Europe

German brewers have been forced to throw away unsold beer and have asked the government for financial aid as the coronavirus lockdown reduces demand, they said on Monday, Reuters reported. German pubs, hotels and restaurants have been closed since November in the country’s second lockdown following the first one earlier last year. The brewers called on the German government to give beer breweries aid under the country’s programmes to help industry recover from the impact of the coronavirus crisis. Germany’s government has given financial aid to pubs and bars but not breweries.

Borrowers with higher debt burdens than the current Central Bank of Ireland’s rules allow are more likely to have sought payment breaks during the current crisis, the Irish Central Bank’s deputy governor Sharon Donnery has said, according to a Irish Times report. This was proof that the regulator’s mortgage lending rules had helped the financial sector “absorb rather than amplify the shock of the pandemic”, she said. The Central Bank’s rules curtail consumers to borrowing within strict loan-to-value (LTV) and loan-to-income (LTI) limits.

Airlines say they've already seen a surge in bookings, following the Prime Minister's announcement of the road map out of lockdown, BBC.com reported. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that a global travel taskforce would put forward a report on how to return to international travel on 12 April. The government would then make a decision on removing restrictions on international travel. However, this would not happen until 17 May at the earliest. Tui reported that they had had their best day of bookings in over a month, with strong interest in Greece, Spain and Turkey for the summer.

The Commercial Court of the Republic of Kalmykia has completed bankruptcy proceedings against a firm believed to be formerly controlled by William Browder’s Hermitage Capital Management, according to court records, RASPINews.com reported. The court has granted a petition lodged by Kirill Nogotkov, a bankruptcy manager of the former Browder’s company. In November 2019, the Sixteenth Commercial Court of Appeals upheld recovery of 388,400 rubles ($5,200) from HSBC Bank and HSBC Management in favor of Dalnaya Step, denying granting its claim in full.

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz warned next year’s federal budget will be a “challenge,” while pledging not to cut investment or welfare spending, Bloomberg News reported. Scholz, who is running as the Social Democrats’ candidate for chancellor in September’s election, is due to present a draft 2022 budget next month. His comments highlight the fiscal conundrum facing the next government, which polls suggest will again be led by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc after she steps down.