Bulgaria will not extend state of emergency, but some curbs stay: minister

SOFIA (Reuters) – Bulgaria will not extend a state of emergency past its May 13 expiry date but some coronavirus restrictions will remain in force for two more months, Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov said on Monday.

Bulgaria, which declared a state of emergency on March 13, has so far confirmed 1,652 cases of the illness and 78 deaths.

Oshawa man charged with impaired driving following morning crash in Port Hope: police

An Oshawa man is facing impaired driving charges following a crash on Saturday morning in Port Hope.

According to the Port Hope Police Service, around 11 a.m. a northbound vehicle on Ontario Street left the road and struck a hydro pole.

The lone occupant was taken to Northumberland Hills Hospital in Cobourg for minor injuries and released, police said Monday.

Coronavirus: 100 ways the world has changed

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Boxed water brand scores new celeb investors amid home delivery surge

The money continues to flow for celeb-backed subscription water company Flow Alkaline Spring Water.

The Toronto-based water brand has secured $45 million in new funding, including from rapper Post Malone, as it looks to ramp up its delivery service to meet surging demand as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, The Post has learned.

“With COVID-19 our sales are up by 50 percent,” founder and chief executive, Nicholas Reichenbach told The Post. “Our e-commerce business is exploding now as more consumers order from us directly.”

The boxed water company can be delivered straight to consumers’ doorsteps or purchased at Whole Foods, Safeway, Wegmans, Office Depot and more recently Walmart. A 12-pack of 500 milliliter boxes costs $24, or $2 per container.

Flow provides free delivery to customers who subscribe for regular shipments.

The $45 million round includes Shawn Mendes, the singer behind “Stitches,” who re-upped his investment in the five-year-old company where he already acts as brand ambassador. New investors include Curtis Chambers, one of Uber’s earliest employees; former MLB star Chase Utley and Malone, the singer behind “I fell apart.” Ruttenberg Gordon Investments, an investor in Postmates, Blue Apron and Snapchat, also contributed to the latest round.

The water is sourced from Ontario, Canada, and Seawright Springs in Virginia, where Flow is adding a night-shift to its facility due to surging demand.

“We feel incredibly grateful and fortunate that we could close this round right now,” Reichenback said.

Talk to the Experts – Saturday May 9

Saturday, May 9:

Pure Air Experts

Pure Air Experts believe that health is one of the most important investments you can make, and that every person deserves to have a healthy environment. An environment enriched with clean, purified air, thus allowing for a better standard of living and a healthier society as a whole.

Hear from the Pure Air Experts this Saturday at noon.

Plane carrying aid crashes in southern Somalia: security official

NAIROBI (Reuters) – A plane carrying aid supplies crashed in Somalia’s southern Bay region on Monday, killing seven people on board, a security official said.

The official gave no more details on who owned the plane, or whose cargo it was carrying.

Stocks sink as US-China tensions grow, airlines suffer

US stocks dropped Monday as the coronavirus crisis stoked fresh US-China tensions and struggling airlines suffered another blow.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell as much as 362.53 points, or 1.5 percent, to 23,361.16 as the Trump administration’s efforts to blame China for the pandemic sparked fears of a new trade war.

The S&P 500 also dropped as much as 1.1 percent by midday with airline shares plummeting after investment maven Warren Buffett revealed that he dumped his company’s stake in major US carriers.

But the tech-heavy Nasdaq managed to climb as much as 0.6 percent, thanks in part to solid gains for tech giants Amazon, Microsoft, Netflix and Tesla.

Monday’s dip followed a weekend in which the President Trump accused China of trying to cover up the coronavirus outbreak and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there’s “enormous evidence” that the pandemic began in a Wuhan lab.

The comments came after Trump threatened new tariffs against China in response to Beijing’s handling of the outbreak. The fresh tensions have investors worried about the two nations restarting the trade war that was partially settled fewer than four months ago.

“This could have a serious impact on the risk appetite of investors, as there are already plenty of uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and a continuation of the trade war would be a nightmare come true,” said Milan Cutkovic, market analyst at AxiCorp.

With Post wires

European Economics Preview: French Consumer Confidence Data Due

Consumer confidence survey data from France is due on Tuesday, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

At 2.45 am ET, France’s Insee is set to issue monthly consumer confidence survey results. The confidence index is forecast to fall sharply to 83 in April from 103 in March.

At 3.00 am ET, Spain’s quarterly unemployment data is due from the statistical office INE. The jobless rate is expected to rise to 15.6 percent in the first quarter from 13.78 percent in the previous quarter.

At 3.30 am ET, Sweden’s central bank is set to release its monetary policy report. In the meantime, retail sales and foreign trade figures are due from Statistics Sweden.

Half an hour later, IHS Markit releases Austria’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ survey results for April.

At 6.00 am ET, the Confederation of British Industry releases Distributive Trades survey results. The UK retail sales balance is seen at -40 percent in April versus -3 percent in March.

At 8.00 am ET, Hungary’s central bank interest rate decision is due. The bank is expected to hold its key rate at 0.90 percent.