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Oil prices slumped for a sixth day in a row on Friday to their lowest in more than a year, set for their steepest weekly fall since 2016 as the global spread of the coronavirus stokes demand fears.

U.S. consumer spending slowed in January and could lose further momentum as the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak, which has sparked a stock market sell-off and revived fears of a recession, causes households to tighten their purse strings.

Gary Ginsberg, the global head of communications for SoftBank Group Corp , has taken an indefinite leave of absence to advise Michael Bloomberg's U.S. presidential campaign, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Wall Street plunged in a volatile trading session heading into the weekend, extending a steep selloff from last week as the fast-spreading coronavirus raised fears of a global recession.

Intesa Sanpaolo has picked JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, UBS and Equita Sim as advisers for its bid on rival UBI Banca , Italy's biggest retail bank said on Friday.

Goldman Sachs expects the coronavirus to drive the Federal Reserve to cut U.S. interest rates by 75 basis points by June it said on Friday, implying as many as three cuts starting at its next meeting in March.

Italy's flagship carrier Alitalia said on Friday it was reducing flights on 38 national and international routes because coronavirus was leading to fewer passengers.

Coronavirus panic sent world share markets skidding again on Friday, putting them on course for their worst weekly fall since the 2008 global financial crisis, with almost $6 trillion wiped from their market value so far this week.

The Dow Jones Industrials slumped more than 1,000 points in intraday trading for the third time this week on Friday, as the rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak raised fears of global recession.

Kuwait Airways will operate a flight to Thailand's capital, Bangkok, to evacuate Kuwaiti citizens there, the information ministry said on Twitter on Friday.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders may be surging in the polls ahead of Super Tuesday, but some on Wall Street have made their own conclusions on what November will bring: four more years of President Donald Trump.

Federal Reserve rate cuts are "a possibility" if the coronavirus outbreak intensifies into a global pandemic, St. Louis Fed president James Bullard said Friday, while adding that market pricing for a rate cut will not force the central bank's hand.

Oil prices slumped on Friday to their lowest in more than a year, set for their steepest weekly fall since 2008 as the global spread of the coronavirus stokes demand fears.

Switzerland on Friday banned large events expected to draw more than 1,000 people in a drive to curb the new coronavirus epidemic, prompting cancellation of the Geneva car show and grumbling from businesses watching demand vanish.

Carmakers were scrambling to reorganise press conferences and vehicle presentations after Swiss authorities forced the cancellation of the Geneva car show on Friday in an effort to contain the coronavirus.

The rapid worldwide spread of coronavirus and the economic implications of the outbreak have triggered the biggest weekly stock market rout since the 2008 financial crisis, wiping $6 trillion off global equities.

Indonesia's Lion Air has deferred plans for an initial public offering (IPO) due to a sharp fall in global stock markets, people close to the matter said on Friday, as the spreading coronavirus sparks worries of a global pandemic.

The Federal Reserve does not need to cut U.S. interest rates just because markets have priced in aggressive central bank action, but policymakers will be monitoring events closely up to the upcoming March 17-18 meeting, St. Louis Federal Reserve bank president James Bullard said on Friday.

Global commodities trader Trafigura said on Friday it had formed a joint venture with U.S. refiner Phillips 66 to build a major deepwater port in Texas capable of handling supertankers, ditching its own competing project.

Major private equity firms, which have built up big distressed debt funds in recent years, are ready to snap up assets on the cheap if the coronavirus outbreak causes deeper market disruptions, executives told an industry meeting this week.