South Korea's economic growth likely slowed significantly in the first quarter as restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 slammed the brakes on consumer spending, a Reuters poll found.

McDonald's Corp on Thursday said Carl Icahn's call for the fast food chain to stop buying pork from suppliers that house the animals in crates would be logistically unfeasible and prohibitively expensive.

Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said on Thursday supply pressures are showing no signs of easing and the central bank will be watching the impact of higher interest rates on inflation to gauge how much it needs to tighten policy.

Sensor maker Velodyne Lidar Inc said on Thursday that Marta Hall, the wife of founder David Hall, had resigned from its board weeks after the couple sold more than two-thirds of their stake in the company.

The global development finance system needs urgent reforms and far more private capital to address the multiple, overlapping crises that are pushing 250 million people back into extreme poverty, major public and private groups said in a statement.

Wall Street reversed course and posted losses on Thursday while oil gained as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell suggested the U.S. central bank would move aggressively to curb inflation.