Trump’s Improving Health Causes Global Markets to Calm
Stock markets rose on Monday on hopes that President Donald Trump could be discharged from hospital as early as Monday, easing some of the political uncertainty that shook global markets in the previous session. Doctors treating Trump have reported that they are pleased with the progress of his recovery. Australian stocks .AXJO jumped 2.37% for the biggest daily gain in almost two weeks. Japan’s Nikkei .N225 rose 1.39%. China’s financial markets are closed for a public holiday.
Euro zone economic recovery in danger as COVID-19 resurgence hits service industries
The euro zone’s economic recovery faltered in September with growing evidence that sectors and countries in the bloc are diverging as a resurgence of the coronavirus forces the reimposition of restrictions on activity. To support the bloc’s economy, the European Central Bank plans to make 1.35 trillion euros of additional pandemic-related asset purchases and the European Union has announced a 750 billion euro recovery fund due to kick in next year.
India and S.Africa ask WTO to waive rules to aid COVID-19 drug production
India and South Africa want the World Trade Organization (WTO) to waive intellectual property rules to make it easier for developing countries to produce or import COVID-19 drugs. The two countries called on the global trade body to waive parts of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which governs patents, trademarks, copyright and other intellectual property rules globally. This is important so that drugs will be made available promptly, in sufficient quantities and at an affordable price in the developing nations which are disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
Trump Cracks Down on H1-B Visas. Indian Firms May Benefit.
As the H1-B eligibility norms get tougher with additional federal review and new obligations for companies that bring in foreign workers to the US, there is an increasing possibility that such work may be relocated from the US to India – owing to India’s talent pool and economical pay scales.
AirAsia Shuts Shop in Japan, Hints at Shutting Operations in India
AirAsia, one of South-East Asia’s most popular budget airline carrier, has decided to cease all operations in Japan. The highly challenging operating conditions in the COVID-19 pandemic had aggravated their cash burn to unsustainable levels. AirAsia, once a poster-child of low-cost global air travel, is seeking to raise $600 million by the end of the year to stay afloat.
World’s Second-Biggest Chain Suspends Operations in the US and UK.
Cineworld, the world’s second-biggest cinema chain, said today it would temporarily shut all of its 536 Regal theatres in the U.S. and its 127 Cineworld and Picturehouse theatres in the United States and the UK, a move that would impact 45,000 jobs, as it deals with a significant downturn in the industry brought on by the coronavirus crisis.
U.K. Fears Economic Downturn From COVID-19 Resurgence and BREXIT with no Trade Deal
The combination of the emerging wave of COVID-19 cases and a failure to secure a post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union could cost the United Kingdom around 134 billion pounds ($174 billion) each year in lost GDP for the next decade, research by law firm Baker & McKenzie showed. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set Oct. 15 as a deadline for clinching a post-Brexit trade deal which would kick in when the United Kingdom leaves informal EU membership at the end of this year.
Long term Jobelessness to Aggravate the Pandemic Induced Recession
According to a new study in the US, many people who have lost jobs at the start of the pandemic have remained unemployed for over six months. The phenomenon, called long term joblessness, is now threatening recovery from the Covid 19 pandemic induced recession, which is already considered as worse than the Great Recession. As per reports, a rising proportion of job losses appear to be permanently gone in the US (and probably in many other countries too).
Major Dubai-based Construction Firm Enter Liquidation
Arabtec Holding PJSC, the Dubai-based construction company that helped build Burj Khalifa – world’s tallest building and other engineering marvels in the United Arab Emirates such as Louvre Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Palace hotel announced Thursday it would enter liquidation, the final step in a long collapse from the country’s economic crisis a decade ago hastened by the coronavirus pandemic.
The collapse of Arabtec will likely have a further knock-on effect on the vital construction industry in Dubai as it remains attached to other major projects in the city-state.
China Pushes Joint Promotion of Belt-Road-Initiative with Bangladesh
Chinese President Xi Jinping said he stands ready with Bangladesh leaders to better align the two countries’ strategies and jointly promote the construction of his multi-billion dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to take the strategic partnership of the two countries to new heights. This China-initiated infrastructure project is a looming threat to India’s position in its the Indian subcontinent, as more of its neighbours enter strategic partnerships with China.