Cincunri Sakia

Kamis, 09 April 2020

EU ministers agree half a trillion euro coronavirus rescue plan - Reuters

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union faces an existential threat if it cannot come together to combat the coronavirus crisis, Italy said on Thursday as the divided bloc sought to salvage talks on a rescue package to aid battered economies.

FILE PHOTO: Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte addresses the Senate, the upper house of parliament, on the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Rome, Italy, March 26, 2020 REUTERS/Alberto Lingria/File Photo

A deal has so far proved elusive amid fraught discussions between the more fiscally conservative north and the indebted south, which has been hit hard by the pandemic and is pushing for unprecedented measures like issuing joint EU debt.

Sixteen hours of talks between EU finance ministers on a half-a-trillion-euro package collapsed on Wednesday. They were due to resume at 1500 GMT on Thursday to push for a deal to help governments, companies and individuals through a deep recession the pandemic is expected to cause in Europe this year.

“It’s a big challenge to the existence of Europe,” Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told the BBC. “If Europe fails to come up with a monetary and financial policy adequate for the biggest challenge since World War Two, not only Italians but European citizens will be deeply disappointed,” he said.

For weeks, the EU has struggled to show a united front in the face of the pandemic, with the 27 member states squabbling over economic rescue plans, medical supplies and border curbs.

France and Germany are pushing for a compromise to break the deadlock, but budget hawk Austria said that, while it was willing to make concessions, the contentious “euro bonds” remained a no-go for Vienna.

“That is out of the question for us,” said Finance Minister Gernot Bluemel.

A senior EU diplomat said the risk was growing that the finance ministers would just patch up divisions for the sake of announcing a deal, but would leave the key unresolved issues to national leaders.

“There is a lot of pressure for an agreement today,” said the diplomat. “Germany and France are pushing for it. But it’s not easy ... we may be heading for a formal agreement that doesn’t really solve much in practice.”

STICKING POINTS

The package under discussion would bring the EU’s total fiscal response to the epidemic to 3.2 trillion euros, the biggest in the world. But it includes contentious elements that expose deep divisions among countries on sharing the financial burden of crises, bringing back bitter disputes and mistrust from the sovereign debt crisis of 2010-2012.

Another problem is agreeing conditions under which euro zone governments could access cheap credit from the euro zone bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM).

Italy, and most other countries, is ready to accept very light conditions, but the Netherlands wants stricter rules, including country-specific economic criteria, which is politically unacceptable for Rome.

“It’s important that we take this decision today on the 500 billion euros that is in discussion - that’s an incredibly large sum of money that we could use to help a lot of people, especially in the hardest hit countries, Spain and Italy,” German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said.

Other elements of the package being discussed are more guarantees for the European Investment Bank to back up companies and a scheme to help subsidise wages across the bloc so that companies can cut work hours, not jobs.

FILE PHOTO: German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier speaks to reporters on an amendment of the country’s export laws in Berlin, Germany, April 8, 2020, as the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues. Michael Kappeler/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

But a separate plan to finance the recovery, after the epidemic, raises more questions. France and the southerners wants the money - possibly up to 3% of EU GDP, or more than 400 billion euros - to be borrowed jointly on the market by all EU states.

This is a red line for Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Austria which strongly oppose joint debt issuance, even in such an emergency as the coronavirus pandemic.

The ministers might end up side-stepping the problem by just mentioning the need for a recovery fund and asking the 27 national leaders of the bloc to decide on how to finance it.

Reporting by Jan Strupczewski, Michelle Martin, Gabriela Baczynska, Francois Murphy; Editing by Catherine Evans, Nick Macfie and Pravin Char

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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2020-04-09 22:28:43Z
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New York now has more coronavirus cases than Italy and Spain - Daily Mail

New York state is the coronavirus epicenter of the world with more infections than any other country outside the United States - and a third of global cases are now in the US

The number of confirmed cases in New York state increased to nearly 160,000 on Thursday after the number of infections went up by 10,000 in 24 hours
In comparison, Spain has now recorded just over 152,000 cases and Italy's infections increased to more than 142,000
The United States has just over 436,000 cases and accounts for a third of the world's total infections
In terms of fatalities, Italy's death toll is the highest across with the globe with more than 18,000 cases. The US follows with 15,600 and then Spain with 15,300
New York state's death toll as of Thursday was just over 7,000
The state posted a record-breaking increase in coronavirus deaths for a third consecutive day even as a surge of patients in overwhelmed hospitals slowed

By Emily Crane For Dailymail.com

Published: 22:42 BST, 9 April 2020 | Updated: 23:01 BST, 9 April 2020

New York state is now the coronavirus epicenter of the world with more infections than any other country outside of the United States.

