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+.
THE Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Wednesday rolled out a S$125 million support package for financial institutions and fintech firms, the bulk of which will go to training employees amid the current economic slump.
SINGAPORE banks, which are major employers here, have pledged no retrenchments as a result of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
UOB's chief executive Wee Ee Cheong recorded a 1.8 per cent increase in 2019 total salary to S$10.75 million, up from S$10.56 million, the bank's annual report put out on Wednesday showed.
INTEREST rates for fixed deposits (FDs) have gone down - in tandem with the slashing of the United States Federal Reserve funds rate - some by as much as 1.02 percentage points.
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.
