Finance

Expect a major hit to economic activity and incomes in Australia that will last for a number of months. This is likely to remain the case for some time yet as efforts continue to contain the virus. Qantas said it is in talks with grocer Woolworths Group Ltd WOW.AX about redeploying some of its workers as supermarkets struggle to contend with an influx of shoppers rushing to purchase goods ahead of any broader domestic shutdown, which has so far been resisted by Morrison.

Meanwhile, Canada and the USA are working on a deal to close their joint border to non-essential travel as part of the fight against a coronavirus outbreak, a Canadian government source told Reuters today. The definition of "essential travel" was expected to include critical deliveries of food and supplies, but officials were torn over whether to include Americans or Canadians visiting family in either country.

Confirmation that government advice to avoid pubs, clubs and theatres etc.is sufficient for businesses to claim on their insurance where they have appropriate business interruption cover for pandemics in place. Mr Sunak told the assembled media that more measures would be announced. "We are in a war against an invisible killer", United Kingdom health secretary Matt Hancock said, adding that emergency legislation to tackle the virus would be introduced in Parliament on Thursday.

Google was fined $166 million past year for over its anti-advertising practices by the French Competition Authority. In 2015, the French Competition Authority fined 750 million euros to French worldwide GSM operator Orange SA for violating competition rules.

Air New Zealand had its shares suspended yesterday after it revealed further reductions in capacity across its network as the coronavirus crisis cuts demand for travel . "We are now experiencing a high volume of customer inquiries and long call wait times". We are working on redeployment opportunities for some of our staff within the airline and also to support other organisations, He said.

Senate's hands now that technical corrections have been approved by the House of Representatives, NBC News and USA Today report . "President Trump took a 1st step by heeding our call to use the Defense Protection Act to fight the shortages, but his admin still has so much more to do to fight coronavirus".

Production will be halted through March 30, the company said. Detroit's three automakers have agreed to partial factory shutdowns, deep cleaning of equipment and longer periods between shifts to head off union demands for US plant closures due to the coronavirus threat.

Oil plummeted to a almost 18-year low on Wednesday as the coronavirus outbreak continues to sap demand for crude, and as rising fears of a global recession lead to fears of longer-term demand destruction. Riyadh appears to be heading to a Darwinian survival of the fittest for the energy industry, in which the highest cost producers, including USA shale companies and others working Brazil's offshore fields, will suffer enormously.

As we take the precautionary measure to close the trading floors, we continue to firmly believe that markets should remain open and accessible to investors. The floors that will close include the "NYSE equities trading floor in New York, NYSE American Options trading floor in New York and the NYSE Arca Options trading floor in San Francisco".

The human resources department told employees to come to work if their job is to produce, service, deliver or test its electric vehicles, in spite of an order from Alameda County to shelter in place , which requires all non-essential businesses to close, including bars, gyms and dine-in restaurants because of the global spread of COVID-19, a disease caused by the coronavirus .

Some companies agreed to cut overtime work to build space between shifts for added cleaning. The announcement is a compromise between the union and the automakers . GM, Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV are still operating their US factories normally while working with the United Auto Workers union to determine how best to keep thousands of hourly employees safe on assembly lines.

Government says insurers will cover pandemic but ABI insists this changes very little as most do not have this type of cover. He added: "The Scottish Government will have nearly £2 billion extra to spend supporting Scottish businesses and I know they have pledged to spend every penny that they get from the UK Government to help all sectors affected in Scotland".

Oil rose more than $1 on Tuesday as bargain hunters emerged after recent sharp falls due to the coronavirus pandemic and the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russian Federation, but fears of a recession still dragged on the market, Reuters reported.

Delta announced last week that it will reduce its flight capacity by 40% for the next four months due to the coronavirus outbreak, a dramatic increase from its original 15% reduction. American confirmed it is parking almost all widebody aircraft and anticipates its domestic capacity will be reduced by 20% in April and 30% in May versus the same period in 2019.

Businesses that are forced to temporarily close, permanently close, or significantly reduce operations are encouraged to inform affected employees of their eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits . A claimant that is directed to self-isolate or is caring for an immediate family member that is self-isolated will be eligible for these provisions, even if they are eventually not diagnosed with COVID-19.

Macron said the country was "at war", and urged people to accept sacrifices to slow down the spread of infections. "Now is the time for everyone to stop non-essential contact with others and to stop all unnecessary travel", he added, encouraging people to avoid pubs, clubs, theatres and restaurants.

The S&P 500 climbed 6 percent to claw back a little less than half of its historic loss from the day before. After the Dow quickly recovered the 20,000 line, buying kicked in with some investors pinning their hopes on measures to blunt the economic impacts of the virus.

Australia on Sunday said all worldwide arrivals, including its own citizens, would need to self-isolate for 14 days, in a move that significantly dented demand for travel. The airline did not quantify the impact on its workforce but said it was working with staff and unions on a range of measures including the use of accrued annula leave, leave without pay, and in some circumstances, redundancies.

Benchmark Brent crude plunged by nearly 11 percent to $30.33 a barrel by 12:00 GMT. The unsold cargoes represented more than 70 per cent of the country's total oil exports and puts the country on a very hard spot, according to S&P Global Platts.

He described the House's bill as "imperfect", but said there's no time to butt heads over it. A group of about 40 Republicans had voted against the original bill, which has been endorsed by President Donald Trump. President Donald Trump speaks as administration officials listen in the press briefing room at the White House in Washington on March 17, 2020 .

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 12.32 percent, and the S&P 500 ended the day down 11.98 percent. The S&P 500 has shed almost 30 percent since setting a record less than a month ago, and its at its lowest point since the end of 2018. " The speed of the impact to middle America, let alone the global community, is relatively unprecedented ", he added. The broader S&P 500 Index, which serves as a proxy for the health of USA retirement and college savings accounts - opened 2 percent higher, then ...

The chancellor also announced an extra £330 billion worth of government backed and guaranteed loans made available to support businesses to pay rent and salaries. Earlier on Tuesday, the government also advised against non-essential foreign travel. "If the government follow through on everything they have spoken about today, then we are going to be in a much better position than I thought we were going to be in yesterday".

Crude prices sank Monday as oil markets again weighed the impact of growing crude supplies at a time when demand is pulling back. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 5 cents to $28.75 a barrel. Brent's premium to WTI narrowed to less than $1 during Monday's session, falling to its lowest since 2016, making U.S. crude oil uncompetitive in worldwide markets.

USA benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was trading at $29.95 a barrel, up 4.36 percent, in afternoon Asian trade. Negative drivers on the supply side come from the ongoing Russia-Saudi Arabia price war, which is expected to remain unabated in the near-term and aggravated by the tangible possibility that Saudi Arabia ramps up its oil production by almost 12M bpd.

Ben Sasse (R-NE) said of Pelosi's effort. The Chamber's executive who spoke privately said the price tag on its proposal for business loans were hard to estimate because of unknowns that include the length and severity of the economic downturn.