07/04/20 COVID-19 Global News Update

Dubai is in the early stages of talks with banks about potential funding options as its economy suffers under the fallout from the new coronavirus, two sources familiar with the matter said. It has not issued a request for proposals but has approached banks in the past few days that have lent to the emirate previously to see if they can provide debt financing of $3 billion to $5 billion, one of the sources said.

Australian shares rose on Tuesday, taking cues from U.S. and European equities overnight, as reports of slowing fatalities from the coronavirus outbreak raised optimism that the fight against the disease was reaching an inflection point.

German shares jumped 5.8% on Monday to lead a strong bounce in European shares as a slowdown in coronavirus deaths raised hopes that nationwide lockdowns may gradually be eased.

Among Polish companies, 46% will likely cut the salaries of their workforce, while 28% plan layoffs, because of the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, a poll released on Monday by state Polish Economic Institute (PEI) found.

Funds focused on buying stocks that score well on environmental, social and governance-related metrics proved a safer harbour for investors during the coronavirus-fuelled market rout last month, Morningstar data shows.

A major car insurerin the US, Allstate, is refunding millions of dollars to customers stuck at home during coronavirus lockdowns.

The FTSE 100 jumped at today’s open to build on yesterday’s momentum as hopes grow that the coronavirus crisis is easing.

Concerns are growing about the accessibility of the government’s coronavirus business loan scheme amidst ongoing claims that many small and medium businesses are being denied funds. Just 1,000 businesses, out of almost six million British SMEs, have been granted loans as a part of the £330bn coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBIL).

Britain’s big supermarkets fear they won’t be able to supply the country’s 60 million people without longer opening hours or a relaxation of social distancing rules introduced to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Boris Johnson was fighting worsening coronavirus symptoms in an intensive care unit on Tuesday, leaving his Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to lead the government’s response to the accelerating outbreak.

It is too early to consider how the UK will exit the current coronavirus lockdown, foreign secretary Dominic Raab said yesterday. “The risk is, if we start taking our eye off the ball, of tackling the coronavirus, stopping the spread and getting through the peak, we risk delaying the point at which we could in the future take those decisions on easing restrictions,” he said.

All employers in Wales will be told to keep workers two metres apart from Tuesday.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged that his government would do its utmost to protect people’s lives as he prepared to declare a state of emergency on Tuesday to stem a worrying rise in new coronavirus infections in major population centres.

China reported no new coronavirus deaths overnight for the first time since the outbreak began in Wuhan at the start of 2020, as hopes grow that the global pandemic is easing.

Hospitals in the European Union are facing shortages of critical drugs to treat COVID-19 patients because of trade restrictions and excessive stockpiling by EU governments, EU and industry officials said on Monday.

European nations including hard-hit Italy and Spain have started looking ahead to easing coronavirus lockdowns after steady falls in fatality rates, as the United States prepared on Monday for what one official called “peak death week”.

Denmark plans to reopen day care centres and schools on April 15 as a first step to gradually relax a three-week lockdown to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, the country’s prime minister said on Monday.