"China firmly opposes the U.S. move to unjustifiably suppress TikTok and other non-US companies."

That's the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson in Beijing, reacting to the warning from the U.S. Treasury that Chinese companies trading on U.S. stock exchanges will be delisted by 2022 if accounting changes aren't made. 

It's part of the ongoing row over apps including TikTok, which are Chinese-owned but operate all over the world. 

In the UK, unemployment benefit claims are up at a historic pace since the start of the year, to the third highest peak since records began in 1971. For more on the context of this story, scroll to the bottom to see the graph comparing the previous highs and the current levels of unemployment. 

And in a similar vein, Italy's employment and finance ministers have written to Brussels to ask the EU for $33.6 billion to fund its extended furlough scheme. 

Across the pond in the U.S., tech firms Facebook and Amazon are preparing to take on the White House over a presidential order to ban visas for foreign workers while the pandemic is ongoing. 

Happy reading, 
Patrick Atack

Digital business correspondent 

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The number of people in work in Britain has suffered the biggest drop since 2009 and signs are growing that the coronavirus will take a heavier toll on the labor market as the government winds down its huge job-protection furlough scheme. 

Italy has asked the European Union for $33.6 billion from the bloc's SURE unemployment scheme after Rome extended its furlough scheme. Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri and Labor Minister Nunzia Catalfo have written jointly to Brussels to ask for the assistance. 

Rolls-Royce has rushed to reassure customers and lenders as the engine manufacturer discovered cracks in jet-engine blades used on the Airbus A350 wide-body jetliner. The engines in question have been in service for at least four years – and newer engines have not experienced the problem. 

More than 10 million diners across the UK have taken up the government's offer to return to restaurants and cafes with a discount of up to £10 ($13) for each customer, guaranteed by the Treasury. The "Eat Out to Help Out" scheme is designed to help the ailing hospitality sector.

Moody's and Fitch, the two largest credit rating agencies, have both said the European Union's Triple-A status is not threatened by the $882 billion bond-selling agreement to finance the bloc's COVID-19 response. That's despite the ongoing arguments between member states on repayment. 

Has a tumultuous period at Japan's SoftBank come to an end? That may still remain in the balance, but its Q2 results of a $12 billion profit will enthuse shareholders. It's a significant bounce-back for its tech investment vehicle, The Vision Fund, which benefited from gains in Uber and Slack shares. 

UK Trade Minister Liz Truss has a long and well-established history with cheese – but her reported insistence on including Stilton, a type of British blue cheese, in negotiations with Japan on a new trade deal may have stunted the maturing talks. It follows last year's "cars for cheese" negotiations between the EU and Japan – Truss believes the UK can get a better deal on food tariffs, though the Japanese side is holding out, saying the country cannot get a better deal than the bloc. 

Access to downtown Chicago (the Loop area) was restricted last night following violence and looting, spurred by the killing of a young black man by police. The city's transit authority cut train and bus services into the city center and a bridge across the Chicago River was raised.

American tech giants Facebook and Amazon have filed a legal brief against U.S. President Donald Trump's temporary ban on foreign workers, which was proposed as a job security policy for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. The companies argued that the visa restrictions will hurt American businesses. 

Mellow Johnny's, the bicycle shop owned by infamous U.S. cyclist Lance Armstrong has canceled its contract with the Austin, Texas police department in reaction to the Black Lives Matter protests and police action. The shop used to service the bikes used by police and even buy them for resale when they were no longer needed by police. 

A BP worker in Australia who shared a meme that featured Bruno Ganz playing Adolf Hitler in the final days of World War II on a staff Facebook page has been awarded a payout by the country's ombudsman. The clip, from Downfall, is a cult hit and the Fair Work Commission awarded the worker $143,000 for unfair dismissal and lost earnings. The oil major said it was reviewing the decision. 

Watch: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said action is needed with France to stop the increasing number of migrant boats crossing the English Channel as a Royal Air Force plane was sent to aid the task.

After global hotel chain Marriott announced a loss yesterday, CGTN Europe spoke to Cameron Sperance, a hospitality sector reporter for Skift, based in Boston U.S. 

Marriott is the largest listed hotel company in the world. What would you say their results tell us about the current state of the global hospitality industry?

They posted a $232 million second-quarter loss, [the] worst quarter on record. I think it shows like with everyone else, that what happened in April and May hopefully is the worst economic impact of the coronavirus and that everything's on an upward trend from here.  

Hospitality isn't a sector that's designed to be closed. It's a 24-hour-a-day business. What do you think the impact has been on the sector around the globe as a whole?

I think the worst so far has really been on these bigger hotels, where when you book a stay, you're expecting a high level of service amenities, think your Ritz-Carlton's of the world. 

That's really been the worst impacted – the luxury side of travel. 

How long do you think it will take for the sector to recover?

The global travel industry says that demand levels seen in 2019 will take until 2023 to come back.