June, 2020

• 28 June

  Malawi’s new leader Chakwera sworn in

  

  Bloomberg Lazarus Chakwera was sworn in as Malawi’s new leader on Sunday, a day after trouncing Peter Mutharika in a court-ordered election rerun, and pledged to unite the deeply dividend nation and clamp down on graft. “I know that there are many of you who did not vote for me in this election, and perhaps the prospect of my presidency ...

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• 28 June

  Putin seizes moment to rule amid fading popularity

  

  Bloomberg After two decades in power, Vladimir Putin’s approval ratings are at an all-time low as Russia’s economy reels under the impact of the coronavirus epidemic and the slump in oil prices. What better time for him to seek to extend his presidency for potentially 16 more years? It’s a measure of how tightly Putin has controlled the operation to ...

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• 28 June

  UK PM vows heavy spending on economy, rejects austerity

  

  Bloomberg Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed the UK will spend large sums on hospitals, schools and roads to jump-start the economy as it emerges from the coronavirus lockdown that has plunged the country into what may be the worst recession in three centuries. In an interview in the Daily Mail, Johnson rejected a return to the austerity policies that followed ...

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• 28 June

  Brazil reaches deal to produce Oxford Covid-19 vaccine

  

  Bloomberg Brazil, the nation with the second-highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths, reached a deal with the UK to produce the Covid-19 vaccine that’s been developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca Plc. Brazil will spend $287 million to buy vaccine doses and ingredients for as many as 100 million shots that it will be able to produce locally with ...

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• 28 June

  June jump in US jobs belies long recovery

  Bloomberg Employers probably kept hiring millions of Americans in June as states gradually lifted pandemic-related restrictions on businesses in a delicate balancing act of getting economies rolling again while limiting infection rates. Economists project the Labour Department will report a three million increase in payrolls after a surprising 2.5 million gain a month earlier. The back-to-back gains, nonetheless, pale in ...

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• 28 June

  Wirecard vows to continue with activities amid insolvency steps

  

  Bloomberg Wirecard AG expects its provisional insolvency administrator to be appointed shortly as the scandal-hit payment company said its business activities will continue. Once lauded as one of Germany’s most successful up-and-coming businesses, Wirecard filed for insolvency after the company said that 1.9 billion euros ($2.1 billion) previously reported as cash on its balance sheet probably doesn’t exist. In a ...

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• 28 June

  Peru to ease quarantine measures

  Bloomberg Peru will lift quarantine measures for most of the country starting July 1, easing one of the world’s strictest lockdowns as it faces a severe economic slide. Mandatory isolation orders will end for all but a handful of departments, according to a government decree, which left in place a state of emergency until July 31. Children and the elderly ...

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• 28 June

  The future of inflation is the biggest question in finance

  

  Bloomberg Perhaps the most challenging riddle for investors in the pandemic is whether another centuries-old scourge is going to return. Inflation can wreck even the safest portfolio by eroding the value of investments for decades. But you would be hard pressed to find anyone among the younger generation of investors, within developed markets at least, who has faced it in ...

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• 28 June

  European stocks are entering H2 of 2020 on a strong footing

  

  Bloomberg European stocks are entering the second half of the year on a strong footing. Even after three straight months of gains, a growing number of strategists and investors are turning bullish on the region’s equities. Helping sentiment are reports pointing to an economic bounce, unprecedented stimulus measures and optimism that easing lockdown measures won’t lead to a second wave ...

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• 28 June

  Canada’s stock market faces a rocky road ahead

  

  Bloomberg The wild ride of Canada’s stock market in 2020 shows no signs of abating soon. That’s the message from strategists who are expecting choppy months ahead as investors worry about a second coronavirus wave and plunging corporate profits amid a global recession, trade tensions and US elections. “Now that we’re coming into the summer, it’s going to be more ...

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