April, 2020

• 22 April

  S’pore police probes Hin Leong after $800m oil losses

  

  Bloomberg The troubles facing Singaporean oil trading firm Hin Leong deepened as the city-state’s police have started investigating the company. The probe, which the Singapore Police Force confirmed by email, is the latest twist in the downfall of the company, which owes $3.85 billion to more than 20 banks and revealed in court filings that it hid about $800 million ...

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• 22 April

  EU leaders brace for tense call sans any concrete plan

  

  Bloomberg European Union (EU) leaders head to a key virtual summit on Thursday without any concrete proposals from the bloc’s institutions on how to finance a controversial economic recovery fund, raising the chances of yet another inconclusive showdown. A “roadmap” distributed to national delegations from EU Council President Charles Michel, who will chair the video conference, contains no details on ...

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• 22 April

  US Treasury uses half of $150 billion Covid-19 relief fund

  

  Bloomberg The US Treasury has deployed more than half of the Coronavirus Relief Fund, which provides for payments to state, local, and tribal governments. The daily Treasury statement notes that, $81.9 billion had been used this month. The $150 billion fund was established to help lessen the economic impact of the Covid-19 outbreak. The coronavirus pandemic has crushed sources of ...

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• 22 April

  UK inflation slowed in March amid Covid-19

  

  Bloomberg UK inflation slowed in March as the nation entered lockdown and oil prices continued to tumble. Consumer prices rose 1.5% from a year earlier, down from 1.7% in February, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. Downward pressure came from fuel and clothing prices. Core inflation eased to 1.6%. The inflation outlook has been thrown into turmoil by ...

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• 22 April

  Scotland economy could shrink by 12% this year

  Bloomberg Scotland’s economy could shrink by 12% this year as a result of restrictions put in place to combat the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, while the government said the financial hit was no reason to ease the lockdown prematurely and risk greater harm. The overall picture for the year is based on output declining by a third during the ...

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• 22 April

  New York seeks $4b loan for unemployment claims

  

  Bloomberg New York State has applied for a $4 billion federal loan to shore up its unemployment trust fund amid a record surge of claims by workers sidelined by the Covid-19 pandemic, a spokeswoman said. “All benefits, including enhanced benefits, are being paid, and to help ensure it remains that way the state has applied for an up to $4 ...

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• 22 April

  Lyft pulls profit, revenue forecast for 2020

  

  Bloomberg Lyft Inc. withdrew its profit and revenue forecasts for 2020, following rival Uber Technologies Inc. in citing evolving and unpredictable impacts from Covid-19. The San Francisco-based ride-hailing company has seen demand fall dramatically, crushing its earlier estimates. Uber and Lyft, both of which aren’t yet profitable, told investors earlier this year they would turn a profit by the end ...

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• 22 April

  Netflix records explosive growth in Q1

  

  Bloomberg Netflix Inc. posted the strongest financial results in company history, adding a recorded 15.8 million paid subscribers — almost double the figure forecast by Wall Street analysts. Yet rather than gloat, the company’s executives warned investors not to get too excited. Netflix benefited in the first quarter from an unprecedented health crisis, the global coronavirus pandemic. With billions of ...

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• 22 April

  Trump ‘deportation machine’ keeps growing amid Covid-19

  

  Bloomberg As President Donald Trump prepares to pause immigration into the US, the court system that handles the removal of immigrants is projected to issue nearly 60% more deportation orders than last year. With the rest of the US legal system grinding to a near halt amid the pandemic, at the nation’s 69 federal immigration courts cleaning crews clad in ...

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• 22 April

  Destroy Iranian boats harassing US: Trump

  

  Bloomberg President Donald Trump said he’s ordered the US Navy to destroy any Iranian gun boats that harass American ships at sea. Trump issued the warning “to shoot down and destroy” the ships in a tweet on Wednesday. It comes after 11 gunboats from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps crossed the bows and sterns of American ships at close range ...

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