March, 2020

• 25 March

  Covid-19: Malaysia banks offer more loan deferrals

  

  Bloomberg Malaysia’s banks will offer broader loan deferrals that will involve 100 billion ringgit ($23 billion) of funds as the country seeks more ways to soften the pandemic’s impact on its economy. Banks will offer six-month deferrals for all loans held by individuals and small businesses and let people convert their credit card debt into a three-year term loan, the ...

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• 25 March

  India weighs new credit line for mutual funds hit by cash crunch

  

  Bloomberg India’s central bank is weighing opening a new credit facility for banks aimed at boosting their lending to mutual funds, which have been hit by a flood of redemptions, according to people familiar with the matter. The Reserve Bank of India and finance ministry are in favour of a proposal from the industry regulator to open a cash window ...

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• 25 March

  Canada’s banks pay workers extra for going to office

  

  Bloomberg Canadian banks are giving their workers extra pay for going into the office or manning branches during the coronavirus pandemic. Most of the country’s biggest lenders are offering an additional C$50 ($34) a day to those employees who aren’t able to work from home. They join US counterparts including Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp. ...

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• 25 March

  Credit Suisse cut Thiam’s pay by 15%

  Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG cut former Chief Executive Officer Tidjane Thiam’s pay by about 15% in his last year in charge, after the Swiss bank became embroiled in a spying scandal that led to his ouster. “Mr. Thiam has taken accountability for the events and accepted a reduction of his non-financial assessment score,” board member Kai Nargolwala wrote in ...

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• 25 March

  Britain’s lockdown turns into bonanza for grocers

  

  Bloomberg For at least a decade, experts have been predicting the demise of the big box supermarket as online rivals like Ocado Group Plc muscled in. Giant warehouse-style grocery stores with thousands of products seemed anachronistic in an era when consumers increasingly wanted to shop for fresh, locally produced food, or from the comfort of their living rooms. Now the ...

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• 25 March

  Virgin Australia stops all its flights except for essential services

  

  Bloomberg Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd furloughed 80% of its 10,000-strong workforce and said it will only keep flying for essential services as restrictions due to the coronavirus eviscerate demand for travel. Shares rose. Domestic capacity will be cut by 90% as 125 aircraft are grounded, with flights retained only for essential services, critical freight and logistics, the airline said in ...

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• 25 March

  Delta Air Lines downgraded to junk at S&P on travel drop

  

  Bloomberg Delta Air Lines Inc lost its coveted investment-grade status from one rater as S&P Global Ratings cut the company to junk. “The steep decline in airline bookings due to the coronavirus outbreak will sharply reduce Delta Air Lines Inc’s revenue and cash flow,” S&P said in a statement as it lowered the carrier two notches to BB, or two ...

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• 25 March

  UK government rules out broad bailout for aviation sector

  

  Bloomberg Britain has ruled out immediate direct aid to the aviation sector as the coronavirus outbreak wipes out all but a handful of UK flights. In a letter to airlines and airports seen by Bloomberg News, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said that firms must first tap all commercial avenues to raise funds, and that any assistance the state ...

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• 25 March

  Coronavirus: Yum eases franchisee payments

  Bloomberg Yum! Brands Inc said it’s suspending its share repurchase program and working to assist some franchisees as the coronavirus outbreak erodes sales. The owner of the KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell brands said in a filing that comparable-store sales — a key measure for restaurant companies — will likely decline in a range of mid to high single ...

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• 25 March

  Coronavirus: Will the economy bounce back

  

  What’s missing is confidence. Anyone who claims to know how this economic collapse will end is either lying or woefully overconfident. But whatever the prospects, they would be better if consumers, business leaders and investors were more optimistic. The economy’s performance is often a self-fulfilling prophecy. Optimism breeds optimism, and pessimism breeds pessimism. The best we can do as forecasters ...

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