· CORONAVIRUS CRISIS:
Ø Total confirmed cases: More than 2,180,741
Ø Total deaths: At least 145,451
Ø The coronavirus COVID-19 is affecting 210 countries and territories around the world and 2 international conveyances: the Diamond Princess cruise ship harbored in Yokohama, Japan, and the Holland America's MS Zaandam cruise ship.
Ø US cases: At least 677,180 (+29,177), and deaths: 34,602 (+2,159)
Ø Spain cases: At least 184,948 (+4,289), and deaths: 19,315 (+503)
Ø Italy cases: At least 168,941 (+3,786) , and deaths: 22,170 (+525)
Ø Thailand cases: At least 2,672 (+43), and deaths: 46 (+3)
- Trump unveils three-stage process for states to end coronavirus shutdown
U.S. President Donald Trump proposed guidelines on Thursday under which U.S. state governors could act to revive the U.S. economy from its coronavirus shutdown in a staggered, three-stage process.
Trump argued that a prolonged shutdown could be deeply harmful to the U.S. economy and society.
“We are not opening all at once, but one careful step at a time,” Trump told reporters, without himself providing details on his guidelines.
- Top U.S. Senate Republican decries lack of progress on small business aid
The top Republican in the U.S. Senate on Thursday decried the lack of an agreement on a $250 billion emergency funding bill to help small businesses cope with the coronavirus outbreak.
- China's virus-hit economy set to post first decline since at least 1992
China’s coronavirus crisis is expected to have tipped its economy into its first decline since at least 1992, data is set to show on Friday, raising pressure on authorities to prop up growth as mounting job losses threaten social stability.
Analysts polled by Reuters expect gross domestic product (GDP) to have shrunk 6.5% in January-March from a year earlier. That would reverse a 6% expansion in the previous quarter and mark the first decline since at least 1992 when official quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) records started.
China releases first-quarter GDP data at 0200 GMT on Friday, along with March factory output, retail sales and fixed-asset investment.
Analysts at Nomura said they expected Beijing to deliver a stimulus package in the near-term, which could be financed by the central bank through various channels.
- UK extends lockdown measures for at least three more weeks
Britain extended its nationwide lockdown for at least another 3 weeks on Thursday, as stand-in leader Dominic Raab ordered Britons to stay at home to prevent the spread of a coronavirus outbreak which has already claimed over 138,000 lives globally.
- German auto industry calls for incentives to boost green car demand
Germany’s auto industry association VDA on Thursday joined a chorus of demands from auto industry executives and politicians calling for more incentives to revive demand for low emission vehicles in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
- Italy sees 2020 budget deficit near 10% of GDP - source
Italy’s budget deficit will be near 10% of gross domestic product this year, a senior government official told Reuters, as Rome increases borrowing to try to soften the impact of the new coronavirus and the economy plunges into a deep recession.
The government began the year with a target of a 2.2% deficit this year after the 1.6% reported in 2019, which was the lowest in 12 years. But those plans have been upended by the virus outbreak.
- U.N. warns economic downturn could kill hundreds of thousands of children in 2020
Hundreds of thousands of children could die this year due to the global economic downturn sparked by the coronavirus pandemic and tens of millions more could fall into extreme poverty as a result of the crisis, the United Nations warned on Thursday.
- IMF sees 'lost decade' of no growth in Latin America due to pandemic
The International Monetary Fund on Thursday said the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, combined with other problems in recent years, meant Latin America and the Caribbean would likely see “no growth” in the decade from 2015 to 2025.
In its 2020 World Economic Outlook, the IMF this week forecast the economy of Latin America, where outbreaks have continued to rise, is likely to contract 5.2%.
- New York Fed's Williams says full economic consequences of coronavirus still unknown
The Federal Reserve launched an unprecedented response to smooth out market disruptions caused by the coronavirus outbreak, but the full scale of the virus’ toll on the economy is still unknown and it may take a few years before the U.S. economy fully recovers, New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams said Thursday.
The Fed joined central banks around the world in efforts to bolster the global economy as the spread of the virus led to widespread closures of restaurants, museums and other businesses.
- Fed's Bostic: U.S. small business may need up to $500 billion monthly in support through crisis
U.S. small businesses may need up to $500 billion a month to ensure their survival through the coronavirus crisis, the head of the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank said on Thursday as Fed officials voiced concern over the speed and breadth of the country’s fiscal response to an unprecedented economic slowdown.
- Fed's Barkin: Post-crisis may see fewer baristas, more home health workers
The U.S. may face a productivity challenge after the current crisis passes as service businesses continue to space out customers for health reasons, and could force workers to shift jobs to meet changes in demand, Richmond Federal Reserve bank President Thomas Barkin said on Thursday.
Barkin noted that airlines could leave middle seats vacant and restuarants limit seating to help boost confidence in public safety, he said in Webcast comments to the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce. That could shift the array of available jobs and “we may need to redeploy from baristas to home health workers,” he said.
