Business

Gold ticked up on Friday as prospects of a substantial U.S. pandemic relief package boosted the metal's appeal as an inflation hedge, while the Federal Reserve's dovish monetary policy stance also supported prices.

Asian shares stumbled lower in afternoon trade on Friday, reversing earlier gains as rising COVID19 cases in China reinforced investor concerns over the prospects for a global economic recovery.

Oil prices were mixed on Friday as strong import data from China, the world's biggest crude importer, that boosted sentiment earlier ran into concerns about Chinese cities in lockdown due to coronavirus outbreaks.

The number of Americans filing firsttime applications for unemployment benefits surged last week, confirming a weakening in labor market conditions as a worsening COVID19 pandemic disrupts operations at restaurants and other businesses.

Germany's economy shrank by 5.0% in 2020, less than expected and a smaller contraction than during the global financial crisis, as unprecedented government rescue and stimulus measures helped lessen the shock of the COVID19 pandemic.

Japan could consider fresh economic stimulus, including a possible fourth extra budget, as the government expands a state of emergency amid a record surge in coronavirus infections, a prominent cabinet minister said on Thursday.

The data showed onion prices contracted by 54.69 per cent in December, as against a decline of 7.58 per cent in November. The inflation in potato eased to 37.75 per cent in December from 115.12 per cent in November.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty fell 47.45 points or 0.33 per cent to 14,517.40 in opening deals. According to traders, profit-booking at higher levels is keeping benchmark indices volatile.

Oil prices fell on Wednesday as the threat of rising global COVID19 cases further hampering global fuel demand outweighed support from a biggerthanexpected drop in U.S. crude inventories.

Airbnb says it will be blocking and cancelling reservations in the Washington, D.C. area during the week of the presidential inauguration.

Indonesia launched one of the world's biggest COVID19 vaccination campaigns on Wednesday with President Joko Widodo getting the first shot of a Chinese vaccine as his country fights one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in Asia.

Oil prices rose on Wednesday, with U.S. crude gaining for a seventh day, after an industry report showed a further drop in inventories and investors shrugged off worsening developments in the pandemic.

Visa Inc. on Tuesday called off its planned $5.3 billion purchase of paymentprocessing technology company Plaid, citing the Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit filed last year to block the deal.

Buyout firm Cornell Capital is preparing a U.S. initial public offering (IPO) of Knowlton Development Corp (KDC), which could value the manufacturer and custom formulator of products for the beauty industry at more than $5 billion, according to people fam...

French automaker Renault said on Tuesday its 2020 worldwide sales fell by 21.3%, to 2.95 million vehicles, due to the impact of the COVID19 pandemic on the global economy.

Wall Street firms in Hong Kong including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan have set out plans to reduce exposure to Chinese telecom companies named in a U.S. ban on investments in companies Washington considers linked to China's military.