The number of confirmed cases in New York state increased to nearly 160,000 on Thursday after the number of infections went up by 10,000 in 24 hours.

In comparison, Spain has now recorded just over 152,000 cases and Italy's infections increased to more than 142,000.

China, which is where the coronavirus first broke out late last year, currently has nearly 83,000 infections.

The United States has just over 436,000 cases and accounts for a third of the world's total infections.

In terms of fatalities, Italy's death toll is the highest across with the globe with more than 18,000 cases. The US follows with 15,600 and then Spain with 15,300.

New York state's death toll as of Thursday was just over 7,000.

The state posted a record-breaking increase in coronavirus deaths for a third consecutive day even as a surge of patients in overwhelmed hospitals slowed.

Governor Andrew Cuomo described the death count - which increased by 799 in 24 hours - as a lagging indicator reflecting the loss of people sickened earlier in the outbreak.

The snapshot of hospitalizations showed a less dire picture.

Cuomo said the net 200-patient increase in hospitalizations "is the lowest number we've had since this nightmare started', compared with daily increases of more than 1,000 last week.

Intensive care admissions also were down in the state as more than 18,200 people were hospitalized.

Over two-thirds of the state's deaths are in New York City alone, where fears are growing that the real death toll has been significantly miscounted and that a dramatic spike in New Yorkers dying in their homes is also linked to coronovirus.

On a general day, first responders will answer calls to between 20 and 25 people who died in their home in New York City. By Tuesday, this has skyrocketed to 265 people.

City officials have now said that they will include these deaths, which have not been tested or treated for coronavirus, in the official death toll meaning the number of New York City's deaths could skyrocket once again.

The city is recording a 5.3 percent fatality rate as of Wednesday evening.

Meanwhile, the US was told to brace for what officials called the 'peak death week'.

The country reached a record-high number of deaths on Tuesday with 2,000 fatalities.

The grim number of fatalities came as the estimated death toll from the coronavirus pandemic in the US was lowered from 82,000 to 60,000 after new projections scaled back the number of fatalities over the next four months by 26 percent.

The updated projections has also brought forward the peak day of deaths to April 12 where an estimated 2,212 deaths are expected to occur over 24 hours.

The new estimates were released on Wednesday by forecasters at the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation - a model often cited by the White House coronavirus task force.

The projected downward revision in the death toll coincides with comments from health officials and political leaders that cases may have reached a plateau in certain cities.

Its most recent update now projects there will be just over 60,000 deaths by August 4, which is down from the nearly 82,000 fatalities is had forecast on Tuesday.

US health officials have previously estimated that between 100,000 to 240,000 Americans could die.

The model also moved up its projected peak in the number of deaths to this Sunday. The revision moves forward the projected peak by four days - suggesting the strain on the healthcare system will begin to abate a little sooner than previously expected.

Peak resource use for hospitals is predicted to occur on April 11 - the day before the peak death toll - where an estimated 94,000 beds, 19,000 ICU beds and 16,500 ventilators will be needed.

Despite the updated projections showing a lower number of deaths, health officials warned that a second wave of infections would occur if Americans relaxed their 'social distancing' practices.

'What's really important is that people don't turn these early signs of hope into releasing from the 30 days to stop the spread - it's really critical,' said Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, referring to guidelines aimed at reducing the spread of the virus.

'If people start going out again and socially interacting, we could see a really acute second wave.'

