Reuters

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 Trump administration is considering taking stakes in U.S. energy companies as one possible option as it seeks to help the nation's oil and gas sector amid the coronavirus outbreak, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Friday.

The U.S. economy faces a bleak immediate future with gross domestic product likely contracting 12% in the second quarter and the federal deficit growing to $3.7 trillion, while the unemployment rate will probably crest at 16% in the third quarter, according to projections released by the Congressional Budget Office on Friday.

Air France will receive a 7 billion euro ($7.6 billion) loan package backed by the French government to avert a cash crisis brought on by the coronavirus crisis, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire announced on Friday.

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.

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.

Veteran John Stankey will take over as AT&T chief executive officer, the company said on Friday, as the U.S. telecommunications and media giant grapples with the impact of the coronavirus outbreak and its late entrance into the global streaming wars.

The French government will give a 7 billion euros ($7.6 billion) aid package for Air France KLM and is working on an aid deal of some 5 billion euros for carmaker Renault , French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told TF1 on Friday.

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.

Several staffers at major retail chains, including J.C. Penney Co Inc and Saks Fifth Avenue, reported for duty at some Texas-based stores on Friday, selling merchandise "to-go" for orders placed online.

Crude prices rose on Friday as energy producers continued to cut the number of rigs drilling for oil in the United States and Canada.

The French government is planning aid packages for Air France KLM and Renault , TV station TF1 reported on Friday.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Friday research showed that strains of the novel coronavirus first entered his state from Europe, not China, and that travel bans enacted by U.S. President Donald Trump were too late to halt its spread.

The firm behind Madame Tussauds and Legoland parks is looking to raise 500 million euros ($540 million) in a bond sale, offering a high interest rate to try to secure funds to tide it over while most of its venues are closed in the coronavirus pandemic.

The Dow Jones headed lower on Friday, led by Boeing and Intel, with investors staying cautious about an economic recovery as some states prepared to relax the coronavirus-induced lockdowns.

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 $4.2 billion deal for Boeing to buy the civil jetmaking arm of Brazil's Embraer has hit a roadblock over implementation, threatening its collapse barring a last-minute breakthrough on Friday, people familiar with the talks said.