News

* Coronavirus response top priority, next BoE head Bailey says

Investors pulled slightly more than $13.6 billion out of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds that hold U.S. equities last week, marking the sharpest pullback from the domestic stock market since September, according to data released on Wednesday by the Investment Company Institute. The declines came...

Andrew Bailey, the next governor of the Bank of England, said on Wednesday that he wanted to see more evidence about the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak before deciding whether to cut interest rates.

* Shares in Bankinter, Sabadell and Caixabank fall (Adds analyst comment, detail on revolving credit)

General Electric Co predicted on Wednesday that the coronavirus would wipe out a substantial chunk of industrial free cash flow in the first quarter, but stuck to full-year financial targets the company set in January.

The faster spread of the coronavirus will wipe out any hope of stronger growth in 2020, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Wednesday, adding that a third of the Fund's 189 member countries were now affected.

Saudi Arabia, which has already suspended pilgrimages to the two holy cities of Mecca and Medina for foreigners due to coronavirus concerns, extended the ban on Wednesday to Saudi citizens and residents, state news agency SPA reported.

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A majority of Lebanese MPs oppose paying looming Eurobond maturities, even if that leads to default, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said on Wednesday, compounding doubts over whether the heavily indebted state will meet a March 9 repayment.

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As one of America's top stockpickers, Michael Baron faces significant exposure to the spreading coronavirus epidemic, which has posed a challenge for travel companies like Hyatt Hotels and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.

Coronavirus has spread to almost all of Iran's provinces but the country will get through the outbreak with a "minimum" number of deaths, President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday.