(Bloomberg) — European Union finance ministers failed to agree on a recovery plan for the bloc after 16 hours of talks, driving the euro and Italian bonds lower. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s condition remains stable and he is not on a ventilator.
China relaxed its monthslong lockdown of Wuhan, the city where the pandemic began. Beijing said it would continue to support the World Health Organization after President Donald Trump called the international body “very China centric” and that he’s considering putting a “hold” on U.S. funding.
The number of new infections in Germany rose the most in three days. Britain, U.S. and Italy may see the number of virus-related deaths exceed 5,000 in the coming week, according to a forecast by Imperial College London.
Key Developments:
Global cases reach 1.43 million; deaths exceed 82,100: Johns HopkinsBiden says coronavirus damage could ‘eclipse’ Great DepressionTrump team preps plans to reopen economy that depend on testingWuhan sees mass exodus after China eases lockdown
German Institutes See 4.2% Contraction, Then Big Rebound (5 p.m. HK)
Germany’s economy is likely to shrink by 4.2% this year, before government measures to counter the coronavirus impact fuel expansion of 5.8% in 2021, according to five of the nation’s leading research institutes.
The size of the contraction this year is smaller than the 5% predicted last week by Economy Minister Peter Altmaier, though the institutes cautioned that there are “considerable downside risks” to their projections. In the second quarter, they expect gross domestic product to decline by 9.8%, the most since records for quarterly data began in 1970, and more than twice as much as during the first quarter of 2009 at the height of the financial crisis.
Russia Reports More than 1,000 New Cases Again (4:48 p.m. HK)
Russia reported 1,175 new cases overnight, a 16% increase, bringing the total number of infected to 8,672. The country reported five more fatalities, taking its total to 63.
Tokyo Cases Rise (3:46 p.m. HK)
Tokyo found 144 new cases of coronavirus, NTV reported. Earlier, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned Japan could be facing as many as 80,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in a month if no action is taken as he declared a state of emergency in Tokyo and its surrounding regions.
Drugmakers Need Government Support to Ensure Supply (3:45 p.m. HK)
European drugmakers need cooperation and support from regional and national authorities to ensure continuity in the drug supply during the pandemic, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations said.
“Regulatory flexibilities and lifting measures that impact manufacturing and supply can help ease the situation,” the trade group said in an e-mail. The European Union health commissioner appealed to companies on April 3 to boost production of medicines needed to treat the coronavirus, saying that several member states only had a one-week supply of some drugs.
The European Union’s most senior health official has appealed to the pharmaceutical industry to boost production of critical medicines needed to treat the symptoms of the coronavirus, warning that several member states may soon run out.
Zara Owner Increases Apparel Exports to Asia (3:37 p.m. HK)
Traffic at Zaragoza airport, where more than 75% of space is assigned to Inditex, has started to pick up, according to Marcos Diaz, airport director. Although the airport, which is controlled by AENA SA, saw a small decrease in activity earlier in the year, Asian markets “have been recovering strongly in recent weeks and South America hasn’t yet been hit like Europe,” he said.
Lam to Brief Press, HK Plans New Relief Package (3:22 p.m. HK)
Hong Kong’s government will offer a relief package valued at more than HK$100 billion ($12.9 billion), or 3.5% of the city’s GDP, to blunt the coronavirus’s impact on businesses and workers, the South China Morning Post reported, citing unidentified people. Most of the funds will go toward subsidizing half of employees’ wages in industries directly impacted by the outbreak.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam will speak to the press at 5:30 local time, local broadcaster TVB said.
A 16-Hour Call Wasn’t Long Enough (3:10 p.m. HK)
European Union finance ministers failed to agree on a remedy for mitigating the economic impact of the pandemic, prolonging a paralysis that casts doubt over the bloc’s chances to weather the storm unscathed.
During a call lasting more than 16 hours, finance chiefs couldn’t reconcile their contrasting visions for the steps needed to help European economies recover. Countries led by France and Europe’s hardest-hit south were pitted against Germany and other hawkish northern states over the need to issue joint debt.
Another call is scheduled for Thursday.
European Companies Roundup (2:50 p.m. HK)
Brewer Heineken said it expects the pandemic impact to worsen in the second quarter and withdrew its 2020 guidance. U.K. grocer Tesco said panic-buying has subsided and maintained its plan to pay a 5 billion-pound ($6.2 billion) special dividend. Credit Suisse turned to its own ultra-high-net-worth clients to bolster its lending ability as markets sank in March and companies began to draw down credit lines, according to a person familiar with the matter.
French Economy Shrinks Most Since WW II (2:20 p.m. HK)
The French economy shrank the most since World War II in the first quarter, and the outlook for the rest of the year is souring significantly amid the confinement to limit the spread of the coronavirus, according to the Bank of France. The central bank’s estimate of a 6% slump is the latest indicator of the severity of the shock to European economies from a simultaneous collapse in demand and supply.
Germany Reports Biggest Rise in Infections in Three Days (2:15 p.m. HK)
The number of new coronavirus infections in Germany rose the most in three days, bringing the total to 107,663 in one of Europe’s worst-hit nations.
More than two weeks after the government ordered citizens to adhere to strict limits on public life, infections increased by 4,288 on Wednesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. That compared with a gain of 3,252 a day earlier.
The head of Germany’s public health institute said Wednesday that the general trend in confirmed cases is “positive” but cautioned that the nation is still only at the beginning of the pandemic.
