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Applications to start new U.S. businesses tumbled last week, the latest indication that stringent measures to control the spread of the novel coronavirus had brought the economy to its knees.

Lagardere gained almost 13% on Thursday after Les Echos reported the French multimedia conglomerate could get help from French tycoon Vincent Bollore and Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, who heads finance group Fimalac, in its fight with Amber Capital.

World stock markets seesawed while bond yields retreated on Thursday as dire U.S. jobless data underscored a deepening downturn amid the coronavirus outbreak and tamped down investor hopes a listless economy would soon be back on its feet.

The Nasdaq rose in afternoon trading on Thursday as Amazon.com and Netflix surged to record highs, while worries about first-quarter earnings weighed on the Dow and limited gains in the S&P 500.

Activist shareholders are likely to scale back campaigns in the coming weeks as target companies brace for a deep recession and their favorite calls for change - ranging from mergers to returning cash - are ignored during the coronavirus pandemic.

Activist investor Starboard on Thursday ended its proxy fight at eBay by withdrawing its four director nominees four days after the ecommerce company named a new chief executive.

U.S. small businesses may need as much as $500 billion a month to fully ensure their survival through the widespread closures and disruptions slamming their revenue during the coronavirus crisis, Atlanta Federal Reserve bank President Raphael Bostic said Thursday.

Morgan Stanley Chief Executive Officer James Gorman warned that the bank would take "longer to achieve" its medium-term financial targets due to the coronavirus crisis, after its first-quarter profit slumped by 30%.

Google will allow business and education users on Gmail.com to directly take calls on its video conferencing tool Meet starting Thursday, a new feature being offered as the Alphabet Inc unit seeks to capitalize on security and other concerns with rival services.

Apple Inc said on Thursday it would reopen its sole retail store in South Korea on April 18, marking it the first site to return to business after it closed all stores outside Greater China last month due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Louis Vuitton owner LVMH on Thursday posted a 17% drop in comparable sales in the first quarter due to the coronavirus pandemic, as government-imposed lockdowns forced it to close stores and production sites in key markets.

Italy's budget deficit will be near 10% of gross domestic product this year, a senior government official told Reuters, as Rome increases borrowing to try to soften the impact of the new coronavirus and the economy plunges into a deep recession.

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones slipped on Thursday, giving up early gains as concerns about rough first-quarter earnings and lasting economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic offset weekly jobless claims that were better than some had feared.

Air traffic in Latin America in April has fallen 91% compared to a year earlier due to the coronavirus outbreak that fully grounded two of the region's largest airlines and canceled almost all other flights, industry group ALTA said on Thursday.

Oil prices slid, with U.S. crude on track for its lowest close since 2002, after OPEC lowered its global oil demand forecast due to the plunge in demand delivered by the coronavirus outbreak.

Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co said Thursday it will extend a shutdown of U.S. manufacturing plants until mid-May, citing the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The United States opposes creation of liquidity through issuance of the International Monetary Fund's Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) as part of the response to the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Thursday.

Italian trade unions said on Thursday they had agreed with CNH Industrial on health and security measures so the vehicle maker is ready to resume work as soon as lockdown rules are eased.

World stock markets seesawed while bond yields retreated on Thursday as dire U.S. jobless data underscored a deepening downturn amid the coronavirus pandemic and tamped down investor hopes a listless economy would soon be back on its feet.

(This April 15 story corrects to show flights starting between Buenos Aires and Houston, not Washington, in paragraph 12.)