· CORONAVIRUS CRISIS UPDATES:
- Total confirmed cases: More than 336,638
- Total deaths: At least 14,611
- The coronavirus COVID-19 is affecting 192 countries and territories around the world and 1 international conveyance (the Diamond Princess cruise ship harbored in Yokohama, Japan).
- US cases: At least 33,346 (+9,139), and deaths: 414 (+112)
- Italy cases: At least 59,138 (+5,560), and deaths: 5,476 (+651)
- Thailand cases: At least 599 (+188), and deaths: 1
- Cases top 300,000 worldwide as US becomes one of worst hit countries
The number of people who have tested positive for the coronavirus, or COVID-19, has crossed 300,000 as the disease continues to spread around the world, with the situation in the U.S., Italy and Spain deteriorating even as the pandemic has stabilized in China, where the virus first emerged.
At least 303,180 people have tested positive for the virus worldwide as of Saturday at 5:13 pm ET, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The number of cases in the U.S. has surged to at least 24,148, making it one of the worst hit countries in the world. Only China, Italy and Spain are harder hit than the U.S.
- New York state now has more coronavirus cases than France or South Korea as the number of confirmed infections soared to 15,168, according to new data released by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday.
- The U.S. Senate has begun debating a stimulus plan of more than $1 trillion that would include direct financial help for Americans during the coronavirus pandemic.
The centerpiece of the package released by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell includes tax rebates to individuals of $1,200 and $2,400 for married couples.
The legislation also provides $208 billion of loans for small businesses, $58 billion for the airline sector and $150 billion for other distressed areas of the economy.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin urged lawmakers to pass the legislation by Monday.
- Coronavirus stimulus bill fails in key Senate procedural vote
A massive funding package to combat the impact of coronavirus did not get enough votes in a key Senate procedural vote Sunday evening.
The stalemate came hours after Democratic leaders warned that the bill was not to their liking because they said it did too much to bail out companies and not enough to help workers. Stock futures cratered as the two parties failed to agree on the terms of the package.
Still, President Donald Trump expressed optimism that lawmakers would eventually reach a deal. “I think you’ll get there,” Trump told reporters at the coronavirus task force press briefing shortly after the vote became final.
- Analyst anticipates ‘worst’ financial crisis since 1929 amid fears of a global recession
Financial markets are facing their worst crisis since 1929, a veteran analyst told CNBC on Friday, as top economists downgraded their forecasts to point to an impending global recession.
Even though stocks across Europe, the U.S. and Asia looked to be heading for some welcome reprieve on Friday, analyst Stephen Isaacs said the coronavirus crisis is “unprecedented” since there were already record levels of leverage and overbought stocks.
The S&P 500 has plunged by around 30% since its all-time high on Feb. 19, but Isaacs suggested there could be another 20% to go below 2,000 before the market could be considered “oversold.”
Isaacs said the 1929 Great Depression was the closest bear market comparison. After the stock market crash of Oct. 29, 1929, the S&P 500 fell 86% in less than three years and did not regain its previous peak until 1954.
IHS Markit on Wednesday revised down its forecast for world real GDP growth in 2020 to 0.7%, as the full economic impact of the crisis becomes more apparent. Growth below 2.0% is classified as a global recession.
In their March Global Economic Forecast Flash, IHS Markit chief economist Nariman Behravesh and executive director of global economics Sara Johnson projected that Japan is already in recession, while the U.S. and Europe will follow in the second quarter.
U.S. real GDP is now expected to fall by 0.2%, the euro area by 1.5% and Japan by 0.8%, while China, where the virus originated, is projected to see a slowdown in growth from 6.1% to 3.9%.
Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius on Wednesday sharply downgraded the Wall Street giant’s 2020 growth forecasts to 1.25% on the back of a rise in cases in the U.S. and Europe and “exceptionally poor” data out of China.
- Iran’s supreme leader suggests coronavirus ‘created in America’
Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the U.S. offer to help Iran contain its coronavirus spread “strange” and referred to “suspicions” of the virus originating in the U.S. in a televised speech Sunday.
“Several times Americans have offered to help Iran to contain the virus,” he said in a translation provided by Reuters. “Aside from the fact that there are suspicions about this virus being created by America ... their offer is strange since they face shortages in their fight against the virus. Iran has the capability to overcome any kind of crisis including coronavirus outbreak.”
- UK scientists to track mutations in coronavirus to map spread
UK scientists are to track the spread of the new coronavirus and watch for emerging mutations by using gene sequencing to analyze the strains causing thousands of COVID-19 infections across the country, Britain said on Monday.
Researchers will collect data from samples from infected patients in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the government said in a statement.
- Greece announced a lockdown on Sunday, restricting movement from Monday morning with only a few exceptions, to combat the spread of coronavirus.
- France toughens lockdown penalties as coronavirus kills medic
French lawmakers approved tougher penalties for defying a nationwide confinement order as the coronavirus death toll rose on Sunday, with a first member of the country’s medical profession among the victims.
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel goes into self-quarantine
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will self-quarantine after coming into contact with a person who tested positive for coronavirus, her spokesperson said Sunday.
Steffen Seibert, the spokesperson, said a doctor gave her a vaccination on Friday, then tested positive for the virus shortly after. While in quarantine, Merkel will continuously be tested for coronavirus, he added.
· Dollar strengthens, set for best week since the financial crisis
The dollar strengthened Friday after a rally that put it on track for its biggest weekly rise since the 2008 financial crisis, as a global scramble for funding sent other currencies reeling.
The dollar index rose slightly to 102.82 after weakening 0.7% to 102.00 earlier in the day on Friday.
Currencies from the Australian dollar to the British pound tumbled to multi-year lows this week, after coordinated rate cuts by central banks and billions of dollars of fund injections failed to calm panicky markets.
The U.S. dollar is up about 3.5% against a basket of currencies through a week when investors have liquidated everything from stocks to bonds to gold and commodities. At its three-year peak of nearly 103 hit overnight, the dollar was up more than 5%, its biggest weekly gain since October 2008.
· Oil falls 11%, on track for worst month on record
Oil dropped 11% on Friday, giving back early gains, even as the world’s richest nations poured unprecedented aid into the global economy to stop a coronavirus-driven recession and U.S.
U.S. crude futures for April fell $2.79, or 11.06%, to settle at $22.43 per barrel. Brent crude futures fell $1.49 or 5.2%, to settle at $26.98 per barrel.
- Oil prices fell more than $1 a barrel at the start of the trading session on Sunday, as more governments ordered lockdowns to curb the spread of the global coronavirus pandemic that has slashed the demand outlook for crude.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures fell $1.84, or 6.8%, to $25.14 a barrel by 2215 GMT. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures fell $1.26, or 5.6%, to $21.37 a barrel.
Oil prices have fallen for four straight weeks and have lost about 60% since the start of the year. The coronavirus, which has infected more than 325,000 and killed over 14,000 worldwide, has disrupted business, travel and daily life. Many oil companies have rushed to cut spending and some producers have already begun putting employees on furlough.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC, Worldometers, The Street
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