President of the United States of America Donald Trump on Saturday declared a state of national emergency over the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) outbreak to ensure better allocation of funds to tackle the crisis and reflect the seriousness of the situation.

President Trump said that he was declaring a national emergency to free up federal resources, up to the amount of $50 billion, which he described as a large amount of money for states and territories and localities.

Starting March 16, the Supreme Court will only hear matters that are urgent and no persons except the lawyers concerned will be allowed inside the courtrooms. Furthermore, only six Division Benches of the top court will function from March 16 onwards, instead of the usual 14 Benches. The decision was taken by the Supreme Court in the wake of the widespread coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) outbreak.

The top court's officials met at Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad Arvind Bobde's residence on March 12-13 to ponder over the steps that need to be taken in the wake of the virus outbreak.

Oil prices on Friday posted their biggest week of losses since the 2008 global financial crisis, rocked by the coronavirus outbreak and efforts by top exporter Saudi Arabia and its allies to flood the market with record levels of supply.

The rare combination of severe shocks to both supply and demand has caused the crude market to collapse as producers around the world steel themselves for an unexpected glut of oil in coming weeks.

Microsoft on Friday announced that co-founder Bill Gates has left its board of directors to devote more time to philanthropy.

The 64-year-old stopped being involved in day-to-day operations at the firm more than a decade ago, turning his attention to the foundation named after him and his wife, Melinda.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a great friend and it was an incredible two days in India, US President Donald Trump said on his last month's visit to the country.

Trump was on his maiden official visit to India from February 24 to 25. He was accompanied by First Lady Melania and a high-powered delegation comprising senior US administration officials, including National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien.

Infosys is likely to post lower revenue growth of around 7 per cent in organic terms in financial year 2020-21 (FY21), compared to FY20 as the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) is widely expected to pull down the global economy.

The revenue growth number will be around 200 basis points (bps) lower on constant currency basis than the Bengaluru-headquartered firm is expected to post in FY20, said analysts at ICICI Securities based on their interaction with Infosys Chief Financial Officer Nilanjan Roy.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday decided to suspend the Indian Premier League (IPL) till April 15 as a precautionary measure against COVID-19 pandemic.

The BCCI is concerned and sensitive about all its stakeholders, and public health in general, and it is taking all necessary steps to ensure that, all people related to IPL including fans have a safe cricketing experience, Jay Shah, Honorary Secretary, BCCI, said.

Apple Inc is reopening all 42 of its branded stores in China on Friday, a company spokesman said, more than a month after they were shut in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

The iPhone maker's Chinese website listed the opening time for all stores, which varies from 10:00 am to 11:00 am local time. The website had previously carried an advisory saying not all stores were open.

As part of the YES Bank restructuring plan, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) would buy around 1.35 billion shares at a price of Rs 10 apiece, according to a report by business channel CNBC-TV18.

On Thursday, State Bank of India (SBI) had said it would infuse Rs 7,250 crore into ailing YES Bank to pick up to 49 per cent equity as part of the Reserve Bank of India-mandated bailout plan.

Airline stocks plunged into deep red on Friday due to the ongoing travel restrictions in the wake of coronavirus outbreak.

Shares of IndiGo and SpiceJet were trading with heavy losses.

InterGlobe Aviation, the parent of the country's largest airline IndiGo, saw its shares slump 14.08 per cent to hit 52-week low of Rs 875.

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