Markets

WASHINGTON: Senator Ed Markey, who has long had an interest in consumer privacy, on Thursday urged caution in the government's efforts to partner with big tech companies to track the coronavirus as a way to combat the disease. In a letter to Michael Kratsios, the White House's chief technology...

Seen as a quintessentially safe bet for many Americans, the US$3.8 trillion money-market fund industry is under severe duress for a second time in the past decade as investors weigh the risk of a global economic shutdown.

Amazon workers in France are coming under unacceptable pressure, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Thursday, after staff complained they faced not getting paid if they stopped showing up due to fears of coronavirus contamination.

Germany expects a record 2.15 million people to this year make use of a scheme that allows employees to work shorter hours but keep their jobs, as the impact of the coronavirus causes havoc in the labor market, a ministry document seen by Reuters showed on Thursday.

Walt Disney Co said on Thursday the spread of the coronavirus could lead to changes in consumer behavior, resulting in further disruption to its business.

One of the most aggressive state-run cash pools that regularly trounces the returns of peers and money-market funds with big bets on short-term corporate debt is no longer eager to buy some of the blue-chip names that produce those juicy yields.

Ford Motor Co said on Thursday it would draw down US$15.4 billion from two of its existing credit lines and suspend dividend to preserve cash as it battles a hit to its business from the fast-spreading coronavirus.

Microsoft Corp said on Thursday that Teams, its chat and conferencing app, reached 32 million users as of March 11 amid a surge in remote work by companies around the world in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Activist investor Starboard Value said on Thursday it has nominated four directors to eBay Inc's board and urged the e-commerce firm to look for external candidates for the chief executive officer role.

U.S. life insurers are trying to curb their own risks to coronavirus by imposing waiting periods for applicants who have traveled to regions with widespread outbreaks, industry experts said.