Japanese electronics company Sony, due to the spread of a new type of coronavirus, is transferring 20,000 employees to remote jobs, Kyodo said. The regime will be valid until the end of April. It extends to 20 thousand employees across the country engaged in the production of television sets and semiconductors. New employees of the company, who were supposed to start work in the beginning of the...

S&P Global Ratings (S&P) international rating agency has lowered forecasts for the ratings of Equinor, Total, Eni and BP due to the situation in the energy industry and amid the coronavirus outbreak, the agency announced in its release. The outlook on the long-term Equinor rating at “AA-” was downgraded to negative from stable, Total’s “A +” was revised down to negative from positive. For the...

Results of the first three quarters of the 2019-2020 financial year ending February 29 showed that the American manufacturer of sportswear Nike increased its net profit by 10% in annual terms to $ 3.33 billion, the company said in its financial statements. Diluted earnings per share in the reporting period rose to $ 2.09 from $ 1.87 a year earlier. The company's revenue for these nine months...

The French pharmaceutical developer AB Science recently published results of a phase 3 study for the novel drug masitinib in the treatment of progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). A web conference dedicated to medical professionals and the media was held on the 6th of March. The panel of MS specialists outlined the findings and highlighted aspects of the research through expert...

The hotel chain Marriott International and others began to send tens of thousands of workers on forced leave to survive the crisis, writes The Wall Street Journal. Marriott’s spokeswoman confirmed that approximately two-thirds of the 4,000 employees at Bethesda, Maryland, were offered to go on vacation at their own expense. In addition, approximately two-thirds of workers abroad were sent on...

The outbreak of coronavirus COVID-19 could provoke a wave of bankruptcies among companies in the Asia-Pacific region (APR), which have increased their debt over the years of low interest rates, writes the Financial Times, citing analysts. According to Moody's, from the time of the global financial crisis of 2008 to 2019, the amount of outstanding debt of companies in the region has doubled and...

The Norwegian oil and gas group Equinor (formerly Statoil) has suspended the buyback program due to coronavirus, the company said in a press release. “We are now taking action to remain stable during a period of low prices, volatility and market uncertainty, in accordance with our contingency plans. In this situation, due to the spread of Covid-19 and low commodity prices, we suspend the buyback...

ExxonMobil, a US oil company, is cutting production at its Baton Rouge refinery in the United States due to low demand, Reuters reported citing sources familiar with the plant. "ExxonMobil has reduced production at the Baton Rouge, Louisiana refinery, as low demand resulted in an increase in stocks and tank filling," Reuters notes. It is indicated that the volume of production at the Baton...

Boeing may reduce dividends and begin to lay off employees of its enterprises, writes Dow Jones, citing informed sources. The American aircraft manufacturing concern is now in an extremely difficult situation due to a sharp drop in air traffic as a result of the spread of the coronavirus: airlines around the world have reduced flights, a significant portion of their aircraft remains on the...