June, 2020

• 23 June

  Trump vows arrest for protesters who try to topple statues

  

  Bloomberg President Donald Trump said he told federal officials to arrest anyone who vandalises or destroys monuments or statues on US property after law enforcement near the White House used a pepper spray-like substance to move protesters away from a statue they tried to tear down. Photos from reporters on scene showed ropes slung around part of a statue of ...

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• 23 June

  Zuma fails in attempts to dodge S African graft case

  

  Bloomberg Former South African President Jacob Zuma, who is facing corruption, racketeering and money-laundering charges dating back to the 1990s, appeared in court after failing in repeated attempts to avoid standing trial. Zuma has argued that the case is politically motivated, but the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled in 2017 that a 2009 decision not to pursue the charges was ...

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• 23 June

  Ex-US marine sentenced for spying in Russia won’t appeal

  Bloomberg Paul Whelan, a former US marine who was convicted of spying in Moscow last week in a case criticised by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, won’t appeal his 16-year sentence, the Interfax news service reported Tuesday. Whelan declined to appeal because he has no faith in Russian courts and hopes that a deal is in the works to exchange ...

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• 23 June

  Spain weighs major boost to $113bn loan guarantee plan

  

  Bloomberg Spain is weighing plans to significantly increase the size of its 100 billion-euro ($113 billion) loan-guarantee fund after the program attracted huge demand from businesses struggling to weather the coronavirus pandemic, according to people familiar with the matter. Officials are considering pledging as much as 50 billion euros in additional guarantees, one person said. Others said the ultimate size ...

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• 23 June

  German economy takes another step on slow path to recovery

  

  Bloomberg German private-sector activity pointed to further signs of a turnaround from the virus slump, with output contracting in June by the least in four months. Both manufacturers and service providers saw a gauge for activity improve, even as production remained in decline overall. That suggests both sectors “were seemingly over the worst, but far from firing on all cylinders,” ...

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• 23 June

  Wirecard’s ex-CEO Marcus Braun arrested in Germany

  Bloomberg Wirecard AG’s former chief executive officer was arrested by Munich prosecutors after $2.1 billion went missing from the digital-payment company, in a scandal that has rattled Germany’s financial industry. Markus Braun, who resigned last week, was arrested in Munich as part of a probe into the company’s accounting practices, prosecutors said. The company is fighting for survival after acknowledging ...

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• 23 June

  France’s revival sees economy unexpectedly return to growth

  

  Bloomberg The French economy’s revival from the coronavirus lockdown appears stronger than anticipated, with a measure of private-sector activity showing growth for the first time in four months. IHS Markit’s Purchasing Managers Index jumped to 51.3 in June from 32.1 in May, beating economists’ expectations for 46.8. The individual gauges for both manufacturing and services also climbed above the 50 ...

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• 23 June

  UK economy showing signs of recovery

  Bloomberg The UK economy started to bounce back from the coronavirus this month as an early indicator of activity jumped. IHS Markit’s composite Purchasing Managers Index climbed to 47.6 from 30 in May. While that’s still below the critical 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction, the size of the monthly gain was the biggest since the survey began in ...

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• 23 June

  Rapid government response cushioned trade downturn: WTO

  

  Bloomberg The World Trade Organisation (WTO) tempered its pessimism about the outlook for cross-border commerce, saying its worst-case scenario for this year will likely be avoided but warning governments against becoming complacent to lingering economic risks. The Geneva-based organisation estimated that global trade in merchandise dropped 3% in the first quarter and fell 18.5% in the second, according to a ...

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• 23 June

  Stocks climb in Europe as PMIs signal recovery; euro advances

  

  Bloomberg Stocks advanced in Europe along with US equity futures after manufacturing data from the euro area pointed to further signs of a recovery from the virus slump. Treasuries were steady and the dollar declined. Carmakers and banks led a broad advance in the Stoxx Europe 600 index as Purchasing Managers’ Indexes (PMIs) showed manufacturing in France unexpectedly returned to ...

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