Rolling updates on the latest developments and headlines from around the world on the COVID-19 pandemic.
By Gina Lee, Peter Nurse and Kim Khan
4:00 PM ET: California Governor Slashes Budget
Governor Gavin Newsom slashed his proposed budget for the next fiscal year by $19 billion, bringing spending below 2019 levels as coronavirus-related economic woes thrash his state's economy, the world's fifth-largest.
1:26 PM ET: Dems look to exclude oil & gas from Main Street lending
A group of Democratic lawmakers, including three former presidential candidates, called on the chair of the Federal Reserve to cut oil and gas firms out of a federal lending program designed to aid the "Main Street" economy through the coronavirus pandemic.
1:15 PM ET: U.S., China war of words heats up
The United States condemned attempts by "cyber actors and non-traditional collectors affiliated" with China to steal U.S. intellectual property and data related to coronavirus research, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.
10:20 AM ET: Delta faces huge pilot surplus
Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) expects to have 7,000 more pilots than it needs in the fall as the coronavirus pandemic weighs on its operations, according to a memo to flight operations employees seen by Reuters.
09:39 AM ET: Approval of antibody test an "important breakthrough" - UK Prime Minister spokesman
Britain's approval of a Covid-19 antibody test is an "important breakthrough" and might lead to Britons being able to use health certificates if antibodies are present, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday.
The antibody tests - also known as serology tests - show who has been infected, although it is not yet clear whether the presence of antibodies to the new coronavirus confers permanent immunity.
07:52 AM ET: Coronavirus crisis to widen gender pay gap in Germany - study
The coronavirus crisis is likely to widen the gender pay gap in Germany as more women are cutting their hours to look after children due to the closure of schools and nurseries, a survey showed on Thursday.
In households with at least one child under the age of 14, 27% of women have cut their hours to look after them, while 16% of men have done so, according to the survey of almost 7,700 employees by research body Hans Boeckler Foundation.
03:05 AM ET: Only 4.4% of French population infected by coronavirus - Pasteur Institute study
A study led by the Pasteur Institute says a mere 4.4% of the French population - or 2.8 million people - have been infected by the novel coronavirus, much higher than the official count of cases but way too low to achieve so-called "herd immunity".
In a study published on Wednesday in the journal Science, researchers say the infection rate in the worst-hit parts of France - the eastern part of the country and the Paris region - is between 9 and 10 percent on average.
"Around 65% of the population should be immune if we want to control the pandemic by the sole means of immunity", the study says.
02:39 AM ET: Lloyd's of London set to pay out $3-4.3 billion in coronavirus-related claims
Lloyd's of London is likely to pay out $3.0-4.3 billion in claims related to the coronavirus pandemic and underwriting and investment losses for the global non-life insurance sector could reach a record $203 billion, Lloyd's said on Thursday.
01:57 AM ET: French unemployment falls to 11-year low with people unable to seek jobs
French unemployment fell in the first quarter to an 11-year low as people without work were unable to seek jobs once France entered a coronavirus lockdown, the INSEE stats agency said on Thursday.
The jobless rate fell to 7.8% from 8.1% in the fourth quarter, hitting its lowest since late 2008, INSEE's quarterly unemployment survey found.
France's nationwide lockdown, which started on March 17, reduced the number of those normally classified as unemployed by making it impossible for them to look for work, INSEE said.
01:15 AM ET: UN warns of mental health crisis caused by Covid-19 pandemic
A mental illness crisis is looming as millions of people worldwide are surrounded by death and disease and forced into isolation, poverty and anxiety by the pandemic of COVID-19, United Nations health experts said on Thursday.
01:12 AM ET: South Korea to boost coronavirus tracking privacy
South Korean health authorities said on Thursday they would revise their practice of publicising the travel routes of coronavirus patients due to fears of a backlash against people who attended nightclubs at the centre of a new outbreak.
10:23 PM ET: Takeda aims to start Covid-19 treatment trial in July
Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical aims to start a clinical trial for its Covid-19 treatment using antibodies from hundreds of recovered patients in July. If the trials are successful, Takeda will file for U.S. approval later in the year.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to decide on ending the state of emergency in 39 of 47 prefectures earlier than the scheduled May 31 date later in the day. Tokyo and Osaka will continue to be under the state of emergency.
10:19 PM ET: Trump appoints team to lead vaccine drive
U.S. President Trump appointed Moncef Slaoui, former head of GlaxoSmithKline’s vaccines division, and four-star U.S. general Gustave Perna, to head a Manhattan Project-style drive to find a Covid-19 vaccine, to be known as Operation Warp Speed. The project aims to produce 300 million doses of the vaccine by the end of 2020.
10:16 PM ET: Global funds are increasing investments in China
Foreign fund managers are putting more money into Chinese stocks as virus uncertainties increase and U.S. equities fell sharply in March.
Allocation to Chinese stocks among 800 funds accounted for almost a quarter of their $2 trillion in assets under management, a 20% increase from 2019.
10:14 PM ET: Australia reports record April unemployment
Australia’s statistics bureau said that the country’s employment slid by a record 594,300 in April, as lockdown measures to curb the virus forced many industries to shut down.
10:09 PM ET: Italy unrolls $60 billion stimulus package
The Italian government finally approved a EUR 55 billion ($59.62 billion) stimulus package to tackle the Covid-19 damage to its hard-hit economy. The package includes emergency income measures, extra funding for companies, tax cuts amounting to some EUR 4 billion and non-reimbursable grants for small and medium-sized companies.
10:04 PM ET: Los Angeles, San Francisco relax some business restrictions
L.A. and San Francisco will relax some business restrictions, in line with the state of California which relaxed some measures last week. Retailers not in indoor shopping malls will be allowed to re-open for curbside pickup and some manufacturing operations will reopen.
L.A. beaches will reopen for activities such as running and surfing but remain closed to sunbathing and group activities.
10 PM ET: Moody's (NYSE:MCO) cuts sales forecast for global automakers again
Moody’s Investors service said that global auto unit sales will fall 20% this year, amending its earlier prediction of a 14% drop, with sales in Europe and the U.S. expected to drop 30% and 25% respectively.
But Moody's did not change its forecast of a 10% sales drop in China.
-- Reuters contributed to this report.