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BEIJING — Global stock markets and oil prices plunged March 9 after a fight among major crude-producing nations jolted investors who already were on edge about the surging costs of a virus outbreak.

Global oil demand will decline this year for the first time since the 2009 financial crisis as the coronavirus slams the world economy.

A hotly anticipated plan for a waterfront cold-storage warehouse is back on the table in Portland, Maine.

President Donald Trump’s decision to defend the U.S. government’s power to broadly exempt oil refineries from biofuel-blending requirements is triggering a backlash in Iowa and other states that are top producers of ethanol and the corn used to make it.

Legislation to provide $8.3 billion for public health initiatives meant to tackle the spread of the coronavirus was signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 6.

OPEC+ talks ended in dramatic failure, signaling the possible end of a diplomatic alliance between Saudi Arabia and Russia that has underpinned crude prices and changed the balance of power in the Middle East.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in January as exports fell but imports fell more. The politically sensitive trade gap with China widened.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has denied the Rhode Island Department of Transportation’s petition for a rehearing in the legal battle over trucks-only tolls.

OPEC ministers took a high-stakes gamble, recommending a large production cut to offset the hit on demand from the coronavirus, without overcoming Russian opposition first.

DETROIT — Prosecutors on March 5 charged the former president of the United Auto Workers with corruption, alleging he conspired with others at the union to embezzle more than $1 million.