Coronavirus Toll of March 15 2020*;
Number of Cases Worldwide: 167,101
Deaths: 6,473
Mortality Rate 3.9%
US Federal Reserve Slashed its Benchmark Interest Rate to ZERO.
The Fed lowered its rates by 100 basis points to a range of 0.0–0.25% with another extraordinarily rare decision on sunday.
The decision was taken with 9–1 votes.
Speaking at the press conference of the anti-coronavirus task force, President Donald Trump expressed his happiness and said that the market should be thrilled.
Covid-19 in EU, US and Mideast
Most of Europe, led by Italy and Spain, will continue to remain in lockdown this week as the coronavirus continues to spread.
Norway, Poland, Ukraine, and other countries are closing all their doors to the world, while Germany is preparing to close its borders to prevent disease.
The US is also preparing to strengthen its reaction to the spread of the virus. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned that the situation in the US could “worsen as bad as Italy” if proper measures are not taken to limit the spread of the virus.
In the Middle East, Israel and the Arab Gulf countries take measures to control the disease as the number of infections increase throughout the region.
G7, EU Finance Ministers, Cobra
Finance ministers and central bankers from G7 countries Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain, and the US will discuss their response to the crisis Monday in a videoconference to coordinate their economic and financial responses as well as research efforts on a vaccine.
On the same day, EU finance ministers are coming together to discuss the impact of the coronavirus and measures to restart the economy.
The British government’s emergency planning committee, Cobra, led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, will discuss the medical and economic response to the outbreak on Monday.
Change in BoE
The Bank of England (BoE) Governor Mark Carney is coming to the end of his tenure after 8-yeas as he leaves the mandate to Andrew Bailey on Monday.
Christopher Woolard will be coming to head the FCA as an interim chief executive.
US Primaries
In the US Democrats’ inner-party presidential race, centrist Joe Biden and Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders will be fighting for delegated on tuesday in Arizona, Florida, Ohio, and Illinois.
Oil
In the midst of this crisis, Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil producer, which went public earlier this year, will announce company earnings on monday.
Russian Energy Minister Alexandar Novak will meet with Russian oil companies on thursday after failing to agree with the Saudis at the Opec+ meeting, leading to one of the sharpest falls in the oil price history.
Economic Calendar
Monday: China industrial Production (YoY) (Feb)
Tuesday: RBA Meeting Minutes, UK Average Earnings Index +Bonus, Claimant Count Change, German ZEW Economic Sentiment, US Core Retail Sales, US Retail Sales, US JOLTs Job Openings
Wednesday: Eurozone CPI, US Building Permits, Canada Core CPI (MoM), US Crude Oil Inventories, New Zealand GDP
Thursday: Australia Employment Change, Switzerland SNB Interest Rate Decision, SNB Monetary Policy Assessment, US Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
Friday: Japan — Vernal Equinox, China PBoC Loan Prime Rate, Canada Core Retail Sales, US Existing Home Sales
