Oil crash, Europe jobs crisis, Alibaba's $28bn cloud computing move

The benchmark U.S. oil price has dropped to its lowest in at least 20 years and has dipped below $11 a barrel amid fears the market is now flooded with crude due to the huge drop off in demand during the almost worldwide lockdown.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has pledged to spend $28 billion on cloud computing over the next three years. The money will be spent on internet infrastructures such as semiconductors and data centers.

Consulting firm McKinsey has released a report warning of as many as 60 million job losses across Europe due to COVID-19. If the virus is not contained within three months, unemployment is likely to rise to 11 percent across the continent, without recovery until 2024.

The UK government has unveiled two schemes to help start-up firms in the country during the pandemic. Companies seen as "high-growth" could benefit from a $623 million "co-investment fund" from the government, while smaller firms will be able to apply for loans and grants.

The U.S. government has delayed the deadline for the country's importing companies to pay duties and tariffs by 90 days, but the reprieve will not include the $360 billion of Chinese imports affected by President Trump's tariffs introduced last year.

The president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, has warned economic recovery from the coronavirus lockdown could take "a generation or more" and called for international monetary support of $100 billion this year, and more in future years, to help African nations recover.

Japan will increase the size of its emergency coronavirus budget by $83 billion to accommodate Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's promise to pay each citizen $930 to help survive the crisis.

Australia's second-largest airline, Virgin Australia, is on the verge of collapse after its board held an emergency meeting and reportedly set up an administrator. Meanwhile, trade unions lobbied the government in Canberra to step in and save the firm.

Norwegian Air said 4,700 jobs are at risk after its Swedish and Danish subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy and the carrier canceled several other international agreements.