Business

Washington, May 15 (AP) Nearly 3 million laid-off workers applied for US unemployment benefits last week as the viral outbreak forced more companies to slash jobs even though most states have begun to let some businesses reopen.

Roughly 36 million people have now sought jobless aid in just the two months since the coronavirus first forced businesses to close down and shrink their workforces, the government said Thursday.

Washington, May 15 (AP) Long-term US mortgage rates were mostly steady this week, hovering near all-time lows.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan edged up to 3.28 per cent from 3.26 per cent last week. A year ago, the rate stood at 4.07 per cent.

The average rate on the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage eased to 2.72 per cent from 2.73 per cent last week.

Washington, May 15 (PTI) The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the importance of strong India-US collaboration, India's Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu has said.

Noting that India's partnership with the US in health sciences and technologies is longstanding, the senior diplomat said research and innovation institutions of both the countries have been engaged in understanding important chronic and infectious diseases and in developing therapeutics and diagnostics.

Pune, May 14 (PTI) With migrant labourers leaving Maharashtra in large numbers, industry bodies in Pune district on Thursday said that labour contractors are now `poaching' remaining workers.

As per the estimate of the Federation of Chakan Industries (FCI), around one lakh migrant labourers have so far left Chakan-Talegaon industrial belt.

"Only 50 to 60 thousand workers are left behind, and more people are leaving," said Dileep Batwal, secretary, FCI.

BRASILIA, May 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras reported a steep net loss for the first quarter of the year and warned more heavy losses were on the horizon because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The company posted a net loss of 48.5 billion reals for the first three months of the year, its worst quarter since it was hit by a huge corruption scandal in 2014-2017.

WASHINGTON, May 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US President Donald Trump further hardened his rhetoric towards China on Thursday, saying he no longer wishes to speak with Pres Xi Jinping and warning darkly he might cut ties over the rival superpower’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Tensions have ratcheted up between Washington and Beijing as they trade barbs over the origin of the pandemic – which first appeared in late 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan, and which Trump has dubbed the “Plague from China.”

14 May 2020; MEMO: The General Director of the Syrian Grain Establishment, Youssef Qassem, said a tender has been issued for the import of 200,000 tonnes of wheat from Russia.

Qassem added that a ship carrying 26,000 tonnes of wheat coming from Russia had arrived at the port of Tartus; noting that the shipment is one of the contracts concluded last year while other shipments will arrive soon.

According to Qassem, the wheat is immediately moved from the port to the mills.

14 May 2020; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has called on OPEC+ countries to respect their commitment to the agreed oil production cuts and to reduce production even further to help restore balance to global oil markets, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported yesterday.

A statement said the cabinet has decided to reduce oil production by an additional one million barrels per day in June, noting that the kingdom is coordinating with customers to reduce production in May, from the target level.

14 May 2020; MEMO: The Jordanian Constitutional Court has ruled that it is illegal to cancel the natural gas deal signed with Israel, RT Arabic reported yesterday.

The court said that it would be “completely inconsistent” with obligations stipulated in the peace agreement between the two countries.

In a statement, the court said that the Jordanian Constitution stipulates that only the king can declare war or ratify treaties and agreements.

14 May 2020; MEMO: A fuel tanker loaded at the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas is making its way to Venezuela, according to vessel tracking data issued by Refinitiv Icon, in defiance of the US-imposed sanctions on both countries, including on their respective oil industries. Venezuela, which is already in a crisis, is currently suffering from a shortage of gasoline.

The Iranian-flagged tanker “Clafel” reportedly crossed the Suez Canal yesterday, having been loaded with fuel in Iran at the end of March.