The updated projections has also brought forward the peak day of deaths to April 12 where an estimated 2,212 deaths are expected to occur over 24 hours, new data shows

Peak resource use for hospitals is predicted to occur on April 11 - the day before the peak death toll - where an estimated 94,000 beds, 19,000 ICU beds and 16,500 ventilators will be needed

The estimated death toll from the coronavirus pandemic in the United States is now expected to reach 60,000 after new projections scaled back the number of fatalities by 26 percent

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2020-04-09 22:10:21Z
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EU ministers seal deal on half a trillion euro coronavirus rescue plan - Reuters

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Prospects for a European Union deal on a package to support its coronavirus-battered economies brightened on Thursday as Germany put its foot down to end opposition from the Netherlands and to reassure Italy that the EU would show it solidarity.

Earlier, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said the EU’s existence would be under threat if it could not come together to combat the pandemic, as objections from the Netherlands blocked a deal that all other countries were ready to back.

For weeks, the 27 EU member states have failed miserably to show the bloc’s supposed solidarity in the face of perhaps its greatest challenge, squabbling not only over money but also go-it-alone border restrictions and bans on medical exports.”It looks like an agreement is possible,” German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said, signalling that the Netherlands had softened its stance of demanding tough conditions for countries such as Italy and Spain to draw on aid funds.

Italian benchmark 10-year bond yields fell on the news to 1.599% from 1.614%.

“We’re trying to do the maximum to help to bring the negotiations to a successful conclusion,” Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told reporters in The Hague, shortly before European finance ministers were due to meet by video conference.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel had earlier held phone calls with Rutte and Conte.

“NEED FOR SOLIDARITY”

She said she and Conte had agreed on the “urgent need for solidarity in Europe, which is going through one of its most difficult hours, if not the most difficult”.

“And Germany is ready for this solidarity and committed to it. Germany’s wellbeing depends on Europe being well,” she said.

She made clear Berlin would not agree to jointly issued debt, something Italy, France and Spain were pushing for but a taboo for northern EU members, but said other financial avenues were available.

Officials said Merkel also asked Rutte to stop blocking the deal, intended to provide a safety net for governments, companies and individuals against the deep recession the pandemic is expected to cause this year.

“The feeling in Germany is that everyone has done enough posturing for their domestic audiences by now. It’s time to come together,” one senior EU official in Brussels said.

Discussions have so far been fraught between the more fiscally conservative north and the indebted south, which has been hit hardest by the pandemic.

Having already talked for 16 hours, the ministers were to resume discussions at 7 p.m. (1700 GMT) on Thursday.

Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra said some of the more contentious technical issues would still have to be passed upstairs to national leaders.

But the senior official said Merkel was set against this:

“She wants the finance ministers to really agree on a package, not just patch things up and throw it back to the leaders’ table. If the ministers fail again today or tomorrow morning, they will just have to meet again.”

THREE TRILLION EUROS

The package under discussion would bring the EU’s total fiscal response to the epidemic to 3.2 trillion euros ($3.5 trillion), the biggest in the world. But some of its elements have exposed deep divisions on sharing the financial burden of crises, evoking the bitter disputes and mistrust of the sovereign debt crisis of 2010-2012.

The problem is agreeing conditions under which euro zone governments could access cheap credit from the euro zone bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM).

Italy, and most other countries, are ready to accept very light conditions, but the Netherlands wants stricter rules including country-specific economic criteria, which are politically unacceptable for Rome.

The package also includes more guarantees to help the European Investment Bank back up companies, and a scheme to subsidise wages so that firms can cut working hours, not jobs.

A separate plan to finance the recovery, after the epidemic, raises more questions. France and the southerners want the money - possibly up to 3% of EU GDP, or more than 400 billion euros - to be borrowed jointly by all EU states.

This is a red line for Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Austria, which strongly oppose joint debt issuance, even in such an emergency.

Reporting by Jan Strupczewski, Michelle Martin, Gabriela Baczynska, Toby Sterling, Joseph Nasr and Francois Murphy; Editing by Catherine Evans, Nick Macfie and Pravin Char

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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2020-04-09 21:23:51Z
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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson out of ICU amid COVID-19 battle - Fox News

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2020-04-09 20:40:39Z
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EU nears deal on coronavirus package as Germany puts its foot down - Reuters

Italian benchmark 10-year bond yields fell on the news to 1.599% from 1.614%.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel had earlier held phone calls with Rutte and Conte.

“NEED FOR SOLIDARITY”

She said she and Conte had agreed on the “urgent need for solidarity in Europe, which is going through one of its most difficult hours, if not the most difficult”.

