WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits dropped to a near four-month low last week, but a record 32.9 million people were collecting unemployment checks in the third week of June, supporting expectations the labor market would take years to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Economists cautioned against reading too much […]

TOULOUSE, Reuters (Reuters) – The French government backed union calls to avoid compulsory job cuts at Airbus on Thursday as several hundred workers marched from the company’s headquarters to Toulouse-Blagnac airport. Airbus (AIR.PA) plans to cut up to 15,000 jobs because of a drop in demand due to coronavirus crisis, which has sharply lowered air […]

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Thursday after data pointed to a declining trend in weekly jobless claims, with investors also weighing the risk of another business shutdown as U.S. COVID-19 cases soared. The Labor Department’s most timely data on the economy showed 1.31 million Americans filed for state unemployment benefits in […]

SINGAPORE/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Asian equity markets ground higher as investors tried to look past gathering Sino-U.S. tension and renewed coronavirus lockdowns to upcoming company earnings, hoping that global stimulus efforts will yield upbeat outlooks. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.6% and touched a 20-week high as Chinese stocks extended their […]

(Reuters) – A U.S. judge said she is unlikely to quickly release a Massachusetts father and son being held on charges they helped smuggle former Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) chairman Carlos Ghosn out of Japan. At a Wednesday hearing in Boston, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani said she was “anticipating” denying expedited bail to Michael […]

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Global stocks wavered on Wednesday, pressured by fears that a surge in coronavirus cases would slow the U.S. economy, while safe-haven demand lifted gold prices above $1,800 a ounce for the first time since 2011. Stocks on Wall Street rose, boosted by technology shares, while the dollar slid as the number […]

BEIJING (Reuters) – U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) sold 14,954 Shanghai-made Model 3 vehicles in China in June, up 35% month-on-month, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). Tesla sold 11,095 vehicles in May, up from around 3,635 units in April, CPCA data showed. CPCA uses a different counting method than Tesla’s […]

TOKYO (Reuters) – The dollar held onto gains on Wednesday as a resurgence of the coronavirus in the United States and the return of lockdowns in some countries boosted safe-haven demand for the U.S. currency. Risk sentiment was also undermined after Federal Reserve officials expressed concern that rising coronavirus cases could harm economic growth just […]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration touted its $660 billion small business pandemic aid program this week as a “wild success,” unveiling data that showed the initiative saved 51 million jobs. But there were red flags throughout the colossal data set that suggested some borrowers overstated how many jobs their loan salvaged. That, […]

CHICAGO (Reuters) – The largest U.S. air carriers have all signed letters of intent on federal loans to help them weather the novel coronavirus, with United Airlines warning employees on Tuesday that a surge in outbreaks was hitting bookings, threatening a travel rebound and jobs. United employees should expect to receive as soon as this […]