Latest News on private equity markets

Amazon.com Inc will suspend a delivery service that aims to compete with UPS and FedEx in the United States.

KKR & Co Inc has established a $50 million global relief fund to help people affected by the new coronavirus, according to a letter the U.S. private equity firm sent to its investors on Tuesday.

Oil bounced back on Wednesday, with U.S. crude jumping over $1, lifted by hopes that a meeting between OPEC members and allied producers on Thursday will trigger output cuts to shore up prices that have crumbled amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Japanese automaker Nissan said on Wednesday its sales in China fell 44.9% from a year earlier to 73,297 units in March, as the coronavirus epidemic continues to hit the world's biggest car market.

Australia's Treasury Wine Estates Ltd said it may spin off the prestigious Penfolds label and shrink its low-end "commercial" division in the United States as it seeks ways to grow profit amid upheaval brought by the coronavirus crisis.

China's Ucar Inc, in which Luckin Coffee Chairman Charles Zhengyao Lu is the biggest shareholder, suspended trading of its shares on Tuesday after regulators questioned the car service provider about how the alleged fraud at Luckin would impact it.

A Hong Kong-based activist investor in Toshiba Corp has asked the Japanese conglomerate to sell its entire stake in Kioxia Holdings when the flash memory chip firm is listed in an IPO that could raise up to $32 billion, according to a letter reviewed by Reuters.

Mexican cement company Cemex said on Monday it would resume operations in the country, hours after announcing a pause, as fresh guidelines from the government permitted such a move.

Oil prices gained on Tuesday as hopes rose that the world's biggest producers of crude will agree to cut output as the coronavirus pandemic crushes demand, even as analysts warn a global recession may be deeper than expected.

France's Thales on Tuesday became the latest major company to slash its dividend, suspend profit guidance and top up liquidity in response to the coronavirus crisis.

Asian stock markets rallied for a second day on Tuesday and riskier currencies rose, on tentative signs the coronavirus crisis may be levelling off in New York and receding in Europe.

Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air is repatriating citizens and transporting medical equipment for east European governments, in a move coupling one-off charter traffic with savvy government relations amid the coronavirus crisis.

French airports operator ADP is losing more than 3 million euros ($3.25 million) in sales a day due to the coronavirus crisis, Chief Executive Augustin de Romanet said on Tuesday.

British cinema operator Cineworld said on Tuesday all its 787 cinemas across 10 countries have been shut due to the coronavirus pandemic and that it was in talks with its lenders for ongoing liquidity requirements.

Asian firms appear better equipped to pay stable dividends compared with their western counterparts that are constrained by highly levered balance-sheets and a need to preserve cash during the coronavirus outbreak.