(Bloomberg) — U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments on injecting bleach to kill the coronavirus sparked concern among experts who called it a ‘ridiculous concept’ that would damage the lungs. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is ‘raring to go,’ but will follow doctors’ advice on returning to work.Spain had its fewest deaths in five weeks and new cases in Singapore dropped below 1,000 for the first time in five days. Russia reported the most new cases since April 19 and Germany had its worst day in almost a week, after Chancellor Angela Merkel said the country is ‘far from being out of the woods.’Germany expects its economy to shrink as much as 7% this year, the worst contraction since at least 1950, Spiegel magazine reported. Europe’s leaders inched toward an agreement on rebuilding plans, while U.S. lawmakers overwhelmingly passed a $484 billion aid bill.Key DevelopmentsVirus Tracker: Cases top 2.7 million; deaths exceed 190,000Europe grapples with lockdowns as cases drop and economies reelMnuchin asks for equity stakes in exchange for $17 billion aidGilead sinks after latest data leak on virus drug trialTrump muddles virus response while public support slidesThe week coronavirus got away from Boris Johnson’s governmentSubscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team here. Click VRUS on the terminal for news and data on the coronavirus.HSBC to Review Dividend Policy (7:11 a.m. NY)HSBC said it will need to consider what additional actions it needs to take in response to the new economic circumstances that will emerge after COVID-19. The bank plans to review dividend policy at or ahead of the year-end results for 2020, when the economic impact is better understood.HSBC said it would not have been appropriate to proceed with some of its job reduction programs in the middle of the current crisis, and has paused the vast majority of redundancies associated with the program “where notices have not already been issued.”AmEx Vows to Aggressively Reduce Costs (7:02 a.m. NY)The credit-card company said that provisions rose to $2.6 billion in the first three months of the year as people across the nation were ordered to stay home. It also warned that the slowdown it began to see in March as a result of the nationwide shelter-in-place orders has “dramatically” impacted spending on its cards in April.“The first two months of 2020 continued the strong momentum we have delivered over the past two years, but we’re now in a different world,” Chief Executive Officer Steve Squeri said in a statement Friday. “In light of the current environment, we are aggressively reducing costs across the enterprise.”Germany Sees Economy Shrinking Up to 7% (7 a.m. NY)Germany expects gross domestic product to shrink between 6% and 7% in 2020 due to the impact of the coronavirus, the worst contraction since at least 1950, Spiegel magazine reported. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s administration expects a recovery in 2021 of more than 5%, the weekly reported on Friday, citing Economy Ministry projections due to be presented next week. The ministry declined to comment.Europe’s largest economy has been crippled by lockdown measures to contain the pandemic, which have shuttered factories, halted travel and closed schools across the continent. Almost every third company in Germany has requested state wage support.Figures released earlier showed German business confidence extended its slump in April with much of the global economy in lockdown and companies anticipating a prolonged period of subdued demand. The Ifo Institute’s index dropped to 74.3, more than economists predicted and a record low.“Sentiment at German companies is catastrophic,” said Ifo President Clemens Fuest. “Companies have never been so pessimistic about the coming months. The coronavirus crisis is striking the German economy with full fury.”Insured Losses Could Hit $60 Billion, UBS Says (6:52 a.m. NY)UBS now expects potential insured losses from Covid-19 of $30 billion to $60 billion, up from a previous estimate of $20 billion to $40 billion. UBS said while it was confident European insurers’ balance sheets could withstand the hit, the level of uncertainty remained high.Transport for London Furloughs Quarter of Staff (6:36 a.m. NY)Transport for London will place 7,000 of its staff on furlough from April 27, as the coronavirus pandemic impacts its operations. The move will allow the London transport agency to access funding from the U.K. government’s Job Retention Scheme and save an estimated 15.8 million pounds every four weeks.Tube journeys have now fallen by 95% and buses journeys by 85% since the U.K. government announced a lockdown.U.K. Mulls 100% Loan Guarantees for Smallest Firms (6:31 a.m. NY)U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak is considering 100% guarantees on loans to help small companies weather the coronavirus crisis, a person familiar with the matter said, in what would be a significant U-turn for the government. The new program would offer state-backed loans of as much as 25,000 pounds to help small businesses through the pandemic.Russia Cuts Rates to Six-Year Low (6:30 a.m. NY)The Bank of Russia finally joined other emerging markets with a half point interest-rate cut to support an economy that’s heading into its worst slump in more than a decade. The benchmark interest rate was cut 50 basis points to 5.5%, the central bank said in a statement, the lowest level since before Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea. The