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HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Most Asian equities enjoyed gains Tuesday following another rally on Wall Street, while oil bounced, with traders welcoming a surprise jump in Chinese factory activity, though analysts cautioned that the road ahead remained rocky for the global economy. The World Bank also warned that fallout from the coronavirus pandemic could bring China’s growth to a standstill, with even a best-case scenario seeing expansion slow to 2.3 percent from 6.1 percent […]
MONTREAL, Canada (AFP) — Air Canada announced Monday it would temporarily lay off nearly half of its employees and reduce activity by up to 90 percent in the second quarter due to the coronavirus. The measures would affect 15,200 employees and about 1,300 managers from April 3, the airline said in a press release. Last week, Air Canada — the first Canadian airline to be hit hard by the pandemic — announced the temporary layoff […]
SINGAPORE (AFP) — Singapore’s central bank eased monetary policy Monday as the city-state, seen as a bellwether for the health of global trade, heads for a deep recession due to the coronavirus pandemic. The easing echoes moves made by other countries and comes after data last week showed the city-state suffered its sharpest contraction in the first quarter since the global financial crisis. The Monetary Authority of Singapore said it had flattened the slope of […]
SINGAPORE (AFP) — Oil prices extended losses in Asian trade Monday and languished at 17-year lows, with the coronavirus crisis escalating around the world and no end in sight to a vicious price war. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate fell 5.3 percent to trade at $20 a barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude was off 6.5 percent at $23. The falls came after the death toll from the pandemic surged past 30,000 at the […]
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — The European Commission will propose a new stimulus package to help the bloc recover from the economic damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said Saturday. “To ensure recovery the Commission will propose changes in the MFF proposal that will allow to address the fallout of the coronavirus crisis,” von der Leyen said in a statement. The MFF is the multi-annual financial framework (MFF), the […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The coronavirus pandemic has driven the global economy into a downturn that will require massive funding to help developing nations, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said Friday. “It is clear that we have entered a recession” that will be worse than in 2009 following the global financial crisis, she said in an online press briefing. With the worldwide economic “sudden stop,” Georgieva said the fund’s estimate “for the overall financial needs […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States said Wednesday it has urged Saudi Arabia to “reassure” oil and financial markets as the world grapples with a coronavirus pandemic that has paralyzed major economies. The appeal was made by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a telephone conversation Tuesday with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the State Department said. Oil prices have plunged as economies grind to a halt due to the pandemic. But the […]
SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Singapore’s economy, a bellwether for trade-reliant Asian countries, suffered its worst contraction since the global financial crisis in the first quarter as the coronavirus pandemic escalated, official data showed Thursday. The trading hub’s GDP shrank 2.2 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, according to advance estimates by the trade ministry. Compared with the previous quarter, GDP fell by 10.6 percent. Lockdowns and other measures to contain the spread of the virus […]
HONG KONG China (AFP) — Asian equities soared again Wednesday after US lawmakers finally agreed on a mammoth stimulus package to support the world’s biggest economy against the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. While the deadly disease continues to spread, traders have a rare semblance of optimism after weeks of carnage across global markets, with eyes fixed on Washington where lawmakers in the early hours thrashed out an emergency bill worth as much as $2 […]
By Caesar Vallejos, OPEN FOR BUSINESS The world is at war. Not with guns and ammunition, but with soap and water, and emerging technologies in the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR), while nations are still in a rush to develop drugs to counter the coronavirus pandemic. Responding to the Philippine’s Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), Eagle Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) was quick to transform the scheduled Open For Business (OFB) Forum event into a digital public forum to […]
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia’s King Salman will chair an emergency virtual summit of leaders from the Group of 20 major economies on Thursday to discuss a global response to the coronavirus pandemic. World leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, will take part in the talks which the Kremlin said will take place by videoconference. “King Salman will chair the meeting to advance a coordinated global response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian markets and crude prices surged while the dollar sank Tuesday after the Federal Reserve unveiled an unprecedented bond-buying program to support the US economy. While most of the planet goes into lockdown, traders gave a massive thumbs up to the US central bank’s pledge to essentially print cash in a move not seen since the global financial crisis more than a decade ago. The Fed, which has already slashed […]
