Geo-political news
COVID-19 – This week has seen a series of extreme measures implemented by policymakers worldwide, as they attempt to control the continued spread of the virus. In Europe, numbers of confirmed cases of the coronavirus surpassed those of China, as Italy published fatality figures of 3,405 compared to Chinas 3,245 reported deaths. While a study has shown that over 99% of all Italy’s fatalities had prior health conditions the rate at which the virus is spreading globally is something government leaders cannot ignore and has left policy makers within many EU countries with no choice but to ramp up their isolation policies, as multiple EU countries have entered into a state of complete lockdown this week.
The US has halted all flights from the UK following on from its ban on Europe last week. According to analysts polled by Reuters America was given a median 80% chance of recession this year. This comes as the US Dow Jones industrial average has now lost more than 30% of its value in just over a month, coupled with the synchronised drop experienced mid-week as shares and bonds slid together, something that is not supposed to happen and is just cause for concern. President Donald Trump announced that the US is working towards measures which propose at least $1trillion worth of aid as US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said he supports cash payments of $1000 per adult and $500 per child to be made in an attempt to mitigate the economic impacts the virus is having in the US.
The UK announced that schools would be closed indefinitely after Friday and speculation is mounting that a country wide lockdown policy is soon to follow. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has continued to give daily updates on the UK stance on a nationwide lockdown and has outlined the various policies that are being implemented in order to control the spread of the virus. On Thursday, the Bank of England announced a further emergency rate cut as they slashed base rates further to 0.1% as well as adding £200 billion to its asset purchase program to combat economic pressures of the coronavirus.
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