(C) Reuters. A man wears a protective mask as he walks on Wall Street during the coronavirus outbreak in New York By Tom Westbrook and Scott Murdoch SINGAPORE/HONG KONG (Reuters) – As a collapse in the oil price unleashed chaos in financial markets, Madrid money manager Diego Parrilla phoned a […]
Jack Ma Offers to Supply the US With Covid-19 Tests and Masks
As the US government promises to ramp up more Covid-19 testing, an unlikely billionaire is offering to lend his help: Jack Ma, cofounder of the Chinese tech giant Alibaba. Ma’s philanthropic organization, the Jack Ma Foundation, said early Friday morning it would donate 500,000 Covid-19 testing kits and 1 million […]
Trump Declares National Emergency–but Also ‘I Don’t Take Responsibility’
The president finally declared a national emergency–“two very big words,” he admiringly observed–which will allow the federal government to provide much more support in the fight against the novel coronavirus. He announced the news in a Friday press conference that was late, unfocused, and confusing to follow–in other words, thoroughly […]
Wall Street weekahead: Investors hope Fed can help calm markets as big rate cut expected
(C) Reuters. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) near the close of trading in New York By Lewis Krauskopf NEW YORK (Reuters) – Interest rate cuts won’t cure the coronavirus but investors are still hoping the Federal Reserve can take some actions to help […]
Global Officials Call for Free Access to Covid-19 Research
Government science advisers from the US and 11 other countries Friday called on scientific publishers to make all research related to the coronavirus and Covid-19 more freely available. In an open letter, the advisers, including White House Office of Science and Technology Policy director Kelvin Droegemeier, asked the publishers to […]
What’s Social Distancing? Flattening the Curve? Your Covid-19 Questions, Answered.
To keep hospitals and doctors’ offices from becoming overwhelmed with sick patients, the ultimate goal for public health authorities is to flatten this curve. Social distancing measures can make a serious impact when they’re implemented early, so that, over time, all patients get the resources they need. 3. Is there […]
Trump set to declare emergency as coronavirus crisis deepens
(C) Reuters. FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Trump speaks about the U.S response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic during an address to the nation from the Oval Office of the White House By Steve Holland and Peter Szekely WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – As the coronavirus outbreak tore deeper into the fabric […]
Bank of Canada Slashes Benchmark Interest Rate in Surprise Move
EconomyMar 13, 2020 02:41PM ET (C) Reuters. Bank of Canada Slashes Benchmark Interest Rate in Surprise Move (Bloomberg) — The Bank of Canada cut interest rates by half a percentage point in an emergency move to buffer the nation’s economy from the double hit from the coronavirus and tanking oil […]
Factbox: Foreign exchange regimes around the world
Factbox: Foreign exchange regimes around the world By Karin Strohecker LONDON (Reuters) – Currency pegs have come under fresh scrutiny once again following a sharp decline in oil prices. Below is a list of some countries which still control their foreign exchange rates. NORTH AFRICA & THE MIDDLE EAST LEBANON: […]
The US’ Health Depends on How It Cares for Health Care Workers
Worldwide, the novel coronavirus is officially a pandemic. Within the US, 44 states and Washington, DC, have identified people infected with the virus. The global wave of Covid-19 is about to crash over the country–and the weak point in what happens next is the nation’s health care workers. Or rather, […]