‘Black Thursday’ sees worst day on Wall Street since 1987, oil craters in Russia-Saudi price war, and more updates: This Week in Finance

Welcome to This Week in Finance, your weekly roundup of the conversations trending among financial professionals on LinkedIn. Click Subscribe above to be notified of each edition. This week:

Investors on edge in bruising week

Stocks were volatile Friday, capping one of the worst weeks in market history after the S&P 500 officially fell into a bear market, the Dow dropped by the most since 1987, and European stocks had their worst day in history. Concerns about the coronavirus have sent investors into a state of panic and ushered in a new period of volatility, even as central banks rush to try to assuage fears about the impact of the outbreak on businesses and the economy. ?? Here's what people are saying.

• Bank of England cuts interest rates
• FTSE rebounds after historic fall
• ECB boosts stimulus, as stocks dive
• EU considers bending aid rules
• Banks split trading operations
• Deal-making during coronavirus
• Airlines risk collapse without help
• IPO candidate Airbnb on shaky ground
• Making sense of market swings
• Home refinance applications surge

Russia, Saudi start oil price war

Oil markets will be flooded with supply as big producers officially started a price war, announcing plans to ramp up their output. It started with Saudi Aramco, whose Aramco pledged to produce 12.3 million barrels a day starting in April, 25% higher than current levels. Russia followed by saying it’s adding 500,000 barrels a day starting next month to a record 11.8 million barrels a day. Iraq and Nigeria also announced output hikes. ?? Oil craters 30% as price war starts | Here's what people are saying.

Aon, Willis strike insurance mega-deal

In the biggest ever deal for the insurance industry, Aon agreed to buy Willis Towers Watson for $30 billion. The all-stock deal between the second- and third-biggest insurance brokerages follows a breakdown in merger talks a year ago. Brokerages, which arrange coverage for companies with insurers, have been consolidating after “years of sluggish commercial-insurance pricing growth,” according to The Wall Street Journal. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Phony bank-account scandal spreads

Fifth Third Bancorp allegedly “knew for years that employees were opening unauthorized accounts,” The Wall Street Journal wrote, and failed to adjust incentives and goals to thwart the behavior. The charges were leveled at the Cincinnati-based bank by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Fifth Third says an internal probe showed fewer than 1,100 accounts out of 10 million had been opened without permission between 2010 and 2016 — the year that millions of such accounts were discovered at Wells Fargo. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Wells Fargo chairwoman resigns

Wells Fargo’s chairwoman resigned, along with another board member, ahead of scheduled testimony before Congress on efforts to bring the nation’s fourth-largest bank back into regulatory compliance. The former chairwoman, Elizabeth Duke, had led the search for the bank's third CEO since its fake-accounts scandal in 2016. While Wells Fargo reached a $3 billion settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission over opening and charging for millions of customer accounts without permission, it still faces a dozen public enforcement actions over other irregularities. ?? Here's what people are saying.

SoftBank to buy back $5B in shares

SoftBank said it would shore up its shares with an almost $5 billion buyback. But that’s a quarter of what investor hedge fund Elliott Management wants amid criticism of the Japanese company’s handling of its Vision Fund, the tech industry’s biggest investment vehicle. SoftBank has struggled to boost its own value above that of its collective holdings, especially amid the broader market rout. ?? Here's what people are saying.

India's Yes Bank teetered

The Reserve Bank of India capped monthly withdrawals from Yes Bank at ?50,000 per depositor and superseded the lender’s board, citing a “serious deterioration” in financial condition. Worried customers were queuing at Yes Bank ATMs and branches to withdraw money. Yes Bank was struggling to raise capital since last year; this week, State Bank of India agreed to acquire a 49% stake in Yes Bank for ?2,450 crore. SBI, the public sector behemoth, will maintain a minimum 26% holding for three years and retain all Yes Bank employees. ?? Here's what people are saying.

• Bank's top guns may get no bonus
• Yes Bank’s auditor under lens

Activist fund reaches Twitter truce

Twitter will keep Jack Dorsey as chief executive under a deal reached with activist hedge fund Elliott Management and private equity firm Silver Lake. The social media company agreed to find an independent director for its board and appoint two new members, as well as buy back $2 billion of shares. Elliott, which has about a $1 billion stake in the company, had pushed for the co-founder’s possible replacement. Dorsey is also CEO of mobile payment company Square. ?? Here's what people are saying.

—With Riva Gold, Capucine Yeomans, Natalie MacDonald, Pieter Cranenbroek, Juliette Faraut, Yunita Ong, Monica Fike, Lynn Chouman, Cate Chapman, Shajil Kumar, and Nirajita Banerjee.

Don't miss each edition of This Week in Finance: Click Subscribe above or below to be notified.