Ireland's acting prime minister Leo Varadkar on Friday said he expected a new coalition government to be in place by the end of June once the three parties involved have agreed a policy programme and secured approval from members.
* Trump plans China news conference for Friday. * Sterling steady vs. By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed. The dollar extended its slide against a surging euro on Friday, hurt by month-end flows and as the common currency continued to enjoy a boost from the European Union's recently announced plan to prop up the bloc's coronavirus-hit economies with a 750 billion-euro recovery fund.
U.S. consumers cut spending by the most on record for the second straight month in April while boosting savings to an all-time high, and the growing frugality reinforced expectations the economy could take years to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh. * U.S. stocks open lower. * MSCI All Country World Index down 0.64% * Trump press conference on Hong Kong in focus. By John McCrank and Herbert Lash.
Britain's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies published minutes from its first meetings on Friday as part of a pledge for transparency around discussions over the government's guidance on dealing with COVID-19. SAGE is responsible for providing scientific briefings to government on the pandemic.
* March qtr growth of 3.1% lowest in at least eight years. * Slowdown puts pressure for fiscal stimulus, rate cut. * 2019/20 growth estimate cut to 4.2% from 5% * Coronavirus impact on economy seen in April-June quarter. * Private economists predict up to 5% contraction in 2020/21. By Manoj Kumar.
The global coronavirus pandemic has made the quick end of negative interest rates and the normalisation of monetary policy more unrealistic, Swiss National Bank Vice Chairman Fritz Zurbruegg told the Schweiz am Wochenende newspaper.
Canada is closely monitoring the slumping airline industry and extended a ban on large cruise ships to Oct. 31 to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Transport Minister Marc Garneau said on Friday. "We are monitoring the situation from day to day... Due to Canada's size and geography, "We expect and need an airline industry in this country," he said.
* Salesforce falls after slashing profit, revenue outlook. * Trump expected to hold news conference on Friday. * Fed Chair Powell to speak at a public webcast. * Indexes: Dow off 0.26%, S&P down 0.08%, Nasdaq up 0.48% By Medha Singh.
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