EasyJet pleads for state aid after making landmark loss

Linda J. Dodson

The boss of easyJet has said that summer trading was ruined by Britain’s chaotic quarantine regime, forcing the budget carrier to beg for a taxpayer bailout after plunging to its first annual loss.  EasyJet said that pre-tax losses topped £1.3bn in the year to Sept 30, the worst performance in its 25-year history following a collapse in passenger […]

Nepal ruling party split over US aid threat to China relations

Linda J. Dodson

KATHMANDU — There are widening divisions in the leadership of Nepal’s ruling party over a U.S. promise of aid that rivals of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli worry will damage the country’s blossoming relations with China.  A Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant agreed in 2017 has widened splits in the Nepal Communist Party. Oli has been pushing for […]

Mizuho ready to deploy billions in capital aid to companies: CEO

Linda J. Dodson

TOKYO — As the coronavirus pandemic saps corporate finances, Mizuho Financial Group is prepared to provide billions of dollars to struggling businesses that need capital injections, the Japanese bank’s CEO Tatsufumi Sakai told Nikkei. Companies have so far focused mainly on raising working capital as shutdowns slash income. But longer-term goals remain on […]