- Fed balance sheet increases to record $6.42 trillion
The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet increased to a record $6.42 trillion this week as the central bank used its nearly unlimited buying power to soak up assets to keep markets functioning amid an abrupt economic free fall due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Since early March, the Fed has slashed interest rates to zero, restarted bond purchases and rolled out an unprecedented range of programs to keep credit flowing and shore up business and household confidence.
The central bank’s balance sheet as of Wednesday rose nearly $300 billion from $6.13 trillion a week earlier. That is up from just $4.29 trillion in the first week of March.
- Fed's bond purchase program closing price gaps in ETF market
The Federal Reserve’s unprecedented asset purchase program is easing pricing gaps in the $863 billion market for U.S. bond exchange-traded funds, a phenomenon that had drawn investor concerns during last month’s sell-off.
- Coronavirus hurts corporate activism now, but rebound expected
The coronavirus pandemic has pushed the number of companies at risk of having their credit ratings cut to ‘junk’ to the highest since during the global financial crisis, figures from S&P Global showed on Thursday.
Activist shareholders are likely to scale back campaigns in the coming weeks as target companies brace for a deep recession and their favorite calls for change - ranging from mergers to returning cash - are ignored during the coronavirus pandemic.
At year’s end there may be a rebound when activists ranging from Elliott Management to Third Point to Pershing Square Capital Management have capital to spend and companies need help to perform better, according to data released on Thursday by investment bank Lazard.
The year started on a strong note with firms committing billions to push for change at 42 companies in January and February. The pace fell 38% in March from February with only 16 campaigns launched.
As new campaigns nearly ground to a halt in March, the amount of money put to work was the smallest since 2016.
- Rating agency S&P Global slashes global forecasts
Credit rating agency S&P Global slashed its global forecasts on Thursday, predicting coronavirus lockdowns would now see the world economy contract 2.4% this year and cause the United States and euro zone to slump 5.2% and 7.3% respectively.
Though the projections were not as dramatic as the 3% global contraction forecast by the International Monetary Fund earlier in the week, S&P’s move is likely to fan worries about further sovereign and corporate rating downgrades.
“The data flow reflecting the economic impact of measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 has gone from bad to worse,” S&P’s top global and regional economists said in a new report.
“We now see global GDP falling 2.4% this year, with the U.S. and euro zone contracting 5.2% and 7.3%, respectively. We expect global growth to rebound to 5.9% in 2021,” they added.
· Dollar at one-week high as investors seek safety after jobless data
The dollar hit a one-week high on Thursday as investors fled to safe-haven assets following the release of weekly U.S. jobless data showing a record 22 million Americans have sought unemployment benefits in the last month.
The dollar rose 0.45% to 100.08, a one-week high against a basket of six major currencies, after snapping a four-day losing streak the previous day as equity market gains fizzled.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 1.370 million to a seasonally adjusted 5.245 million for the week ended April 11, the government said. Record jobless filings underscore the deepening economic slump caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
The euro resumed its drop versus the dollar, down 0.72% at $1.083 as a half-trillion-euro compromise deal struck between euro zone governments last week to support countries through the coronavirus outbreak is widely seen as insufficient, especially for debt-laden Italy.
The yen weakened 0.25% against the dollar, as Japan extended a state of emergency beyond major cities to the entire nation.
· U.S. business formation tanks as coronavirus shuts economy
Applications to start new U.S. businesses tumbled last week, the latest indication that stringent measures to control the spread of the novel coronavirus had brought the economy to its knees.
· Weekly jobless claims hit 5.245 million, raising monthly loss to 22 million due to coronavirus
Protection measures against the coronavirus continued to tear through the employment ranks, with 5.245 million more Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment insurance last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
That brings the crisis total to just over 22 million, nearly wiping out all the job gains since the Great Recession.
· Oil prices hold at 18-year low on demand concerns amid coronavirus shutdowns
Oil prices held steady at a 18-year low on Thursday after OPEC lowered its global oil demand forecast due to the “historic shock” delivered by the coronavirus outbreak.
Before the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries released its latest forecast, global benchmark Brent futures were up over $1 a barrel as investors hoped record builds in U.S. inventories would prompt producers there to cut output quickly.
West Texas Intermediate crude settled unchanged at $19.87 per barrel, the lowest level since February 2002. Brent crude settled up 13 cents, or 0.47%, at $27.82 per barrel.
OPEC said in a monthly report it now expects global demand to contract by 6.9 million barrels per day (bpd), or 6.9%, in 2020, and noted the reduction may not be the last.
Last month, OPEC projected a small increase in demand of 60,000 bpd.
OPEC and its allies, including Russia - a group known as OPEC+ - agreed over the weekend to reduce output by 9.7 million bpd for May and June.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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