OPEC and Russia meet on Thursday to try to agree to record oil output cuts but their efforts to address the slump in prices wrought during the coronavirus pandemic have been complicated by mutual animosity and the reluctance of the United States to join the action.
Asian shares were poised to track Wall Street's gains on Thursday on hopes the coronavirus pandemic is nearing a peak and that governments would roll out more stimulus measures.
The U.S. economy is set for a deep slide in coming months with the coronavirus forcing businesses to shut and putting millions out of work, but Federal Reserve policymakers are also warning of a slugging recovery once the pandemic subsides.
UK-listed companies could cancel about US$60 billion in dividend payments this year following Britain's lockdown and calls from regulators to preserve cash during the coronavirus crisis, according to a report by analytics company Link Group.
Global automakers reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic are accelerating efforts to restart factories from Wuhan to Maranello to Michigan, using safety protocols developed for China and U.S. ventilator production operations launched in recent weeks.
U.S. crude futures rose as much as 6per cent in early trade on Thursday ahead of a crucial meeting between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia - a group known as OPEC+.
Starbucks Corp said on Wednesday the financial hit from the coronavirus pandemic would extend into the final quarter of 2020, but added that it had no plans to cut its quarterly dividend.
JPMorgan Chase & Co, the largest U.S. bank, has taken action against more than a dozen traders for using WhatsApp at work, firing one and cutting bonuses for the rest, Bloomberg news reported on Wednesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
Ferrari said on Wednesday it was piloting a project to conduct voluntary screening of employees and their families for coronavirus once the supercarmaker's factories in Italy reopen.
U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler said on Wednesday she would liquidate her individual stock share positions after the wealthy Republican and her husband were criticized over sales of millions of dollars in stock during the coronavirus outbreak.
