HeidelbergCement shuts Italian plants as coronavirus hits 'like a wave'

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - HeidelbergCement has shut down factories in Italy and imposed a freeze on hiring and non-essential spending as the world's second-biggest cement maker grapples with a coronavirus pandemic it says has hit the world "like a wave."The German company, which competes with larger rival LafargeHolcim , joined businesses across the world in warning it was unable to predict its prospects for 2020 as the crisis brings economies to a standstill."You can see it's hitting the world..