Stocks drift near flat as virus impact weighed, oil on track for weekly gain
Major world stock indexes were little changed on Friday as investors further assessed the economic fallout of China’s coronavirus outbreak, while oil prices were on track for their first weekly gain since early January.
New UK business minister urged to move fast on audit reform
Britain’s new business minister Alok Sharma was urged on Friday to come forward as soon as possible with a draft law to create a more powerful accounting watchdog.
Kraft Heinz’s credit rating cut to ‘junk’ by Fitch
Kraft Heinz Co’s debt rating was cut to “junk” by global credit ratings agency Fitch on Friday, a day after the ketchup and sausage maker reported lower-than-expected quarterly sales and wrote down the value of some businesses.
S&P 500, Dow little changed amid coronavirus worries; Nvidia forecast buoys Nasdaq
The S&P 500 and the Dow barely moved on Friday, as worries over an economic hit from the coronavirus outbreak refrained investors from making big bets ahead of a long weekend, while gains in Nvidia shares kept the Nasdaq in positive territory.
Fiat Chrysler halts production in Serbia over China disruption
Fiat Chrysler (FCA) said on Friday it had temporarily halted production at its Serbian plant, the first such suspension by an automaker in Europe in response to the coronavirus outbreak in China.
Exclusive: Jet buyers back Boeing-Embraer deal as Airbus expands reach
Some of the world’s biggest aircraft buyers are urging the European Union to clear Boeing’s tie-up with Embraer, fearing Embraer’s commercial aviation business would struggle on its own now Airbus has swallowed its main competitor in regional jets.
Google in talks with publishers to pay for premium news content: WSJ
Alphabet Inc’s Google is in talks with publishers on paying a licensing fee for content that would be packaged in a premium news product, the Wall Street Journal reported https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-in-talks-to-pay-publishers-for-content-in-pre…
S&P 500, Nasdaq tick higher at open after Nvidia’s upbeat forecast
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq opened slightly higher on Friday helped by chipmakers’ shares after Nvidia issued an upbeat quarterly sales forecast, but concerns about the economic hit from the coronavirus outbreak kept gains in check.
U.S. January industrial output falls on weather, Boeing drop
U.S. industrial production fell 0.3% in January as unseasonably warm weather held down the output of utilities and Boeing Co cut production of civilian aircraft, the Federal Reserve said on Friday.
NMC Health’s vice chairman quits as further shareholder twists emerge
NMC Health is still trying to unravel details about the holdings of the company’s top investors, it said on Friday after announcing that one of its controlling shareholders had resigned from the board.
