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United Airlines said on Thursday it had borrowed $2 billion to cope with an unprecedented disruption to the travel industry as the coronavirus pandemic leads to widescale flight cancellations and global travel bans.

Oil prices fell more than 5% on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump unexpectedly announced restrictions on travel from Europe, in an attempt to halt the spread of coronavirus after the World Health Organization described the outbreak as a pandemic.

Global stocks plunged into a bear market and oil slumped on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump banned travel from Europe to stem the spread of coronavirus, threatening more disruption to the world economy.

Investor worries about corporate credit are heating up as the coronavirus spreads, with the prices of bond funds taking a hit, companies starting to draw on credit lines and some market watchers warning of the possibility that investors pull out of products.

Having initially brushed off the potential impact from coronavirus-linked claims, global insurers are waking up to the prospect of a double whammy - a sharp rise in payouts at a time of big investment losses.

Global stocks plunged into a bear market and oil slumped on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump banned travel from Europe to stem the coronavirus, threatening more disruption to the world economy.

Oil prices fell on Thursday following surprise travel restrictions imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump in an attempt to halt the spread of coronavirus after the World Health Organization described the outbreak as a pandemic.

Private equity firm Blackstone Group Inc does not have a sweeping directive in place to encourage companies in its portfolio to draw down credit lines in a bid to ride out the coronavirus pandemic, the company said in a statement.

European airline stocks already battered by the coronavirus plunged again on Thursday, as a U.S. travel ban on much of continental Europe deepened the sector's misery and piled pressure on governments to offer emergency support.

European airline stocks plunged as much as 20% on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would restrict travel from Europe to the United States for 30 days to try to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Chinese airlines reported a total loss of 20.96 billion yuan ($3 billion) in February as the coronavirus epidemic spread and hit travel demand, the aviation regulator said on Thursday.

A United States travel ban on European visitors will hit U.S. airlines, their employees, and travelers "extremely hard", trade group Airlines for America said on Wednesday.

Vehicle sales in China, the world's biggest car market, tumbled in February as customers stayed at home and away from dealerships due to the coronavirus epidemic that has killed more than 3,100 people in the world's second-biggest economy.

Automakers across the world face the possibility of extended supply chain disruptions as factories in China stutter back to life after closures due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Oil prices fell on Thursday following surprise travel restrictions imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump in an attempt to halt the spread of coronavirus after the World Health Organization described the outbreak as a pandemic.

Royal Dutch Shell Chief Executive Ben van Beurden's pay package halved last year to 10 million euros ($11.3 million) after the energy company suffered seven deaths and saw a drop in revenue.

Automakers in China are calling on the government to help after industry-wide sales plunged 79% in February to mark their biggest ever monthly decline, with demand pummelled by the coronavirus outbreak.

The Bank of Japan is ready to take further steps to support the economy in the face of the coronavirus epidemic, Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said after a meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday.

JP Morgan analysts have given up on their long-term "overweight" call on Boeing Co shares, cutting their price target for the company by $160 to just $210 dollars in a note to clients on Thursday.

Chinese non-life insurers are discovering a silver lining to the cloud spreading over China's economic performance from the coronavirus outbreak - a sharp drop in car accident claims.