Wall Street closed lower to cap a negative week for global stock markets as evidence of the heavy economic toll inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic continued to mount.

British Airways has agreed a deal with unions to slash costs that will lead to the furlough of more than 30,000 workers as the airline battles the worst crisis in its history. 

JPMorgan Chase boss Jamie Dimon has returned to work full-time, four weeks after his emergency surgery for a life-threatening heart condition. 

The UK gambling regulator has imposed its biggest ever fine of £13m on Caesars Entertainment, the UK arm of the US casino company, over its failure to prevent addicted gamblers from losing hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Global equity markets sold off heavily in the first trading session of the new quarter as investors digested a series of grim predictions about the human and economic toll of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Two of the world’s biggest aerospace manufacturers are lobbying the UK government on behalf of Virgin Atlantic as the airline seeks a £500m bailout package of commercial loans and guarantees to survive the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. 

British American Tobacco, the maker of Lucky Strike and Camel cigarettes, has entered the fray of companies trying to develop a vaccine against Covid-19 — by growing a potential antigen in genetically engineered tobacco plants. 

UK manufacturing activity dropped significantly in March following the outbreak of coronavirus, according to a closely watched survey that showed output and new orders in the sector fell at the fastest rate since 2012.

Bruised investors closed the books on the biggest quarterly drop for US equities since the financial crisis on Tuesday, as a late sell-off in the final trading session brought losses to 20 per cent since the start of the year.

US stocks kicked off the week on a strong footing with their fourth positive session in the past five, but a cautious mood still prevailed as investors considered the impact of the record US stimulus package and a fall in oil prices to their lowest point in 18 years.

BNY Mellon has appointed Todd Gibbons as its chief executive, elevating him from interim CEO, after a six month search for a successor to Charlie Scharf who left to run Wells Fargo.

Mercedes, Formula One and London university engineers have developed a breathing aid for coronavirus patients in intensive care as British industry steps up its efforts to provide life-saving technology to bolster frontline services.

Another senior UK government figure has gone into self-isolation after developing symptoms of coronavirus, following Boris Johnson’s diagnosis last week.

British industry is stepping up plans to supply tens of thousands of ventilators for treating coronavirus patients in efforts reminiscent of a wartime economic push. 

US stocks snapped a three-day winning streak on Friday as investors refocused on the wide economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic while President Donald Trump prepared to sign a historic US stimulus bill into law. 

Rolls-Royce is suspending production for a week at its UK civil aero-engine factories, following similar measures taken by aerospace companies from Airbus to Safran, as the industry struggles with the constraints imposed by the spreading coronavirus pandemic. 

Most German companies have put hiring plans on hold and many of them are planning to lay off workers because of the coronavirus crisis. But analysts are divided on how much the country’s short-term work subsidy scheme will cushion the blow.

Wall Street recorded its first three-day rally since February on Thursday as investors digested an unprecedented surge in US unemployment claims and looked ahead to a $2tn stimulus package that had cleared the US Senate overnight. 

A little-known Norwegian hedge fund manager is taking over as chief executive of the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund just as the coronavirus crisis presents it with its sternest test.

February’s bad weather kept Britain’s shoppers at home and resulted in a fall in retail sales even before the coronavirus pandemic led to the closure of all non-essential shops.

US equities recorded their first back-to-back daily gains in more than a month as US legislators worked to finalise an emergency stimulus bill to provide $2tn in relief to taxpayers and businesses struggling with the effects of coronavirus.

US stocks had their best day since the financial crisis more than a decade ago on Tuesday, on signs that Congress was closing in on an agreement for a potent fiscal stimulus package to alleviate the economic and financial market effects of the coronavirus.

A promise of unprecedented government and corporate bond buying from the Federal Reserve helped push down US borrowing costs on Monday, but equity markets ended in the red as investors anxiously awaited the second half of the US authorities’ response to the coronavirus crisis, namely a fiscal stimulus being wrangled on Capitol Hill.

Canada’s Endeavour Mining has agreed to combine with Semafo in a C$1bn ($690m) deal to create the largest gold miner in West Africa, in the latest push to consolidate operations in the fragmented gold mining sector.

Wall Street failed to record two consecutive days in positive territory, succumbing to a late sell-off that sent the S&P 500 down 4.3 per cent on Friday and left the index nursing a 15 per cent decline for the week, even as equity markets elsewhere staged a recovery.