FT News Briefing

US stocks and global equities surged on Monday as investors took heart from signs that the coronavirus outbreak may be stabilising in some of the worst-affected countries. Plus, with a death count of more than 16,000 people and its economy on course to suffer the deepest recession in its modern history, Italy is wrestling with a lack of assistance from its European neighbours. The FT’s Miles Johnson explains that Italians are feeling betrayed by how some countries are responding to their plight..   Plus, the FT’s global business columnist, Rana Foroohar argues that private and public - but mostly private - sectors need to invest in broadband improvements as lockdowns cause internet usage to rise.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Emerging markets are scrambling to keep their economies afloat as the coronavirus pandemic deepens. The FT’s David Pilling will have more. Plus, America’s biggest banks will defend their plans to continue paying dividends in submissions to regulators today, and oil producers push back against the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Oil soared nearly 50 per cent at one point on Thursday in its biggest ever one-day rally after US president Donald Trump stoked hopes of a supply cut deal, German biotech groups are urging regulators to ease restrictions when it comes to testing a coronavirus vaccine, and bankers are raising doubts about whether the US government’s small business loan programme will begin today, as scheduled.  Plus, banks were admonished over their role in causing the 2008 financial crisis. The FT’s David Crow explains how banks can rehabilitate themselves in the coronavirus crisis by distributing unprecedented amounts of stimulus.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

France is pushing for a common EU fund to help Europe through the coronavirus crisis. The FT’s Paris bureau chief, Victor Mallet, explains what the plan entails. Then, the rapid spread of the outbreak has pushed commercial landlords and their tenants to breaking point. FT property reporter George Hammond unpacks the brewing conflict between landlords and the tenants that are unable to pay rent. Plus, Amazon has said it is urgently investigating claims of “subhuman” conditions at a Philippines call centre, and SoftBank has pulled out of a $3bn purchase of WeWork stock.    See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The FT’s Gillian Tett unpacks the Federal Reserve’s latest move to meet the global demand for dollars, and science editor Clive Cookson explains how different countries are handling coronavirus testing and how the private sector could step in.  Plus, Donald Trump is set to suspend some tariffs for 90 days as he tries blunt the economic damage from the pandemic, the UK’s six biggest banks have bowed to pressure from Britain’s top financial regulator to suspend dividend payments, and as coronavirus reaches the developing world, a record 85 countries have approached the IMF for short-term relief in recent weeks.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Amazon has pitched itself as an essential business to provide those sheltering in place with needed products. The FT’s Dave Lee reports on how the e-commerce group could emerge as a hero if deliveries remain on track, but only if it does so without pushing employees to take excessive health risks. Meanwhile, insurers are tightening the terms of their business coverage to make sure anything related to the pandemic is explicitly excluded. Plus, Rana Foroohar argues that 50 years of US policy in favour of private sector interests have come home to roost as the economy copes with coronavirus.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Manufacturers are working to produce the ventilators needed to help severely ill coronavirus patients breathe. The question is whether those inexperienced in the field can overcome the logistical and regulatory hurdles in time to deliver the life-saving machines. Plus, US companies have questions about how to access the $454bn of government funds set aside in the $2tn stimulus legislation, and Italy’s shadow workers are left out of the country’s safety net.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

US stocks were up for a third straight day after the Senate agreed to a $2.2tn stimulus package Wednesday. The bill comes as a report on Thursday showed that a record 3.3m Americans filed for unemployment last week from the coronavirus shutdown. Plus, the European Central Bank is giving itself a tremendous amount of flexibility in its plan to buy €750bn in additional bonds to contain the fallout from the virus. And, WeWork burnt through $1.4bn last quarter, almost all the cash injection its principal backer SoftBank had most recently provided.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The US Senate has approved fiscal stimulus legislation worth $2tn after a week of intense negotiations, Ford suffers the biggest credit rating downgrade since 2005, and the FT’s James Kynge tells us how China could become an example of growth while the rest of the world deals with the coronavirus crisis. Plus, the US has raised the pressure on Saudi Arabia to end its oil price war with Russia as the shale industry faces a collapse.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As traditional capital markets seize up, businesses are turning to emergency sources of funding. An FT analysis shows that more than 130 companies drew at least $124bn from their lenders in the past three weeks. Plus, Europe is facing a dilemma over whether to allow certain businesses to operate or shut the economy entirely to slow the spread of the coronavirus, and SoftBank explored an attempt to take the conglomerate private before deciding to sell some of its assets this week.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Federal Reserve announced a plan to buy corporate debt and unlimited amounts of government debt on Monday. But investors on Wall Street continue to wait for fiscal stimulus from the US government.  Plus, The FT’s global business columnist, Rana Foroohar, argues that, when a bailout plan is agreed, small businesses and individuals should be first in line for the help.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

US lawmakers argue over a fiscal stimulus legislation worth nearly $2tn to help America weather the coronavirus pandemic. Plus, it could be weeks before official data reveals the full impact of the outbreak on the global economy. FT data journalists have compiled a set of alternative measures of economic activity, from restaurant bookings to traffic patterns, to give an early indication of what to expect. And, Occidental Petroleum chief executive Vicki Hollub looks set to keep her job as the embattled oil producer finalises a truce with activist investor Carl Icahn.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Republicans in the US Senate have introduced legislation to inject more than $1tn of fiscal stimulus into the economy as it grapples with the coronavirus outbreak. Sir Paul Tucker, the former deputy governor of the Bank of England and current chair of the Systemic Risk Council, says it’s time for policymakers and bankers to prepare for a wartime setting if conditions deteriorate. Plus, the only US drugmaker that makes a potential treatment for the coronavirus raised the price nearly 100 per cent in January as the outbreak wreaked havoc in China.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The European Central Bank will buy an additional €750bn in bonds in response to the economic and financial upheaval caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Gillian Tett and Anjli Raval explain the dramatic market swings in markets that preceded the ECB’s emergency move. Plus, we will look at the bottlenecks in the healthcare supply chain as demand grows for testing and critical care equipment.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Western governments pledged trillions of dollars in stimulus measures to limit the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday. The FT’s global business columnist Rana Foroohar explains what it could mean for Wall Street and Main Street. Plus, Impossible Foods raises $500m in a round that will help the US-plant based burger group to see through the economic upheaval caused by the current crisis, and Joe Biden solidifies his status as the frontrunner to take on Donald Trump in November.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.