· CORONAVIRUS CRISIS:
- 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
- Coronavirus pandemic is accelerating as cases eclipse 350,000, WHO says
The coronavirus pandemic that’s spread to nearly every country in the world is picking up pace, the World Health Organization said Monday, as global cases eclipsed 350,000 and deaths soared past 15,000.
“The pandemic is accelerating,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press briefing from the organization’s Geneva headquarters. “It took 67 days from the first reported case to reach 100,000 cases, 11 days for second 100,000 cases, and just four days for the third 100,000 cases.”
- Trump says won't allow long-lasting damage to economy from virus
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he will not allow the coronavirus to do long-lasting damage to the U.S. economy and that he would consider how to move forward after a 15-day shutdown ends next week.
“America will again and soon be open for business,” Trump told a news conference at the White House. He added: “We are not going to let it turn into a long-lasting financial problem.”
- UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson orders Britons to stay at home to halt spread of coronavirus
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday ordered Britons to stay at home to try to halt the spread of coronavirus, imposing curbs on everyday life without precedent in peacetime.
All but essential shops will close and people should no longer meet family or friends or risk being fined, Johnson said on Monday in a televised address to the nation.
Johnson had resisted pressure to impose a full lockdown even as other European countries had done so, but was forced to change tack as projections showed the health system could become overwhelmed.
- Japan government to offer bleakest economic assessment in nearly seven years: Nikkei
Japan’s government is expected to offer its bleakest economic assessment in nearly seven years in March as the coronavirus outbreak cools private consumption and business sentiment, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Tuesday.
In its monthly report for March, the government will drop language describing the economy as “recovering” for the first time in six years and nine months, the paper said, without citing sources.
Sources have told Reuters the government is expected to cut its assessment of the economy in March, though officials were divided on whether to remove the language “recovering” in the assessment.
· No more votes expected Monday after Senate coronavirus stimulus bill fails again
There will be no more Senate votes Monday on a massive stimulus package as Democrats and Republicans continue to negotiate terms, two Senate aides told CNBC.
The measure, which has a price tag well over $1 trillion and is intended to limit the economic pain from the coronavirus outbreak, failed a key procedural vote in the Senate on Monday afternoon.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had warned that a deal would not pass until Republicans agreed to key changes. He said that negotiations would continue even while the Senate took the procedural vote.
Senate Democrats have criticized the $500 billion fund that the Republican proposal sets aside for distressed businesses, calling it a bailout fund “with no strings attached.” Democrats are also seeking enhanced unemployment measures and protections for workers. GOP lawmakers slammed Democrats for seeking climate provisions within the measure, as well. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi floated her own proposal for a stimulus bill Monday.
Schumer, nonetheless, said the two parties had come to certain agreements about revisions to the Republicans’ bill, including adding more unemployment protections and adding more money to hospitals. He said the Democrats are “fighting hard and making progress” on more funding for state and local governments.
“We’re very close to reaching a deal. Very close. And our goal is to reach a deal today,” he said. “And we’re hopeful, even confident that we will meet that goal.”
· The Federal Reserve just pledged asset purchases with no limit to support markets
The Federal Reserve said Monday it will launch a barrage of programs aimed at helping markets function more efficiently amid the coronavirus crisis.
Among the initiatives is a commitment to continue its asset purchasing program “in the amounts needed to support smooth market functioning and effective transmission of monetary policy to broader financial conditions and the economy.”
That represents a potentially new chapter in the Fed’s “money printing” as it commits to keep expanding its balance sheet as necessary, rather than a commitment to a set amount.
The Fed also will be moving for the first time into corporate bonds, purchasing the investment-grade securities in primary and secondary markets and through exchange-traded funds. The move comes in a space that has seen considerable turmoil since the crisis has intensified and market liquidity has been sapped.
Markets initially reacted positively to the moves but headed back lower in early trading, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 260 points.