Expert: Virus Likely to Be Around for Two Years (1:54 p.m. HK)
The coronavirus likely will be around for at least two years, which means the measures being implemented to curb its spread may be in place for a while, an infectious diseases expert said.
A vaccine likely won’t be available in large amounts for another 18-24 months, and countries need to do more frequent testing, Peter Collignon, a professor at the Australian National University Medical School, told Bloomberg News.
Eradication of the virus is unrealistic, he said.
More Asian Countries Learn to Love Face Masks (12:43 p.m. HK)
The debate over whether face masks can help contain the spread of Covid-19 is shifting quickly, with more countries requiring citizens to cover their faces in public.
Indonesia, one of the world’s most populous countries with 264 million people, ordered citizens to wear face masks when they leave the house after predicting as many as 95,000 people could be infected.
Vietnam is fining people who don’t wear them, while the Philippines is requiring more than 50 million people on Luzon Island to wear masks or improvised face shields outside. Singapore now says asymptomatic people can wear masks in public, and India is explaining how to make reusable coverings at home.
Still, the World Health Organization says there’s no evidence that wearing a mask can prevent healthy people from infection.
Tesla Cutting Some Salaries By 30% (11:57 a.m. HK)
Tesla Inc. will reduce employees’ salaries as much as 30% starting Monday to cut costs as it shuts down some operations because of the coronavirus pandemic.
In the U.S., the salary cut is 30% for vice presidents and above, 20% for directors and above, and 10% for others, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg. Workers outside the U.S. will see similar reductions.
Employees who haven’t been assigned to critical tasks and who can’t work from home will be furloughed without pay, though they will keep health-care benefits. Tesla agreed to idle U.S. production last month amid authorities’ orders.
Apple Partner Foxconn to Start Making Ventilators (11:29 a.m. HK)
Foxconn, the company responsible for assembling most of the world’s iPhones, will start developing and making ventilators in the U.S.
Foxconn will work with Medtronic Plc on the design and development of the devices. Foxconn, which owns a plant in Wisconsin, didn’t say where and when it will be making the medical equipment.
There has been a global shortage of ventilators needed in the treatment of severe cases of Covid-19. Foxconn has been making face masks, used to curb the spread of the virus, in China since February.
Outbreak Seen Growing Fast in U.S., Stabilizing in Italy (10:49 a.m. HK)
The coronavirus outbreak is growing rapidly in the U.S., Japan, Germany, France and the U.K., according to a weekly forecast by Imperial College London’s MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis.
But the group found the disease is stabilizing in Italy, Iran, South Korea and Indonesia.
The MRC, which collaborates with agencies including the World Health Organization, forecasts fatality rates for the week ahead based on analyses of 42 countries with active transmission.
The center, in its forecast dated April 7, predicts deaths exceeding 5,000 in the coming week in France, Italy, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S. Fatalities of less than 100 are predicted for 14 countries, including Japan.
Singapore Enforcing “Circuit Breaker” Measures (10:16 a.m. HK)
Singapore issued more than 7,000 written advisories to people not following safe distancing on the first day of new “circuit breaker” rules, the government said. Elevated measures took effect Tuesday as the city-state tries to curb the spread of coronavirus and a second wave of infections in the city-state.
First-time offenders may face a fine of as much as S$10,000 ($7,009), jail for as many as six months, or both, the Straits Times reported.
The elevated measures include bans on public and private gatherings of any size by people who aren’t living together. The rules apply to private quarters and public spaces, according to a copy of a speech by health minister Gan Kim Yong.
Schools also are moving to full home-based learning.
Wuhan Sees Mass Exodus as Lockdown Lifted (9:35 a.m. HK)
About 55,000 people had train tickets out of Wuhan on Wednesday, according to Chinese state television, as the government eased its lockdown on the city.
Flights are resuming from the city’s international airport, which handled 24 million passengers a year before the outbreak, and people will be able to return to their jobs around the country. Cars queued at toll booths to get onto the highways out of town.
However, a web of complex restrictions and fear of a resurgence in infections means many can’t — or won’t dare to — go anywhere. Housing compounds in the city retain the power to put residents back under lockdown.
Hong Kong Extends Distancing Measures (9:04 a.m. HK)
Hong Kong is extending its social distancing measures to April 23 and adding beauty parlors and massage places to the list of venues that must close.
The city already bans public gatherings of more than four people. It previously closed gyms, bars and karaoke places, and it required restaurants to run at half capacity and space out tables.
Separately, all travelers arriving at the Hong Kong International Airport will be required to undergo coronavirus testing starting Wednesday.
The South China Morning Post reported that the city will keep schools closed through May, citing a person familiar with the matter that it didn’t identify. The original plan was to resume later this month.
The city reports at least 935 coronavirus cases.
Trump Considering Hold on U.S. Funding for WHO (6:34 a.m. HK)
President Donald Trump said he’s considering putting a “hold” on U.S. funding for the World Health Organization after the agency “blew it” by failing to sound the alarm sooner about the coronavirus.
“I’m not saying I’m going to do it, but we’re going to look at it,” the president said at a White House briefing.
He earlier called the organization “very China-centric” and said it was wrong to advise against travel restrictions he imposed. The organization has urged nations to avoid blanket travel bans to countries experiencing outbreaks because historically such moves have been ineffective.
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