The Business World Wakes Up to a Pandemic

• It reiterated that countries should be taking “urgent and aggressive” action to contain the virus, noting that it is possible to control it, albeit while “taking a heavy toll on societies and economies.”

President Trump announced a travel ban and stimulus measures.

• Foreigners who have been in the 26 countries of Europe’s Schengen Area in the previous 14 days cannot travel to the U.S. for 30 days. The move will have profound economic consequences.

• The president also pledged aid for workers who are ill or quarantined, an expansion of low-interest loans for small businesses, and tax deferrals.

He mischaracterized some of these policies during his speech: It had to be clarified shortly afterward that the travel ban applied only to people, not goods, as he’d said. This spooked investors, according to Gregory Daco, the chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, in a research note this morning:

“Markets reacted negatively to what was perceived as a solemn but confused speech that placed blame on other nations, omitted to focus on immediate actions to relieve the most affected individuals, and lacked in concrete fiscal and health measures to address the economic and financial impact of the virus.”

Schools, sporting events and offices shut down.

• The N.B.A. suspension came after a player tested positive, and the N.C.A.A. said that its end-of-season tournament would take place in empty arenas. The fate of other sports leagues, and the Tokyo Olympics, remains up in the air.

• Schools across the country — and the world — have canceled classes.

• Many companies (including the New York Times) have asked employees to start working remotely.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/business/dealbook/coronavirus-pandemic-business-markets.html