May, 2020

• 7 May

  Now Germany wants to know about investors

  It’s not all sunshine and roses being Europe’s benchmark borrower. Germany has a unique problem in that its AAA-rated debt is so revered as collateral that it’s very expensive to actually buy. The country’s debt agency has sharply increased its second-quarter borrowing program to 130 billion euros ($140 billion) to help pay for the Covid-19 crisis. Given that investors already ...

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• 7 May

  The US has no plan for worst-case scenario

  In the midst of the constant up-and-down of coronavirus news, both from science and the markets, it’s easy to lose sight of the scariest scenario of them all: the one where there’s no magic bullet. In this entirely plausible situation, there would be no effective Covid-19 vaccine or transformative therapy; the combination of testing and contact tracing wouldn’t successfully suppress ...

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• 7 May

  Coronavirus: Boris Johnson has zero margin for error

  

  The instruction given by Boris Johnson to the British people on March 23 was dead simple: “You must stay at home.” The pithiness and urgency of that message, the alarming rise in deaths, and the UK prime minister’s subsequent hospitalisation with Covid-19 all reinforced the instruction. People got it. Some say it was too successful. Many Britons don’t seem to ...

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• 7 May

  US risks recession 2.0 during Covid-19

  

  As states relax shelter-in-place orders, the economy should bounce back a bit this month and next. Continued fears among consumers and businesses mean the US won’t be back to February’s levels any time soon, but the early April collapse might mark a low as we adjust to our new pandemic normal. The bigger worry might be July, as three key ...

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• 7 May

  Government staff should be able to sue over Covid-19

  

  05 May 2020, Northern Ireland, Magherafelt: Workers manufacture Personal protective equipment (PPE), including face shields, for health workers at the Bloc Blinds factory. Photo: Peter Morrison/PA Wire/dpa[/caption Suppose you’re working in an essential industry and your employer hasn’t provided you with adequate personal protective equipment. Maybe you say to yourself, “Okay, there’s a shortage, they’re trying.” Then you discover that ...

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• 7 May

  Pompeo: US delays report on Hong Kong’s autonomy

  

  Bloomberg The US delayed an annual report to Congress assessing Hong Kong’s autonomy, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said, amid signals that China’s top agency in the city could take a more hands-on role. The postponement will “allow us to account for any additional actions that Beijing may be contemplating in the run-up to the National People’s Congress that would ...

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• 7 May

  11 dead, thousands evacuated in gas leak at India plant

  

  Bloomberg An overnight gas leak at an LG Chem Ltd polymer plant in southern India has killed at least 11 people and forced the evacuation of thousands in the city of Visakhapatnam after the company tried to restart operations following the partial easing of the country’s coronavirus lockdown. “The unfortunate event took place past midnight when they tried to restart ...

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• 7 May

  Virus origin search heats up as WHO seeks China mission

  

  Bloomberg The World Health Organization (WHO) is considering a new mission to seek the source of the coronavirus in China, amid growing controversy over the origin of a pandemic that has killed more than a quarter of a million people. “Without knowing where the animal origin is, it’s hard to prevent it from happening again,” Maria Van Kerkhove, a WHO ...

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• 7 May

  Covid-19: France set to ease lockdown

  

  Bloomberg France will lay out its plan to roll back lockdown measures, joining countries including Germany, Italy and the Netherlands in easing restrictions as the economic pain from the fallout of the coronavirus intensifies. French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe was expected to unveil final details of his plan to end curbs on public life on Thursday. The country is preparing ...

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• 7 May

  Japan set to approve remdesivir for virus

  

  Bloomberg Japan was set to approve on Thursday the antiviral drug remdesivir for use against the novel coronavirus, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, without giving details. The relatively quick move by Japan’s usually conservative authorities is expected days after the US authorised Gilead Sciences Inc’s drug for emergency use on virus patients. Abe did not indicate in an interview earlier ...

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