Reuters Business News

The coronavirus crisis has almost certainly ended the longest U.S. expansion on record and pushed the economy into the start of a short slump, according to analysts polled by Reuters who gave a median 80% chance of recession this year.

The spread of the coronavirus will have a short-lived, drastic impact on Armenia's economy, Economy Minister Tigran Khachatryan said on Thursday.

Amazon.com Inc on Thursday said it was closing a small New York warehouse temporarily after one of its associates tested positive for the coronavirus, a move that highlights the operational risk it faces as the disease spreads.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Thursday that a global recession "is a near certainty" and current national responses to the coronavirus pandemic "will not address the global scale and complexity of the crisis."

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits surged by the most since 2012 to a 2-1/2-year high last week, as companies in the services sectors laid off workers because of the coronavirus pandemic.

SoftBank Group Corp is looking to raise an additional $10 billion to help its first Vision Fund support portfolio companies hit by the coronavirus pandemic, Bloomberg reported https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-19/softbank-seeks-10-billion-to-supplement-vision-fund-amid-crisis on Thursday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday reported 10,491 cases of coronavirus, an increase of 3,404 cases from its previous count, and said the death toll had risen by 53 to 150.

The European Union has responded to the coronavirus, seen by German Chancellor Angela Merkel as the biggest challenge since World War Two, with a wide range of measures to limit the spread of the disease and the resulting economic damage.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Thursday that a global recession "is a near certainty" and current national responses to the the coronavirus pandemic "will not address the global scale and complexity of the crisis."

In calm markets "quadruple witching" usually passes unnoticed, but some market players are hoping this Friday's concurrent quarterly expiration of U.S. options and futures contracts could shake some sense back into stocks.

Walt Disney Co said on Thursday the spread of the coronavirus could lead to consumer behavior changes, further disrupting its business.

European and U.S. stocks climbed on Thursday, recovering from earlier losses, in a sign of tentatively more stable markets, as central banks across the world moved to stem a coronavirus-induced financial rout in moves that boosted bonds and provide more access to the dollar.

Norway on Thursday banned people from going to their country cabins to prevent the spread of coronavirus and lessen the burden on local public services.

Italian carmakers Ferrari and Fiat Chrysler are in talks with the nation's biggest ventilator manufacturer to help it boost production of the life-saving machines which are urgently needed in the coronavirus crisis, company officials said on Thursday.

The Dutch minister in charge of the government's fight against the coronavirus outbreak resigned on Thursday, a day after collapsing during a parliamentary debate.

The U.S. Department of Energy said on Thursday it will buy up to 30 million barrels of crude oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve by the end of June as a first step in fulfilling President Donald Trump's directive to fill the emergency stockpile to help domestic crude producers.

Tesla Inc has told employees it lowered the number of workers at its California vehicle factory to comply with government guidelines to curb the spread of coronavirus, as Chief Executive Elon Musk said the company may start producing ventilators to help ease a U.S. shortage.

Greece has so far confirmed 464 coronavirus cases and registered six deaths, a health ministry official said on Thursday.

The cancellation of major sporting events and the decimation of the luxury, entertainment and travel industries is delivering a hammer blow to a global advertising industry that was already reeling from years of tech-led turmoil.

Wall Street pushed into positive territory on Thursday as policymakers pulled out all the stops to try and stave off a deep and lasting coronavirus-driven recession and its damaging fallout on corporate America.