More than 90 countries plead for financial lifelines as coronavirus wreaks economic havoc across the globe

More than 90 countries plead for financial lifelines as coronavirus wreaks economic havoc across the globe

Global financial leaders are facing calls to speed emergency help to roughly one-half of the countries on the planet, as the coronavirus pandemic threatens to wreck the health and finances of billions of people in the developing world.. But deteriorating conditions in dozens of emerging markets could add to the industrial economies' pain and complicate their eventual recovery.. And countries in chaos might serve as a haven for the coronavirus, enabling waves of infection that would hamstring the global economy for years.. And the number could rise as the recession deepens, imperiling affected countries' ability to pay for imported goods and to repay foreign debts.. Together with the World Bank, the IMF has proposed allowing the poorest nations to defer billions of dollars in debt payments this year that they owe to richer countries.. Global trade volume this year will fall by 13 to 32 percent, the World Trade Organization said last week.. The crisis comes with developing countries much more integrated into the global financial system than in the past.. By the end of this year, emerging markets must pay off or refinance $4.3 trillion in bonds and loans, according to the Institute of International Finance, an