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Bloomberg Household electricity bills are set to soar, thanks to the millions of people now working at home to avoid catching the coronavirus. Running laptops and other home appliances will cost consumers an extra 52 million pounds ($60 million) each week in the UK, according to a study from Uswitch, a website that helps consumers compare the energy prices that …

Bloomberg The novel coronavirus pandemic is testing the residential-solar sector, which had forecast strong growth this year but hasn’t faced a recession since it reached the American mainstream. Its key challenges are similar to those facing many other industries: how to close sales, complete installations, and convince homeowners to add solar panels during a period of unexpected and mounting economic …

Bloomberg US regulators are willing to let nuclear power plants defer some maintenance and inspections as the coronavirus threatens availability of workers. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) expects to issue guidelines for operators to request permission for employees to work longer than allowed under current regulations. The agency expects to add additional sections covering maintenance as soon as possible, a …

Bloomberg US index futures and European stocks rallied alongside Asian shares on Tuesday as investors rediscovered some appetite for risk after global equities hit their lowest level since 2016. The dollar slumped following a 10-day winning streak, and Treasuries slipped. Contracts on the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones Industrial Average all jumped more than 5% to hit their …

Bloomberg Indian stocks rebounded in a volatile session, following a record fall on March 23 triggered by a nationwide lockdown. The S&P BSE Sensex Index closed up 2.7% at 26,674.03, after advancing as much as 5.7%, with the NSE Nifty 50 Index rising 2.5% for the day. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s speech in the last hour of trading failed to …

Bloomberg The Bank of England’s (BOE) new 200 billion pounds ($231 billion) of bond purchases has the potential to hit the market at a faster pace than currently advertised. With rates near zero already, increasing the speed of purchases is one lever policy makers could pull if they want to boost the impact of the current package of measures, without …

Bloomberg Japanese banks took almost $90 billion of cheap-dollar funding through the Federal Reserve’s enlarged swap lines on Tuesday, with total borrowings surpassing the record seen during the global financial crisis. Including earlier operations on March 17 and 23, the lenders have gobbled up more than $150 billion of dollars, exceeding the amount seen in other nations with the revamped …

Bloomberg The Philippine central bank is infusing more funds into the economy, slashing big lenders’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR) by 2 percentage points and flagging more cuts to come. “The reduction is intended to calm the financial markets and encourage banks to continue lending to both the retail and corporate sectors,” Governor Benjamin Diokno said in a mobile phone message …

Bloomberg Citigroup Inc. will award special bonuses to employees under certain income thresholds as it seeks to stem the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic. In the US, employees who make $60,000 or less a year in base salary will receive a $1,000 payment, Chief Executive Officer Michael Corbat told employees in a memo. For workers based outside the US, …

Bloomberg The good times for Europe’s bedraggled investment banks came and went in a matter of weeks. Heightened volatility and market turmoil on the back of the coronavirus led to record trading volumes for investment banks in the first quarter, especially in rates, equities and currencies, Citigroup Inc. analysts led by Andrew Coombs wrote in a note to clients. However, …