Reuters Business News

Asian share markets looked set for a rocky start on Monday as U.S. stock futures took an early spill amid fears the global shutdown for the coronavirus could last for months, doing untold harm to economies.

Thousands of London's underwriters took their stamps and fountain pens home last week, which they use to sign insurance contracts, but they won't need them.

After a brutal meltdown, some investors have been wading back into U.S. stocks. But others are wary of another leg down as the coronavirus spreads and its economic impact is difficult to predict.

How much damage has the coronavirus and the oil price collapse inflicted on global financial markets this year? Put simply, it has probably been the most destructive sell-off since the Great Depression.

Governments and central banks need to step up efforts urgently to support their economies in the face of the coronavirus crisis, the head of the Bank for International Settlements said on Sunday.

Luxury fashion group Chanel said on Sunday it would launch production of face masks to help bolster supplies in France, as the coronavirus sweeps across the country.

After a brutal meltdown, some investors have been wading back into U.S. stocks. But others are wary of another leg down as the coronavirus spreads and its economic impact is difficult to predict.

Qatar Airways will have to seek government support eventually, Chief Executive Akbar al-Baker told Reuters on Sunday, warning that the Middle East carrier could soon run out of the cash needed to continue flying.

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Saturday said his government will comply with a public consultation to halt the construction of U.S. brewer Constellation Brands Inc's more than $1 billion brewery project in the border city of Mexicali.

U.S. clothing rental firm Rent the Runway said on Saturday it had laid off retail employees following temporary store closures amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

Vice President Mike Pence, heading the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus outbreak, said on Saturday that he would deliver a recommendation to the president on whether to re-open the U.S. economy in the coming week.

Airbnb hosts will provide free rooms for workers in Britain's National Health Service (NHS) to support their work during the coronavirus outbreak, the company said on Sunday.

Britain's big telecoms providers have agreed to remove all data caps on fixed-line broadband services that have become a lifeline for people isolated at home during the coronavirus crisis, the government said on Sunday.

William Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management no longer has hedges on its stock portfolio, but still has some cash to invest if equities decline further as the United States battles the coronavirus outbreak, the billionaire investor said on Saturday.

Amazon.com Inc is offering higher pay to recruit its own warehouse employees to pick and pack Whole Foods groceries amid rising demand and a worker shortage, according to an internal document reviewed by Reuters.

It may, as House Majority Leader and Maryland Democrat Steny Hoyer said on Friday, be out of love that the United States agreed to shut down much of its economy to stop a viral epidemic and save lives.

A global shortage of condoms is looming, the world's biggest producer said, after a coronavirus lockdown forced it to shut down production.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday invoked emergency powers to require General Motors Co to build much-needed ventilators for coronavirus patients after he accused the largest U.S. automaker of "wasting time" during negotiations.

Auto companies and suppliers around the world are ramping up production of critical healthcare products and machines - everything from cloth face masks to sophisticated ventilator systems - to meet a critical shortage of those items at hospitals and care facilities in North America, Europe and Asia.

General Motors Co has reached a $120 million settlement with owners who claimed that their vehicles lost value because of defective ignition switches, which have been linked to 124 deaths.