The Economist USA 03.21.2020

(avery) #1

8 The EconomistMarch 21st 2020
The world this week Business


TheFederalReservetookmore
emergencymeasurestobolster
short-termliquidityinmar-
ketsbyprovidingnewfunding
lifelinestobanks.It alsocutits
benchmarkinterestrateclose
tozeroandbegana newpro-
grammetobuycommercial
paper.Stockmarketswerein
freefall;tradingwashalted
againontheNewYorkStock
Exchangeaftersteepplunges
triggeredanautomatic“circuit
breaker”.TheS&P 500 hadits
worstdaysince1987,fallingby
12%.It hasnowshedallthe
gainsit madelastyear.

Sinking sterling
As investors turned to the
dollar for safety, the poundfell
to levels last seen during the
1980s, dropping below $1.15 in
trading. Uncertainty about
Brexit was an extra factor
weighing on panicky markets.

TheEuropean Central Bank
launched a €750bn bond-
buying programme that covers
government and corporate
debt. Banks in the euro zone
tapped €109bn in ultra-cheap
loans under a new facility.
China’scentral bank lowered
the amount of cash holdings
that banks are required to keep
in reserve, a measure intended
to free up loans to businesses.
Industrial output in China
shrank by 13.5% in January and
February compared with the
same two months in 2019, the
biggest drop on record. In
Britainthe government un-
veiled a £330bn ($380bn) loan
package for firms.

Andrew Bailey took over as
governor of the Bank of
England, a baptism of fire as
the central bank reacts to the
covid-19 crisis and continues
its preparations for Britain’s

withdrawal from the eu’s
financial provisions by the end
of the year. Mr Bailey said the
bank would seek to limit the
fallout from the crisis so that it
would be “disruptive” instead
of “destructive”. He added that
the bank was willing to pump
unlimited amounts of money
into the economy through the
government’s new covid
financing facility.

At an emergency meeting
Turkey’scentral bank cut its
benchmark interest rate by one
percentage point, to 9.75%,
causing the lira to slide. The
bank thinks a global slowdown
will cool inflation, which is on
the rise again in Turkey.

Commodity pricescontinued
to tumble amid gloomy fore-
casts for industrial demand.
Facing a double whammy of
reduced demand and a price
war started by Saudi Arabia, oil
prices plunged, with Brent
crude at a 17-year low of around
$25 a barrel. Gold prices, usual-
ly a haven in stressed markets,
dropped as investors cashed in
their holdings. Silver, which is
widely used in industrial
processes, was at its lowest
price since 2009.

The International Air Tran-
sport Association warned that
the forecast it provided only

recently about the hit to air-
linerevenues during the crisis
is now out of date. The associa-
tion is calling for governments
around the world to provide
carriers with direct financial
support, favourable loans and
tax relief, which it now reckons
could cost between $150bn and
$200bn. The situation is “total-
ly beyond the control of the
airlines”, it said.

Boeingalso asked for help,
requesting $60bn “in access to
public and private liquidity”,
including loan guarantees, for
the aerospace industry. Al-
ready battered by drawbacks in
getting the 787 maxto fly again,
its share price has slumped
since mid-February, and fell
sharply again this week when
Standard & Poor’s cut its credit
rating by two notches.

Amazondecided to employ an
extra 100,000 warehouse and
logistic workers in America to
help it cope with a surge in
online shopping. It is also
restricting space in its ware-
houses to household essentials
and medical supplies, leaving
little room for third-party
sellers. Although Amazon is
hiring, Steven Mnuchin, the
treasury secretary, reportedly
thinks America’s unemploy-
ment ratecould hit 20% if
drastic action isn’t taken.

The crisis is taking a heavy toll
on other retailers. Zara, a
fashion chain, temporarily
shut half its stores worldwide.
Laura Ashley, a purveyor of
textiles and other goods
themed in the English-
romantic style, was close to
collapse. It opened its first
shop in the 1960s.

Franceslapped a €1.1bn
($1.2bn) fine on Applefor
conniving with wholesalers to
suppress competition. Apple
said the decision, the biggest
antitrust penalty imposed on a
single company in France,
ignored 30 years of legal prece-
dent. The firm plans to appeal.

The mighty Quinn
hsbcappointed Noel Quinn as
its chief executive. Mr Quinn
was given the job on an interim
basis when John Flint was
defenestrated last August and
is ploughing ahead with a huge
restructuring at the bank.

Stepping up to the coronavirus
crisis in France, lvmh, the
world’s biggest maker of luxury
goods, switched its perfume
and cosmetic production lines
to make hand sanitiser, which
it is giving away to hospitals.
Sites that made Dior and Giv-
enchy scents are now churning
out hydroalcoholic gel.

Stockmarket volatility

Source: Datastream from Refinitiv

Cboe volatility index (VIX), % points

2017 18 19 20

0

20

40

60

80

100
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