Business

German container shipping line HapagLloyd nearly doubled net profit in the first half of 2020 and kept its fullyear outlook intact but warned that the coronavirus crisis bears indiscernible risks for its operations.

China's retail sales slipped in July, dashing expectations for a modest rise, as consumers in the world's secondlargest economy failed to shake off wariness about the coronavirus, while the recovery in the factory sector struggled to gain momentum.

Oil prices advanced on Friday and were heading for a second week of gains amid growing confidence that demand for fuel is starting to pick up despite the coronavirus pandemic that has slammed economies worldwide.

Russell Kirsch, a computer scientist credited with inventing the pixel and scanning the worlds first digital photograph, died Aug. 11 at his home in Portland, Oregon, The Oregonian reported. He was 91.

U.S. average rates on longterm mortgages rose this week but remained at historically low levels. The key 30year loan stayed below 3%.

The European Commission has concluded exploratory talks with Johnson & Johnson to buy 200 million doses of a potential COVID19 vaccine, the EU executive and the U.S. pharmaceutical company said on Thursday.

The state of Michigan and some private partners are taking steps toward building or assigning dedicated lanes for automated vehicles on a 40mile stretch of highway between Detroit and Ann Arbor.

The U.S. government is threatening to delist Chinese companies that do not meet U.S. accounting standards, but mainland firms are rushing to offer their shares on New York exchanges, sometimes in blockbuster deals.

The local government in the Chinese city of Shenzhen on Thursday identified a Brazilian meat plant owned by Aurora, the country's third largest processor of chicken and pork, as the source of chicken wings that tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Gold firmed above $1,900 on Thursday as the dollar fell and bargain hunters bet on a resumption of bullion's broader upwards trend after its steep slide from a record peak.

French unemployment fell to a 37year low in the second quarter, as a multiyear downtrend was exaggerated by a coronavirus lockdown that meant people couldn't look for work, data from statistics agency INSEE showed on Thursday.

As the Bank of Japan tries to pump more funds to companies hit by the coronavirus pandemic, it is offering banks hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses, a move analysts say is aimed at easing the sideeffects of its negative interest rate policy.

Britain said it would step up demands for the United States to drop tariffs on goods such as single malt Scotch whisky after the industry warned a decision by Washington to retain the levy was putting its future at risk.

Cisco Systems Inc on Wednesday forecast firstquarter revenue and profit below Wall Street estimates, as the top network equipment maker struggles with the coronavirus crisis disrupting its supply chains and also forcing clients to hold back spending.

Sumner Redstone, who joined his family's drive-in movie chain in the 1950s and used it to build a vast media empire that included CBS and Viacom, has died. He was 97.

U.S. crude stocks, gasoline and distillate inventories fell last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.