August, 2020

• 31 August

  Malaysia extends measures to curb virus

  Bloomberg Malaysia has decided to extend measures aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus infections until the end of the year. The government continues to require the use of face masks in public spaces while places where social distancing is difficult to uphold, including theme parks, will remain shut, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said in a televised speech. Foreign tourists ...

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• 31 August

  Singapore’s local hire push threatens coveted expat jobs

  

  Bloomberg Singapore has long been the city of choice for Western expats wanting an easy entrée into Asia. Clean, efficient, with low tax rates, it’s often seen as rivaling Hong Kong, especially with that city hit by street protests and unrest over China’s new national security law. Yet just when Singapore should be a magnet for global talent, some recruiters ...

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• 31 August

  Berlin protest against virus restrictions ends in clashes

  

  Bloomberg Police clashed with far-right protesters in Berlin and made about 200 arrests after tens of thousands of people rallied mostly peacefully against German restrictions to contain the coronavirus pandemic. An estimated 38,000 people took part in at least two rallies near key federal government buildings, according to broadcaster ARD. Later, violence erupted between law enforcement and about 3,000 far-right ...

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• 31 August

  Dems pan intel chief’s move to end vote briefings

  

  Bloomberg Democrats lambasted a decision by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) to no longer provide lawmakers with in-person, verbal briefings on election security ahead of November’s vote, which President Donald Trump said came after “leaks.” “This is a shocking abdication of its lawful responsibility to keep the Congress currently informed, and a betrayal of the public’s ...

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• 31 August

  India to skip military drill in Russia, cites pandemic

  

  Bloomberg India has pulled out of a multilateral military exercise hosted by Russia next month, citing the coronavirus pandemic. A defense ministry statement said that India had decided not to send a contingent to the Kavkaz-2020 event in Russia “in view of pandemic and consequent difficulties in exercise.” Around 20 nations are expected to participate in the exercise, which is ...

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• 31 August

  EU calls for new elections in Belarus

  

  Bloomberg The European Union called for new elections to be held in Belarus, just as President Alexander Lukashenko makes plans to travel to Moscow in the coming weeks to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, wrote in Journal du Dimanche that a new ballot is needed, with the Organization for Security and Cooperation ...

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• 31 August

  Military coup in Mali raised alarm across West Africa

  

  Bloomberg The military coup in Mali raised alarm across West Africa, a region under threat for years from extremists that can ill afford more instability. Yet at home, it’s largely seen as a harbinger of progress. Weeks of public unrest and the final ouster of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was the culmination of anxiety over his failure to steer the ...

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• 30 August

  China’s big banks post worst profit slump on bad debt wave

  

  Bloomberg China’s biggest banks are suffering their worst profit decline in more than a decade as a cascade of loans to businesses across China are going bad. Reporting their first-half earnings on Sunday, China Construction Bank Corp., (CCB) the world’s second-largest lender by assets, said profit slid 11% in the period, while Agricultural Bank of China Ltd., (AgBank), China’s third ...

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• 30 August

  Negative rates part of BOE’s policy toolbox, says governor Bailey

  

  Bloomberg The Bank of England (BOE) has plenty of room to add more monetary stimulus to fight UK’s economic slump, including negative interest rates if needed, Governor Andrew Bailey said. “We are not out of firepower by any means,” he said at the Federal Reserve’s annual policy symposium, being held virtually instead of the traditional venue at Jackson Hole, Wyoming. “To ...

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• 30 August

  Credit Suisse uncovers client fraud at wealth management

  

  Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG has discovered fraud at its international wealth management business, two years after it was criticized by a regulator in a similar case that rattled the bank and raised questions about controls. The Swiss lender dismissed a Zurich-based banker who forged documentation on an over-the-counter contract for an African wealth management client, according to people familiar ...

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