Coronavirus Fears Reverberate Across Global Economy

Coronavirus Fears Reverberate Across Global Economy

Investors, fearing that the spread of the coronavirus is tipping the global economy into a recession, handed the stock market its largest weekly loss since the 2008 financial crisis on Friday amid worries that one of the longest economic expansions in history may be coming to an end.. As the stock market dropped again on Friday, Jerome H. Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, issued a short statement affirming that the central bank would use its tools and "act as appropriate to support the economy.". In the most benign, the American economy does not slow at all in 2020 from previous forecasts, as the virus remains largely confined to China and Chinese factory production ramps back up in the coming months.. Asian markets also fell: 10 percent in Japan and 8 percent in South Korea.. President Trump, who has downplayed the economic threat to the United States from the virus, said on Friday that he hoped the Fed would step in.. David Wessel, director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution, said the way to think about a supply shock was "suddenly every factory and office produces 10 percent less than it did last