Reuters

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits dropped below 2 million last week for the first time since mid-March, but remains astonishingly high as companies adjust to an environment that has been significantly changed by COVID-19.

The U.S. unemployment rate, which economists expect hit 19.8% in May, should be able to drop below 10% by the end of 2020 now that workers side-lined by coronavirus-related shutdowns are returning to work, U.S. Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia said on Thursday.

U.S. stocks opened lower on Thursday as a rally fueled by hopes of an economic rebound from a coronavirus-led downturn ran out of steam even with weekly jobless claims dipping below 2 million for the first time since mid-March.

Bank of America Corp agreed to pay $7.23 million in restitution and interest to settle a U.S. regulator's accusations that it overcharged customers on mutual funds.

Senior British and U.S. politicians criticised HSBC and Standard Chartered on Thursday after the banks backed China's national security law for Hong Kong, in conflict with the British government's opposition to the proposed legislation.

General Motors Co is developing an electric van aimed at business users, joining a growing list of carmakers planning EVs for the same segment which includes customers such as Amazon.com Inc and United Parcel Service Inc, five people familiar with the plans told Reuters.

Germany unveiled sweeping incentives for cheap electric cars, providing a boost to Volkswagen's electric push while penalising heavy sports utility vehicles (SUVs) with new staggered taxes for polluting combustion-engined cars.

Hong Kong's stock exchange expects many U.S.-listed Chinese firms to list on its bourse this year, in part because of U.S. political pressure following China's new national security legislation on Hong Kong, the head of the exchange said on Thursday.

U.S. stock indexes were set to open lower on Thursday as a rally fueled by optimism over an economic rebound from a coronavirus-led downturn ran out of steam even with weekly jobless claims dipping below 2 million for the first time since mid-March.

World markets got another shot of energy on Thursday as the European Central Bank (ECB) ramped up its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) to 1.35 trillion euros.

Citigroup Inc said on Thursday it is forming a new strategic advisory group within its investment bank.

Virgin Atlantic said on Thursday it would restart some flights that have been grounded by the COVID-19 pandemic on July 20 and aimed to restore further services in August.

Germany said it will oblige all petrol stations to offer electric car charging as part of a sweeping 130 billion euro ($146.26 billion) economic recovery plan, boosting electric vehicle demand which has been hampered by consumer concerns over refuelling.

Germany's coronavirus recovery stimulus package contains measures to boost low emission cars and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

China will ease coronavirus restrictions to allow more foreign carriers to fly to the mainland, shortly after Washington vowed to bar Chinese airlines from flying to the United States due to Beijing's curbs on U.S. airlines.

Amazon.com is in early-stage talks to buy a stake worth at least $2 billion in Indian mobile operator Bharti Airtel , three people with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters, in a move that could turbocharge India's digital economy.

U.S. stock index futures slipped on Thursday as a rally fueled by optimism over an economic rebound from a coronavirus-led downturn ran out of steam, with investors awaiting a reading on weekly jobless claims.

Under pressure from its European peers for years to spend more, Germany has finally served up a bumper stimulus package financed with new debt, but Berlin's rediscovered love to splurge is causing fresh unease among its neighbours.

Employees at Tata Steel's Dutch plant in IJmuiden on Thursday voted to go on strike over planned job cuts and the plant's further integration with Tata's British operations, labour union FNV said.

Hong Kong shares of HSBC and Standard Chartered rose on Thursday after the banks backed China's national security law for the city, allaying worries about their businesses getting hurt by any potential political crossfire in their largest market.