FILE PHOTO: Planes of German carrier Lufthansa are parked on a closed runway at the airport in Frankfurt, Germany, March 23, 2020, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo BERLIN (Reuters) – German flagship carrier Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) on Friday said it would start flying 80 […]
Business & Finance
ECB asks staff to study buying junk bonds to fight pandemic fallout – sources
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank has asked staff to study whether it should buy “junk” corporate bonds as it comes under growing pressure to help the economy cope with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, four sources told Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A man walks towards the European Central […]
France eyes EU COVID recovery fund of 150-300 billion euros per year in 2021-23 – document
FILE PHOTO: European Union flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, February 19, 2020. Picture taken February 19, 2020 REUTERS/Yves Herman BRUSSELS (Reuters) – France has proposed that the European Commission issue bonds to finance a recovery fund for the European Union worth 1-2% of gross national […]
Nippon Steel books record loss, plans to shut more furnaces
TOKYO (Reuters) – Nippon Steel Corp (5401.T) on Friday reported a record $4 billion annual net loss as a hefty restructuring charge dampened its earnings, and said it will idle two more blast furnaces from July to cope with slumping demand amid the coronavirus pandemic. FILE PHOTO: The logos of […]
Irish COVID-19 adjusted unemployment rate hits record 28.2%
DUBLIN (Reuters) – Ireland’s unemployment rate shot up to 28.2% at the end of April including those receiving emergency jobless benefits due to the coronavirus pandemic, the highest rate on record and up from just 4.8% two months ago, the statistics office said on Friday. Ireland introduced stay-home measures at […]
Taiwan warns on China-U.S. trade frictions as exports tick down
TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s exports, a key gauge of global demand for gadgets, fell slightly for a second month in April and the government said the second quarter would be tough due to the coronavirus pandemic and renewed concerns over U.S.-China trade friction. FILE PHOTO: A container truck drives pass […]
China’s new yuan loans expected to fall in April but well up from year earlier – Reuters poll
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s new bank lending likely pulled back sharply in April from strong levels the previous month, but is still expected to be much higher than a year earlier as Beijing urges lenders to help keep coronavirus-hit companies afloat. FILE PHOTO: A China yuan note is seen in […]
Sony to make, donate face shields to Japan hospitals
FILE PHOTO: Sony Corp’s logo is seen at its news conference in Tokyo, Japan November 1, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TOKYO (Reuters) – Sony Corp (6758.T) said on Friday it will manufacture and donate medical face shields to hospitals in Japan, amid worries about the availability of protective equipment for healthcare […]
Richard Layard: How to save pandemic survivors from the scourge of unemployment
This article is a part of a series in which the FT asks leading commentators and policymakers what to expect from a post-Covid-19 future The writer is emeritus professor of economics at the London School of Economics Mass unemployment is our next big problem. Already more than 10 per cent […]
Coronavirus crisis is hitting demand at 60% of German firms – DIHK
BERLIN (Reuters) – Some 60% of German companies are suffering from reduced demand and 80% of firms in Europe’s largest economy expect revenues to fall this year as the coronavirus outbreak wreaks havoc, a survey by the DIHK Chambers of Commerce showed on Friday. FILE PHOTO: The skyline with its […]
Rupert Murdoch gives up bonus after News Corp post $1 billion loss
FILE PHOTO: Tennis – US Open – Mens Final – New York, U.S. – September 10, 2017 – Rupert Murdoch, Chairman of Fox News Channel stands before Rafael Nadal of Spain plays against Kevin Anderson of South Africa. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo (Reuters) – News Corp (NWSA.O) Executive Chairman Rupert Murdoch […]
Green hydrogen’s time has come, say advocates eying post-pandemic world
LONDON (Reuters) – Hydrogen has long been touted as a clean alternative to fossil fuels. Now, as major economies prepare green investments to kickstart growth, advocates spy a golden chance to drag the niche energy into the mainstream of a post-pandemic world. FILE PHOTO: The new Febus hydrogen bus is […]
U.S. drillers expected to slash oil and gas rigs to lowest ever
(Reuters) – The number of oil and gas rigs operating in the United States is expected to hit an all-time low this week – reflecting data going back 80 years – as the energy industry slashes output and spending to deal with the coronavirus-led crash in fuel demand. FILE PHOTO: […]
Europe markets seen opening higher as US jobs remain in focus
European stocks are expected to open higher on Friday, as the economic impact of the coronavirus remains in focus. Italy’s FTSE MIB is expected to open 152 points higher at 17,200, Germany’s DAX is seen 133 points higher at the open at 10,882 and France’s CAC 40 is seen 46 point in positive […]
Australia backs BP’s study to produce hydrogen from wind, solar
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – BP Plc (BP.L) has won Australian government backing for a feasibility study into producing hydrogen using wind and solar power to split water and converting the hydrogen to ammonia in Western Australia. FILE PHOTO: A BP logo is seen at a petrol station in London, Britain January […]
ING first-quarter pretax profit slumps 35% on COVID-19 provisions
FILE PHOTO: The logo of ING bank is seen at the entrance of the group’s office in Brussels, Belgium, October 3, 2016. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir/File Photo AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – ING Groep NV (INGA.AS), the largest Dutch bank, on Friday posted first-quarter pretax earnings of 1.02 billion euros ($1.11 billion), down 35.7% […]
Oil rises as coronavirus curbs ease, setting stage for demand boost
Oil-storage tanks are seen from above in Carson, California, April 25, 2020 after the price for crude plunged into negative territory for the first time in history on April 20. Robyn Beck | AFP | Getty Images Oil prices gained on Friday as more countries began relaxing restrictions put in […]
Siemens sees bigger hit from coronavirus impact coming as second-quarter profit plunges
ZURICH (Reuters) – Siemens (SIEGn.DE) on Friday said it expected “even stronger impacts” from the coronavirus pandemic in the weeks ahead as it ditched its 2020 guidance and posted an 18% drop in industrial profit during its second quarter. FILE PHOTO: The logo of German industrial group Siemens is seen […]
Explainer: Why Friday’s U.S. jobless figures won’t capture the true state of the coronavirus economy
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – The U.S. economy is expected to have shed 22 million jobs in April, tripling the nationwide unemployment rate to 16%, when new government data is published Friday morning. FILE PHOTO: People who lost their jobs wait in line to file for unemployment benefits, following an outbreak […]
Great Depression-like U.S. job losses, unemployment rate expected in April
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. economy likely lost a staggering 22 million jobs in April, in what would be the steepest plunge in payrolls since the Great Depression and the starkest sign yet of how the novel coronavirus pandemic is battering the world’s biggest economy. FILE PHOTO: People who lost […]