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by Roland JACKSON Agence France Presse US oil prices dived to 22-year lows under $11 Monday after crashing 40 percent in a market flooded with crude as demand evaporates in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Ahead of Wall Street opening the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for May delivery sank to $10.77 — the lowest level since 1998. Trade, however, was also technically driven as investors closed out their positions ahead […]
by Chris STEIN Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US job losses from the coronavirus pandemic reached 22 million in the past month, according to new data Thursday, as President Donald Trump is expected to unveil plans to re-open the world’s largest economy. Amid business shutdowns and restrictions ordered to stop the spread of COVID-19, government data continue to show the growing economic damage. Another 5.2 million workers filed for unemployment benefits […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Global stocks sank Wednesday as COVID-19 infects the global economic outlook, while oil prices slumped as OPEC-led output cuts were deemed insufficient to soak up a supply glut. Sentiment turned sour Wednesday on grim warnings over the economic impact of the coronavirus, which emerged in China and has so far killed more than 131,000 people and infected more than two million globally. The International Energy Agency said 2020 was […]
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Europe’s economic powerhouse Germany plunged into recession in March, with the slump sparked by the coronavirus pandemic likely to last until the middle of the year, the economy ministry said Wednesday. “Falling global demand, interruption of supply chains, changes in consumers’ behavior and uncertainty among investors” had all made themselves felt in the export giant, the ministry said. The economic blow from the virus fell just as Germany was beginning to […]
by Beiyi SEOW Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s economy contracted for the first time in around three decades in the first quarter as the coronavirus crisis brought the country to a standstill, according to an AFP poll of economists. The world’s second-largest economy tanked in the first three months of the year as factories closed, consumers were compelled to stay home and the virus spread to other countries. Analysts from 14 […]
by Heather SCOTT Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The coronavirus pandemic is pushing the global economy into its deepest recession in a century, cutting world output by three percent this year, and the crisis could get worse, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday. The downturn will slash $9 trillion from the world economy, IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath told reporters as she presented the latest forecasts in the World Economic Outlook. If […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Almost all US companies surveyed in the last half of March said the coronavirus pandemic would or already had hit their supply chains, and industry association said Tuesday. The survey from the Institute of Supply Management (ISM) also showed half of the firms cutting their revenue targets, hiring plans and investments in the face of the pandemic. “The data suggests that even as companies adjust to supply disruptions — […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — After the pandemic ends, governments will have to provide even more cash infusions to help the global economy rebound from the coronavirus’s deep recession, the IMF’s chief economist said Tuesday. “Once the recovery happens, and we are past the pandemic phase for advanced economies, it would be essential to undertake a broad-based fiscal stimulus,” International Monetary Fund research chief Gita Gopinath told reporters. The spending “would be even more effective […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The International Monetary Fund on Monday announced immediate debt relief for 25 poor countries to help them free up funds to fight the coronavirus pandemic. “This provides grants to our poorest and most vulnerable members to cover their IMF debt obligations for an initial phase over the next six months and will help them channel more of their scarce financial resources towards vital emergency medical and other relief efforts,” IMF […]
By David ESNAULT avec les bureaux africains de l’AFP Agence France-Presse ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AFP) — Sub-Saharan Africa has not been as badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic as some other parts of the world, but the economy is being pummeled. Here’s a look at the main issues. – Perfect storm recession – For the first time in 25 years sub-Saharan Africa is about to go into recession, according to World Bank estimates. Following 2.4 […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Business shutdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic caused 6.6 million US workers to apply for unemployment benefits last week, the Labor Department said Thursday. That shocking number of first-time claims for jobless benefits in the week ending April 4 was a slight decrease from the previous week’s count of 6.9 million, which was revised up by 219,000 from the original tally, according to the report. With the latest weekly data, […]
by Dmitry ZAKS ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italy on Monday unveiled a record 400 billion euro ($430 billion) stimulus to help businesses hurt by a month-long national lockdown that is like to run on for many more weeks. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told the nation to be patient in the face of a pandemic that has now officially claimed 16,523 lives in the Mediterranean country and left millions at least temporarily unemployed “We will soon […]
