Business

Amazon removed millions of products that were price gouging essential health items like face masks and respirators during COVID-19, with prices dramatically increasing from $41 to $128 for basic protective equipment.

Apple will pay between $310M to $500M to settle claims of deliberately throttling performance on older iPhone models. Affected devices include iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, 7, 7 Plus, and SE running iOS 10.2.1 or later, purchased before December 21, 2017.

Two major South Korean electronics manufacturers, Samsung Electronics and LG Innotek, have temporarily shut down their factories in Gumi after workers tested positive for coronavirus. Samsung's Gumi factory, which produces Galaxy Z Flip and Galaxy S20 phones, will be closed until Sunday, with the infected employee's floor reopening on Tuesday.

Major car manufacturers like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Tesla are shifting to online platforms to maintain revenue during coronavirus pandemic. Chinese automotive industry adapts by expanding digital sales channels as showrooms remain closed and consumer behavior changes.

Facebook has filed a federal lawsuit against oneAudience, a New Jersey marketing company, alleging illegal access to user data through malicious app software. The company claims oneAudience improperly exploited the "login with Facebook" feature and paid developers to collect personal information from multiple internet platforms.

Tech giant Apple receives special approval from the Indian government to open its first physical store in the country by 2021. CEO Tim Cook expressed strong belief in India's market potential, marking a significant milestone for the company's expansion strategy in one of the world's largest smartphone markets.

Walt Disney Company's stock fell 2.1% in premarket trading after Bob Iger handed CEO responsibilities to Bob Chapek, with analysts questioning Chapek's content experience and leadership capabilities in the media-entertainment industry.

As the coronavirus outbreak impacts businesses, Singapore companies like CapitaLand and Temasek Holdings are responding by implementing hiring freezes and salary cuts. Senior management and board members are taking pay reductions to demonstrate solidarity during these challenging economic times.

Philippine stocks experienced their deepest fall since 2016 due to coronavirus concerns, with the stock exchange index plunging 4.3% and the peso weakening. Jollibee, a major Filipino fast-food chain, saw shares drop 6.14% after closing stores in China's Hubei province.

Moderna Inc. has rapidly developed an experimental coronavirus vaccine (mRNA-1273) within six weeks and shipped it to NIAID for initial Phase 1 clinical trials. The vaccine will be tested on 25 healthy adults to assess immune response, with full approval potentially taking up to a year.