Bloomberg President Donald Trump’s long-touted response to China for its crackdown on Hong Kong included a barrage of criticism but stopped short of fully escalating tensions between the two nations. While the US president’s speech was heated in rhetoric, it lacked specifics around measures that would directly impact Beijing. He announced the US would begin the process of stripping some ...
Read More »Canada cuts costs for wage subsidy
Bloomberg Canada cut the projected cost of its wage subsidy program while boosting the price tag for direct support to individuals, suggesting a slow return to work in the wake of Covid-19. The federal government’s wage subsidy program, meant to be its flagship measure to buffer the economy from the pandemic, will cost C$45 billion ($33 billion), 38% less than ...
Read More »Europe says its trade with world would slump by $963bn this year
Bloomberg The European Union (EU) said its trade with the rest of the world would slump this year by as much as 868 billion euros ($963 billion), or more than 10%, in a gloomier updated forecast that offers fresh evidence of the global economic damage caused by the coronavirus. EU exports of goods and services will fall by 282 billion ...
Read More »Portugal to delay Lisbon malls reopening
Bloomberg Portugal will delay the planned reopening of malls in the Lisbon region after recording new clusters of the coronavirus outbreak. Malls in the area will remain closed until June 4, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said at a press conference. Portugal reported the biggest daily increase in coronavirus cases in three weeks due to new infections in the region. The ...
Read More »Argentina, creditors get closer to $65b debt deal
Bloomberg Argentina and its key bondholders are getting closer to a $65 billion debt restructuring deal after the country defaulted on its overseas debt for the ninth time in its history. While still at odds over several key issues, the latest changes in the proposals by the government and two groups of creditors published signal the difference between both sides ...
Read More »Peru gets $11b IMF flexible credit line
Bloomberg The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved an $11 billion credit line for Peru as the South American nation’s economy endures a slump that may be the deepest in more than a century. The two-year flexible credit line is a precautionary measure that should boost market confidence and provide insurance against downside risks, the fund said. Peru becomes the third ...
Read More »UK inches away from pay support in bid to contain jobs hit
Bloomberg UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak kept the spending taps firmly on as he announced plans to taper his job support program, unveiling an incremental withdrawal in a bid to avert a mass wave of unemployment this summer. Self-employed workers will be offered a further grant of as much as 6,570 pounds ($8,082) in August to cover another ...
Read More »Green climate tech key to Covid-19 recovery plans
Bloomberg In the wake of the historic global economic shutdown in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, governments are unleashing trillions of dollars in a bid to create jobs and spur economic recovery. The scale of this stimulus is unprecedented, in some cases amounting to more than 10% of countries’ gross domestic product. At the same time, an overwhelming number of ...
Read More »Zoom Video jumps to record with market cap now above $50 billion
Bloomberg Zoom Video Communications Inc. soared to a record with a rally in the last hour of trading helping the company close with a market value above $50 billion for the first time. The maker of video conferencing software rose 9.7% to $179.48, giving it a market value of $50.6 billion, bigger than tractor maker Deere & Co. and pharmaceutical ...
Read More »BMW looks to add more incentives to employees
Bloomberg BMW AG is negotiating with unions about giving more incentives to workers to persuade them to leave, helping the carmaker reach a target of eliminating about 5,000 positions. The German firm has been unable to meet its headcount-reduction goal with existing measures, CFO Nicolas Peter said. Those have included placing employees on unpaid leave and reducing working hours for those ...
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