(Bloomberg) -- A top U.S. official suggested Beijing sent airline passengers to spread the coronavirus worldwide, as the Trump administration stepped up its campaign of blaming China for the pandemic.Japan’s economy sank into a recession that’s likely to deepen further as companies cut back to survive the pandemic. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said a U.S. recovery could stretch through the end of next year and depend on the delivery of a vaccine.India extended its nationwide lockdown to the end of the month while easing some curbs.Key Developments:Virus Tracker: Cases top 4.7 million; deaths exceed 314,000Pandemic shatters world order, sowing anger and mistrustChina faces angry world seeking virus answers at key WHO meetingMore Chinese dine out, schools reopen as normalcy resumesNew Zealand plans safe haven as Arden charts rapid rebuildSubscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team here. Click VRUS on the terminal for news and data...
(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. said it’s reopening more than 25 stores across seven U.S. states this week, adding to nearly 100 global locations that have reopened to customers after the Covid-19 pandemic forced them to close. Some stores will offer only curbside or storefront service, the company added in an email statement.In a letter to customers by Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president for retail and people, the company said it’s “focused on limiting occupancy and giving everybody lots of room,” with a renewed emphasis on one-to-one service throughout each store. There’ll be temperature checks conducted at the door and face coverings will be required for all employees and provided to any shoppers without one.“A store opening in no way means that we won’t take the preventative step of closing it again should local conditions warrant,” O’Brien wrote.The Cupertino, California-based tech giant is in the process of reopening most of its...
(Bloomberg) -- The 50-year old Hang Seng Index is poised to embrace change, and it couldn’t come soon enough for investors forced to put up with years of dismal underperformance.On Monday at around 4:30 p.m. in Hong Kong, the compiler of the gauge is expected to announce whether companies with secondary listings and unequal voting rights will be included for the first time, namely Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Doing so would open the door to transforming the Hang Seng from a gauge overstuffed with banks and insurers to one that better reflects the technological dynamism of China’s economy.Alibaba -- one of China’s most valuable companies -- launched a secondary listing in Hong Kong in November. Another potential candidate for inclusion is Meituan Dianping, China’s largest food-delivery website, while JD.com Inc. is considering a secondary listing of its own in the city. With almost $30 billion of pension-fund assets and exchange-traded funds...
(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock futures advanced as investors weighed further reopening of economies around the world against fresh warnings that the road to recovery will be long. Asian stock futures pointed to a mixed start, while the yen nudged lower. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.8%, following last week’s retreat for global shares. Equity futures edged down in Hong Kong, while those in Japan and Australia rose. Crude oil climbed. The pound dipped after a Bank of England official said the central bank is examining a range of unconventional policy tools, including negative interest rates.On the virus front, New York’s western region and the area around Albany are ready to reopen as new deaths fell to a seven-week low. France reported a rise in fatalities. The U.S. accused China of using airline passengers to spread the virus early in the outbreak.Global equities are coming off the back of declines last week as...
