Business News

The European Union is planning on filing formal antitrust charges against Amazon.com Inc over its treatment of third-party sellers, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

* Unilever Plc shares give up early gain, NV shares up 1.1% (Adds Dutch government, M&A background)

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc on Thursday said it has begun human testing of its experimental antibody cocktail as a treatment for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

U.S. stock futures extended declines on Thursday, a day after the Federal Reserve's economic forecast confirmed that the pain from the coronavirus outbreak will be felt for years, with investors also nervous about a second wave of infections.

The European Union is planning on filing formal antitrust charges against Amazon.com Inc over its treatment of third-party sellers, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

* Lloyds failed to rectify problems identified in 2011 (Adds context)

Nasdaq-listed 360 Finance Inc may kick off its Hong Kong listing process as soon as December, two sources familiar with the matter said, as U.S.-listed Chinese firms pursue dual listings amid uncertain Sino-U.S. relations.

Asia's largest energy industry gathering, the Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference will this year take place virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic, S&P Platts said on Thursday.

The following are the top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

Bain Capital's tender offer "substantially" undervalued Japanese nursing home operator Nichiigakkan Co and appeared to take "advantage of COVID-19 related weakness in the share price", investment fund LIM Advisors said in a letter to management.

Britain's Financial Conduct Authority has fined Lloyds Bank 64 million pounds ($81.26 million) for failures in handling hundreds of thousands of mortgage customers in difficulties or arrears.

The Japanese yen and the Swiss franc gained on Thursday as expectations that the global economy will recover swiftly from the coronavirus pandemic took a beating after a U.S. central bank policy meeting.

Britain's Financial Conduct Authority said on Thursday it has fined Lloyds Bank 64 million pounds ($81.26 million) for failures in handling mortgage arrears.

* Plc shares up 1.1%, NV shares up 3.3% (Adds comments from Unilever, shareholder)

A tender offer for Japanese nursing home operator Nichiigakkan Co announced on May 8 "substantially" undervalued the company, investment fund LIM Advisors said in a letter to management.

Tech companies including Facebook, Google and Microsoft on Thursday pledged to improve and standardise annual disclosures around online child exploitation, as they fight off moves to limit encryption.

The U.S. Commerce Department said it would examine whether hardwood plywood imports completed in Vietnam using Chinese components circumvented U.S. duties on imports from China, in a move that could see Vietnamese imports facing similar duties.

* PM Marape says PNG just wants "fair share" (Adds details on mining law changes)

Chemicals maker Johnson Matthey halved its dividend on Thursday and said it would cut nearly a fifth of its workforce as the coronavirus pandemic hits demand for its car pollution filters.

(A look at the day ahead from EMEA deputy markets and financial services editor Sujata Rao. The views expressed are her own.) It looked like the Federal Reserve had short-circuited the dollar, which slipped back to a three-month low after the U.S. central bank confirmed rates would stay near zero through 2022. But two things have frightened markets – first, the Fed's ultra-gloomy (though hardly surprising) outlook on the economy and unemployment, and second, an apparent resurgence in COVID-19 ca