Firms fear long slump: WEF
A prolonged global slump and surge in bankruptcies arising from the coronavirus pandemic are the foremost concerns for companies surveyed in a World Economic Forum report Tuesday.
Recessions on a scale not seen since the 1930s Great Depression demand more action from governments to ensure a timely recovery and to put growth on a healthier path, the report also said.
The survey of 347 company risk managers looked at the biggest concerns for the next 18 months, after the pandemic shuttered large swathes of production and forced massive rescue packages by governments around the world.
They identified the most likely fallout as an extended downturn, a jump in company failures allied with industry consolidation, along with high youth unemployment.
The debt accrued in the rescue packages could depress government and corporate finances and retard growth for years, and also stymie efforts to combat climate change, the report said.
The crisis has "revealed the inadequacies of the past", Saadia Zahidi, managing director of the World Economic Forum, said.
"We now have a unique opportunity to use this crisis to do things differently and build back better economies that are more sustainable, resilient and inclusive," she said. The WEF organises an annual meeting of political and corporate leaders in Davos, Switzerland.
Ahead of this year's conclave in January, when the COVID-19 outbreak was still largely confined to China, the forum's annual risk report showed climate change as the biggest concern for companies over the next 10 years.
But it also flagged up anxiety that health systems around the world were illprepared for another pandemic. A second wave of COVID-19 was another concern identified in Tuesday's report, along with the dangers of cyberattacks and data fraud as much corporate activity shifts online.
This year's Dublin marathon was cancelled on Tuesday, despite Ireland's move to lift coronavirus lockdown measures, indicating potential long-term disruption caused by the outbreak.
The race had been due to take place on October 25. By that date, Ireland plans to have fully lifted restrictions in a staggered process that began on Monday.
But organisers indicated the race-which last year had 22,500 entrants-would still not go ahead because of safety fears.
"We made the difficult decision in the best interest of the health and well-being of all those involved in making our events such a success from runners, supporters, volunteers, sponsors, to suppliers," said race director Jim Aughney.
"We explored many alternatives for running the events safely but ultimately none were viable," he said in a statement. Ireland's "roadmap" to reopen the nation has scheduled the last of five stages to lift coronavirus lockdown measures for August. A government ban on mass gatherings of more than 5,000 people is also set to expire at the end of that month. The decision to ban the marathon indicates the fallout of coronavirus may last longer than suggested by official plans and could hit other scheduled-or rescheduled-events.