Bloomberg (April 3)
“The cost of the coronavirus pandemic could be as high as $4.1 trillion, or almost 5% of global gross domestic product, depending on the disease’s spread through Europe, the U.S. and other major economies,” according to the Asian Development Bank.
Institutional Investor (April 1)
“Traditional asset management firms are expected to lose around a third of their assets under management as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.” Fitch Ratings expects BlackRock to be least scathed, although it is still expected to lose over a quarter of its AUM, while AllianceBernstein is “projected to be the worst hit of the peer group,” losing up to 40.4% of its assets.
Tags: AllianceBernstein, Asset management, AUM, BlackRock, Coronavirus, Fitch Ratings, Pandemic, Traditional
Institutional Investor (March 20)
“The coronavirus pandemic has pushed the world’s economy into a slowdown that may lead to default rates jumping as high as 10 percent in the next twelve months, according to analysts at S&P Global…. The sudden stop in global economic activity, the recent drop in oil prices, and record market volatility are all putting pressure on the creditworthiness of companies.”
Tags: Analysts, Coronavirus, Default, Economy, Oil prices, Pandemic, S&P, Slowdown, Vlatility
Wall Street Journal (March 18)
“The coronavirus pandemic is devastating global travel, causing business to evaporate and forcing companies to slash payroll in what’s shaping up to be the biggest test the modern travel industry has ever faced.” Travel bans today’s other issues are different from the financial crisis. They “can’t be overcome with cheaper fares or clever marketing.” Moreover, “the crisis could permanently reshape attitudes toward travel, fundamentally changing the landscape for hotels, airlines and cruise companies, and the millions of smaller businesses that make up the industry.”
Tags: Attitudes, Bans, Coronavirus, Crisis, Devastating, Fares, Financial Crisis, Marketing, Pandemic, Payroll, Travel
New York Times (March 17)
The U.S. economy is shutting down “as pandemic measures take hold. The fast-spreading virus has put an end to movies, date nights and other economic activity, prompting some economists to call a U.S. recession.” By Monday, “it was clear everywhere that most of the American economy was grinding to an unparalleled halt and would remain that way for months.”
South China Morning Post (March 16)
“Even seasoned pros don’t agree on what to do next as the coronavirus pandemic turns global stock markets into wild roller-coaster rides. What they do agree on is that the scary ride is nowhere near over.”
Tags: Coronavirus, Pandemic, Pros, Roller coaster, Seasoned, Stock markets
Financial Times (February 26)
“Panic spreads faster than a pandemic. That might not make it irrational.” The novel corona virus (Covid-19) has already “infected 10 times as many people as did Sars and killed more than three times as many people. China is a far bigger part of global production and consumption than was the case in 2003.” And if it is not contained, “the hit to global GDP will be even worse.”
Tags: China, Consumption, COVID-19, Irrational, Pandemic, Panic, Production, SARS
The Economist (February 1)
“Two things explain why a new infectious disease is so alarming. One is that, at first, it spreads exponentially…. conjuring speculation about a health-care collapse, social and economic upheaval and a deadly pandemic. The other is profound uncertainty. Sparse data and conflicting reports mean that scientists cannot rule out the worst case—and that lets bad information thrive.”
Tags: Alarming, Collapse, Deadly, Disease, Economic, Exponentially, Health care, Infectious, Pandemic, Social, Speculation, Uncertainty, Upheaval
New York Times (January 8)
“Given the century of medical progress” since 1918, one would assume “that we are far better prepared today to deal with such a worldwide catastrophe. Unfortunately, the opposite is true…. A 1918-type influenza pandemic could cause ruin on the order of what the Black Death did to 14th-century Europe, but on a global scale.” To escape such catastrophe, urgent priority needs to be placed on developing “a universal vaccine that effectively attacks all influenza A strains, with reliable protection lasting for years, like other modern vaccines.”
Tags: 1918, Black Death, Catastrophe, Europe, Influenza, Pandemic, Progress, Protection, Vaccine, Worldwide
The Economist (April 20, 2013)
“The threat of a global pandemic is rising again.” In China, the H7N9 avian influenza is troubling and in the Middle East a SARS-like virus has emerged. Compared with a decade ago, the world is more prepared for the “distant but deadly threat” of a pandemic. “But it needs to be better prepared still, because viruses move a lot faster than governments do.”
Tags: Avian influenza, China, Governments, H7N9, Middle East, Pandemic, Preparation, Risk, SARS
