Stock Market Rout Deepens on Virus Worries
The Dow Jones industrial average sank nearly 1,200 points Thursday, deepening a weeklong global market rout caused by worries that the coronavirus outbreak will wreak havoc on the global economy.
Economy
White House Unveils $2.5 Billion Emergency Coronavirus Request
The White House on Monday sent lawmakers an urgent $2.5 billion plan to address the deadly coronavirus outbreak, whose rapid spread and threat to the global economy rocked financial markets.
Coronavirus Could Cost World $1 Trillion If It Becomes a Pandemic, Analysts Predict
The ghastly prospect that the coronavirus outbreak could become the first truly disruptive pandemic of the globalization era is renewing doubts over the stability of the world economy.
Stocks Plunge for Second Day as CDC Warns Americans About COVID-19, Chance of Severe Illnesses
Stocks slumped again on Wall Street Tuesday, driving the S&P 500 down 3%, piling on losses a day after the market’s biggest drop in two years as fears spread that the growing coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak will put the brakes on the global economy.
Millions of Chinese Firms Face Collapse If Banks Don’t Act
With much of China’s economy still idled as authorities try to contain an epidemic that has infected more than 75,000 people, millions of companies across the country are in a race against the clock to stay afloat.
Israel, Palestinian Authority appear to reach arrangement to end trade war
Israel and the Palestinian Authority on Thursday appeared to have come to an agreement to end a major trade dispute in which both sides placed sweeping restrictions on some of each other’s goods.
Iran’s Khamenei says ‘Zionist-controlled’ US government will sink like Titanic
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday said the United States will sink like the ‘Titanic,’ blaming it on ‘wealthy Zionist individuals and corporate owners’ who he said controlled the US economy.
Fed calls coronavirus ‘a new risk to the global growth outlook’
The Federal Reserve considers its current policy stance as appropriate ‘for a time’ despite the coronavirus outbreak presenting a new threat to the global economy, minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting held in January revealed on Wednesday.
Church Attack Kills 24 in Burkina Faso
Suspected Islamic gunmen interrupted a weekly worship service at a Protestant church in northern Burkina Faso, killing 24 people, authorities confirmed late Monday, February 17. Another 18 people were wounded in Sunday’s attack rocking Pansy town in Yagha province, the regional governor said.
China’s Hurting Banks Brace for Worst-Case Economic Scenario
The impact of the spreading coronavirus risks bringing to life the worst-case economic scenarios contained in China’s annual banking stress tests. Last year’s exercise envisaged annual economic growth slowing to as low as 4.15% — a scenario which showed that the bad loan ratio at the nation’s 30 biggest banks would rise five-fold. Analysts now say that the outbreak could send first-quarter growth to as little as 3.8%.
Japan recession fears grow as GDP shrinks at 6.3% rate with COVID-19 hit to come
The economy took another battering from the consumption tax increase in the last quarter, contracting by the most in more than five years and fueling recession concerns as the widening coronavirus outbreak hits activity.
Israel asks UK to include Judea, Samaria in future free trade agreement
PM Netanyahu and Economy Minister Eli Cohen appealed to the British government to include Judea and Samaria, the Golan Heights and Jerusalem in the free trade agreement between the two countries, which will come into effect with the completion of Brexit – Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union – in 2021.
US budget deficit on track to hit $1 trillion for first time since 2012
The US budget deficit swelled at the beginning of 2020 even as the economy continued to grow at a steady pace.
Economy beats expectations with 225,000 jobs in January, unemployment 3.6%
Employers created more jobs in January than economists expected, with 225,000 workers added to payrolls, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, while unemployment ticked up to a still-low 3.6%.
White House mulls new trade weapon for EU talks: ‘Carousel’ tariffs
The Trump administration is reportedly considering a novel source of leverage against the European Union in seeking a trade deal: ‘carousel’ retaliation, meaning tariffs applied to a shifting set of products.
New jobless claims fall by 15,000 close to a 50-year low
Initial jobless claims declined by 15,000 to 202,000 in the week ending Feb. 1, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Thursday.
Burdened by sanctions, North Korea sees coronavirus threaten economic lifelines
North Korea’s already tenuous economic lifelines to the outside world are now nearly severed as it seals its borders with China and Russia to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.
China facing global isolation as virus toll rises
China faced mounting isolation in the face of increasing international travel curbs and flight suspensions on Saturday, as the death toll from a spreading coronavirus outbreak rose to 259.
Congressional Budget Office: Federal debt to grow to 98 percent of GDP by 2030
The latest Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report projects that the federal debt will grow to 98 percent of GDP by 2030, with the economy expanding at an average annual rate of 1.7 percent from 2021 to 2030.
US Economy on Path to ‘Solid’ 2020 Growth; Budget Deficits to Top $1 Trillion
The U.S. economy will grow at a ‘solid’ rate of 2.2 percent this year, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office forecast on Tuesday, but with federal budget deficits hitting $1.015 trillion.