global economy

As regional oil producers, Indonesia and Malaysia are likely to be in the firing line, with Singapore’s “huge” petrochemical industry taking a hit as well.

The critical need when economies suffer a shock like this is to ensure that the initial shock is not amplified and that there are sufficient shock absorbers in the system to mute the initial impact.

One key area that President Trump has identified as part of its attempt to “Make America Great Again” is to double down on its overall dominance in technology by expanding its lead and quickly playing catch-up in segments where it might lag.

The point to remember is that government programs have costs as well as benefits. There is not just market failure but also government failure. And there are indeed private remedies to economic externalities.

As the virus spreads further across Europe, US and elsewhere, the probability that it could ultimately lead to a more significant slowdown in global activity is increasing.

This is probably the most important thing to realise — that there will be a bottom in markets when the correction is over, and the markets invariably will recover. This is something that we must always keep in mind.

The outbreak is plunging the world economy into its worst downturn since the global financial crisis more than a decade ago, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development warned on Monday.

“We should get used to the fact that China is going to keep growing and become stronger and we have to figure out a way to work with them while protecting our industries and protecting our country militarily.” - Michael Bloomberg

In the event of a cyclical downturn, says Riksbank Governor Stefan Ingves, stimulus will need to come from government spending and asset purchases by the central bank, given the limited effectiveness of negative interest rates.

Why has the arc of the United States’ electoral swings become so wide?