The Wall Street Journal - 16.03.2020

** MONDAY, MARCH 16, 2020 ~ VOL. CCLXXV NO. 62 WSJ.com HHHH$4.

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WASHINGTON—The Federal

Reserve cut its benchmark in-

terest rate to near zero on

Sunday and unleashed an ag-

gressive set of additional

moves aimed at stabilizing

markets as the new coronavi-

rus pushed the U.S. economy

toward a recession.

The Fed, delivering an un-

precedented second emergency

rate cut in as many weeks, said

it would cut the federal-funds

rate to a range between 0% and

0.25%, down 1 percentage

point, and would buy $700 bil-

lion in Treasury and mortgage-

backed securities, among other

actions.

The Fed’s actions capped

three days of federal responses

to the rising economic risks

posed by the virus, including

President Trump’s emergency

declaration Friday and the

House’s passage of financial-as-

sistance legislation Saturday.

Dow Jones Industrial Aver-

age futures slid about 1,

points, or 4.6%, while S&P 500

futures fell 5% to again hit a

limit designed to stall further

PleaseturntopageA

ByNick Timiraos,

Harriet Torry

andJosh Mitchell

A spike in the number of peo-

ple infected and killed by the

coronavirus in Europe prompted

more aggressive restrictions

across the continent, as govern-

ments shut down cafes, restau-

rants, schools, businesses and

even some borders.

Over the weekend Spain or-

dered an Italy-like lockdown that

bars people from leaving their

homes without a valid excuse.

France closed down restaurants,

bars and all nonessential shops.

Faced with an influx of French

shoppers, Germany closed its

ByStacy Meichtry

in Paris

andGiovanni

Legoranoin Rome

WASHINGTON—Joe Biden

and Bernie Sanders laid out di-

vergent plans for responding to

the new coronavirus and sparred

over their lengthy records on

Sunday night in their Demo-

cratic presidential debate, as a

global pandemic upends the

lives of most Americans.

Before a television audience

of Americans staying home at

the urging of public health offi-

cials, the former vice president

also committed to naming a

woman as his running mate if he

wins the party’s nomination. In

response, Mr. Sanders said he

BYCHADDAY

ANDELIZACOLLINS

A Pungent

Cocktail for

Icy Roads

iii

Cities spray brine,

with a splash of

beet juice

BYJOEBARRETT

A mild winter in upstate

New York had Robert LeSuer,

an assistant chemistry profes-

sor, breathing easier.

Before big storms, the

groundskeepers typically

sprayed the steps outside his

building at the College at

Brockport with a mix of salt

PleaseturntopageA

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CONTENTS

Business & Finance B2,

Business News....... B

Crossword.............. A

Heard on Street... B

Life & Arts...... A11-

Markets............... B9,

Opinion.............. A15-

Outlook....................... A

Sports....................... A

Technology................ B

U.S. News............. A2-

Weather................... A

World News............ A

s2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

All Rights Reserved

>

What’s

News

A surge in coronavirus

infections in Europe is

forcing some of the conti-

nent’s biggest economies

to clamp down on their

populations, a sign of how

the region is becoming an

epicenter of the global cri-

sis.A1, A4, A6, A7, A9, A

U.S. officials warnedthat

much more needs to be done

to slow the spread of the vi-

rus and help the economy.A

TheU.S.isweighing

troop cuts in Africa, poten-

tially leaving allies to con-

front a growing extremist

threat on that continent.A

Democraticpresidential

primary voters now over-

whelmingly back Biden over

Sanders, a Wall Street Jour-

nal/NBC News poll shows.A

Trump saidhe is consider-

ing a full pardon for ex-na-

tional security adviser Flynn,

who pleaded guilty to lying

to the FBI about his contacts

with a top Russian official.A

Israel’s president will

give opposition leader

Gantz the first chance to

form a government, in a

blow to Netanyahu.A

NASA isconsidering ex-

tending the timeline to

start establishing a base for

humans on the moon.A

T

he Fed cutits benchmark

interest rate to near zero

and unleashed an aggres-

sive set of additional moves

aimed at preventing market

disruptions as the coronavi-

rus pushed the U.S. economy

toward a recession.A1, B1, B

Small-businessconfi-

dence plunged in March to

near its lowest levels in

the past seven years.A

Airlines aroundthe

globe are fighting for sur-

vival as they confront an ar-

ray of limits on air travel.B

U.S. grocers areadjusting

their operations to try to keep

up with customer demand

amid coronavirus angst.B

Retailers aretemporar-

ily closing hundreds of

stores across the country

in an attempt to stem the

spread of the virus.B

Airbus executives

raised concerns about fees

paid to middlemen by the

company’s helicopter unit

when it was led by current

CEO Guillaume Faury.B

Dorsey’s pushto make

conversations on Twitter

less toxic has stalled, re-

searchers working with

the company said.B

A Morgan Stanleyprivate-

equity arm has agreed to sell

veterinary-clinic chain Path-

way to buyout firm TSG.B

Business&Finance

World-Wide

JOURNAL REPORT

Millennials & Money: How

this generation feels

about spending, investing

and the future.R1-

Fed Slashes Rates as Slump Looms

Central bank to buy

$700 billion in debt as

coronavirus pushes

U.S. toward recession

Biden, Sanders Back

A Woman on Ticket

would “in all likelihood” do the

same. Neither dropped any

names, though.

The announcements came

during a debate that explored

sharp differences between the

two men on health care but

that was largely focused on the

threat of the coronavirus, with

both men saying President

Trump needed to do more.

