MTS Help Center

· CORONAVIRUS UPDATES:

Ø Total confirmed cases: More than 721,562

Ø Total deaths: At least 33,965

Ø The coronavirus COVID-19 is affecting 199 countries and territories around the world and 1 international conveyance (the Diamond Princess cruise ship harbored in Yokohama, Japan, and the Holland America's MS Zaandam cruise ship.)

Ø US cases: At least 142,004 (+18,426), and deaths: 2,484 (+264)

Ø Italy cases: At least 97,689 (+5,217), and deaths: 10,779 (+756)

Ø Thailand cases: At least 1,388 (+143), and deaths: 7 (+1)

- Trump signs $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill as the US tries to prevent economic devastation

President Donald Trump signed a $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill on Friday, as Washington tries to blunt economic destruction from the pandemic ripping through the United States.

The House earlier passed the stimulus package, believed to be the largest in U.S. history, by voice vote, which simply measures if more lawmakers shout for “aye” or “nay” on whether to support it. The chamber scrambled Friday to block an effort to delay its passage.

- As virus threatens, U.S. embraces big government, for now

It may, as House Majority Leader and Maryland Democrat Steny Hoyer said on Friday, be out of love that the United States agreed to shut down much of its economy to stop a viral epidemic and save lives.

It may, as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said, be out of necessity that the federal government agreed to foot the bill.

Whatever the motivation, in the scope of two frantic weeks, U.S. elected officials and central bankers have engineered an economic intervention unparalleled outside of wartime.

All in it would supplant perhaps 30% of gross domestic product with government spending and loans, drive the federal deficit as high as needed to make that happen, and broaden U.S. social spending in ways that just a few weeks ago Republicans and President Donald Trump were branding as “socialist.”

- U.S. could face 200,000 coronavirus deaths, millions of cases, Fauci warns

U.S. deaths from coronavirus could reach 200,000 with millions of cases, the government's top infectious diseases expert warned on Sunday as New York, New Orleans and other major cities pleaded for more medical supplies.

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, estimated in an interview with CNN that the pandemic could cause between 100,000 and 200,000 deaths in the United States.

- Trump extends social distancing guidelines through April 30 as coronavirus outbreak escalates

President Donald Trump on Sunday extended the national social distancing guidelines to April 30, walking back his previous remarks that he wanted the country to reopen for business by Easter.

“Nothing would be worse than declaring victory before the victory has been won,” Trump said at an evening press briefing after suggesting that the coronavirus death rate would likely peak in two weeks.

Public health experts have warned that loosening restrictions by Easter, on April 12, would result in unnecessary death and economic damage. But Trump claimed on Sunday that Easter was just an “aspiration” and that he hopes the country will “be well on our way to recovery” by June 1.

- Trump wants Congress to restore full tax deduction for meals, entertainment

U.S. President Donald Trump called on Congress Sunday to restore the full tax deduction for meals and entertainment in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

As part of a wide-ranging 2017 tax reform measure, Congress eliminated the corporate tax deduction for entertainment expenses, but taxpayers were allowed to continue to deduct 50% of the cost of client business meals. Trump said he wanted to restore that tax deduction “so companies can send people to restaurants.”

- Trump backs off quarantine of New York region as CDC advises against nonessential travel

President Donald Trump said Saturday he will not seek to impose a quarantine on New York, New Jersey and certain parts of Connecticut, after floating the idea earlier in the day as way to contain the coronavirus from spreading out of hot spots where the disease has taken a particularly heavy toll.

Trump said he decided a quarantine wasn’t necessary after consulting with the White House task force and the governors of the three states. He has asked the Centers for Disease Control to issue a strong travel advisory, which will be administered by the governors in consultation with the federal government.

The CDC is urging residents of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to refrain from nonessential domestic travel for the next 14 days effective immediately. The advisory does not apply to critical industries such as trucking, health professionals, financial services and food supply. The governors of the three states have full discretion to implement the travel advisory, the CDC said.

- Trump accuses hospitals of hoarding ventilators

President Donald Trump accused hospitals on Sunday of hoarding ventilators that are in scarce supply across the United States as the coronavirus spreads, adding any hospitals not using the devices must release them.

Trump, whose critics have accused him of trying to deflect blame over his handling of the crisis, did not cite any evidence to back his accusation that hospitals were hoarding the devices. It was also unclear which medical facilities he was referring to.

“We have some healthcare workers, some hospitals ... hoarding equipment including ventilators,” Trump said at the White House following a meeting with corporate executives, including from U.S. Medical Group.

- Consolidating flights to US cities could help stem airline industry losses as coronavirus dampens demand, executives say

U.S. airlines and the Department of Transportation may soon have to consider consolidating service to dozens of cities around the country in a bid to help carriers cut losses, several airline industry executives told CNBC.

Executives with U.S. airlines are expected to meet with leaders of the Transportation Department this week to discuss the state of the industry following approval of a $50 billion bailout package. The aid package requires airlines to not furlough employees for the next six months, while also maintaining service, to the best of their ability, to the cities the airlines currently serve. The problem with maintaining service is that many planes are virtually empty.

- IMF chief Georgieva says the world is in a recession, containment will dictate strength of recovery

International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva said Friday that the global economy is now in a recession thanks to COVID-19, but that she’s heartened to see world leaders finally realizing that only a coordinated effort will be able to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.

“We have stated that the world is now in recession and that the length and depth of this recession depend on two things: Containing the virus and having an effective, coordinated response to the crisis,” she told CNBC’s Sara Eisen.

“I’m very encouraged by what I see now. I see much clearer understanding [among global leaders] that if we don’t beat it everywhere we won’t be able to get out of it,” she added.

