Coronavirus Pandemic Could Cause as Much Economic Damage as 2008 Financial Crisis, Experts Warn

THE INDEPENDENT: Stock markets plunge into a correction as panic grips markets and economists warn of global economic impact

A coronavirus pandemic could hurt the global economy as much as the 2008 financial crisis, analysts have warned, as stock markets plunged again on Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 have both entered a “correction”, meaning a 10 per cent fall from a recent high.

If confirmed at the end of Thursday’s trading session in New York, the S&P will have experienced its fastest fall since the depths of the financial crisis. The Dow is also on course for its worst week since the crash.

Market turmoil was not restricted to the US. In Europe, the FTSE 100 index tumbled 3.5 per cent to 6801.9, adding to heavy losses already this week. France’s CAC 40 fell 2.6 per cent on the day and Germany’s Dax was down 2.7 per cent.

The panic sell-off came as analysts warned that a Coronavirus pandemic could cause a global economic shock as large as the financial crisis. » | Ben Chapman | Thursday, February 27, 2020

Has the West Lost?｜65% of Americans Don't Have $500 for Emergency｜Disconnect between Élite and Mass

Global Stocks Plummet Over Coronavirus Concerns

THE NEW YORK TIMES: U.S. markets were expected to start the week sharply lower, following a sell-off of shares in Europe after more infections were confirmed outside China.

Spreading coronavirus outbreaks in Italy and in South Korea over the weekend incited broad slides in global stock markets on Monday, as investors appeared to fear that the economic disruption already seen in China might affect other economies as well.

Futures markets suggested that Wall Street would suffer a decline of more than 2 percent when trading began in the United States, with airline and technology stocks hit in premarket trading. Delta Air Lines and American were both more than 3 percent lower, while shares of Apple were down by 3.5 percent. Oil prices also slid.

The South Korean market ended 3.9 percent lower, after a surge in cases of the coronavirus disease prompted President Moon Jae-in on Sunday to put the country on its highest level of alert.

In Europe, most stock benchmarks were down 3 percent or more.

The FTSE 100 in Britain slid 3 percent, while France’s CAC 40 was down 3.5 percent. The DAX in Germany also fell 3.5 percent. » | Keith Bradsher | Monday, February 24, 2020

'Brexit Is a Mistake But It Is Not a Catastrophe' - Nobel Prize-winning Economist Paul Krugman

Paul Krugman is a Nobel prize-winning liberal economist, author and New York Times columnist.

Ahead of the 2020 Presidential debate, his new book 'Arguing with Zombies' tackles common misunderstandings in the world of economics.

Krugman talks to Krishnan about what are these Zombie ideas, comparing American and British politics and why Brexit isn't a catastrophe.

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Das WELTjournal+ porträtiert die wachsende Schicht der Working Poor in den USA, die arm sind trotz Arbeit.

‘The System Is Broken’: The Billionaire Investor Who Fears a Return to the 1930s

THE GUARDIAN: Ray Dalio, who has a near $19bn fortune, is one of a handful of the 0.01% to go public with concerns about the system that created that wealth

Ray Dalio, the billionaire investor, has just released his first children’s book. It’s a bedtime story he hopes will inspire a new generation of entrepreneurs and leaders. There are other stories that keep Dalio awake at night.

Stock markets have soared in recent years, employers are struggling to find workers, inflation is under control. And yet: “This period is very similar to that of the 1930s,” he says. “We’re at each other’s throats when these are the best of times. I worry about the bad times.”

Dalio, the founder of investment firm Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s largest hedge funds, and a man with a personal fortune that tops $18.7bn, is one of a handful of the 0.01% who have gone public with their worries about the system that created that wealth.

“The world has gone mad, and the system is broken,” he wrote in a series of viral posts on the issues he sees in the modern economy last year.

The gap between rich and poor has grown too wide, and most people have not seen real income growth in decades, he wrote. The economy is stacked against those at the bottom. Education, healthcare, the tax system, the prison system and political deadlock have created a situation that presents an “existential risk” to the US and the rest of the world. It was a searing indictment of the status quo, not least because it came from someone who had benefited from it the most. » | Dominic Rushe in New York | Sunday, February 9, 2020

Prof Richard Wolff: An Economic Crash Is Coming and It Will Be Bad

Professor Richard Wolff discusses the state of the economy and the potential impact the 2020 election could have.