Europe Looks to Ease Curbs; Cases Slow in Spain: Virus Update

Covid-19 Deaths in England 15% Higher (5:40 p.m. HK)

Deaths involving Covid-19 in England are running 15% higher than the number reported by the National Health Service. The Office for National Statistics said 5,979 deaths up to April 3 had been registered by April 11. That compares with the 5,186 reported by NHS England, a number which is itself revised several days after the official daily tally from hospitals.

The discrepancy is important because the government is using data on deaths, hospital admissions and the impact of social-distancing measures to plan its response to the pandemic and eventually ease a nationwide lockdown.

Iran Death Toll Slows (5:30 p.m. HK)

Fatalities from coronavirus in Iran dropped to the lowest in a month. The country had 98 deaths overnight, taking total fatalities to 4,683. Cases rose to 74,877 after 1,574 tested positive for the virus in the past 24 hours.

South Africa Cuts Rate to Record Low (5:15 p.m. HK)

South Africa’s central bank unexpectedly cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low. The repurchase rate was reduced to 4.25% from 5.25% after the May meeting of the monetary policy committee was moved earlier and took place on Tuesday.

“This comes as a result of the extension of the lockdown because extending for another two weeks is certainly going to have a far more severe impact on the economy,” said Gina Schoeman, Citibank South Africa economist.

Spain Cases Drop; EU Hopes to Gradually Ease Curbs (5:05 p.m. HK)

Spain reported the lowest number of new coronavirus cases in 3 1/2 weeks as the government comes under pressure to relax some of the measures brought in to slow the outbreak. There were 3,045 new infections in the past 24 hours, taking the total to 172,541. That was the smallest increase since March 20. The death toll rose by 567 to 18,056.

European leaders are starting to sketch out their strategy for putting the economy back to work once the coronavirus has been brought under control. Austria and Denmark are beginning to open up some schools and shops this week and President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said he wants to begin phasing out restrictions from May 11. Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to discuss her plans with German state premiers on Wednesday while the European Commission has drafted a plan to coordinate the moves.

Too Early to Tell if Spread Slowing in Germany (4:40 p.m. HK)

It is too early to judge if the virus spread in Germany is slowing down, as lower case numbers in recent days have been affected by the Easter holidays, the head of the country’s public health authority has warned. Authorities have conducted fewer tests and submitted less data in recent days, Lothar Wieler, President of the Robert Koch Institute said. “We cannot finally conclude if new case numbers are really falling,” he said.

His comments come after Germany saw its new cases drop for the fifth consecutive day, spurring hopes that the peak of the crisis has been reached. The daily increase in infections of 2,218 was the lowest this month and brought the total to 130,072, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.

Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said on public broadcaster ARD that Germany might soon decide to lift some restrictions. “We have seen some successes the past few days,” he said. Schools and small shops could be reopened “step by step” without endangering the public health, he said. Chancellor Angela Merkel and Germany’s 16 state leaders will discuss on Wednesday about a possible easing of the country’s lockdown.

Indonesia Surprises by Keeping Rate Unchanged (4:08 p.m. HK)

Bank Indonesia held rates on Tuesday after two consecutive cuts this year, leaving its seven-day reverse repurchase rate unchanged at 4.5%. That was in line with the forecasts of nine of 28 economists in a Bloomberg survey; 18 had predicted a 25 basis-point cut, and one saw a 50-point reduction.

Russia New Cases Rise by 15% (3:57 p.m. HK)

Confirmed coronavirus infection cases rose by 2,774, the third straight day that number has risen, according to data from Russian consumer health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor. Total cases have almost doubled in past five days and the number of new infections has been above 2,000 a day since Sunday. The death toll hit 170 with 22 people dying overnight.

Austria Eases Some Restrictions (3:43 p.m. HK)

Austrians lined up outside hardware and gardening stores that were reopening on Tuesday as the country became one of the first in Europe easing lockdown measures. The soft and partial restart in Austria, that had also been one of the first to clamp down on public life will be eyed by others in Europe as a rehearsal for how to lift the measures without provoking an increase in new infections. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has said he won’t hesitate to go back if the numbers were to go out of control again.