- Spanish PM announces stricter lockdown measures to tackle coronavirus

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Saturday announced stricter lockdown measures that will force all non-essential workers to stay at home for the next two weeks, as the government reported 832 new coronavirus deaths overnight.

The latest moves to combat the virus in Spain, the second-worst affected country in Europe after Italy, will be approved at a cabinet meeting on Sunday and will last from March 30 until April 9.

- Coronavirus deaths fall again in Italy but lockdown extension looms

The number of deaths from coronavirus in Italy fell for the second consecutive day on Sunday but the country still looked almost certain to see an extension of stringent containment measures.

But despite hopes by Italian officials that the downward trend would continue, it appeared increasingly likely that restrictions on all but essential activities that were due to expire on Friday would be soon officially extended.

- Italy PM adopts new measures to help coronavirus-hit economy

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Saturday he had approved a new package of measures to help those worst hit by the coronavirus emergency, including supplying shopping vouchers and food packages.

Conte said in a news conference that 4.3 billion euros ($4.79 billion) would be made immediately available to mayors to deal with theirs citizens’ needs and another 400 million would be provided in a special fund for “people who don’t have the money to do their shopping.”

- Germany's coronavirus support will last two months, think tank tells paper

Germany’s 750 billion euro ($834 billion) package to soften the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak on Europe’s largest economy will last for about two months, an independent economics think tank told a German newspaper group.

“In the short term, we are in a kind of war economy in which the state plays a bigger role in coordinating the economy than normally,” Reint Gropp, head of the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research told RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland.

If Germany’s lockdown lasts beyond two months, another rescue package would be needed and could stretch the country’s finances to an extent that would result in unprecedented budget deficits, he said.

- Germany will not ease shutdown until at least April 20: paper

- New Zealand central bank gives more liquidity to companies

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) said on Monday that it was deploying more tools to provide additional liquidity to the corporate sector and support market functioning to offset the impact of the coronavirus.

A new weekly Open Market Operation (OMO) will provide liquidity in exchange for eligible corporate and asset-backed securities, RBNZ said in a statement.

The OMO will be held each Tuesday and will offer up to NZ$500 million ($300 million) for terms out to approximately three months, it said. The first operation will be held on March 31.

The bank also said it will offer to purchase government bonds maturing on May 15, 2021, for liquidity management purposes. The offer opens on March 31.

- China says imported virus cases raise risk of new infection wave

The rising number of imported coronavirus cases in China have raised the possibility that the country will undergo a second wave of infections, a spokesman of the country’s health authority said on Sunday.

“China already has an accumulated total of 693 cases entering from overseas, which means the possibility of a new round of infections remains relatively big,” said Mi Feng of the National Health Commission.

- Japan's Abe warns coronavirus outbreak could worsen if people don't take proper measures

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday requested people to refrain from non-essential meetings and said coronavirus infections could escalate if people let down their guard and don’t take proper containment measures.

Abe made the comments at a news conference in Tokyo.

- Iran to use 20% of state budget to fight coronavirus

Iran is to allocate 20% of its annual state budget to fighting the coronavirus outbreak in the country, one of the worst-hit in the world, President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday.

- North Korea fires more missiles than ever amid coronavirus outbreak

North Korea fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles into the ocean off its east coast on Sunday, the latest in an unprecedented flurry of launches that South Korea decried as “inappropriate” amid the global coronavirus pandemic.

Two “short-range projectiles” were launched from the coastal Wonsan area, and flew 230 kilometers (143 miles) at a maximum altitude of 30 kilometers (19 miles), South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff reported.

· Dollar edges up but headed for biggest weekly fall since 2016

The dollar edged higher on Friday but remained on track for its biggest weekly decline in four years, as trillions of dollars worth of stimulus efforts by governments and central banks during the coronavirus epidemic helped temper a rout in global markets.

The dollar surged in March amid a drive for dollars by investors trying to get their hands on the world’s most liquid currency.

The dollar gained 0.49% against a basket of currencies Friday. It is on course for around a 2.57% fall for the week - its biggest weekly decline since February 2016.

Currency markets have been volatile. Last week, the dollar index racked up its biggest weekly gain since the financial crisis.

Against the yen, the dollar fell 0.71% on Friday to 108.80 yen, as Japanese investors and companies repatriated funds before their fiscal year ends next week.

The euro fell 0.66% against the greenback to $1.0955.

· Oil drops nearly 5% as demand fears overshadow stimulus hopes

Oil prices dropped nearly 5% on Friday and were on track for a fifth straight weekly loss as demand destruction caused by the coronavirus outweighed stimulus efforts by policymakers around the world.

Both contracts are down nearly two thirds this year and the coronavirus-related slump in economic activity and fuel demand has forced massive retrenchment in investment by oil and other energy companies.

Brent crude was trading 5.1% lower at $24.99 per barrel. U.S. crude fell $1.09, or 4.8%, to settle at $21.51 per barrel.

- Crude oil futures drop at open on grim demand outlook

Crude oil benchmarks slumped at the open of electronic trading on Sunday, extending last week’s losses as the global coronavirus pandemic worsened and the Saudi Arabia-Russia price war continued unabated.

In early trading, Brent futures fell 7.1% to $23.15 a barrel as of 6:13 p.m. EDT (2213 GMT), while U.S. crude futures lost 5.6%, or $1.17, to $20.34 a barrel.

The oil markets are enduring a twin shock of demand destruction caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the Saudi-Russia price war that is flooding markets with extra supply.

Reference: Worldometers, Reuters, CNBC, Dailymaverick