Reuters Business News

Asian stock markets were poised for a cautious start on Thursday following two days of rallies, as investors await the passage and details of a $2 trillion stimulus package in the United States to address the economic fallout from the coronavirus.

Billionaire investor William Ackman, who hedged his Pershing Square Capital management portfolio weeks ago to guard against coronavirus-inspired panic selling, told investors his private hedge fund is making money this year, an investor said on Wednesday.

Investment banks are dusting off models from the 2008 financial crisis to gauge the right time to buy back into stock markets that have plunged 30% from their February record highs because of the coronvirus crisis.

The S&P 500 rallied for a second straight session on Wednesday as the U.S. Senate appeared near a vote on a $2 trillion package to support businesses and households devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.

As the coronavirus pandemic pushes India into a lockdown, the call centres and IT services firms that function as the world's back office are struggling to piece together work-from-home solutions and other business-continuity plans.

Billionaire investor William Ackman, who hedged his portfolio weeks ago to guard against coronavirus-inspired panic selling, told investors that his private hedge fund is making money this year, an investor said on Wednesday.

Canadian oil and gas companies are urging Ottawa to free up credit and cash to help them survive the twin shocks of COVID-19 spread and a crude price war, pitching ideas ranging from tax deferrals to backstopping bank loans.

The $2 trillion economic rescue package before the U.S. Senate on Wednesday would send the federal government to the auto industry's rescue for the second time in a dozen years.

Tesla Inc will reopen its New York factory "as soon as humanly possible" to manufacture ventilators for coronavirus patients, Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said on Twitter on Wednesday.

Amazon.com Inc on Wednesday said it temporarily would not require sellers in its marketplace to repay loans it had made to them, as merchants confront the prospect of declining sales during the coronavirus pandemic.

The S&P 500 rallied for a second straight session on Wednesday as the U.S. Senate appeared to near a vote on a $2 trillion package to support businesses and households devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. crude prices settled higher on Wednesday, bolstered by progress on a massive pending U.S. economic stimulus package, even as government data showed the coronavirus pandemic started undercutting U.S. fuel demand last week.

A group representing major United States semiconductor companies on Wednesday said it was working with federal officials to make clear to state and local officials overseeing lockdowns that chip companies are essential businesses that should continue operations.

The U.S. Senate will vote on Wednesday to give the U.S. aviation industry $58 billion in aid, half in the form of grants to cover some 750,000 employees' paychecks, in a badly needed lifeline for an industry facing the worst travel downturn in history.

Qantas Airways Ltd on Wednesday secured A$1.05 billion ($627.8 million) against its aircraft fleet to help it ride out the coronavirus crisis, sending its shares soaring, as airlines in the Asia-Pacific region sliced away capacity and jobs.

Target Corp said on Wednesday it saw a more than 50% rise in same-store sales so far in March for certain essential goods, joining a list of grocery chains benefiting from consumers hunkering down for an extended period due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The dollar slid and global equity markets marched higher on Wednesday, poised for a second day of gains on optimism $2 trillion in U.S. fiscal stimulus will dampen the economic shock the coronavirus pandemic already has started to inflict.U.S. senators will vote Wednesday. Top aides to Republican President Donald Trump and senior Republican and Democrat senators agreed on the unprecedented bill after five days of marathon talks.

Farmers in rural America are expanding food delivery services to meet rising demand from consumers seeking to isolate themselves during the coronavirus pandemic and frustrated by empty grocery-store shelves.

Wall Street rallied for a second straight session on Wednesday as the U.S. Senate neared a vote on a $2 trillion package to support businesses and households devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S stocks seesawed on Wednesday, digesting the previous session's huge rebound, with investors torn as optimism about an imminent $2 trillion coronavirus package was offset by concerned about the lasting economic impact from the pandemic. [.N]