Coronavirus Fears Reverberate Across Global Economy

Mr. Minerd said he did not see funding problems as of yet, but he said the sell-off of precious metals was a sign that investors were feeling squeezed by increased margin calls.

Mr. Kudlow and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who are on the president’s coronavirus task force, are also part of a group working on a package of tax cuts intended to serve as a centerpiece of his 2020 campaign. With Democrats controlling the House, there has been little expectation of major tax legislation before the November election, and the situation with the coronavirus has not appeared to change that.

On Friday, Mr. Trump sought to restore some optimism, pointing out that the number of confirmed cases of the virus in the United States was still low.

“Some countries are doing well, some countries are not doing well, you can see that for yourself,’’ he told reporters at the White House. “A lot of things are happening, we’re very well organized, we have great talent, great doctors, great everyone. There’s tremendous spirit, a lot of spirit.”

Reporting was contributed by Jim Tankersley, Alan Rappeport, Matt Phillips, Jeanna Smialek, Julie Creswell, Tiffany Hsu, Peter Eavis and Sapna Maheshwari.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/28/business/economy/coronavirus-economy.html