FINANCIAL TIMES SEC STEPS IN AS INVESTORS BUY UP THE WRONG ZOOM The US Securities and Exchange Commission has stepped in to clear up the worst case of mistaken identity on Wall Street, suspending the shares of Zoom Technologies, a small Chinese company that investors were confusing with Zoom, the video-calling app that has seen spectacular growth during the coronavirus pandemic.

UK BANKS CALL FOR HOUSE SALE FREEZE AMID VIRUS Banks are pressing for a full suspension of the housing market after the UK government told buyers and sellers to delay transactions because of the coronavirus outbreak. In talks between lenders and ministers, banks have expressed concern about the impact of the pandemic on valuations and about granting credit when the economy is in freefall, according to senior bankers.

THE TIMES CONCERN OVER POLICE USE OF DRONES TO SPY ON BRITS Police have been criticised for tough new tactics to enforce lockdown rules after they used drones and checkpoints to try to stop people walking their dogs and travelling to exercise. Laws that came into force last night gave officers the power to issue £60 spot fines, reduced to £30 if paid within two weeks.

BANK URGED TO PUT BLOCK ON £7.5BN DIVIDENDS Sir John Vickers, former chairman of the Independent Commission on Banking, has urged the Bank of England to block more than £7.5bn of dividendes to be paid out by banks. The move ups pressure for banks to scrap payouts.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH NHS ENLISTS TECH GIANTS TO HELP MANAGE BUSINESS The NHS has called on the world's biggest tech companies for support in the coronavirus crisis, drawing up plans to use data from its 111 service to predict where resources will be most needed. A strategy is being prepared to help senior executives model the consequences of moving equipment and clinicians to coronavirus hotspots.

OVER-90S SHOULD NOT 'CLOG UP' NHS BEDS People over the age of 90 should think twice about going into hospital during the coronavirus outbreak to avoid "clogging up" the NHS, the former chief scientific adviser suggested yesterday.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL FACEBOOK NABS FORMER US TREASURY DEPUTY Facebook said yesterday it has appointed Robert Kimmitt, former US deputy secretary of the Treasury, as its board's lead independent director. Kimmitt also previously served as the US ambassador to Germany.

US CHARGES MADURO WITH DRUG TRAFFICKING US authorities charged Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and senior government officials with drug trafficking and conspiring with terrorists and offered multi-million-dollar rewards for their arrests, escalating the Trump administration's effort to unseat the leftist regime.

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