“And Germany is ready for this solidarity and committed to it. Germany’s wellbeing depends on Europe being well,” she said.

She made clear Berlin would not agree to jointly issued debt, something Italy, France and Spain were pushing for but a taboo for northern EU members, but said other financial avenues were available.

“The feeling in Germany is that everyone has done enough posturing for their domestic audiences by now. It’s time to come together,” one senior EU official in Brussels said.

Discussions have so far been fraught between the more fiscally conservative north and the indebted south, which has been hit hardest by the pandemic.

Having already talked for 16 hours, the ministers were to resume discussions at 7 p.m. (1700 GMT) on Thursday.

Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra said some of the more contentious technical issues would still have to be passed upstairs to national leaders.

But the senior official said Merkel was set against this:

THREE TRILLION EUROS

The problem is agreeing conditions under which euro zone governments could access cheap credit from the euro zone bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM).

The package also includes more guarantees to help the European Investment Bank back up companies, and a scheme to subsidise wages so that firms can cut working hours, not jobs.

This is a red line for Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Austria, which strongly oppose joint debt issuance, even in such an emergency.

Reporting by Jan Strupczewski, Michelle Martin, Gabriela Baczynska, Toby Sterling, Joseph Nasr and Francois Murphy; Editing by Catherine Evans, Nick Macfie and Pravin Char

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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2020-04-09 19:57:53Z
CAIiEKA6r7vZNcW0GlHI0OK5E2UqFggEKg0IACoGCAowt6AMMLAmMKT5lwM

Coronavirus: Boris Johnson out of intensive care but remains in hospital - BBC News - BBC News

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2020-04-09 19:21:59Z
52780704870161

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he's 'not that confident' in federal government's handling of coronavirus crisis - CNBC

New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo (D) speaking at a press Conference at the State Capitol.

Michael Brochstein | Echoes Wire | Barcroft Media via Getty Images

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday complained about the federal government's handling of the coronavirus crisis.

"How confident am I of federal responsibility and action? Not that confident," Cuomo said as he left a daily press briefing in Albany on the virus.

Cuomo's criticism came after he announced that COVID-19 deaths in New York reached a daily record for the third straight day with 799 fatalities, and after he said that the $2 trillion federal relief bill does even less for his state than he thought.

He compared the economic and humanitarian crisis in New York to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the city, which felled the twin towers of the World Trade Center and killed nearly 3,000 people.

"9/11 was so devastating, so tragic, and then in many ways we lose so many New Yorkers to this silent killer," Cuomo said, "that just ripples through society with the same randomness, the same evil that we saw on 9/11."

The Democratic governor has worked closely with President Donald Trump and other federal officials in an all-hands effort to contain the spread of the virus, which has hit New York much harder than any other state in the U.S.

There are more than 151,000 confirmed cases across the state and 81,800 in New York City alone — almost as many as China, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Cuomo and Trump, who said he wants governors to be "appreciative" of his efforts, have largely stayed on good terms as they navigate the crisis.

But earlier in the conference, Cuomo once again slammed the so-called Phase 3 coronavirus relief package that passed Congress with bipartisan support and was signed by Trump late last month.

That $2 trillion legislation – the largest aid package in U.S. history – meted out just $1.3 billion to the Empire State, Cuomo said.

New York had expected to receive between $5 billion and $6 billion in federal relief – an amount that Cuomo had already called inadequate before it even passed Congress.

"When we did our state budget a couple of weeks ago, we believed what they said and we thought we were looking at $6 billion in health-care funding," Cuomo said at the presser Thursday.

"Turns out, when we actually read the language, it was about $1.3 billion to the state of New York, which is much different than $5 [billion] or $6 billion. And the funding disqualified one-third of New York Medicaid recipients, which nobody said," the governor said.

"We need the federal government to be responsible" and "pass legislation that helps," he added.

The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on Cuomo's remarks.

After the funding bill passed the Senate in late March, Cuomo decried it as "irresponsible" and "reckless." He said at that time that the $5 billion New York would receive from the bill doesn't come close to covering the state's projected revenue shortfall, which could total $15 billion.

Correction: The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York City killed nearly 3,000 people. An earlier version misstated the figure.

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2020-04-09 18:52:07Z
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