The coronavirus is still news number one, as it continues to spread, and economists’ concerns for the global economy become more and more serious.
Europe right now is the site of the heaviest quarantines and security measures outside of China. The number of patients with the novel coronavirus increases every day across the continent, and many countries have shut down their borders completely and have asked citizens to stay at home. Italy and France lead the charge in this regard, but other EU member states are implementing similar measures to limit the scope of the outbreak.
Businesses both big and small are also beginning to close down across Europe due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Considering the fact that the European economy was in a fragile state even before the viral outbreak, we might see severe economic damage in March fundamentals.
Due to many countries closing down their borders, tourism and travel have been two of the hardest hit industries globally. In the United States, a consortium of airlines officially asked for $50 billion from the government, to get US airlines through these trying times of cancelled flights and other disturbances.
The financial markets are also seeing an increase in regulation due to the Covid-19 crisis. In Europe, there have been various bans to limit short-selling, while the Philippines decided to close down its stock exchange altogether.
Overall, stock indices continue to suffer losses, which are only corrected with mild recoveries, only to open to more losses on the following trading day.
