(Bloomberg) -- China said it has no interest in interfering in internal U.S. affairs after President Donald Trump blamed Beijing’s response to the outbreak on a desire to see him lose in November’s election. German officials are set to extend restrictions on public life and Britain will likely miss its daily testing target.The French and Spanish economies plunged and German unemployment surged amid shutdowns that are dragging Europe into its deepest recession of the postwar era. Shell cut its dividend for the first time since World War II.Earlier, Gilead said it had more than 50,000 courses of its experimental Covid-19 therapy ready to ship as soon as the drug is authorized for emergency use by U.S. regulators. In Europe, AstraZeneca agreed to make and distribute the potential vaccine that Oxford University scientists have developed.Key DevelopmentsVirus Tracker: Global Cases 3.22 Million; Deaths 227,420Dueling data on Gilead treatment leaves many questionsDead coronavirus particles...
(Bloomberg) -- China said it has no interest in interfering in internal U.S. affairs after President Donald Trump blamed Beijing’s response to the outbreak on a desire to see him lose in November’s election. New cases in Germany rose the most in four days as the government weighs further steps to ease curbs.The French and Spanish economies plunged and German unemployment surged amid shutdowns that are dragging Europe into its deepest recession of the postwar era. Shell cut its dividend for the first time since World War II.Earlier, Gilead said it had more than 50,000 courses of its experimental Covid-19 therapy ready to ship as soon as the drug is authorized for emergency use by U.S. regulators. In Europe, AstraZeneca agreed to make and distribute the potential vaccine that Oxford University scientists have developed.Key DevelopmentsVirus Tracker: Global Cases 3.22 Million; Deaths 227,420Dueling data on Gilead treatment leaves many questionsDead coronavirus particles...
(Bloomberg) -- Indians may borrow more against their stash of gold as the world’s biggest lockdown raises financial stress in an economy that’s set for its first contraction in four decades.Indians are the biggest consumers of gold after China and hold the largest hoard of the precious metal. Gold is both an insurance policy and a retirement plan in a country that lacks robust social welfare systems or widespread access to formal credit. And with economic activity coming to a virtual standstill after Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered a 40-day nationwide lockdown to combat the coronavirus, more Indians are likely to turn to gold loan companies to raise money against the precious metal.“Recycling and collateralized loans against gold may be expected to grow exponentially in the next few quarters,” P.R. Somasundaram, managing director for India at the World Gold Council, said in an interview. “There will definitely be a strong growth...
(Bloomberg) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc cut its dividend for the first time since the Second World War as the oil slump triggered by the coronavirus pandemic reshapes the energy industry.The surprise move is the latest illustration of how the global spread of the deadly disease is causing the biggest upheaval for generations. Energy consumption is undergoing a historic plunge, as is GDP growth in many countries. The global economy that emerges from the other side of the crisis may look very different, with lasting changes to patterns of fuel demand.This is a big moment in the history of Shell and the oil industry. The company was by far the biggest payer in the FTSE-100, providing a reliable income to millions of pension fund investors. The two-thirds reduction in its dividend will shock investors, but also underscores the gloomy outlook for the year.Weak earnings in the first three months of the...