Other initiatives include an unspecified lending program for Main Street businesses and the Term Asset-Backed Loan Facility implemented during the financial crisis. There will be a program worth $300 billion “supporting the flow of credit” to employers consumers and businesses and two facilities set up to provide credit to large employers.
There are no details yet on the Main Street program, with a news release saying it will help “support lending to eligible small and-medium sized businesses, complementing efforts by the SBA.”
· Fed's big move could help U.S. Treasury liquidity, but effects may not last long
The Federal Reserve’s unparalleled steps to directly backstop the U.S. economy and its willingness to purchase vast sums of U.S. government debt, mortgage-backed securities and even corporate bonds could help boost depleted liquidity in the $17-trillion Treasury market.
But the disastrous impact of the runaway coronavirus on financial markets will continue to impair price-making in Treasuries even if the Fed buys the entire U.S. debt market, analysts said, as bond investors fret about a steep economic downturn that is sure to come.
Liquidity in Treasuries has thinned in recent weeks, leading to sharp price movements. The Fed began stepping in with a rate cut in early March, followed by increasingly drastic measures to bolster market conditions.
· Dollar drops after Fed unveils unprecedented measures to lend, backstop debt
The dollar dropped on Monday after the U.S. Federal Reserve took unprecedented steps to backstop a range of debt in an attempt to offset the “severe disruptions” to the economy caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
Investors are now waiting on the U.S. government to pass stimulus to support the economy.
The dollar index against a basket of peers was last 102.35, down 0.5% on the day.
The dollar had gained earlier before the Fed action as stocks plunged, raising concerns that the multiple central bank actions so far to ease liquidity across markets have not been effective.
The euro was last up 0.98% against the greenback at $1.0799.
The U.S. currency’s earlier rise was also fuelled by a turnaround in dollar positions among hedge funds to a net short from an overall long bet, according to latest positioning data. That raised speculation that the dollar’s rally could be partly explained by short-covering by traders.
· G20 says developing action plan to deal with global pandemic
Finance ministers and central bankers from the world’s 20 largest economies agreed on Monday to develop an “action plan” to respond to a coronavirus pandemic that the IMF now expects to trigger a global recession, but they offered no specifics.
The G20 secretariat issued the statement after the finance officials met by video conference for nearly two hours, amid growing criticism that the world’s “fire station” has been slow to respond to the worsening crisis.
The summit, called by this year’s chair, Saudi Arabia, will be complicated by an oil price war between two members, Saudi Arabia and Russia, and rising tensions between two others, the United States and China, over the origin of the virus.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Fox News his counterparts agreed to act to support their own economies, and coordinate internationally as needed. But he gave no specifics.
Mnuchin will chair a conference of G7 finance ministers and central bankers early Tuesday, according to a source familiar with the plans.
· Crude edges higher, U.S. gasoline slumps over 30% on sinking demand
Oil prices inched higher on Monday, while U.S. gasoline prices plunged more than 30% to a record low as global restrictions on travel to slow the spread of coronavirus destroyed demand for fuel.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures ended the session up 5 cents at $27.03 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures for May delivery rose 73 cents, or 3.2%, to $23.36 a barrel. Both benchmarks traded in negative territory until late in the session.
Gasoline futures RBc1 in the United States, the world’s top consumer of the motor fuel, tumbled 32% to settle at about 41.18 cents a gallon, their lowest on record. That was the biggest daily percentage drop ever, and also sent the profit margin RBc1-CLc1 to produce gasoline into negative territory.
- U.S. crude oil futures CLc1 climbed more than $1 on Tuesday as the dollar index weakened and hopes grew of a detente in the price war between producers Saudi Arabia and Russia.
U.S. crude rose $1.05 to $24.41 as of 2334 GMT.
“However volumes are terrible, they’re very low, so this is not a high confidence move,” CMC Markets and Stockbroking chief market strategist Michael McCarthy said.
Reference: Worldometers, CNBC, Reuters
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