Business & Finance News
With the U.S. coronavirus death toll topping 50,000, Georgia, Oklahoma and a handful of other states took the first tentative steps at reopening for business on Friday, despite the disapproval of President Donald Trump and health experts.
Global equity benchmarks struggled on Friday as some U.S. states began reopening businesses despite the disapproval of health experts, and as the European Union put off addressing details of its new economic rescue plan.
A historic plunge in oil prices in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the risks of oil-focused exchange-traded products (ETPs).
Some 12 workers at a Brazilian chicken plant operated by JBS SA have contracted COVID-19, a source close to the company told Reuters on Friday on condition of anonymity.
Oil prices rose on Friday but still posted a weekly loss, the eighth in nine weeks, as global production cuts could not keep pace with the collapse in demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday reported 865,585 cases of the novel coronavirus, an increase of 37,144 from its previous count, and said the number of deaths had risen by 2,437 to 48,816.
With the U.S. quarterly earnings season picking up steam this week, investors have caught a glimpse of how companies are weathering the coronavirus outbreak, including the strength of their balance sheets.
German airline Lufthansa is seeking a loan of 290 million euros ($313.08 million) loan from the Belgian government to avoid the bankruptcy of its Belgian subsidiary Brussels Airlines, Belgian broadcaster LN24 said on Friday.
Facebook Inc introduced a videoconferencing tool and expanded livestreaming features on Friday, capitalizing on a surge in demand for video chats during the coronavirus pandemic while taking its first steps toward a planned integration of messaging products across its apps.
The New York Stock Exchange plans to reopen its iconic trading floor, which is shuttered due to coronavirus concerns, as soon as possible, but it has not yet set a date to do so, the NYSE and people familiar with the matter said on Friday.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday pointed to research showing that strains of the novel coronavirus entered his state from Europe, not China, and said that travel bans enacted by U.S. President Donald Trump were too late to halt its spread.
Wall Street rose on Friday, led higher by Apple and Microsoft as investors finished a turbulent week of trading and some states prepared to relax coronavirus-related lockdowns.
Two senior U.S. House Democrats on Friday asked the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve to direct at least $5 billion in loans to struggling intercity bus companies because of the coronavirus pandemic.
U.S. investment banks are shrinking lending activity in Europe as the coronavirus crisis forces them to retreat home, allowing BNP Paribas and other European lenders to fill the funding gaps and grab market share, seven sources told Reuters.
The French government is planning aid packages for Air France KLM and Renault , TV station TF1 reported on Friday.
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