Business News

Southwest Airlines said on Wednesday it has enough cash to carry on business for the next two years, up from its prior forecast of 20 months, as travel demand gradually picks up.

A new U.S. rule regarding China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd is a needed "clarification" to help develop standards, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Wednesday, adding that security concerns remain over the telecoms equipment maker.

Europe's shares added to their best gains in almost a month as safety plays lost their lustre on Wednesday, with hopes of a rapid economic recovery standing firm against a resurgence of global coronavirus cases.

* Testing also started in Belgium (Adds timing of trials, expected results)

U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday as signs of more official stimulus supported hopes of an economic recovery from a coronavirus-led slump, even as six U.S. states saw a record rise in new COVID-19 cases.

* Some shipments of Norwegian salmon to China have resumed (Adds reaction, bullet points, updates share, minister quote)

German airline Lufthansa warned on Wednesday that it might need to apply for protection from creditors if its state-backed bailout deal failed to win sufficient support at a shareholder vote on June 25.

When Bryan Quevedo received his U.S. government stimulus check last month, he invested $1,000 in the stock of bankrupt car rental company Hertz Global Holdings Inc .

No denying May's $73 billion rebound in U.S. retail sales was an eye-popper and is the latest fodder to fuel the red-hot "V" vs "U" debate about what kind of recovery to expect from the COVID-19 recession.

Oil fell on Wednesday on fears that COVID-19 cases could rise, but prices drew some support from stimulus measures and hopes for positive tests of a drug that could save some critically ill patients.

HSBC is resuming plans to cut around 35,000 jobs which it put on ice after the coronavirus outbreak, as Europe's biggest bank grapples with the impact on its already falling profits.

Employee union Unite said it will oppose any compulsory job losses within HSBC and "work vigorously to ensure staff are heard and their jobs protected", after the bank dusted off plans to axe as many as 35,000 roles worldwide.

Saudi Aramco has completed its purchase of a 70% stake in petrochemicals company Saudi Basic Industries for $69.1 billion and extended the payment period by three years to 2028, providing a cushion against weak oil prices.

Business sentiment of Asian companies sank to an 11-year low in the second quarter, a Thomson Reuters/INSEAD survey found, with some two-thirds of the firms polled flagging a worsening COVID-19 pandemic as the biggest risk over the next six months.

Germany's smartphone app to help trace coronavirus infections has been downloaded 6.5 million times in the first 24 hours since its launch, the CEO of software company SAP said on Wednesday.

The dollar was little changed on Wednesday after U.S. retail sales rose more than expected in May, although caution kept investors from aggressively buying riskier currencies like the Australian dollar.

The yields on super-long Japanese government bonds (JGB) edged up on Wednesday, a day after the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) governor said excessive falls in super-long debt yields are not desirable.

European shares opened higher on Wednesday, with hopes of a swift rebound from a coronavirus-led economic slump gaining traction even as curbs on movement in Beijing were put in place to contain a potential second wave of COVID-19 cases.

Fujairah Oil Industry Zone on Wednesday published, via industry information service S&P Global Platts, the following weekly inventory data for oil products for the week ended June 15. Volumes are in thousands of barrels. Figures in brackets represent volume change from prior week calculated by Reuters. Week Light Middle Residual Total Distillates Distillates Fuels 2020

* Axed staff will remain paid for much of 2020 (Adds details)