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U.S. passenger railroad Amtrak said on Wednesday that bookings had plunged 50% since the coronavirus outbreak and that it now expected significant service reductions and losses of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Oil prices fell 4% on Wednesday, sinking into the close of trading with renewed weakness in the stock market after the World Health Organization said the global coronavirus outbreak is now a pandemic, and as major oil producers announced plans to escalate the burgeoning price war.

Boeing Co is freezing new hiring and overtime except in certain critical areas in efforts to preserve cash due to the coronavirus outbreaks and the 737 MAX grounding, people familiar the matter said on Wednesday.

Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday it would launch a program to boost production capacity for the first time in more than a decade, signaling to Russia and other rivals it was ready for a long battle over production levels and market share.

Wall Street plunged on Wednesday, bringing the stock market closer to bear market confirmation after the World Health Organization said it now considers the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic.

The deep declines in the U.S. stock market over coronavirus fears the last three weeks have left a dent in retirement portfolios and brokerage accounts, costing on average each person in the United States around $16,000 as of Monday's close before a rebound Tuesday erased some of those losses.

Until recently, economists were debating what it would take for the U.S. economy to fall into a recession. But after taking a cue from markets, the conversation for some economists has shifted from whether there will be a sharp downturn, to figuring out what shape the recovery could take.

The top U.S. securities regulator has increased its scrutiny of private funds that make higher-risk loans over the last two years, according to a Reuters review of SEC actions and industry and regulatory sources -- just as fears of a global recession hit the booming private credit market.

The U.S. government recorded a $235 billion budget deficit in February, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday.

U.S. consumer prices unexpectedly rose in February but could drop in the months ahead as the coronavirus outbreak depresses demand for some goods and services, outweighing price increases related to shortages caused by disruptions to the supply chain.

Delta Air Lines Inc said on Wednesday it was extending the suspension of all flights between the United States and China from April 30 to May 31 due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Activist investor Starboard Value LP has nominated a minority slate of directors to eBay Inc's board, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Airlines across the globe are feeling the pain as travel demand withers because of the coronavirus outbreak. Several have grounded many flights and ditched their financial outlooks.

Employees at the largest U.S. oil companies have lost around $5 billion in retirement savings since the end of 2018 because of outsized bets on their own slumping stock, according to a Reuters analysis of company disclosures, a trend exacerbated by the recent crash in oil prices.

Warren Buffett intends to wait until around April 1 to decide whether the coronavirus outbreak will require changes to Berkshire Hathaway Inc's annual shareholder weekend a month later, Omaha, Nebraska's mayor Jean Stothert said.

Uber Technologies Inc on Wednesday said it may temporarily suspend accounts of riders and drivers who have tested positive for the coronavirus or been exposed to it at the direction of health authorities.

The New York Stock Exchange is taking steps to separate traders on the floor of its iconic 11 Wall Street building and employees of the NYSE and its parent Intercontinental Exchange Inc , to reduce the risk of spreading coronavirus, according to an internal memo sent Wednesday.

The dollar weakened and global equities markets slid again on Wednesday, with Wall Street sharply lower, as the previous day's high hopes of government stimulus to tackle the coronavirus soured on the hard reality of still little action.

Boeing Co is freezing new hiring and overtime except in certain critical areas in efforts to preserve cash due to the coronavirus outbreaks and the 737 MAX grounding, people familiar the matter said on Wednesday.

Federal Aviation Administration chief Steve Dickson confirmed Wednesday the agency has rejected Boeing Co's proposal to leave wiring bundles in place on the grounded 737 MAX.