move was forecast by a majority of economists in a Bloomberg survey.Earlier, Russia said confirmed coronavirus cases rose by 5,849 to 68,622, the most since April 19, with the pace of increase accelerating after two days. The number of fatalities rose by 60 to 615.EU Narrows PPE Export Curbs (6:10 a.m. NY)The European Union will exclude face shields and gloves from its renewed curbs on the export outside the bloc of personal protective equipment for fighting the coronavirus. The EU on Sunday will reimpose export restrictions for 30 days on: spectacles and visors; mouth-nose equipment; and garments such as gowns. The trade limits, which involve a requirement for an authorization to sell the gear outside the 27-nation EU, were initially imposed on March 15 for six weeks to help ensure adequate supplies within the bloc.Sanofi Warns on Vaccine Manufacturing (6 a.m. NY)The head of one of the world’s biggest vaccine companies says Europe needs to wake up to the challenge of manufacturing enough coronavirus shots to halt the pandemic. As others squabble over the timing and details of how to develop such a vaccine, Sanofi Chief Executive Officer Paul Hudson points further ahead to the continent’s ability to produce enough to meet demand.“There is less concern about finding a successful vaccine than there is about making the volumes needed,” Hudson told reporters on Friday. “The biggest untold story in Europe right now is the one about the number of doses.”Sanofi is working with rival GlaxoSmithKline Plc to develop a vaccine against the new coronavirus, racing against other pharma giants such as Johnson & Johnson as well as nimbler biotechs such as Moderna Inc. Most of them aim to deliver a shot sometime next year.The U.S. may be in a position to vaccinate first, according to Hudson, thanks to the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, a government agency that backs vaccine development. There’s no similar coordination in Europe.Deaths Slow in Spain (5:45 p.m. HK)Spain recorded the smallest number of new coronavirus deaths in nearly five weeks, as the nation remains on almost-total lockdown due to Europe’s most extensive outbreak.The number of fatalities rose by 367, the fewest since March 21 and compared with Thursday’s increase of 440, to 22,524, according to Health Ministry data published Friday.As other countries in Europe start to ease lockdowns, Spain has yet to publish detailed plans on lifting the restrictions that have brought the nation to an almost complete standstill for more than a month.Belgian Surge Linked to Nursing Home Test Program (5:29 p.m. HK)Belgium reported 1,496 newly confirmed coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, up from 908 the prior day and the most since April 15. The increase fully reflects an acceleration in the test program being rolled out in the nation’s senior care centers since April 10. The curve of new infections outside the nursing homes keeps flattening.The country of 11.4 million also reported 190 additional deaths, down from 230 the prior day, for a total of 6,679, but health officials made the remark that nursing homes in the Dutch-speaking Flemish region failed to report their fatalities because of a technical problem. Their tally will be included in tomorrow’s figures.Reckitt, Experts Warn Against Using Bleach (5:10 p.m. HK)Reckitt Benckiser Group, which makes Lysol and Dettol, warned against administering disinfectants into the body. “RB has been asked whether internal administration of disinfectants may be appropriate for investigation or use as a treatment for coronavirus,” the company said. “We must be clear that under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body.”That comes after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested testing to see if bleach could kill the new coronavirus.“The disinfectant knocks it out in a minute. One minute,” he said. “Is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside?” He said it would be “almost a cleaning. It gets in the lungs and does a tremendous number on the lungs.”Bleach is a toxic chemical, and inhaling it could damage the lungs. “Inhaling chlorine bleach would be absolutely the worst thing for the lungs,” said John Balmes, a pulmonoligist at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, and a professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco. “The airway and lungs are not made to be exposed to even an aerosol of disinfectant.”“Not even a low dilution of bleach or isopropyl alcohol is safe,” Balmes said in a telephone interview. “It’s a totally ridiculous concept.”Austria Details Reopening Plan (4:53 p.m. HK)Austria will bring back to school all students aged 6-14 from May 18. Classes will be split in two and taught in shifts to increase social distancing, and masks will be mandatory outside of the actual class rooms.The country is continuing its lockdown easing as the decline of new infections and hospitalizations is robust. New infections were below 100 for the sixth straight day, hospitalizations and intensive care usage remain on a declining trajectory. Only eight patients died with Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, the lowest number since March 26.O’Leary May Sue to Stop Airline Bailouts (4:51 p.m. HK)Ryanair Holdings Plc told Europe’s top antitrust official that it may go to court to stop France and other countries from “selectively gifting billions of euros to their inefficient flag carriers.” Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s chief executive officer, said in a letter to Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager that the EU would be “forced into an embarrassing U-turn” on state aid if Ryanair won a legal challenge.The national programs should be modified so that Ryanair could get a share of the bailout packages by making sure loan guarantees and other perks are available to “all EU airlines in proportion to their share of traffic in a particular country,” O’Leary said in the April 9 letter seen by Bloomberg News.Ryanair’s intervention threatens to slow government efforts to shower billions of euros of aid on airlines across. France and the Netherlands are readying a bailout package for Air France-KLM and Deutsche Lufthansa AG, the region’s biggest carrier, has discussed a rescue from Germany and other countries. Italy wants to take over bankrupt Alitalia.Sanofi Boom May Not Last (3:43 p.m. HK)Sanofi’s attributed about half of its 16% profit gain to Covid-19, but the boom will likely be short-lived as the pandemic hinders the drugmaker’s efforts to get some medicines to patients. The sales burst of the first quarter, when patients stocked up on diabetes and rare-disease medicines ahead of lockdowns, is waning, the pharma giant said.Sanofi’s report also hinted at a worrisome trend that doctors have warned about: new patients not getting treatment for their ailments in the era of covid-19. There was a decline in new patients with multiple sclerosis starting on a medicine called Lemtrada due to covid-19, Sanofi said. And efforts to launch a new cancer drug, Sarclisa, were slowed by the crisis.Earlier, Nestle SA reported its fastest sales growth in almost five years as consumers loaded up on frozen food, boosting brands that have faltered in recent years such as Stouffer’s and Hot Pockets. Click here for more European on earnings.Lufthansa Warns of Cash Crunch (3:23 p.m. HK)Deutsche Lufthansa AG risks running low on cash within weeks, with the German airline saying the global oil rout has deepened its distress, and its survival now depends on a multibillion-euro bailout from four states.Liquidity will fall sharply if Europe’s largest carrier is unable to soon access aid, Lufthansa said late Thursday. The coronavirus pandemic has forced the sprawling airline group to halt most flights, choking off revenue while outgoing costs for ticket refunds and financial obligations strain its reserves.Johnson Is ‘Raring to Go’ (3:13 p.m. HK)Boris Johnson is “much better” and back to his normal energetic self, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said, in comments that will fuel speculation the U.K. prime minister is preparing to get back to work. Johnson has been recovering from a severe coronavirus infection at Chequers, his official country residence, since leaving hospital on April 12. He has been easing himself back into his duties with a call to U.S. President Donald Trump and another to the Queen in recent days, but has not been formally working on government business.The Telegraph newspaper reported Johnson has now told aides he wants to schedule meetings with his ministers next week and plans to chair the weekly session of his Cabinet. “That’s a decision for him and his doctors, but he’s much, much better,” Hancock said in an interview with LBC radio on Friday. “I was talking to him yesterday evening. He’s on great form, he’s raring to go, but of course he’s got to talk to his doctors to make the final decision.”Singapore Reports Fewer Than 1,000 New Cases (3:10 p.m. HK)Singapore reported 897 new coronavirus cases, after seeing more than 1,000 infections in each of the previous four days. The vast majority of the new cases came from work permit holders living in migrant worker dormitories, according to the Ministry of Health.Singapore is looking to pivot to a more aggressive coronavirus response strategy that involves mass testing for its population of 5.7 million people as cases in the city-state jumped more than 10-fold this month to cross 11,000.U.K. Retail Sales Post Biggest Drop on Record (2:09 p.m. HK)U.K. retail sales fell the most since records began as restrictions to control the coronavirus forced all but essential stores to close. Sales including auto fuel declined a record 5.1% from February, the Office for National Statistics said Friday. Sales excluding fuel dropped 3.7%.German Cases, Deaths Rise by Most in Almost a Week (1:33 p.m. HK)The number of new coronavirus cases and deaths in Germany rose by the most in nearly a week, a day after Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that the nation is “far from being out of the woods.”There were 2,481 new cases in the 24 hours through Friday morning, bringing the total to 153,129, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Fatalities rose by 260 to 5,575 and the death rate edged up by about a 10th of a percentage point to 3.6%. Some 103,300 people have recovered from the disease, more than any other nation.China Cuts Another Policy Rate (11:47 a.m. HK)China’s central bank rolled over some of the targeted funds due Friday while cutting interest rates on the loans, the latest in a string of measures aimed at ensuring sufficient liquidity.A flurry of measures in recent months have kept liquidity ample to support China’s weakened economy, with data last week showing the first contraction in decades in the first quarter. Lockdowns to contain the coronavirus are set to result in the country’s slowest annual economic growth since the 1970s.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
