Reuters Company News

Brazilian labor prosecutors on Wednesday filed a petition with a local court demanding closure of a JBS SA pork plant in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul due to an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, according to a copy of the legal request seen by Reuters.

U.S. senators will announce a bill this week expanding sanctions on Russia's Nord Stream 2, a natural gas pipeline to Germany opposed by many in Washington who say it would tighten Moscow's political and economic grip on Europe, Senate aides said on Wednesday.

BP Plc began turning off production at three platforms in the northern Gulf of Mexico and evacuating workers because of the threat from Tropical Storm Cristobal, forecast to make landfall in Louisiana over the weekend, the company said.

Occidental Petroleum Corp , whose share price was battered last year after a controversial merger with Anadarko Petroleum Corp, said on Wednesday its directors were elected last week by a comfortable margin in a shareholder vote of confidence.

Boutique investment bank Perella Weinberg Partners is cutting about 7% of its workforce amid the coronavirus outbreak, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

British officials have discussed supplies of 5G networking equipment with companies in South Korea and Japan as part of a bid to develop alternatives to China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, a person with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault is exploring ways to reopen negotiations on the French luxury goods giant's $16.2 billion acquisition of U.S. jewelry chain Tiffany & Co, as U.S. social unrest and the coronavirus pandemic weigh on the retail sector, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

B3 SA, the operator of Brazil's Sao Paulo stock exchange, will reclassify goodwill resulting from the company's 2008 acquisition of rival Bovespa Holding SA as a potential loss, the firm said in a filing on Wednesday.

BP Plc began evacuating workers from offshore operations in the U.S.-regulated Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday because of the threat from Tropical Storm Cristobal, which is expected to strike the Louisiana coast by Sunday, the company said.

Wall Street rallied broadly on Wednesday with the Nasdaq approaching record highs as signs of an economic recovery from mandated shutdowns helped investors look beyond U.S. social unrest and pandemic worries.

A Minnesota pollution regulator said on Wednesday it will hold a public hearing this summer on Enbridge Inc's plan to replace its Line 3 oil pipeline, adding a potential three-month delay and pushing the bulk of construction to next year.

Brazil's real surged on Wednesday after industrial output in the country fell less than expected, while Latin American stocks surged as major global economies were seen recovering from the coronavirus' economic rout. The real rose 2

Corporate agitators who had tread lightly as the deadly coronavirus spread in March and April stepped up the pressure on global corporations by launching 16 new campaigns in May, including five in Japan, data from Lazard Ltd show.

More than three out of four U.S. human resource executives think more employees will continue to work from home even after the threat of the novel coronavirus subsides, according to a survey by a large business association released on Wednesday.

Delta Air Lines Inc said on Wednesday it will extend social distancing measures on its flights through Sept. 30 and will block the selection of middle seats and cap seating in every cabin.

A Minnesota pollution regulator said on Wednesday that it will hold a public hearing this summer on Enbridge Inc's plan to replace its Line 3 oil pipeline, adding a potential three-month delay and pushing the bulk of construction to next year.

* Reuters Live Markets blog on European and UK stock markets:

Five U.S. senators are to announce legislation on Wednesday to expand sanctions on Russia's Nord Stream 2, a natural gas pipeline that would increase exports to Germany but is opposed by many in Washington who say it would tighten Moscow's political and economic grip on Europe.

Canadian heavy crude's discount widened versus the U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) on Wednesday as Alberta oil storage levels eased and Enbridge Inc's Line 3 pipeline faced added delays. * Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for July delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded at $8.60 per barrel below WTI, according to NE2 Canada Inc, wider than Tuesday's settle of $7.65 under.

Five U.S. senators are to announce legislation on Wednesday to expand sanctions on Russia's Nord Stream 2, a natural gas pipeline that would increase exports to Germany but is opposed by many in Washington who say it would tighten Moscow's political and economic grip on Europe.