February, 2020

• 16 February

  China vows more fiscal support as virus roils slowing economy

  

  Bloomberg China pledged to roll out more effective stimulus despite a widening fiscal gap as the novel coronavirus hits an already slowing economy, highlighting the challenges the epidemic is imposing as the death toll stacks up and thousands of new cases are reported each day. The nation will further perfect and implement measures this year to reduce corporate taxes and ...

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• 16 February

  HK facing Tsunami-like shocks: Finance chief

  

  Bloomberg Hong Kong is facing “tsunami-like” shocks, and may incur a record budget deficit in the next fiscal year as the city counts the costs of the coronavirus outbreak after months of social unrest, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said. The impact of the epidemic on the Hong Kong economy is being felt beyond retail, food and beverage and tourism-related industries, ...

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• 16 February

  Toyota to restart three China plants this week

  Bloomberg Toyota Motor Corp will partly resume operations at three plants in China this week, bringing back some of the capacity that had been on an extended halt in response to the coronavirus outbreak that’s killed more than 1,600 people and pitched Asia’s top economy into turmoil. The factories in Changchun and Guangzhou will restart on February 17, while operations ...

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• 16 February

  Malaysia bars Westerdam passengers, cancels flights

  

  Bloomberg Malaysia said it won’t allow any more passengers who had traveled on the Westerdam luxury cruise ship to enter, after an American woman who flew into the country was diagnosed with the coronavirus. The 83-year-old woman and her husband were among 145 cruise passengers who flew from Cambodia on February 14 on a Malaysia Airlines flight chartered by the ...

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• 16 February

  Singapore plans strong budget stimulus to counter virus threat

  

  Bloomberg Singapore is set to deliver a strong budget this week to offset the damage to the economy from the coronavirus, with analysts predicting the biggest deficit in almost two decades. The fiscal gap may widen to 1.5% of gross domestic product in the year beginning April 1, the highest since the 1.7% shortfall recorded in the 2001 financial year, ...

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• 16 February

  India’s trade gap widens most in seven months in Jan

  Bloomberg India’s trade deficit unexpectedly widened in January, as exports contracted for a sixth straight month while the decline in imports eased. The gap between exports and imports was at $15.2 billion last month, compared with $11.25 billion in December, data released by the Commerce Ministry showed. That’s the widest gap since June and compares with the median estimate of ...

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• 16 February

  Sony struggles with PS5 price due to costly parts

  

  Bloomberg Scarce components have pushed the manufacturing costs for Sony Corp’s next PlayStation to around $450 per unit, forcing a difficult price-setting decision in its battle with Microsoft Corp, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The Japanese conglomerate is preparing to gradually replace the six-year-old PS4 console, releasing its PlayStation 5 the same holiday season its archrival debuts ...

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• 16 February

  China car sales plunge to fresh depths in Jan

  Bloomberg Car sales in China fell to fresh lows in January as the coronavirus kept buyers away from showrooms, intensifying the gloom hanging over the industry. Retail car sales fell 22% to 1.71 million units, the biggest-ever drop for the month of January, the China Passenger Car Association said. The group predicted a worsening outlook, saying February sales may drop ...

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• 16 February

  Ukraine sees chance for peace as Putin sidelines hawkish envoy

  

  Bloomberg Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he’s committed to ending the conflict with Russia, after the appointment of a new Kremlin envoy signalled a possible opening for peace efforts. “On the first day of my presidency, I said openly: we didn’t start this war, but we have to end it,” Zelenskiy, elected in a landslide election last year on a ...

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• 16 February

  US condemns detention of Juan Guaido’s uncle

  

  Bloomberg Venezuela’s detention of opposition leader Juan Guaido’s uncle is based on “preposterous charges” and another sign of the “increasing desperation” of Nicolas Maduro’s regime, the US Department of State said in a statement. “The United States strongly condemns the detention of Juan Jose Marquez, uncle of interim President Juan Guaido, and demands his immediate release,” the State Department said. ...

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