March, 2020

• 14 March

  Manila’s lockdown set to curb growth

  

  Bloomberg A monthlong lockdown in the Philippine capital to contain the spread of coronavirus is set to curb economic growth and make an interest-rate cut next week more likely. Growth could weaken to below 6% in the first quarter of the year, according to Nicholas Mapa, an economist at ING Bank in Manila. With more than 12 million people, the ...

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• 14 March

  Canada to unveil more fiscal steps

  

  Bloomberg Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada will introduce a “significant” fiscal stimulus package, as part of a coordinated effort with other Group of Seven countries to counter the virus-driven global economic slowdown and calm markets. Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz were due to hold a press conference in Ottawa, along with Jeremy Rudin, ...

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• 14 March

  A $100bn debt wave to crash over Europe’s riskiest firms

  

  Bloomberg Hundreds of high-risk companies in Europe need to repay or refinance nearly $100 billion in the coming months, a prospect that becomes more daunting by the day amid the relentless collapse in credit markets. From Germany’s Thyssenkrupp AG to Telecom Italia, around 600 European high-yield and non-rated bond borrowers have $92.5 billion bonds maturing by the end of 2021, ...

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• 14 March

  WeWork stays open as some co-working spaces shut doors

  

  Bloomberg Co-working startup the Wing will close all locations, taking precautions following the global spread of the coronavirus. The company, whose offerings focus on women, has 11 branches in the US and London. Offices will remain closed through at least March 31, the startup said. The announcement follows moves at many other companies asking employees to stay home. Amazon.com Inc., ...

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• 14 March

  Instagram plans to sell advertisements on IGTV

  

  Bloomberg Instagram plans to sell advertisements in IGTV, its home for longer videos, a bid to compete with YouTube for a larger share of the booming market for online video. Instagram started reaching out to its top video creators, asking them to partner on ad tests. Those in the program will receive a 55% share of all advertising in IGTV, ...

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• 14 March

  Tesla car sales to see 10% cut on virus woes

  

  Bloomberg Tesla Inc. will probably sell about 10% fewer cars this year than previously expected as the coronavirus outbreak weighs on demand for vehicles, Morgan Stanley said. The bank slashed its 2020 sales target for Tesla to deliver 452,000 cars from the previous estimate of 500,000, according to a note to clients. Morgan Stanley reduced its price target on the ...

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• 14 March

  Automakers send office staff home, keep plants running

  

  Bloomberg Detroit’s three automakers are asking office employees to work remotely while pushing production staff to keep running many of their factories — including one where a worker tested positive for the coronavirus. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s salaried personnel, including 14,000 at its US headquarters north of Detroit, were told to work from home, a spokesman said. A transmission factory ...

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• 14 March

  Pelosi passes virus response bill, filling vacuum left by Trump

  

  Bloomberg House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Donald Trump haven’t spoken in months, but the California Democrat seized the initiative to strike a deal with the White House on a broad measure aimed at helping Americans cope with the spiraling effects of the coronavirus outbreak. After Trump didn’t deliver on a promised announcement of a “major” economic stimulus package, Pelosi ...

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• 14 March

  Top US commander ‘fairly certain’ North Korea has virus cases

  

  Bloomberg The US is “fairly certain” that there are coronavirus cases in North Korea, despite denials by Pyongyang, because of a lack of military activity, according to a senior American army commander. North Korea’s military has “fundamentally been on lockdown” for almost a month and didn’t fly a single aircraft for 24 days before resuming its routine training, Commander of ...

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• 14 March

  Nationalists assume power in Slovenia

  

  Bloomberg Slovenia’s parliament approved a new government led by nationalist Janez Jansa, adding him to the pantheon of anti-immigrant populists who’ve taken power in the European Union’s east. Jansa, a former prime minister and close ally of Hungarian leader Viktor Orban, will inaugurate his third government since 2004 in the midst of a coronavirus outbreak that’s threatening, like in other ...

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