VIRUS PRICETAG: $5 TRILLION – JUST FOR MARKET LOSSES
Pandemic spurs postponement of events, suspension of supply chains
The world markets have shed a staggering $5 trillion as the coronavirus outbreak has crippled supply chains and forced the cancellation of trade shows and sporting events.
Ratings agency Moody’s said a pandemic would trigger global and U.S. recessions in the first half of the year, according to Reuters.
Japan is scheduled to host the 2020 Olympics in July but Dr. Mike Ryan, of the World Health Organization, said discussions were being held about whether to go ahead.
“This is a case where in economic terms the cure is almost worse than the disease,” Jacob Kirkegaard, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told the Associated Press. “When you quarantine cities … you lose economic activity that you’re not going to get back.”
The list of countries touched by the illness climbed to nearly 60 as Mexico, Belarus, Lithuania, New Zealand, Nigeria, Azerbaijan, Iceland and the Netherlands reported their first cases. More than 83,000 people worldwide have contracted the illness, with deaths topping 2,800.
In Asia, Tokyo Disneyland and Universal Studios Japan announced they would close, and events that were expected to attract tens of thousands of people were called off, including a concert series by the K-pop group BTS. The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea shut down its headquarters in Seoul after a worker tested positive for the virus, telling 800 others to work from home. Japanese officials prepared to shutter all schools until early April.
In Italy — which has reported 888 cases, the most of any country outside of Asia — hotel bookings are falling, and Premier Giuseppe Conte raised the specter of recession. Shopkeepers like Flavio Gastaldi, who has sold souvenirs in Venice for three decades, wondered if they could
survive the blow.
Stock markets around the world plunged again Friday. On Wall Street, the
Dow Jones index took yet another hit, closing down nearly 360 points. The index has dropped more than 14% from a recent high, making this the market’s worst week since 2008, during the global financial crisis.