Reuters Business News

Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Inc have hit pause on layoffs as the coronavirus pandemic has led to a record level of unemployment claims and unprecedented economic uncertainty, according to sources.

Prospective buyers arriving at Betsy and Eric Melby's house for sale in Memphis, Tennessee, last week were greeted by a large pump bottle of hand sanitizer and a box of disposable gloves.

Daimler is in talks with lenders for a credit facility of at least 10 billion euros ($11.03 billion) to help the car company cope with the coronavirus outbreak, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

Wall Street surged on Thursday as record weekly jobless claims came in below investors' worst fears, while also making a strong case for more aggressive stimulus to aid businesses and families wrecked by the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.

Oil prices lost more than $1 a barrel on Thursday as restrictions on travel worldwide slashed fuel demand, with U.S. crude futures plunging more than 6% after the United States scrapped plans to buy domestic oil for its emergency reserve.

The Federal Reserve announced Thursday it was giving small U.S. banks another month to file financial statements due at the end of March.

Ford Motor Co announced plans on Thursday to shore up its finances amid the coronavirus pandemic, aiming to generate more cash by resuming production next month of its most profitable vehicles while saving money through further cost cuts.

Stock exchanges across Europe have implemented their business continuity plans due to the coronavirus epidemic and markets are working well under extreme conditions, the Federation of European Securities Exchanges said on Thursday.

Global oil demand could drop as much as 20 million barrels per day or 20% of total demand as 3 billion people are currently in a lockdown because of the coronavirus outbreak, the head of the International Energy Agency said.

The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits surged to a record of more than 3 million last week as strict measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic brought the country to a sudden halt, unleashing a wave of layoffs that likely ended the longest employment boom in U.S. history.

Morgan Stanley on Thursday pledged to not cut any jobs this year, according to a memo seen by Reuters, as the Wall Street bank sought to reassure employees worried about their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic.

Ford Motor Co announced plans on Thursday to shore up its finances amid the coronavirus pandemic, aiming to generate more cash by resuming production next month of its most profitable vehicles while saving money through further cost cuts.

Wall Street surged on Thursday as record weekly jobless claims came in below investors' worst fears, making a case for more aggressive stimulus to aid businesses and families wrecked by the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.

The world's biggest oil and gas companies are slashing spending this year following a collapse in oil prices driven by a slump in demand because of coronavirus and a price war between the top exporters Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Toyota Motor Corp said it will extend a shutdown of all North American plants for two weeks due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and decline in vehicle demand.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Thursday urged the world's major economies to act quickly to prevent irreversible damage to an airline industry that has seen demand crushed by the coronavirus crisis.

Deutsche Bank is for the first time considering asking its German staff to cut their hours and take government money instead as it tries to navigate the coronavirus crisis.

The German airline Condor has applied for an additional 200 million euros in state aid in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, two people with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.

Oil prices fell on Thursday after three sessions of gains as restrictions on travel worldwide crimped fuel demand, with U.S. crude futures plunging about 4% after the United States scrapped plans to buy domestic oil for its emergency reserve.

The International Monetary Fund on Thursday asked G20 leaders to back a doubling of its emergency financing capacity to strengthen its response to the rapidly spreading coronavirus pandemic that is set to cause a global recession in 2020.