May, 2020

• 17 May

  Work-from-home is kind of fine . . . for now

  There are reasons to be optimistic about corporate America getting more comfortable with work-from-home arrangements brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Workers gain more flexibility around their working and living arrangements. Both companies and workers stand to save money by relying less on high-cost real estate. If it results in no loss of productivity, what’s not to like? But as ...

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• 17 May

  Covid-19 predicament just isn’t all that new

  The great “flu” pandemic of 1889 started in Russia, infecting more than half the inhabitants of Saint Petersburg, then spread rapidly through Europe. Its victims included Prince Albert Victor, the grandson of Queen Victoria. Americans felt safe for a few months — until the first infections appeared in New York, and rail travel quickly spread it to other cities across ...

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• 17 May

  China injects $2.2bn into local chip firm

  

  Bloomberg China’s state-backed funds pumped $2.25 billion into a Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) wafer plant to support advanced-chip making as Washington tightens technology restrictions on the Asian nation. The Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp plant’s registered capital jumps from $3.5 billion to $6.5 billion after the investment, the company said in an announcement. The chipmaker’s stake in the Shanghai facility ...

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• 17 May

  India seeks new investments to tackle virus-hit economy

  

  Bloomberg India will open up its space facilities, mineral blocks and power distribution to private companies, as it seeks new investments to help shore up an economy hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration will also allow foreign investment up to 74% in defense manufacturing to attract investments, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in New Delhi. The ...

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• 17 May

  HK handouts may be received in July: Chan

  

  Bloomberg Hong Kong’s cash handout included in a host of relief measures promised by the government could be received by eligible recipients as early as July, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said. The HK$10,000 ($1,290) handouts will be received mid-July if recipients opt for electronic registration with banks to collect the money in their personal accounts — the fastest channel for ...

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• 17 May

  Philippines faces weather challenges amid virus fight

  

  Bloomberg The Philippines’ fight against the coronavirus is likely to become more complicated with the onset of typhoon season, during which it typically has to evacuate tens of thousands of people from storm-hit areas. “As the rainy season approaches, the battle against the virus will become more challenging,” the finance department said in a May 15 bulletin. “The flu season ...

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• 17 May

  Vietnam’s biggest city faces risk from floods by 2050

  

  Bloomberg Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s biggest metropolis, faces an increasing risk of flood disasters given rapid infrastructure expansion driven by economic growth, according to McKinsey Global Institute. The chance of such events could increase five to 10 times by 2050, resulting in economic and infrastructural damage that could cost billions of dollars, according to a McKinsey report, dated April. ...

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• 17 May

  China, South Korea ask Japan to allow business travel

  

  Bloomberg China and South Korea have asked Japan to join them in relaxing controls on business travel as virus cases tail off, the Yomiuri newspaper reported, without saying where it got the information. Japan remains reluctant to loosen what are currently some of the tightest border controls in the developed world, which were introduced over the past few weeks in ...

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• 17 May

  China faces world seeking virus answers at WHO meet

  

  Bloomberg At the first meeting of the World Health Organization’s governing body since Covid-19 stormed the globe, China is set to be challenged on two of its most sensitive issues: The Communist Party’s initial handling of the virus and the status of Taiwan’s participation. While the US has launched a daily barrage of attacks on China, including suggesting the virus ...

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• 17 May

  Johnson warns of long virus battle on ebbing support

  

  Bloomberg Boris Johnson said Britain may not be free of the coronavirus “for some time to come,” an admission that highlights the difficult task he has of persuading people to return to work and schools as the nation’s death toll from Covid-19 remains the highest in Europe. In an opinion piece for the Mail on Sunday, Johnson acknowledged people’s frustration ...

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