From Breakingviews: COVID-19 exacerbates Lebanon’s political, financial and economic woes
A man wearing a face mask takes Lebanese pound banknotes at a currency exchange shop in Beirut, Lebanon April 24, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed AzakirCANARY IN THE LEVANT. Lebanon entered the year suffering from political, banking, financial and economic crises. Its Covid-19 lockdown has exacerbated the situation. The Lebanese pound’s unofficial rate has recently been around 4,000 to the dollar, up from roughly 2,600 in early March, Reuters reported.
That’s not enough to offset falling sales of other things 3M makes, ranging from Post-it notes to auto parts. And even though the company is providing an essential product for front-line medical workers, it has not raised prices. 3M is facing just as much uncertainty as other companies: it withdrew its full-year forecast, suspended its share repurchase program and cut costs.
NOTABLE BY OMISSION. European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis on Tuesday unveiled some “quick fixes” to encourage banks to lend to virus-hit firms and households. They needn’t set aside a shedload of capital when they grant borrowers a pandemic payment holiday, he said. Nor do they have to treat state-guaranteed credit as punitively as normal credit when provisioning for non-performing loans.
But as with all best-laid plans, life gets in the way. Though Covea has signed on the dotted line, there are still a few formalities to be ironed out before the money arrives. And while the FCA-Peugeot deal makes even more industrial sense post-pandemic, the car industry’s ructions will put big dividends off for some time. Grabbing some cash now makes sense – and to pay just 2.25% is arguably a show of strength.
EMPTY TROLLEYS. Marks and Spencer has missed out on the Covid-19 grocery binge. The British supermarket chain that specialises in freshly made sandwiches and pricey ready meals said on Tuesday that its food business was “adversely affected” by the lockdown. Unlike peers J Sainsbury and Tesco, which have enjoyed record sales, M&S was let down by its city-centre stores and cafés. The beleaguered clothes business is a bigger concern.
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