European Union sees a risk of recession as deep as 2009

Bloomberg The European Union’s (EU) executive arm said this year’s recession may be much worse than previously anticipated, proposing a suspension of the bloc’s draconian fiscal rules to cushion the fallout from a deadly viral outbreak that has brought its economy to a halt. “Assuming an extension of the health crisis up to the beginning of June or beyond, the ...

Read More »

Bridgewater says, US GDP to see 6% drop sans ‘meaningful’ aid

Bloomberg The US risks losing $4 trillion in corporate revenue on the back of the novel coronavirus without “meaningful fiscal or monetary intervention,” according to the world’s biggest hedge fund. The loss would shrink the economy by more than 6%, executives at Bridgewater Associates wrote in a report. “We see the most extreme decline occurring in the second quarter, where ...

Read More »

London papers slash costs as virus scares off readers, ads

Bloomberg The cries of London’s iconic newspaper vendors are being silenced because the coronavirus is forcing millions of commuters to stay home and advertisers are snapping shut their wallets. The Evening Standard newspaper, which distributes about 800,000 free copies a day in the capital, said it will pivot to home delivery to reach workers who would normally pick up the ...

Read More »

Fintechs seeking funds to help make business loans

Bloomberg Financial-technology firms including PayPal Holdings Inc. are lining up to help speed lending to small businesses during the coronavirus crisis — and are pushing for a slice of emergency US government funding. Industry group Financial Innovation Now urged Congress to provide capital to online lenders including PayPal and Square Inc., and to permit firms to disperse Small Businesses Administration ...

Read More »

Restaurant suppliers stuck with tons of unsold food

Bloomberg Franco Fubini, who founded fruit and vegetables seller Natoora Ltd., is used to charging celebrity chefs a premium price for carefully tended produce, like white peaches from Italy, Sicilian pomegranate and Essex heirloom tomatoes. But in the past week, sales have evaporated. As shoppers empty supermarket shelves of pasta and dried beans, wholesalers like Natoora, which buys from more ...

Read More »

BMW to idle its biggest plant in US

Bloomberg BMW AG’s South Carolina SUV factory, one of the last US auto assembly plants still operating, will be idled early next month. The factory, which makes the brand’s lucrative X3, X5 and X7 sport utility vehicles, will shut down starting April 3 for more than two weeks, the German company said in a statement, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News ...

Read More »

China orders local staff out of US news outlets in Beijing

Bloomberg Authorities in Beijing have forced at least seven Chinese nationals to stop working for American news outlets there, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, the latest development in an ongoing dispute between the US and China over media access. Members of the New York Times, Voice of America and two other outlets were dismissed from their jobs on ...

Read More »

Italy’s virus deaths rise by record 793 to 4,825

Bloomberg Italy suffered its worst day of coronavirus deaths and shut down almost all industrial production for 15 days, with the pandemic dealing blow after blow across an entire European continent in lockdown. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said that Italy will temporarily halt all non-essential business activity as the country of 60 million faces its biggest challenge since World War ...

Read More »

Anwar says he no longer believes Mahathir

Bloomberg Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said he no longer believes former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad following a series of broken promises between the two political stalwarts. Anwar, in an interview with CNBC, said “not now” when asked if he still trusted in the former prime minister. “I am just human, I take people at face value and I think ...

Read More »

Ethiopia mulls delaying elections on coronavirus

Bloomberg Ethiopia is considering whether it can hold elections as scheduled in August as the coronavirus (Covid-19) epidemic spreads. “If we can control the disease and get through it in a short time, like China did, then elections would be held on schedule. This is preferable,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said in a televised address to the public on March ...

Read More »
Send this to a friend