Spanish aficionados return to Madrid bullring for first time since pandemic
Carrying red and yellow flowers to show bullfighting is a symbol of Spanish culture, thousands of aficionados cheered on matadors who returned to Madrid’s Las Ventas bullring on Sunday for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Wearing mandatory face masks and sitting in fumigated seats separated by stickers, fans watched matadors take on […]
Vote count in five Indian states begin amid pandemic
India’s election officials on Sunday started counting votes in five states from elections held in March and early April at the start of a surge in COVID-19 cases that has overwhelmed the country’s healthcare system. The state election results are seen as a test of the impact the devastating second wave of the pandemic is […]
After nearly doubling profits, Amazon is hoping that pandemic habits will stick
Throughout the first 3 months of 2020, Amazon proceeded to benefit from the existing retail outlet routines, documenting a massive increase in revenue and a doubling of profit margins. From video broadcasting to online grocery, almost every element of the Covid-19 pandemic has boosted the tech behemoth’s profits. The boom is expected to continue in […]
London Heathrow Airport’s COVID losses balloon to $3.4 bln
Heathrow, Britain’s biggest airport, said on Thursday a first quarter loss of 329 million pounds ($459 million) took total losses since the start of the pandemic to nearly 2.4 billion pounds as travel continues to be hammered. It said only 1.7 million passengers travelled through the London airport in the three months to March 31, […]
Confronting the risks: corporate debt in the wake of the pandemic
As European economies emerge from lockdowns, it is becoming clearer that corporate debt has reached critical levels. A new French scheme, in which the state guarantees portfolios of subordinated debt, shows how financial support could be targeted better.
Analysis: As small-cap stocks lag, Wall Street worries about broad slowdown
An historic rally in share prices for smaller U.S. companies has slowed sharply in April after six months of strong gains, leading many investors to worry that the stock market as a whole may have already priced in a strong rebound from the pandemic. “The easy money has been made for small caps and for […]
Exxon retreated from oil trading in pandemic as rivals made fortunes
Exxon Mobil’s effort to build an energy trading business to compete with those of European oil majors unraveled quickly last year as the firm slashed the unit’s funding amid broader spending cuts, 10 people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The cuts left Exxon traders without the capital they needed to take full advantage of […]
Brazil’s Bolsonaro says military would follow his orders to take the streets
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Friday that if he were to order the military to take the streets and restore order, “the order will be followed,” raising fresh questions about his politicization of the armed forces. Speaking during a TV interview, Bolsonaro said he would not “go into details into what I’m preparing.” But […]
Reshaping European economic integration in the post-Covid world
Most of the discussion on the economic policy response to the pandemic in Europe has centred on its ambition, tools, and institutional characteristics. Less discussion has taken place on the factors shaping EU integration and economic policy priorities after the pandemic. In a new CEPR Policy Insight, the authors argue that four sets of issues will be important in shaping the legacy of the pandemic for European integration: redefining the new boundaries between state and market; revisiting the nature of subsidiarity; reconnecting the EU domestic with the global agenda; and learning to respond to longer term structural shifts.
U.S. lawmaker introduces bill to restore FTC ability to get money back from scammers
Representative Tony Cardenas, along with other Democrats, has introduced a bill that would restore the Federal Trade Commission’s ability to force scam artists and deceptive companies to return ill-gotten gains.
