We Have Prevailed’ in Testing for Covid-19 Infection

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The Federal Reserve said a facility designed to purchase eligible corporate debt from investors will launch Tuesday, bringing a key part of the U.S. central bank’s emergency coronavirus lending program online.

The Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility will begin purchasing eligible exchange-traded funds invested in corporate debt, the New York Fed said on its website. It was first announced in March and has played an important role in keeping financial markets relatively calm since.

Congress allocated $454 billion in equity to backstop the Fed loans as part of the $2 trillion-plus economic relief package passed in March.

Abe Speeds Approval of Unproven Virus Drugs (9:45 am HK)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government is following the U.S. in speeding up the approval of unproven virus drugs, as he faces new criticism over his plan for exiting a state of emergency and reviving Japan’s economy.

Regulators -- which usually take a year for drug approvals -- authorized the use of Gilead Sciences Inc.’s remdesivir just three days after receiving the application. Abe also said Fujifilm Holdings Corp.’s anti-viral drug Avigan, a treatment he long has cited in public remarks, was in line for clearance by May 31.

Japan is only the second country to approve the use of remdesivir after the U.S. The drug originally was intended to treat Ebola.