The country’s biggest banks are asking federal officials for long-sought regulatory relief as part of the government’s efforts to contain the economic fallout from the coronavirus, requests that experts lambasted as opportunistic and unnecessary.

The Bank Policy Institute -- a lobbying group for big banks including Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup -- is recommending, among other things, that the Federal Reserve lower capital requirements and ease the periodic “stress tests” banks take to prove they can survive another economic crisis.

The Federal Reserve could “make changes to its bank regulations or enact promptly already planned regulatory changes that would not reduce safety, soundness or financial stability,” the group said in a note titled “Actions the Fed Could Take in Response to COVID-19” signed by Greg Baer, its chief executive; Francisco Covas, head of research; and Bill Nelson, the chief economist.

The recommendations are “transparently opportunistic,” said Jeremy Kress, an assistant law professor at the University of Michigan School of Business. For years, the banking industry resisted calls for higher capital requirements that could have been used as a buffer, or a rainy-day fund, during economic turmoil, he said. Those buffers could have been turned off now to give the industry more flexibility to make loans during the current economic uncertainty, Kress said.

But without those buffers reducing existing capital requirements, which are currently set at minimum levels, the timing could be risky, he said.

“The whole idea of capital requirements and stress-testing banks is to make sure they have enough cushion to absorb losses” during an economic crisis, Kress said.

Wall Street has scrambled to respond to the spread of the virus. Morgan Stanley is requiring any person, including employees, entering its offices anywhere in the world to disclose whether they had recently traveled to mainland China, Iran, Italy, Japan or South Korea, according to a person familiar with the bank’s policy but not authorized to publicly discuss it.

Google cancels big conference

Google called off its flagship conference, the latest event cancellation as concern about the coronavirus grows among businesses.

The May event, called I/O, brings together thousands of people from around the world who partner with or build apps and websites for Google’s digital services. The company will refund participants and look for ways to hold sessions digitally instead, according to an email sent to participants that Bloomberg viewed. On Monday, Google made the same decision for its Cloud Next conference.

Conferences are particularly important in the technology industry, where companies must keep developers and users engaged on their platforms. The virus is undermining these efforts this year as travel plans are scrapped and companies increase protections for employees.

Facebook Inc. has already canceled its major developer conference, F8. Microsoft Corp. called off a smaller gathering, too. Tech industry conferences like the Game Developers Conference and Mobile World Congress were also scrapped. Apple Inc.’s major conference, WWDC, is typically held in June, but the company has yet to announce the event this year.

On Monday, Alphabet Inc.’s Google banned all business travel except in “critical” situations, according to a memo sent by Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat that was seen by Bloomberg. The memo called for employees currently traveling abroad to return home as soon as they can.

Public Health American Airlines drops flights from DFW to South Korea over coronavirus concerns American Airlines will drop flights to South Korea from DFW International Airport until at least late April as the threat of coronavirus continues to spook passengers. By

Apple cuts travel to Italy, South Korea

Apple Inc. restricted employee travel to Italy and South Korea, as the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread.

“We have instituted specific travel restrictions in a few countries including China, South Korea, and Italy,” the company told employees in a memo that outlines its latest response to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Employees are only allowed to travel to those regions for business-critical reasons and must get approval from a company vice president, Apple told staff in messages viewed by Bloomberg News.

The memo sent Monday evening also outlined the company’s procedures for handling the outbreak, including the encouragement of virtual meetings.

“There are many ways to continue to manage our ongoing meetings and activities through calls and video,” Apple said in the email to workers. “If you do have travel planned, we suggest you work with your managers to consider delaying or canceling business travel which could be postponed or managed through virtual meetings.”

Apple also said “deep cleaning protocols are our top priority” and are in effect across its stores, offices and employee shuttles. It has since put hand sanitizer stations at the front of its stores as well.

The company’s memo also said that “any employee who is sick, in particular, anyone who has a fever or severe cough, should take sick leave until they have fully recovered.” It also is encouraging workers to wash their hands, not touch their faces and cover their coughs.

Apple previously cut employee travel to China, the epicenter of the virus, and was forced to close all 42 of its local stores and offices. The company’s offices and more than half of its stores in the country have since re-opened.

Ford bans business trips

Ford Motor Co. has banned all air travel for business after two of its employees in China contracted the coronavirus.

The employees were quarantined after being diagnosed with the virus, officially named Covid-19, and they’re recovering, Anderson Chan, a Ford spokesman, said in an email. He declined to reveal the employees’ location, gender, ages or whether they were factory or office workers.

Effective Tuesday, Ford curbed all business travel — both international and domestic — until March 27, Chan said. The U.S. automaker joins multinational companies including Nestle SA and L’Oreal SA in suspending business trips in hopes of limiting their employees’ risk of exposure to the virus that is slowing economies and sending markets into a tailspin.

Ford resumed production at its factories in China on Feb. 10 and asked employees in the country to work from home last month. Top executives are conducting daily meetings on the virus to keep production flowing and employees safe.

Ford has six Chinese vehicle assembly joint ventures: one near Hangzhou, a pair in Nanchang and three in Changan, according to its website. All of the company’s plants outside China have operated as planned.

Spring break still on in Miami

Spring breakers with plans in South Florida over the coming weeks can breathe a sigh of relief for now at least, with the mayor of Miami-Dade County saying that the show will go on.

“We’re not canceling any major events in Miami-Dade County, such as Ultra,” Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez tweeted on Tuesday, referencing the three-day electronic music festival that brought almost 170,000 attendees from 105 countries to Miami last year.

Gimenez, who’s following guidance from Florida’s Surgeon General, said the county is mostly worried about the health of older residents when it comes to the coronavirus outbreak.

Ultra is set to kick of this year in downtown Miami on March 20 at Bayfront Park.

Airlines Spreading coronavirus is making some American Airlines crews nervous about flying abroad American Airlines’ pilots and flight attendants are nervous about flying to a growing number of international destinations such as Italy, South Korea and Japan where coronavirus outbreaks have spread this week. By

New York auto show stocks up on disinfectant

In true Broadway style, the organizers of New York’s annual auto expo are doing what they can to ensure that the show goes on despite the spread of the coronavirus.

Five weeks before the New York International Auto Show is scheduled to open, the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association said Tuesday it has already installed 70 hand-sanitizing stations throughout the convention center where carmakers are expected to unveil more than 50 new models. The show coordinator also said it will set standards for car-detailing companies to disinfect vehicles on the floor more frequently than usual.

The dealers are trying to preserve the fate of an event that dates back to 1900 after this week’s cancellation of the Geneva International Motor Show, which was last called off during the World War II era. The New York show is slated to open to the media on April 8 and 9 and then to the public starting April 10.

The Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on Manhattan’s west side will keep a team of specially trained paramedics on site, according to show organizers. They also have preemptively doubled down on cleaning frequently touched areas including door handles, towel dispensers and counter tops.

Countries worldwide are trying to contain the spread of the coronavirus, which has claimed the lives of more than 3,000 people, most of them in China where the outbreak began. Governments have restricted travel while companies have encouraged employees to work from home and canceled events.

The spreading virus was a particular threat to Geneva because the outbreak in Italy is centered in northern provinces that border Switzerland. In the U.S., cases so far have been found mostly in coastal cities and states including New York.

Bloomberg, the Associated Press and the Washington Post via Bloomberg contributed to this story.