2020-03-23 Bloomberg Businessweek

5

KENYA:

LUIS

TATO/AFP/GETTY

IMAGES.

RIVLIN:

GETTY

IMAGES.

CUOMO:

ANGUS

MORDANT/BLOOMBERG.

*PRICE

AS

OF

1:

P.M.

DATA:

COMPILED

BY

BLOOMBERG

INBRIEF

By Benedikt Kammel

Bloomberg Businessweek March 23, 2020

○ To help stem the

economic fallout from

the pandemic, U.S.

Treasury Secretary

Steven Mnuchin asked

Congress to approve a

stimulus package worth

$1.3t

The measure would

include fast loans for

small businesses and

direct payments to

workers.  30

○ Global deaths from the

virus have exceeded

8,

with more than 205,

people infected around

the world as of March 16.

In Europe, which now

has more confirmed

cases than China, Italy

has been hit especially

hard, reporting more than

31,500 infections and more

than 3,000 deaths.  40

○ Personnel at Nairobi’s Mbagathi Hospital take a visitor’s temperature on March 18.

Kenya has confirmed seven cases of Covid-19 so far. African countries have been

hit late by the disease; many are taking strict measures to block its spread.

Before settling on Quinn, the bank had

approached at least three high-profile

leaders at rival institutions, none of

whom could be persuaded to jump

ship. Quinn took over in August after

Chairman Mark Tucker ousted John

Flint, who lasted 18 months in the job.

Gantz was assigned the task after

being endorsed by a majority of the

Knesset. Israelis voted for a third time

in less than a year in March, but the

result delivered yet another stalemate

between Gantz and embattled Prime

Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

○ Former Vice President

Joe Biden scored victories

in the Democratic

presidential primaries

in Arizona, Florida, and

Illinois, padding his already

substantial lead in delegates

over Bernie Sanders.

The Vermont senator’s

campaign manager said on

March 18 that Sanders is

speaking with supporters

to “assess his campaign”

moving forward.

○ Bailing out airlines

around the world may

cost as much as

$200b

industry group IATA

estimates. Already, some

carriers are asking for state

aid, and Italy has said it will

take control of Alitalia.

○ HSBC named

Noel Quinn as its

permanent CEO,

after keeping him

in the position of

interim leader for

seven months.

○ Amazon.com, which is

having difficulty meeting

demand triggered by the

pandemic, plans to hire

100,000 people. The online

retailer is focused on

providing medical supplies,

household staples, and

other high-demand

products, restricting

independent merchants

from shipping nonessential

goods to its fulfillment

warehouses.  18

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo tweeting in

response to a tweet from President Trump

saying Cuomo needed to do more to address

the coronavirus crisis.

○ “I have to do more?

No—YOU have todo

supposed to

the President

○ Israeli President

Reuven Rivlin

asked Benny

Gantz to make

another attempt

to form a coalition

government.

○ Oil prices fell below $

a barrel for the first time in

almost 18 years after Saudi

Arabia doubled down on its

price war with Russia.  8

WTI crude oil

12/31/

$

3/18/20*

$