May, 2020

• 12 May

  China steps up US soybean buying with big purchase

  

  Bloomberg China is stepping up purchases of soybeans from the US as Brazilian sales start to wane and the Asian nation seeks to meet its pledges under the trade deal with Washington, according to people familiar with the matter. State-run buyers have purchased more than 20 cargoes, or over 1 million metric tons, of American soybeans in the past two ...

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• 12 May

  Philippines to ease virus curbs to revive economy

  

  Bloomberg The Philippines will keep the capital region that has the most coronavirus infections under a lockdown but it will allow some businesses to reopen in the area as it eases curbs in many parts of the country. President Rodrigo Duterte will put Metro Manila, Laguna province south of the capital and Cebu City in the Visayas under a modified ...

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• 12 May

  Toyota warns profit to tumble 80% to nine-year low

  

  Bloomberg Toyota Motor Corp warned profit will tumble 80% to a nine-year low and predicted it could take another year before global car sales return to pre-virus levels, the latest sign that expectations for a quick economic rebound are fading. Japan’s biggest automaker is targeting operating profit of 500 billion yen ($4.65 billion) for the year through March, the company ...

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• 12 May

  JLR’s India business has no value, says CLSA

  Bloomberg With the coronavirus pandemic crippling demand for automobiles worldwide, Tata Motors Ltd is worth nothing without its luxury unit Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), according to CLSA Ltd. The $3.7 billion Indian auto company faces a significant increase in debt due to the crisis, and its plan to deleverage may be delayed by four to six quarters, CLSA said. It ...

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• 12 May

  Fauci to warn senate of virus death if US reopens too fast

  

  Bloomberg The nation’s top infectious disease official, Anthony Fauci, was expected to issue a stern warning against reopening the economy too soon during a Senate hearing on Tuesday, saying it risks multiple new coronavirus outbreaks throughout the country. The US risks “the danger of trying to open the country prematurely,” Fauci said in an email to a New York Times ...

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• 12 May

  US senate joins calls for Taiwan to regain WHO observer status

  

  Bloomberg The US Senate unanimously approved a bill seeking the restoration of Taiwan’s observer status with the World Health Organization (WHO), escalating an international campaign to push back against Chinese efforts to isolate the island. The bipartisan measure calls on the State Department to report about Taiwan’s participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly — a key WHO ...

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• 12 May

  HK revives politically divisive policies

  

  Bloomberg Hong Kong’s leader is pushing ahead with politically divisive policies that may prompt new protests against China’s influence over the city, even as she tries to revive a once-vibrant economy that’s been battered by unrest and the coronavirus pandemic. Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Tuesday a controversial law making it illegal to disrespect China’s national anthem would get ...

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• 12 May

  Johnson’s virus strategy hardens divisions in UK

  

  Bloomberg It was 2.15 pm and British PM Boris Johnson was fulfilling his promise to brief rival party leaders on his coronavirus strategy. It was meant to be a sign of national cooperation, with politics set aside in the crisis. But over the course of a 40-minute conference call, Johnson’s opponents told him he was getting it wrong. His new ...

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• 12 May

  Wuhan to test whole city of 11 million as new cases emerge

  

  Bloomberg Wuhan has ordered officials to test its entire population of 11 million people after the central Chinese city where the coronavirus pandemic began reported new infections for the first time since its lockdown was lifted. All districts in the city have been told to submit a plan laying out how they will prepare to conduct testing of everyone under ...

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• 12 May

  European funding costs ease along with stress in Italian bonds

  

  Bloomberg European funding costs have eased for the first time since a surprise German court ruling last week against the European Central Bank’s bond buying. Three-month Euribor, the rate at which banks lend to each other, ended a three-day rising streak. Funding costs are coming down thanks to the cooling of Italian bond yield spreads, which spiked after the constitutional ...

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