Coronavirus Turmoil in 5 Charts, 10 Quotes, 5 Photos and 1 Map

There’s still plenty of reason for caution. Democratic lawmakers appeared cool to some of Mr. Trump’s ideas, like targeted tax cuts for certain industries, and have enormous negotiating leverage over spending matters. There are also questions about whether the E.U. — traditionally criticized for acting slowly in crises — can get its act together quickly enough. And the fight between Saudi Arabia and Russia over oil production, which helped set off yesterday’s plunge in oil prices, continued this morning as the Saudis prepared to flood the market.

Other ways the coronavirus is hitting business: An employee at Steve Cohen’s Point72 hedge fund has tested positive, as have a London-based employee of KKR and a Deutsche Bank worker in Frankfurt. The S.E.C. told employees to work remotely after an employee showed symptoms of infection. And the NYT is keeping track of conferences, festivals and other cultural events that have been postponed or canceled.

What people are saying

• “Now that the virus has a foothold in so many countries, the threat of a pandemic has become very real.”— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organization’s director-general

• “Good for the consumer, gasoline prices coming down!” — President Trump, on Twitter

• “Low gasoline prices don’t do much for you if schools are closed, you cancel your trip or you’re working from home because of the virus.” — Daniel Yergin, an energy historian and vice chairman of IHS

• “People you trust, people you probably voted for, have spent weeks minimizing what is clearly a very serious problem.” — Tucker Carlson, the Fox News host, on air yesterday

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/10/business/dealbook/coronavirus-markets-oil.html