News Headlines - 11 June 2020
Cairo University in Egypt has issued a statement acknowledging that Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike graduated from the school in 1976, denying media reports that she is faking her academic credentials.
“Cairo University certifies that Yuriko Koike … graduated from the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Arts, Cairo University in October 1976,” said the statement, issued in the name of the Egyptian university’s president, Mohamed Othman Elkhosht. It was posted on the Facebook page of the Egyptian Embassy in Tokyo on Monday.
Japanese media outlets such as Shukan Bunshun, a weekly magazine, have issued reports doubting that Koike graduated from the university.
▽Tokyo Mortality Rose in April at Height of Virus Pandemic - Bloomberg
The hardest-hit Japanese city, Tokyo saw 10,107 deaths from all causes in the month, according to data released Thursday by the Metropolitan Government. That’s almost 12% higher than the average of the previous four years for which data are available, and 7% higher than the same month in 2019.
The mortality data suggests there were around 1,000 more deaths from all causes in the month than on average. The data does not give the causes of death. Tokyo has a population that is both aging and growing, surpassing 14 million for the first time as the total increased by 0.6%, or 80,000 people, from a year earlier. Deaths also rose in 2019 from the previous year by 6%, long before the virus surfaced.
▽Interest rate: Fed holds rates near zero, signals no hike through 2022
Despite last week’s blockbuster jobs report, the Federal Reserve is showing no letup as it continues to respond aggressively to economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic that could linger for years.
The Fed on Wednesday held its key interest rate near zero and signaled it likely won’t lift it until at least 2022, noting the outbreak “will weigh heavily on economic activity” and “poses considerable risks to the economic outlook.”... Revising its forecasts for the first time since December, the Fed predicted the economy will contract by 6.5% in 2020, marking its worst performance since the end of World War II, and unemployment will end the year at 9.3%.
▽Fiat, PSA face EU antitrust probe over $50 billion merger: sources - Reuters
Fiat and PSA, which are seeking to create the world’s fourth-biggest carmaker, were told last week that their combined high market share in small vans was a worry for competition enforcers, other people familiar with the matter had told Reuters.
The companies had until Wednesday to put in concessions but did not do so, the sources said. That will automatically trigger a four-month-long investigation by the European Commission when it completes its preliminary review on June 17.
▽Zara owner to close up to 1,200 fashion stores around the world | The Guardian
The owner of Zara will close as many as 1,200 stores around the world as the clothing retailer tries to boost online sales during the chaos wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Inditex said it would “absorb” between 1,000 and 1,200 mainly smaller stores, with losses concentrated among older shops from brands other than Zara. The Spanish company’s other brands include Bershka, Pull & Bear and Massimo Dutti.
