Supermajors’ status as reliable income stocks questioned as earnings plunge

Crash into negative prices jolts producers into cutting back

Earnings of $3.6bn exceeded expectations ahead of collapse in global oil demand

Biggest US oil company takes $2.9bn charge to account for crude’s plunge

Companies analysis from our sister publication

Charging 2 per cent to hold assets when returns are low is wrong, writes Sebastian Mallaby

Shareholders’ incentives can make them more long-termist than company managers

In future it may have to be budget stimulus that rides to the rescue

China looks set to pour billions in national savings down a black hole

It is always easy for central banks to find reasons not to act

If stimulus is well targeted, Boris Johnson’s government may achieve something of elegance

Benin crossing has been shut for three months, halting trade on vital frontier

Cyril Ramaphosa will be loath to take on the people who helped him to the ANC presidency

State-owned flag carrier struggling to pay salaries and secure funds to stay aloft

Canadian group makes all-stock proposal public after talks fail to get off ground

First state company to enter business rescue since end of apartheid

Business contestants battle for $1m prize money in glitzy televised extravaganza

Eskom will remove 6,000 megawatts of demand to avert total collapse of national grid

State utility Eskom removed power to stave off grid collapse

Tie-up aims to allow people with mobile wallets to pay for international online services

Telecoms group seeks to turn mobile payments unit into provider of wider services

Legislation cuts taxes for some enterprises while increasing VAT

McKinsey, BCG and PwC named in records showing allegations of looting by Angolan billionaire

State-backed carrier starts cancelling flights as vital government funding is delayed

Suspected suicide comes as Angolan billionaire indicted for money laundering

Prospective deal comes as Riyadh-listed STC seeks to expand regionally

Pretoria has waived rules that prevented mining groups generating electricity for their own use

Endiama chief wants ‘radical change’ in overhaul of country’s scandal-hit gem industry

Neal Froneman highlights ‘lowest payback period’ after £285m purchase

Move could pave way for company to shift primary listing to London

Restrictions have hampered miner’s ability to move money out of the country

Petrochemicals group to launch sale of up to $2bn in shares as part of debt reduction push

Central African Republic has just three ventilators for its 5m people

South African ecommerce group insists it remains in acquisition mode

Two Gulf companies shipped jet fuel to renegade general Khalifa Haftar, documents show

World’s second-largest diamond miner cites disruption along the supply chain

Investors fret over the level of economic stimulus Washington is likely to provide

Wall Street’s late sell-off came on top of Europe’s worst-ever single day performance

Nikkei 225 average drops 16 per cent over the week amid broad pandemic-linked sell-off

Japanese tech group’s splurge on its own shares is not enough to impress investors

Trading restrictions did not work in the past; there is less reason for them to work this time

Country becomes first in world to halt all stock, bond and currency trading

Investors still on edge amid fears over economic impact of widespread shutdowns

The Japanese tech investment group is looking increasingly challenged

S&P 500 closes more than 9% higher as investors cheer Fed backstops and political progress

S&P 500 gives back some of its earlier rally as US stimulus package attracts objections on Capitol Hill

S&P 500 records fourth gain in five sessions, despite new leg down for oil prices

Strategy shift comes shortly after $1.4tn fund’s CIO tweeted he was stepping down

Change in Kospi 200 composition prompts US venues to suspend related derivatives

Virus’s swift and unforgiving economic effect may silence activists