Reuters Business News

British American Tobacco said on Thursday it had sued Philip Morris International Inc in the United States and Germany, alleging that the tobacco heating technology used in its bigger rival's IQOS devices infringed its patents.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday that all the leading global oil producers should join their efforts to tackle falling oil demand.

OPEC and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, are discussing plans to cut oil production for at least two years with reductions implemented gradually, two OPEC+ sources said on Thursday.

Russia and Saudi Arabia have overcome differences that had presented potential hurdles to a plan for major oil output cuts aimed at shoring up crude prices hammered by the coranavirus crisis, the head of Russia's wealth fund said on Thursday.

OPEC and other major oil producers were due to discuss on Thursday big output cuts in the face of a huge fall in demand due to the coronavirus crisis.

OPEC and other major oil producers on Thursday discussed potential big output cuts in the face of a huge fall in demand due to the coronavirus crisis.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday the country's smallest businesses need to be protected against the ravages of the coronavirus outbreak and pushed for $60 billion to be allocated to those enterprises in the next funding allocation.

A staggering 16.8 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits in the last three weeks, with weekly new claims topping 6 million for the second straight time last week as the novel coronavirus outbreak relentlessly savages the economy.

The Federal Reserve has moved into overdrive to try to keep the U.S. economy from suffering lasting damage from the coronavirus pandemic, announcing an emergency interest rate cut on March 3 and rolling out new efforts almost weekly since, including slashing rates to zero and relaunching large-scale asset purchases.

Fiat Chrysler reached a deal with unions on Thursday over measures to adopt in its Italian plants once the government eases restrictions on business activity put in place to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

The Federal Reserve may expand a program to back Small Business Administration loans to include non-bank lenders as a way to help speed distribution of $350 billion in loans considered critical to helping the smallest firms through the coronavirus crisis.

OPEC and other oil nations held talks on Thursday on a record global production cut of up to 20 million barrels per day, equal to about 20% of global supplies, to support prices hammered by the coronavirus crisis, OPEC and Russian sources said.

Railroads are clamping down on rising demand from oil companies to store crude in rail cars due to safety concerns, sources said, even as the number of places available to stockpile oil is rapidly dwindling.

Oil prices gained nearly 4% on Thursday, but pulled back from an earlier surge as investors waited for details on negotiations between top producers hammering out an agreement for record supply cuts in response to the global fuel demand collapse due to the coronavirus pandemic.

British department store group Debenhams went into administration for the second time in 12 months on Thursday, seeking to protect itself from legal action by creditors during the coronavirus crisis that could have pushed it into liquidation.

Global equity benchmarks moved higher on Thursday following signs of some success by governments and central banks which have taken additional steps to bolster their economies during the COVID-19 pandemic, while oil prices pulled back from an earlier surge.

The economic dislocation caused by the coronavirus crisis is unfolding with breathtaking speed.

Wall Street rose for the third time in four days on Thursday as the U.S. Federal Reserve rolled out a massive $2.3 trillion program to bolster local governments and businesses, while oil prices gained on expectations of a drastic cut in output.

The U.S. economy could be headed "fairly quickly" toward recovery if people stay home, government gets aid to businesses and households, and public health officials create a national plan to restart the economy, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Thursday.

The Federal Reserve will continue to use all the tools at its disposal until the U.S. economy begins to fully rebound from the harm caused by the novel coronavirus outbreak, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Thursday, even as he acknowledged the limits of the central bank's powers.