Reuters Company News

Japan aims to launch a smartphone app based on technology from Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google next week to help curb the spread of coronavirus by tracking close contact with those infected, the health ministry said on Friday.

Brazil's real slid on Friday as it caught up with a rout in markets, while other Latin American currencies firmed against a steady dollar with Mexico's peso looking to recover from its heaviest sell-off in three months. The peso surged 2.4%, on track to post its biggest one-session gain in 11 weeks after the currency lost nearly 4% on Thursday as worries over a prolonged economic recovery were exacerbated by fears of a second wave of COVID-19 infec

* Big EU governments maintain parallel talks with drugmakers (adds quotes, details, context)

Chinese car comparison website Bitauto Holdings Ltd said on Friday it would be taken private by a Tencent Holdings Ltd backed investor consortium in an all-cash deal for $1.1 billion.

U.S. airline American Airlines Group Inc said on Friday it expects its second quarter revenue to decline 90% compared with a year earlier.

Facebook's acquisition of popular GIF website Giphy is being scrutinised by Britain's competition watchdog for possibly reducing competition in the United Kingdom.

The Hong Kong government and China's foreign ministry branch in the city hit back on Friday at a report by Britain criticising Beijing's plans for national security legislation, saying it was "biased" and intervened in internal affairs.

* Zijin makes all-cash offer of C$1.85/share for Guyana Goldfields

Britain's government have brought in quarantine rules to protect public health, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday, declining to comment on legal action brought by British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair.

1/ROBINHOOD AND THE MERRY TRADERS "Rise and rise again until lambs become lions," runs an oft-quoted line from the 2010 film 'Robin Hood'. The motto is being taken seriously by all those merry men and maidens chasing shares in little-known or even bankrupt firms, using a mobile trading app called Robinhood.

Canada's main stock index futures rose on Friday, a session after stocks fell to a near three-month low on fears of a second wave of coronavirus infections.

Zoom Video Communications has gained a following in China in recent months from users ranging from underground churches to feminists who saw it as a rare way to connect with the world beyond the reach of state censors.

* Euro zone periphery govt bond yields http://tmsnrt.rs/2ii2Bqr (Updates prices, adds comment)

Facebook's deal for popular GIF website Giphy has caught the eye of UK's competition watchdog, which said on Friday it had begun a probe into the deal for possibly reducing competition in the United Kingdom.

Car rental firm Hertz Global Holdings Inc said it would sell up to $1 billion in shares, cashing in on a huge speculative rise in its share price since filing for bankruptcy late last month.

* Graphic: World stocks market cap loss https://tmsnrt.rs/30zdOIL

Pharmacy benefits manager Magellan Health Inc said on Friday it was the target of a ransomware attack in which customer information such as physical addresses and health insurance account details may have been leaked.

Manufacturers in Brazil like Marcopolo SA and Randon are trying to show they can safely operate their factories at reduced capacity, dodging the coronavirus-induced shutdowns that have hit the mining and food processing sectors.

U.S. stock index futures surged about 2% on Friday, pointing to a quick rebound for Wall Street from its biggest one-day dive in about three months on fears of a resurgence in coronnavirus infections.

Pharmacy benefits manager Magellan Health Inc said on Friday it was the target of a ransomware attack in which customer information such as physical addresses and health insurance account details may have been affected.