Mexico's president threw himself into a new confrontation with businesses on Wednesday, accusing big companies of not paying taxes and upbraiding others for laying off workers during the coronavirus crisis.
Risk-sensitive currencies climbed on Thursday on budding optimism the coronavirus pandemic may be peaking although the euro was dented by the European Union's failure to agree on more support for their weakened economies.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Wednesday the domestic auto sector can resume operations shortly after the U.S. industry gears up from a coronavirus-led halt, to avoid further disruption to closely interconnected supply chains.
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+.
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.
