Reuters Business News

Asian equity markets and crude oil looked set for further losses on Thursday, after a dire warning about the U.S. coronavirus death toll and mounting evidence the fast-spreading disease has sent the world economy hurtling into a deep recession.

The U.S. Treasury Department plans to hire PJT Partners Inc , Moelis & Co and Perella Weinberg Partners to advise on the airline portion of Washington's $2 trillion stimulus bill, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump has invited oil executives to the White House to discuss potential ways to help the industry hammered by slumping energy demand during the coronavirus outbreak and a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia, three sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

U.S. crude oil futures opened 5% higher on Thursday, reversing Wednesday's losses, despite growing concerns about a looming economic depression due to the coronavirus pandemic.

NEW YORK (LPC) - General Electric Co is asking its lenders to replace US$20bn in revolving loans with a new debt package that will come with a smaller size and shorter maturities, sources said.

IAG-owned British Airways is expected to announce suspension of about 36,000 of its employees, BBC News reported on Wednesday.

Wall Street's three major indexes fell more than 4% on Wednesday, after President Donald Trump's dire warning on the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus sent investors running from even the most defensive equities.

The United States "will work with the world's largest oil producers to address volatility in global oil markets," U.S. President Donald Trump's national security adviser Robert O'Brien said on Wednesday.

U.S. crude oil futures rose 5% on the open on Thursday, reversing Wednesday's losses, despite growing concerns about a looming economic depression due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Online travel agency Booking Holdings said on Wednesday Chief Executive Officer Glenn Fogel has tested positive for coronavirus.

Starbucks Corp on Wednesday said it will extend special coronavirus provisions, including pay increases for U.S. workers and closed dining areas, for two weeks to May 3.

Nissan Motor Co said on Wednesday its U.S. auto plants will remain closed through late April to help reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

With auto showrooms shut during the coronavirus pandemic, Fiat Chrysler and General Motors Co moved to reboot demand with seven-year, no-interest loans and programs allowing customers to buy vehicles online.

Just two months after taking office, President Donald Trump in March 2017 traveled to Michigan to announce that he would undo ambitious vehicle emissions standards mandated under his predecessor Barack Obama, portraying the reversal as a boost to the U.S. auto industry centered in the Midwestern state.

Multi-strategy hedge funds - those that bet on a broad array of markets using teams of traders, leverage and centralized risk management - have flourished as stocks ended their worst three months since the 2008 financial crisis.

EU industry chief Thierry Breton says he does not see any ulterior motive behind Huawei [HWT.UL] and other Chinese companies' donations of face masks to the bloc and that solidarity is the best way to tackle the global coronavirus outbreak.

Volkswagen AG said on Wednesday it is extending a production halt at its Chattanooga, Tennessee, assembly plant until April 12 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The dollar advanced on Wednesday, with markets bracing for what is shaping up to be one of the worst economic contractions in decades as the world confronts the coronavirus pandemic.

World equity markets began the new quarter with steep losses on Wednesday as evidence mounted that the coronavirus pandemic was sending the global economy into a deep recession.

The coronavirus crisis is likely to cut home and office building prices, may lead to a permanent shift in the demand for office space, and could push highly indebted households and companies toward default, Boston Federal Reserve bank president Eric Rosengren said on Wednesday.