Mr. Biden, the front-runner

looking to solidify his hold on

the nomination, broke with the

Vermont senator in saying the

response to the coronavirus

should be treated like a short-

term emergency.

“We’re at war with a virus,”

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MICHAEL M. PHILLPS/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

U.S. Mulls Troop Cuts in Africa

The U.S. reviewing its troop commitments in Africa. Above, a

U.S. Green Beret during training exercises earlier this year

with a Guinean soldier in Nouakchott, Mauritania. A

Americans Hit Pause Button on Life

Clockwise from top left, Pastor Russ Schlecht leads an online church service at the Eastside Church in Bothell, Wash.;

medics screen patients at a drive-up virus testingcenter in Albuquerque; streets were empty in Manhattan as New

Yorkers were urged to stay home; and travelers arrived at the international terminal of O’Hare Airport in Chicago.

borders with France and a host

of other countries.

The health crisis in Europe

has become so dire that officials

at the World Health Organiza-

tion now view the continent as

the new epicenter of the pan-

demic. The number of new daily

cases reported outside of China

is now higher than the daily in-

creases China faced at the

height of its outbreak, WHO offi-

cials said.

As of Sunday afternoon, the

continent’s biggest economies—

Germany, France, Italy and

Spain—had recorded more than

42,700 confirmed infections. It-

aly and Spain, the continent’s

biggest outbreaks, reported

more than 500 deaths over the

weekend. The virus was also

gaining momentum in the U.K.

with 1,372 cases as of Sunday

and 35 deaths, more than double

the number from a day earlier.

Many Europeans have contin-

ued to go about their daily lives,

while neighboring Italy has

forced its entire population into

a state of quarantine in a bid to

slow the spread of the vi-

rus. Governments from Paris to

Berlin curbed public gatherings

like business conferences and

soccer matches, but they largely

balked at adopting measures

that would curtail civil liberties.

France even went ahead with

the first round of nationwide lo-

cal elections on Sunday. That

brought millions out of their

homes to cast ballots, though

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Europe Steps Up Virus Fight

America has begun to shut

itself down.

Inamatterofdays,thecor-

onavirus pandemic has re-

shaped American society, un-

mooring people from the

routines and activities that typ-

ically provide comfort in mo-

ments of crisis: work, worship,

concerts, sports, gatherings

with family and friends, the

embrace of loved ones.

“It feels a little like we are

in a snowstorm, an invisible-

but-present blizzard, where it

is not safe to go outside,” the

Roman Catholic bishop of Al-

bany, N.Y., Edward B. Scharfen-

berger, wrote to his diocese.

By Saturday, the country slid

into a collective retreat from

public life, as tens of millions

of people settled in to wait—

alone, together—for an invisi-

ble threat with no clear end in

sight. Businesses and public of-

ficials pivoted, first assuring

people of extra efforts to keep

restaurants and shops clean,

then abruptly shutting down

stores and parties on a St. Pat-

rick’s Day weekend that was al-

most balmy in the Northeast.

Early Sunday morning, New

Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell

tweeted a picture of police cars

with blue lights sweeping

Bourbon Street, saying police

will “enforce the ban on large

gatherings.” It was hours after

New Orleans reported its first

death from the virus.

At New York’s St. Patrick’s

Cathedral, the Sunday 10:

a.m. Mass took place as sched-

uled, with one notable excep-

tion: hardly anyone to witness

it in person.

New York Mayor Bill de Bla-

sio on Sunday night said New

York City restaurants may

serve takeout and delivery

only, and that all movie the-

aters and concert venues must

close, effective Tuesday morn-

ing. Earlier in the day, he an-

nounced that the nation’s larg-

est public school system would

close through April 20.

On Sunday afternoon, Ohio

Gov. Mike DeWine announced a

statewide closure of all bars

and restaurants starting Sun-

day evening, as the state said it

had 36 cases.

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ByRebecca Davis

O’Brien, Valerie

Bauerlein and

Kris Maher

KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

Outlook Gets Darker

For Small Businesses

Small-business confidence

plunged in March to near its low-

est levels in the past seven years,

as business owners grappled

with the effects of the coronavi-

rus on their companies.

Owners of businesses from

restaurants to manufacturing

firms are making tough choices,

as the fallout spreads from in-

dustries dependent on Chinese

manufacturers to the broader

U.S. economy.

“We’re going into a period no

one has been through before,”

said Jay Foreman, chief executive

of Basic Fun Inc., a small Boca

Raton, Fla., toy maker. “It feels

like 9/11, Katrina and the finan-

cial crisis all in one.”

The company last week laid

off about 10% of its 175 employ-

ees to conserve cash, after its

bank advised Mr. Foreman to re-

duce overhead to avoid violating

its loan agreements. “They have

been working with us; they are

telling us the realities,” Mr. Fore-

man said.

The pain began in February,

when the Chinese government

ordered factories to remain

closed after the Lunar New Year

holiday and restricted the move-

ment of workers, disrupting the

toy company’s supply chain. Chi-

nese production is now coming

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BYRUTHSIMON

Crisis Intensifies

 Hospitals put off some

surgeries............................ A

 U.S. warns Americans to

stay home.......................... A

 Iran finds itself with few

options.............................. A

 Businesses, markets set

for more volatility........... B

 Tech behemoths take on

pandemic............................ B

JEENAH MOON/REUTERS

BRIAN SNYDER/REUTERS ADOLPHE PIERRE-LOUIS/ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL/ZUMA PRESS