Britain's top banks said on Tuesday they would suspend dividend payments after pressure from the regulator, saving their capital as a buffer against expected losses from the economic fallout from the coronavirus.
The U.S. Department of Energy plans to announce as soon as Wednesday it will allow oil companies to lease space in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), as it tries to comply with President Trump's directive to fill the facility to capacity, two industry sources said.
Asian shares faced another leg lower on Wednesday as the coronavirus sharply slows global growth, leading a gauge of world stocks to post its biggest quarterly decline in more than a decade and oil prices to trade near lows last seen in 2002.
The Trump administration plans to lease out space for energy companies to store oil in the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve, after a previous effort to buy millions of barrels for the emergency stockpile was canceled over a lack of funding, according to two people briefed on the matter.
Risk currencies looked fragile and the yen firmed on Wednesday, the first day of a quarter that looks set to see the worst economic contractions for decades in many countries as they scramble to tackle the coronavirus epidemic.
Crude oil benchmarks opened the month mixed on Wednesday, following their biggest-ever quarterly and monthly losses, overshadowed by fears of global oversupply as data showed a bigger-than-expected rise in inventories in the United States.
Bond investor and DoubleLine Capital Chief Executive Jeffrey Gundlach said on Tuesday he believes the coronavirus sell-off is not over yet and that the lows stocks hit in March will be surpassed in April due to uncertainty over the outbreak.
Global crude oil prices slid further on Wednesday, following their biggest-ever quarterly and monthly losses, as a bigger-than-expected rise in U.S. inventories and a widening rift within OPEC heightened oversupply fears.
Asian stocks clung to gains on Wednesday, helped by a bounce in Australian shares, but risks for equities remain large as the coronavirus pandemic rattles the underpinnings of the global economy.
Amazon.com Inc's Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) service will waive two weeks of storage fees in March, according to an email seen by Reuters.
The U.S. Air Force announced on Monday an additional deficiency in the KC-46 Pegasus aerial fuel system built by Boeing , classifying it at the Category I level, meaning it is a major technical issue that may endanger the aircrew and aircraft.
Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd said on Tuesday it is seeking a government loan of A$1.4 billion ($862.68 million) and exploring other options to get through the coronavirus crisis.
Yum Brands Inc , owner of Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell restaurant chains, sold $600 million in bonds on Monday, reopening the U.S. market for junk-rated debt issues after its longest lull since the 2008 financial crisis.
The dollar rose against the yen on Tuesday as Japanese investors and companies rushed to cover a shortage of the U.S. currency before their fiscal year end, but sentiment remained fragile as the global coronavirus crisis showed no signs of abating.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Monday said the United States would seek to promote more domestic manufacturing of key medical supplies in light of the strategic vulnerabilities laid bare by the coronavirus pandemic.