Business & Finance News
Japanese automakers saw a 34% fall in global vehicle sales in March when the coronavirus outbreak began to spread globally, and face a further tumble in the coming months.
Novartis saw first-quarter sales climb as hospitals and patients stocked up on drugs to avoid being left short during the coronavirus crisis, lifting profits for the Swiss drugmaker.
German airline Lufthansa has no intention of selling its Belgian unit Brussels Airlines, the head of Lufthansa Carsten Spohr assured Belgian Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès in a letter seen by the Belgian VRT public broadcaster.
Amazon.com Inc may have violated safety measures and labor practices amid the coronavirus pandemic as it fired a warehouse protest leader last month, New York Attorney General Letitia James’s office wrote in a letter to the company last week.
Lufthansa has not yet agreed on a 9 billion euro ($9.73 billion) rescue package, company and government sources said on Tuesday, following a report overnight that said an agreement was complete.
BP’s first-quarter profit tumbled by two thirds and its debt climbed to its highest in at least five years as the coronavirus crisis hammered oil demand, but the energy major kept its dividend despite warning of exceptional uncertainty.
BP seeks to sharply reduce its spending and costs to be able to generate profit at oil prices below $35 a barrel by next year compared with $56 a barrel last year, CEO Bernard Looney said.
Most Asian shares made gains while U.S. stock futures fell on Tuesday amid choppy trade as a renewed decline in oil prices partially offset optimism about the easing of coronavirus-related restrictions.
Scandinavian airline SAS said on Tuesday it could reduce its workforce by up to 5,000 full-time positions due to plunging demand and travel restrictions during the coronavirus outbreak.
French car hire company Europcar said on Tuesday it was still in talks with the government over obtaining further financing aid.
Oil prices slumped again on Tuesday amid concern about dwindling capacity to store crude worldwide, heightened by fears that fuel demand may be slow to pick up once countries ease curbs imposed on business and social life to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
British retailer Marks & Spencer said it was planning for a slow return to shopping and had taken steps to shore up its finances for 18 months, including scrapping next year’s dividend, to cope with the impact of the coronavirus crisis
BP’s first quarter profits tumbled by two-thirds as the coronavirus crisis hammered oil demand and the energy major’s debt rose sharply as it warned of exceptional uncertainty ahead.
Diageo , the world’s largest spirits maker, launched a $2.5 billion bond offering on Tuesday, weeks after suspending its share buyback programme in response to the coronavirus crisis.
The world’s largest wealth manager, UBS , reported a 40% rise in January-March profit on Tuesday, buoyed by ultra rich clients reshuffling portfolios to cope with the coronavirus outbreak and as a revamp helped its core business to its best quarter since 2008.
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