Reuters Business News

A relentless barrage of bad news surrounding the coronavirus epidemic has begun to affect customer visits at some U.S. auto dealers and even those businesses that have thrived so far believe a big sales decline is imminent if China's experience is any guide.

British government is planning to introduce emergency laws next week to ban mass gatherings in an attempt to curb the coronavirus outbreak, Sky News reported https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-mass-gatherings-to-be-banned-under-government-plans-to-combat-covid-19-spread-11957350 late Friday, citing a Whitehall source.

The International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group on Friday advised their Washington headquarters staff to work from home after an IMF employee was diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

As a collapse in the oil price unleashed chaos in financial markets, Madrid money manager Diego Parrilla phoned a colleague who agreed: they had better head to work early in the morning.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Friday it has begun a probe following an in-flight incident involving an older 737 aircraft manufactured by Boeing Co and flown by Southwest Airlines .

German flagship carrier Lufthansa on Friday said it would scrap its annual dividend, slash its flight schedule further and is also considering a request for state aid to help it deal with the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

The fallout from the coronavirus spread across the Pacific on Friday, with Australian travel firms issuing profit warnings and Japanese carriers cutting capacity, while U.S. airlines rushed to cut flights to Europe in the wake of new travel restrictions.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that four cruise line companies had agreed to suspend outbound cruises for 30 days, at his request, amid the global coronavirus pandemic.

Corporate America joined the fight against the spread of coronavirus on Friday, as President Donald Trump and executives announced that Google would offer a website to help people determine whether they needed tests and retailers set up drive-through tests in parking lots.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said production at its assembly plant in Windsor, Ontario, which was halted for 24 hours over fears of an employee being possibly exposed to the coronavirus, has resumed on Friday afternoon.

New York-based banks Citigroup Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co both reported on Friday that they have employees who have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates, who made the company one of the world's most valuable technology firms, stepped down from the board on Friday to focus on philanthropic works related to global health, education and climate change.

Boeing Co's suppliers, already reeling from a 737 MAX grounding one year ago on Friday, face an even slimmer workload as flight cancellations spurred by the spreading coronavirus mean less airline demand for spare parts and services.

A gauge of stocks across the globe bounced back on Friday led by a late rally on Wall Street, after U.S. President Donald Trump freed $50 billion to tackle the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The International Monetary Fund on Friday advised all staff at its Washington, D.C., headquarters to work from home until further notice after an employee was diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, an IMF spokesman said.

JPMorgan Chase and Co said on Friday two employees at its headquarters in New York City have contracted the coronavirus.

The dollar surged on Friday, posting sharp gains against the safe-haven Japanese yen as stock markets recovered globally and investors cheered efforts by governments and policymakers to address the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.

Oil prices on Friday posted their biggest week of losses since the 2008 global financial crisis, rocked by the coronavirus outbreak and efforts by top exporter Saudi Arabia and its allies to flood the market with record levels of supply.

U.S. President Donald Trump declared a national emergency over the quickly spreading coronavirus on Friday, opening the door to more federal aid to combat a disease that has infected over 138,000 people worldwide and left more than 5,000 dead.

A group representing major U.S. airports on Friday revised upward its forecast for estimated losses this year to $5.7 billion after President Donald Trump instituted new European travel curbs and as flight reductions rose.