thai protesters ignore crackdown to rally

  

  Bloomberg Thousands of protesters — calling for the resignation of PM Prayuth Chan-Ocha’s government and reform of the monarchy — filled a busy traffic intersection in Thailand’s capital on Sunday, ignoring a ban on gatherings and threat of crackdowns by the police. Demonstrators braved rain to gather around Victory Monument, one of the main centers for Bangkok’s public transit, with ...

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• 18 October

  Guinea holds presidential election amid tension over third-term bid

  

  Bloomberg Guinean voters headed to the polls to pick a president after widespread protests over the incumbent’s bid to extend his 10-year rule. President Alpha Conde, 82, and former prime minister Cellou Dalein Diallo, 68, are the frontrunners in the 12-man race to lead the world’s top bauxite producer. Conde, who’s beaten Diallo twice before, is seeking a third term ...

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• 18 October

  Ardern’s stunning election victory holds lessons for US

  

  Bloomberg Jacinda Ardern’s emphatic election victory is seen as an endorsement of an inclusive brand of leadership that may ripple beyond New Zealand’s borders. In an age of populism and confrontation, Ardern’s message of empathy and kindness married with skillful crisis management won her Labour Party its biggest share of the vote in more than 70 years. That contrasts starkly ...

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• 18 October

  Bolivia votes for president after a year

  Bloomberg Bolivians were expected to vote in presidential and congressional elections with the socialist movement seeking a return to power a year after their leader Evo Morales was ousted and fled the country. Morales’s ally Luis Arce, a UK-educated economist, is ahead in polls, but needs to avoid a run-off in which voters opposed to his socialist party can unite ...

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• 18 October

  BofA inches closer to diversity, says there’s more work to do

  

  Bloomberg Bank of America Corp. (BofA) inched closer to its diversity goals last year, and said it recognises more needs to be done. Racial and gender representation increased in most areas of the company, including among senior management, according to data by the bank. Still, the percentage of women in the top three tiers of the firm remained unchanged from ...

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• 18 October

  Thailand central bank extends $16b soft loan programme for SMEs

  

  Bloomberg The Bank of Thailand extended its 500 billion baht ($16 billion) “soft loan” program for small and medium-sized enterprises by six months to help with the effects of the lingering Covid-19 outbreak, the central bank said on its website. The central bank also relaxed rules to allow listed SMEs to join the low interest-rate lending program, which started April ...

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