Poland will this week announce a plan to lift some restrictions, starting with easing access to shops and forests imposed due to the coronavirus outbreak, the government said.

GAM, AB InBev: European Companies Roundup (3:20 p.m. HK)

GAM Holding AG said it will accelerate cost cutting after assets in its funds plunged by $13.2 billion in the first quarter, an early sign of how European asset managers have been hit by the virus. Brewing giant Anheuser Busch-InBev cut its final dividend by 50%, citing uncertainty and volatility caused by the virus pandemic. Wizz Air says it is making 1,000 positions redundant, representing a 19% workforce reduction.

Earlier, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said the planemaker’s customers have not canceled orders yet, but conceded this will likely happen soon. Renault is scaling back its already limited presence in China and Air France-KLM is seeking state support of around 10 billion euros ($10.9 billion). Read more here.

Astra to Test Cancer Medicine for Covid-19 Reaction (3 p.m. HK)

AstraZeneca Plc will start testing one of its new cancer medicines, Calquence, to see whether it can quell the excessive immune response Covid-19 triggers in some patients. The treatment for lymphoma may lessen the severity of respiratory distress by reducing the inflammation caused by the new coronavirus, the drugmaker said in a statement Tuesday.

Separately, Swedish Orphan Biovitrum jumped 13% after providing a first-quarter update that cited strong demand for rheumatoid arthritis drug Kineret due to the pandemic. The company said last month it would begin studying Kineret and its antibody emapalumab for the treatment of hyper-inflammatory syndrome, a serious complication experienced by some Covid-19 patients.

Europe Economy Seen Slumping More Than 10% (2:54 p.m. HK)

Europe is heading for double-digit slump in the first half of 2020 amid widespread lockdowns.

Bloomberg’s monthly survey of economists puts the contraction in the euro area at more than 10% in the January-June period, with most of the hit — 8.3% — in the second quarter. Even with an expected rebound later in the year, the bloc’s output will still decline more than 5% in 2020.

The French economy will contract 8% in 2020 after the government extended confinement measures to May 11, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said. Meanwhile, Liberum warned that every week of lockdown in the U.K. will reduce GDP by around 1.1%, and that the Covid-19 outbreak will cost between 7% and 9% of GDP in total.

Modi Extends India’s Lockdown Until May 3 (1:10 p.m. HK)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an extension of India’s three-week nationwide closure to May 3. India has reduced the impact of the coronavirus epidemic with its lockdown strategy, Modi said in an address to the nation.

The country “did not wait for a crisis to happen,” Modi said in his fourth address to the nation since infections began ticking up sharply in mid-March. India has so far reported 10,453 infections and 358 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Abe Sees Support Rate Slip as Virus Cases Rise (1:02 p.m. HK)

More Japanese voters disapprove than approve of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration for the first time in nearly two years, a survey showed, as criticism mounts over his handling of the virus outbreak. A poll released in the Yomiuri newspaper showed his government’s disapproval rating at 47%.

U.K. Likely to Announce Lockdown Extension: Raab (12:42 p.m HK)

British ministers will decide in the next three days on extending the country’s lockdown, with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab telling reporters it was likely to carry on and the government’s chief scientific adviser saying he expects the daily rate of deaths to continue to rise.

Under the law passed last month to tackle the spread of coronavirus throughout the country, the government must decide by Thursday whether to renew the three-week lockdown period.

China’s Trade Fell Less Than Expected in March (12:15 p.m. HK)

China’s trade performed better than expected in March, with both exports and imports declining less than expected even as the coronavirus prompted business shutdowns around the world.

The data indicate that global supply chains may be adapting better than thought, and that China’s gradual economic restart is proceeding. At the same time, the full effect of a collapse in demand in developed economies like the U.S. and Europe may not be yet apparent in China’s trade data.

IPhone China Shipments Rebound (11:51 a.m. HK)

Apple Inc.’s iPhone shipments in China rebounded in March as the world’s second-largest economy worked to reboot its manufacturing industry following the disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Shipments of Apple’s marquee device jumped 19% in March from a year earlier to 2.5 million units, according to Bloomberg calculations based on monthly data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, a government think tank. February saw iPhone shipments plunge more than 60% as factories remained shut past the Lunar New Year holiday break.

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