Author: LoveWorld UK

AXA (AXAF.PA) said on Tuesday it would meet the bulk of claims from some restaurant owners after a Paris court ruled last week the French insurer should pay one owner two-months’ worth of coronavirus-related revenue losses. The ruling on a disputed contract was seen as opening the door to a wave of similar litigation. AXA also said it would provide a further 500 million euros (446.84 million pounds) in aid for small companies. Chief executive Thomas Buberl said AXA planned to compensate business interruption losses to the majority of restaurant owners whose contracts were similar to the one studied by…

Eurowings, the low-cost airline owned by Lufthansa (LHAG.DE), said it would cut a third of the jobs at its headquarters as part of wider efforts to return the German airline group to profitability after a major state bailout. “We have around 1,000 staff at head office and of those we will reduce 300,” Eurowings Chief Executive Jens Bischof told a briefing in Duesseldorf. Germany threw Lufthansa a 9 billion euro (8.04 billion pounds) lifeline on Monday, agreeing a bailout which gives Berlin a veto in the event of a hostile bid for the airline. Bischof, in remarks embargoed for publication…

A slump in capital investments, private consumption and exports pushed the German economy into a recession in the first quarter, detailed data showed on Monday, giving a glimpse of the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The Federal Statistics Office said capital investments fell by 6.9%, private consumption by 3.2% and exports by 3.1% between January and March compared with the last three months of 2019. This meant that private consumption took off 1.7 percentage points of overall economic activity and net trade shaved off 0.8 percentage points, translating into a first-quarter contraction of 2.2%, the steepest rate since 2009.…

Oil prices rose on Monday, erasing earlier losses, as countries around the world continued to ease lockdown measures imposed to combat the coronavirus pandemic, boosting hopes for a recovery in fuel demand. Amid quiet trading, with financial centres Singapore, London and New York all closed for holidays, Brent was up 6 cents, or 0.2%, at $35.19 a barrel by 0636 GMT. U.S. oil CLc1 had gained 27 cents, or 0.82%, at $33.52 a barrel. Both contracts have risen for the past four weeks, although prices are still down around 45% so far this year. “Oil markets are focused on the…

Hong Kong’s security and police chiefs said “terrorism” was growing in the city, as government departments rallied on Monday behind Beijing’s plans to introduce national security laws after thousands took to the streets to protest against the move. The security legislation, which could see Chinese intelligence agencies set up bases in Hong Kong and aims to tackle secession, subversion and terrorist activities, has sent shockwaves through the business and diplomatic communities. “Terrorism is growing in the city and activities which harm national security, such as ‘Hong Kong independence’, become more rampant,” Secretary for Security John Lee said in a statement.…

British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak has authorised a bailout plan to rescue companies that are seen as strategically important, with the Treasury saying it may step in to support crucial businesses on a “last resort” basis after other options run out. The Treasury told Reuters late on Sunday it may try to save those companies whose failure will “disproportionately harm the economy”. “In exceptional circumstances, where a viable company has exhausted all options and its failure would disproportionately harm the economy, we may consider support on a ‘last resort’ basis,” a spokeswoman from the Treasury said in an emailed statement.…

European shares rose in thin trading on Monday, as optimism over reopening of countries and signs of more stimulus for the battered euro zone economy helped sentiment. The euro zone stock index .STOXXE rose 0.8% in early deals, with the pan-European STOXX 600 up 0.6% and Germany’s DAX .GDAXI up 0.9%. Trading volumes were lower across the board with the U.S., UK and some countries in Asia closed for holidays. Germany’s Bayer AG (BAYGn.DE) jumped 4.3% after saying it had made progress in seeking a settlement over claims its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer. Lagardere Capital & Management (LAGA.PA) jumped 7.5% after Bernard…

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson backed his senior adviser Dominic Cummings on Sunday, despite calls from within his own Conservative Party for the aide to resign for driving 250 miles during the coronavirus lockdown. Cummings, architect of the 2016 campaign to leave the EU, came under pressure when newspapers reported he had travelled from London to northern England in March when his wife was ill with COVID-19 symptoms during a nationwide lockdown. With Johnson’s words that he had acted with integrity, Cummings was safe, at least for now. But the row in the governing Conservatives looks set to rumble on.…

The public returned to St Peter’s Square on Sunday to receive Pope Francis’s blessing from his window for the first time in nearly three months as he convoked a year of reflection on the environment. Only a few dozen people went to the square, which was reopened on Monday along with St Peter’s Basilica following coronavirus lockdowns. They kept to social distancing rules and most wore masks. Francis delivered his message via the internet from his library, as those in the square watched on large screens, and then went to the window for the silent blessing. In the past three…

Britain must defend its companies against overseas takeovers in the aftermath of the crisis caused by the coronavirus outbreak, a senior British lawmaker said, adding that China’s state-owned companies have drawn on state banks to outbid rivals. “Increasingly, China’s state-owned enterprises have been able to draw on state banks to outbid rivals in Europe and America”, Tom Tugendhat, chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and a Conservative Party lawmaker, wrote in the Financial Times newspaper on.ft.com/2Xokfv1. “In a downturn, the difference between state-backed credit and the buying power of normal commercial investors will become starker, further strengthening the hand of…