Reuters Business News

Wall Street roared back to life on Wednesday, with both the Dow and the S&P 500 surging more than 4%, after former Vice President Joe Biden's strong showing in the Super Tuesday Democratic primary contests injected a dose of confidence.

The global spread of the novel coronavirus has crushed hopes for stronger growth this year and will hold 2020 global output gains to their slowest pace since the 2008-2009 financial crisis, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Wednesday.

United Airlines Holdings Inc is slashing its spring flying schedule and implementing some cost controls in the most drastic actions by a U.S. airline to get ahead of depressed travel demand due to the spreading coronavirus.

Pot producer Canopy Growth Corp said on Wednesday it plans to close two of its greenhouses in Aldergrove and Delta, British Columbia, cutting about 500 positions.

The dollar and global equities rose on Wednesday as a strong showing by Joe Biden in the U.S. Democratic presidential primaries cheered the markets, though the economy-slowing coronavirus outbreak kept investors on tenterhooks.

The European Union's executive aims to introduce laws to combat gender pay gap across the bloc for the first time ever in a bid to fight inequality and boost the economy, according to a document seen by Reuters ahead of official publication.

United Airlines Holdings Inc is slashing its flying schedule and implementing a series of cost-cutting measures in some of the most drastic actions by a U.S. airline to date as the spreading coronavirus has depressed air travel demand.

Crude oil prices ended lower, giving up early gains as major oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, struggled to bring Russia on board for deeper supply cuts to try to offset a slump in demand caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, the world's largest telecommunications equipment maker, on Wednesday pleaded not guilty in a New York federal court to new charges in a 2018 case against the company.

General Motors Co Chief Executive Mary Barra said Wednesday the Detroit automaker will invest $20 billion by 2025 in electric and automated vehicles as it races to catch up with Elon Musk's Tesla Inc as vehicles go electric.

The dollar and world equity markets rose on Wednesday as investors were cheered by a strong showing by Joe Biden in the U.S. Democratic presidential primaries, although the economy-slowing coronavirus outbreak kept investors on tenterhooks.

United Airlines Holdings Inc announced on Wednesday it is cutting domestic, Canadian and international flying and implementing a series of cost-cutting measures, some of the most drastic actions by a U.S. airline to date in response to plummeting air travel demand due to the spreading coronavirus.

Uber Technologies Inc's self-driving unit is open to using technology from competitors in the industry, the company's chief executive said on Wednesday.

U.S. services sector activity jumped to a one-year high in February, suggesting strength in the economy before a recent escalation of recession fears ignited by the coronavirus epidemic that prompted an emergency interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve.

Wall Street surged on Wednesday as former Vice President Joe Biden's strong showing in the "Super Tuesday" primary contests gave a boost to healthcare stocks and upbeat economic data helped sooth investors' coronavirus anxieties.

There are signs the escalating coronavirus outbreak has begun to weigh on business sentiment in the United States, a report by the Federal Reserve released on Wednesday showed, even as the U.S. economy expanded at a modest to moderate pace over the past several weeks.

U.S. regulators will gather Wednesday at a scheduled meeting of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) to discuss risks to the United States and beyond. With fears around coronavirus driving market turmoil not seen since the 2007-2009 financial crisis, here are some of the top risks in their sights.

The Bank of England should wait until it has more clarity about the economic hit from the coronavirus outbreak before making any decision to cut interest rates, its next governor Andrew Bailey said on Wednesday.

Wolfgang Porsche and Hans-Michel Piech, members of the family which controls German carmaker Volkswagen , fully support the shift towards electric cars being driven by Chief Executive Herbert Diess, they told the Bild newspaper.

The global spread of the novel coronavirus will wipe out any hope of stronger growth in 2020, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Wednesday, adding a third of the Fund's 189 member countries were now affected.