Bloomberg Hong Kong’s central district returned to relative normalcy this weekend, with crowds of revelers taking advantage of eased social distancing rules even as fresh pro-democracy protests flared across the city. When it came to the activists, they aggressively enforced a coronavirus-related restriction on gatherings of more than eight people, with local media reporting the arrest and pepper-spraying of protesters. ...
Read More »Singapore seeks swab testers amid virus
Bloomberg Singapore is calling for people to perform nasal swabs and take blood as it ramps up coronavirus testing amid a jump in infections in the city-state. No prior healthcare experience is needed, it says. The number of new coronavirus cases in Singapore has grown by hundreds each day, mostly in migrant worker dormitories that have become hotbeds for the ...
Read More »Serbian leaders launch dueling hunger strikes
Bloomberg Serbian politicians launched dueling hunger strikes after a protest over next month’s parliamentary elections turned violent. The Balkan state’s biggest opposition parties have vowed to boycott the June 21 vote, accusing President Aleksandar Vucic of muzzling media and wielding state institutions to prevent free elections. Tens of thousands of Serbs have held months of demonstrations, including nightly noise protests ...
Read More »Transport for London seeks $2.5bn bailout
Bloomberg The operator of the London Underground is in talks on a 2 billion-pound ($2.5 billion) state bailout as coronavirus restrictions curtail travel in the UK capital, the Sunday Times reported. Transport for London (TfL), which also oversees bus services, will likely have to delay or scrap major expansion plans in return for the funding, the newspaper said, without giving ...
Read More »Trump’s economic team braces for worsening job market in May
Bloomberg President Donald Trump’s top economic advisers had argued that a “safe†reopening of the US is the needed urgently as they stare down the worst job numbers since the Great Depression. Meanwhile, although Trump has said he’s in no rush to enact another round of economic stimulus, the economic team said informal discussions are under way with members of ...
Read More »Germany all set to broaden economic aid to more areas
Bloomberg Germany will broaden its economic aid to more areas including arts to help them weather the fallout from the coronavirus, the Tagesspiegel newspaper cited Finance Minister Olaf Scholz as saying in an interview. “The arts and culture need their own stimulus program, we want to massively help people here,†Scholz said. “We also have to do something for hotels ...
Read More »Argentina plans to extend debt deadline until May 22
Bloomberg Argentina extended the deadline to its debt offer to May 22, the government said in a resolution published in the Official Gazette on Monday. The previous deadline was May 8 and the extension means results will now be announced on May 25 and liquidated on May 27, according to the resolution. Bloomberg reported the plans to prolong the deadline ...
Read More »VW to lure German buyers back to showrooms
Bloomberg Volkswagen AG is starting a sales initiative to revive demand in its domestic German market as consumer uncertainty across Europe’s largest economy risks choking off factory restarts. The world’s biggest carmarker will offer improved leasing and financing terms and payment-protection insurance in case buyers lose their jobs, VW’s passenger-car division said on Monday in a statement. The program for ...
Read More »ECB heads for more stimulus as courts spar over limits
Bloomberg In the middle of a spat between Europe’s top courts over the limits of European Central Bank (ECB) monetary stimulus, President Christine Lagarde is probably preparing to do even more. A lawyer herself, Lagarde says her institution is “undeterred†by a legal tussle over its 2.7 trillion-euro ($2.9 trillion) asset-purchase program, and will do what’s needed to carry the ...
Read More »European stocks rise with US futures; crude declines
Bloomberg European stocks advanced and US index futures edged higher following a mixed session in Asia, as investors weighed moves across the globe to relax restrictions for the coronavirus. Crude oil slipped, while Treasuries were steady. Gains in banks and miners drove the Stoxx Europe 600 Index higher at the open. Contracts on the three main American equity indexes also ...
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