Helicopters? Bailouts? Central banks move to stem coronavirus crisisBy: Agencies on April 4, 2020LONDON/WASHINGTON Central banks are pulling out all the stops to try to shield their economies from the new coronavirus pandemic, raising questions about whether they risk crossing a line by bailing out governments that are massively raising their spending. Below is a summary of what leading central banks are doing and the possible dangers of […]
US businesses swarm coronavirus bailout fund after days of confusionBy: Agencies on April 4, 2020Like many small business owners, New York City restaurateur Dan Kluger spent his Friday scrambling to apply for a loan under the US government’s $349 billion small business bailout fund, which officially launched in the morning. Kluger’s regular banker at First Republic Bank had told him on Thursday it could not process his application due […]
Oil crash ‘not permanent,’ Mexico sticks to output, investment plansBy: Agencies on April 4, 2020MEXICO CITY: Mexico will press ahead with oil investment and production plans, its energy minister told Reuters on Friday, arguing that a global crash in crude and fuel markets will be short lived and does not merit a change in strategy. In the coming days, the government will offer investment opportunities in more of its […]
Coronavirus upends global food supply chains in latest economic shockBy: Agencies on April 4, 2020SATARA: In the fertile Satara district in western India, farmers are putting their cattle on an unorthodox diet: Some feed iceberg lettuce to buffalo. Others feed strawberries to cows. It’s not a treat. They can either feed their crops to animals or let them spoil. And other farmers are doing just that – dumping truck […]
Global currency funds notch wins amid coronavirus volatilityBy: Agencies on April 4, 2020NEW YORK: Global currency fund managers racked up gains in the first quarter as they benefited from the extreme volatility that the coronavirus pandemic has stoked across financial markets. The BarclayHedge currency traders index was up 6.13% for the first three months of the year and posted a 2.54% gain for March, according to data […]
With no fries sold, Dutch farmers face billion kilo potato pileBy: Agencies on April 4, 2020BEEMSTER: It’s potato planting season, but many Dutch farmers are facing a mountain of a problem, with a million tons of potatoes left over from last season due to the coronavirus outbreak. Restaurants in the Netherlands, many serving popular deep fried “patat”, have been closed since mid-March, with a ban on public gatherings set to […]
US unemployment report won’t show full extent of pandemic’s damageBy: Agencies on April 4, 2020A staggering 10 million US workers have lost their jobs in the second half of March as the coronavirus forced stores and businesses nationwide to close their doors. But those losses, which are expected to get worse, will not be fully reflected in Friday’s all-important government employment report for March. The latest data have left […]
Stock Market recovery or dead cat bounce?By: F.S Chaudhary on April 4, 2020Global Recession is knocking at the door as Covid-19 pandemic has sent monetary and financial institutions scrambling to save national and global economies. In a chilling reminder of how fast the epidemic has spread around the world, Fitch Ratings changed its 2020 view on the global economy to “deep global recession” from slow growth in […]
Port rejects FBR suggestion to relax demurrage; PM asked to interveneBy: News Desk on April 4, 2020The Friends of Business & Economic Reforms has blasted the terminal authorities at Karachi Seaport for rejecting the recommendations of the FBR to extend the free period of 15 days at terminals for charging demurrage, in line with the lockdown extension in the country, appealing the prime minister to intervene and pass directives in this […]
As millions lose jobs, Fed policymakers say recession is hereBy: Agencies on April 4, 2020The US recession is here. How long it will last will depend on the course of a viral pandemic that could still kill hundreds of thousands of Americans, and has most of the country under lockdowns aimed at slowing the infection’s spread. But how quickly the world’s biggest economy will recover will depend on how […]