Reuters

Norway has started formal talks with the shipbuilding division of Thyssenkrupp for the construction of new submarines and expects to conclude the negotiations this year, the Norwegian defence ministry said on Monday.

Stock markets rallied on Monday as investors cheered news more countries were easing lockdowns and the Bank of Japan expanded stimulus to cushion the impact of the coronavirus, though the oil price took another tumble with storage running out.

Investors are pinning their hopes for the reopening of the U.S. economy on the potential for wider availability of testing for COVID-19 cases and on drug trials for treatments of the deadly disease but said, until there is concrete progress in these areas, further stock market gains may be limited.

Quarantines and lockdowns at large U.S. power plants are threatening to squeeze a multibillion-dollar slice of revenue that General Electric Co is counting on to help lift profits.

U.S. chipmaker Broadcom has offered to scrap its exclusivity deals with TV and modem makers to end an EU antitrust investigation and stave off a possible hefty fine.

Imperial Brands is withdrawing from the premium cigar business to focus on vaping, with a 1.23 billion euro ($1.33 billion) sale of hand-rolled makes including Cohiba and Montecristo which will help it pay down debt.

VW the world's largest carmaker by sales, resumed work at its biggest factory in Wolfsburg, Germany, on Monday even as inventory levels across the industry continue to build up as the coronavirus pandemic saps demand.

Norwegian Air could run out of cash by mid-May unless its proposed financial rescue plan is approved by creditors and shareholders, the budget carrier warned on Monday.

U.S. banks were girding on Monday for another chaotic dash to grab $310 billion in fresh small business aid due to be released by the government on Monday, after it changed some of the rules of the first-come-first-served scheme at the 11th hour.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) on Monday will release $310 billion in funds for the second round of its program that aims to help small businesses hurt by the novel coronavirus disruption to cover their payroll costs.

The German government should support Lufthansa as it tackles the coronavirus crisis but the flagship carrier should not be nationalised, Bavarian State Premier Markus Soeder said on Monday.

Britain's easyJet said it will hold a general meeting of investors on May 22 to consider resolutions put forward by its biggest shareholder and founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who opposes the airline's strategy of buying more planes.

Oil prices fell on Monday on concerns about scarce storage capacity and global economic doldrums from the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. stock index futures rose on Monday as more states looked set to lift coronavirus-induced curbs, with investors also turning to quarterly earnings reports from marquee companies including Apple and Microsoft later this week.

Bayer said the economic downturn and the need to preserve cash means it is taking a tougher stance in talks to settle claims its glyphosate-based weedkillers cause cancer, even as its earnings rose.

U.S. chipmaker Broadcom has offered to settle an EU antitrust investigation into its exclusivity deals with TV and modem makers, EU antitrust regulators said on Monday.

Japan's Nissan Motor Co Ltd will slash its domestic auto production plans by 70% in May and 43% in June, documents seen by Reuters show, as the impact of the coronavirus shakes the troubled automaker.

Luckin Coffee said on Monday China's State Administration for Market Regulation was carrying out work to understand the coffee chain's operating situation and added that it was actively cooperating.

German insurer Allianz has struck a deal to invest in the bancassurance business of Spanish lender BBVA , two sources close to the matter told Reuters, adding that an announcement could come as early as Monday.

Shares in Air France-KLM and Lufthansa led European stock market gains on Monday on hopes that government bailouts would see them through the coronavirus crisis.