• MTS Economic News 20200325

    25 Mar 2020 | Economic News


· CORONAVIRUS CRISIS:

- Total confirmed cases: More than 421,413

- Total deaths: At least 18,810

- The coronavirus COVID-19 is affecting 197 countries and territories around the world and 1 international conveyance (the Diamond Princess cruise ship harbored in Yokohama, Japan).

- US cases: At least 53,655 (+9,921), and deaths: 698 (+145)

- Italy cases: At least 69,176 (+5,249), and deaths: 6,820 (+743)

- Thailand cases: At least 827 (+106), and deaths: 4 (+3)

- US cases surged tenfold in a week to 50,000

In the U.S., the virus has infected more than 50,206 people as of 2:15 p.m. EDT and killed at least 600 people, according to Johns Hopkins University. New York state, which has 25,665 confirmed cases as of Tuesday, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, accounts for nearly half of all cases in the U.S.

Confirmed U.S. cases passed 5,000 just one week ago. On March 1, there were roughly 100 confirmed cases in the U.S.

- Amid worsening pandemic, Trump pushes to re-open U.S. for business by Easter

U.S. President Donald Trump pressed his case on Tuesday for a re-opening of the U.S. economy by mid-April despite a surge in coronavirus cases, downplaying the pandemic as he did in its early stages by comparing it to the seasonal flu.

- Trump approval rating rises as he responds to the coronavirus outbreak

Crises are often the ticket to higher approval ratings for politicians, and President Donald Trump, it appears, is no exception.

During an election year, any bump could have significant ramifications.

In the latest Gallup poll, released Tuesday, Trump’s approval rating hit 49%, matching his best performance in the poll.

Earlier this month, Trump’s approval rating was at 44%, according to Gallup. The 5-point boost comes amid the president’s near-daily participation in coronavirus task force briefings and series of moves to combat the pandemic in the United States.

- White House official tells anyone who has left NYC that they should self-quarantine

Members of the White House coronavirus task force urged those leaving New York City to self-quarantine for 14-days in order to stop the spread of COVID-19 during a press briefing on Tuesday.

Deborah Birx, the task force coordinator, and Anthony Fauci, another task force member and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the precaution was necessary given the high rate of infections in the nation’s most populous city.

- Two more NYSE floor traders test positive for coronavirus

- India’s prime minister orders lockdown of country of 1.3 billion people for 21 days

- Australia warns of impending health system crisis amid surge in coronavirus cases

Australia is grappling with an accelerating number of coronavirus infections that political leaders warned on Wednesday could start overwhelming intensive care units, as case numbers across the country surged past 2,250.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said on Wednesday that if the same long queues appearing outside offices of the main welfare agency, Centrelink, started occurring at hospitals, there would be fatal consequences.

“If this gets away from us, our health system will be overrun and people won’t just be queuing for Centrelink payments, they’ll be queuing for heart, lung machines and ventilators and intensive care beds and we know what that means - you cannot queue for intensive care,” Andrews said in Melbourne.

Australian leaders have become increasingly frustrated with apparent breaches of social distancing measures that saw thousands flock to beaches and pubs in recent days before new restrictions were implemented.

· U.S. Congress still awaits $2 trillion coronavirus aid deal

Democrats and Republicans in the divided U.S. Congress said they were close to a deal on a $2 trillion stimulus package to limit the coronavirus pandemic’s economic toll, but a vote on the bill on Tuesday looked increasingly unlikely as talks stretched on.

“If the words all magically came together, we could vote early this evening. But my guess is that it’ll probably be sometime tomorrow morning,” Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy told reporters on Tuesday evening.

The $2 trillion proposal would include a $500 billion fund to help hard-hit industries and a comparable amount to send direct payments of up to $3,000 to millions of U.S. families, as well as $350 billion for small-business loans, $250 billion for expanded unemployment aid and at least $75 billion for hospitals.

It aims to stem the heavy economic impact of a pandemic that has killed more than 660 people in the United States and sickened more than 50,000, shuttered thousands of businesses, thrown millions out of work and led states to order 100 million people - nearly a third of the population - to stay at home.

· Fed's stimulus eases global market fears, gets cash flowing

Investors across a broad range of asset markets breathed a sigh of relief Tuesday, a day after the Federal Reserve rolled out unprecedented measures aimed at boosting liquidity and bolstering investor confidence in the face of a spreading coronavirus pandemic.

As equities ripped higher around the world, a string of investment-grade companies tapped a better-functioning debt market for much-needed cash after the Fed’s measures helped ease a logjam that had frozen credit markets.

The rate at which companies could borrow high-grade, short-term loans mostly decreased, while rates for lower-grade paper continued to increase at some maturities and decreased modestly at others, according to Fed data.

Few believe the markets have seen the last of the heavy bouts of selling and stretches of illiquidity that have plagued them during a month-long selloff that has slammed everything from equities to oil. Yet Tuesday’s moves were a potential sign that investors were giving at least a tentative stamp of approval to the Fed’s unprecedented interventions of the last week and a potential $2 trillion in fiscal stimulus from the government.

· Dollar falls after Fed QE, on fiscal stimulus hopes

The dollar fell broadly on Tuesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve on Monday committed to buy an unlimited amount of bonds and as investors were optimistic the American government would pass a stimulus package to offset the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Against a basket of its rivals, the dollar fell 0.42% to 101.71. It is down from a more than three-year high of 102.99 on Friday.

Against the dollar, the euro jumped 0.82% to $1.0809.

The British pound also rose 1.72% to $1.1747, up from a 35-year low of $1.1413 set last week. The Australian dollar gained 1.53% to $0.5916, extending its recovery from a 17-year low of $0.5510 last week.

· Oil jumps more than 2% as US ramps up economic support measures

Oil prices rose more than 3% on Tuesday on hopes that the United States will soon reach a deal on a $2 trillion coronavirus aid package that could blunt the economic impact of the outbreak and in turn support oil demand.

Brent crude oil futures for May delivery gained 22 cents to trade at $27.27 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 65 cents, or 2.78%, to settle at $24.01 per barrel.

Reference: Worldometers, CNBC, Reuters


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