Reuters Business News

Asset manager DWS, the fund management arm of Deutsche Bank, said it has further sold down its position in embattled German technology company Wirecard and was considering legal action.

A recovery in demand for gasoline in the United States, the world's largest market for the motor fuel, hit a plateau last week as coronavirus cases surged in some states, undercutting refiners' efforts to ramp up low fuel production.

The European Commission is in advanced talks with pharmaceuticals giant Johnson & Johnson to reserve or make an up-front purchase of its COVID-19 vaccine under development, two officials familiar with the talks told Reuters.

The S&P 500 and the Dow were largely unchanged on Thursday as investors stayed on the sidelines amid an uptick in coronavirus infections in parts of the United States and an elevated level of weekly jobless claims.

A defacto lockdown in the United States has lasted longer than expected despite a rollback in some restrictions on mobility, pointing to a deeper-than-expected contraction in gross domestic product in the second quarter, the IMF said on Thursday.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell last week, but the pace of decline appears to have stalled amid a second wave of layoffs as companies battle weak demand and fractured supply chains, supporting views that the economy faces a long and difficult recovery from the COVID-19 recession.

Retail foot traffic recovered to approach pre-lockdown levels last week and businesses appeared to bring more employees back to the job, according to data from firms that collect cellphone location information and manage employee time for companies.

State oil giant Saudi Aramco started laying off hundreds of employees this month, two sources familiar with the matter said, as global energy companies reduce their workforces in response to the coronavirus crisis.

Markus Duesmann, the head of Audi , will also head the research and development division at German carmaker Volkswagen's premium brand, two sources told Reuters on Thursday.

Prudential sold a minority stake in its U.S. business, Jackson, to Apollo Global-backed Athene Holding for $500 million, the insurer said on Thursday, in the first phase of its plan to create an independent U.S. business.

The S&P 500 and Dow retreated on Thursday as an uptick in coronavirus infections in parts of the United States threatened to upend bets of a swift economic recovery, with data showing weekly jobless claims remained elevated.

Oil prices were broadly stable on Thursday after dipping in and out of positive territory as bulls took their cue from shrinking U.S. oil product stocks and bears looked at rising crude stocks and new coronavirus cases.

Their silhouettes don't stir dreams of adventure like a sports car or trendy SUV, but vans are a rare source of profit for European carmakers, which is why EU regulators are focused on them as they decide whether to back an industry mega-merger.

U.S. stocks fell at the open on Thursday as an uptick in COVID-19 infections in the United States threatened to upend bets of a swift economic recovery, with data showing weekly jobless claims remained elevated amid a second wave of layoffs.

Wirecard's auditor has refused to sign off its 2019 accounts over a missing $2.1 billion, sending the German payments firm's shares down over 60% on Thursday as it warned the delay could cause billions in loans to be called in as early as Friday.

Billions of euros of loans to Wirecard could be called in as early as Friday after the German payments company said its auditor had refused to sign off on its 2019 accounts, knocking more than half the value off its shares on Thursday.

U.S. stock futures fell on Thursday as an uptick in COVID-19 infections in parts of the United States threatened to upend bets of a swift economic recovery, with data showing that weekly jobless claims remained elevated.

U.S. investors have ramped up investments in growth funds over the past few months on expectations of higher returns and safety, while they dumped value funds despite cheaper prices after this year's pandemic-linked selloff.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Thursday underscored the importance of functional U.S.-China ties and urged Beijing to step up its purchases of U.S. goods and services as agreed under a Phase 1 trade deal despite delays caused by the coronavirus.

Oil prices ticked up on Thursday after U.S. oil product stocks shrank, providing bulls with ammunition ahead of a meeting between OPEC producers and their allies to discuss their future output strategy.