Guest view: Can we achieve gender equality? 8 Apr 2020 In an unequal world, the coronavirus pandemic hurts women disproportionately. They are on the frontlines of the fight caring for the sick but are more exposed to hardships. Women might end up suffering the most while saving the world. Leaders can respond now to fix the equation.
TikTok is a winner in global viral challenge 8 Apr 2020 Millions of bored people are hooked on the video app for the latest dance moves and more. Owner ByteDance is getting a goldmine of user data and a bigger audience for a follow-up hit. But the unprecedented global success for a Chinese startup comes with uncharted risks.
Coronabonds can issue social goods 8 Apr 2020 Indonesia sold $4.3 bln worth of bonds, partly to tackle Covid-19. It copies a Chinese template. And an unusually long 50-year tranche found favour with life insurers. Investors welcome spin that makes portfolios look responsible, and this one may go viral faster than most.
Japan goes deeper into unknown with $1 trln binge 7 Apr 2020 Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is preparing a stimulus worth 20% of GDP as his government announces a state of emergency to combat the coronavirus. Already at the edges of unconventional monetary policy, Tokyo will now further test new frontiers for public debt in peacetime.
Corona Capital: Saudi/Carnival, PG&E 6 Apr 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Today, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund takes an 8% stake in beleaguered cruise outfit Carnival, and the coronavirus may dislodge one of the moving parts in California utility PG&E’s plan to exit bankruptcy.
Beijing tries to fake it ’til it makes it 6 Apr 2020 Local officials and state media are portraying a China back at work. Reassuring consumers is critical to supporting domestic demand as exports crash. But this rosy picture is blurred. Outsiders trying to model a recovery must be more discerning than ever reading the tea leaves.
Seoul’s virus tests yield false economic positive 2 Apr 2020 Laudable containment efforts that helped save lives aren’t sparking obvious wider benefits. Domestic demand is weak and a global recession probably will cause South Korea’s $1.6 trln economy to contract this year. Export dependence means waiting for the rest of the world to heal.
China’s missing phone customers stir viral concern 2 Apr 2020 Some 20 mln of them mysteriously vanished from $150 bln China Mobile and its two biggest rivals in February. It may be the first time all three carriers lost subscribers at once. Theories range from the conspiratorial to the more plausible. None of them is reassuring, though.
Australia fuels global race to flatten jobs curve 1 Apr 2020 Prime Minister Scott Morrison proposes spending some $80 bln subsidising wages for six months. That would cover about 70% of median pay for most and equal 6.5% of GDP. Increasingly generous pandemic stimulus measures in one country ultimately could help workers in another.
Hong Kong rues taking off its face mask 31 Mar 2020 A fresh wave of Covid-19 infections has forced the Asian hub into a crushing second phase of lockdown. It illustrates the challenges of getting back to business as usual, especially for more outward-facing economies. Breakingviews looks at life in a city beating a fresh retreat.
Private equity healthcare bets go from ill to ICU 30 Mar 2020 KKR and Blackstone gambled big on rising medical expenditures, buying emergency room staffing firms Envision and TeamHealth. Wars with insurers over aggressive billing practices left both companies weak. Cancelled procedures from Covid-19 will put both in critical condition.
Virus clarifies case for universal U.S. healthcare 25 Mar 2020 The debate in America tends to get bogged down in how to change the system, losing sight of why. Other developed-country governments guarantee basic medical care for everyone. The Covid-19 pandemic shows why the benefits transcend wealth, politics and geography.
States have upper hand in health vs. economy row 24 Mar 2020 Donald Trump may end U.S. federal social-distancing restrictions earlier than medical experts advise with economic damage mounting. But lifting curbs is mostly up to governors and they'll shoulder health crises if they go too soon. Many businesses may prefer to play it safe, too.
Corona Capital: India on lockdown 24 Mar 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: India's prime minister, Narendra Modi, tells 1.3 billion people to stay at home as the country grapples with the early stages of an outbreak.
Chancellor: Coronavirus crash is inverted bubble 24 Mar 2020 Financial manias are often described in epidemiological terms, with “contagion” leading investors to become “infected” with speculative “fever”. In a sense, the response to Covid-19 may be a mirror image where fear replaces greed and errors of pessimism replace those of optimism.
World will be ready for some 2021 Olympic spirit 24 Mar 2020 It’s likely the Summer Games won’t go on as planned in Tokyo. Cancelling would be a defeat, but rescheduling for next year a symbol of resilience. By then, an economic recovery should hopefully be under way and global audiences will be drawn more than ever to the Olympic flame.
Corona Capital: Religious aid, Ad-spending slump 23 Mar 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: U.S. Vice President Mike Pence wants Americans to donate to religious institutions to bolster community aid. But churches have their own fiscal problems. Plus: TV ad revenue look set for a pounding.
India Insight: Facing the pandemic on a shoestring 23 Mar 2020 As it braces for an outbreak of Covid-19, India lacks the authoritarian system that helped China cope and the advanced healthcare of Italy. India’s experience will illustrate the added struggle that poor, unruly nations face from rising disease and a straightjacketed economy.
Virus likely to be a tale of three phases 18 Mar 2020 History and science suggest a serious hit – to the economy and health – lasting months, and varying depending on testing and behavioral changes. Flare-ups and uncertainty will continue until a vaccine is widespread in a year or more. After that, Covid-19 may just be another flu.
EU virus move beggars neighbours a few doors down 16 Mar 2020 Brussels is urging member states to keep borders open with each other for healthcare supplies, following fears of national hoarding. It’s less worried about what happens beyond its bloc. That’s fine, but the stance could have consequences when the crisis subsides.