Monday Morning Briefing: China accuses U.S. of whipping up panic over virus as stocks tumble
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February 3, 2020
Reuters News Now
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The economic and diplomatic costs of China’s coronavirus epidemicmounted with investors knocking $400 billion off the value of stocks and the government accusing the United States of over-reacting to the outbreak and whipping up panic. The number of deaths in China from the newly identified virus had risen to 361 as of Sunday. Meanwhile, Thai doctors have seen success in treating severe cases of the virus with a combination of medications for flu and HIV, with initial results showing vast improvement 48 hours after applying the treatment.
Scores of volunteers from across the United Statesdescended on icy Iowa ahead of Monday’s Democratic caucus with one goal: nominating a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump in November. Walking door-to-door to try to win over campaign-wary Iowans can be lonely and thankless work, but opinion polls showing a tight race and Democrats’ widespread aversion to Trump have kept volunteers coming.
Bernard Ebbers, who built WorldCom into a telecommunications giantand was convicted in one of the largest U.S. accounting scandals, died on Sunday. He was 78. His health had been rapidly deteriorating before a federal judge granted him a compassionate release from prison in December 2019, after he had served a little over 13 years of a 25-year sentence.
The Kansas City Chiefs ended a 50-year Super Bowl droughtwith a dramatic 31-20 comeback win over the San Francisco 49ers in a breathtaking finish to the NFL’s 100th season that may have also revealed a new star to kickoff the next century. The Chiefs’ young quarterback Patrick Mahomes stepped onto America’s biggest sporting stage and produced an enthralling fourth-quarter rally that even the 49ers grudgingly applauded.
World
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will set out tougher rulesfor terror convicts after a man released early from a jail term for Islamist-related terrorism offences injured two people in a stabbing spree in south London. Sudesh Amman, who was jailed in 2018 for “Islamist-related terrorism offences” but released half way through serving his 3-year sentence, was shot dead by police when he began stabbing people on a busy street.
Iran is no longer sharing evidencefrom the investigation into the Ukraine airliner crash with Ukraine after audio from the investigation was leaked by Ukrainian media, the director in charge of accident investigations at Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization was quoted as saying. The audio file was part of the evidence that was given to Ukrainian experts as part of the joint investigative team’s examination of the crash.
Irish nationalists Sinn Fein surged aheadof the governing Fine Gael party to draw level at the top of an opinion poll a week before an election that looks set to be a major breakthrough for the former political wing of the Irish Republican Army. Setting out her party’s priorities, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said voters had an opportunity to disrupt the political balance that has seen Fianna Fail and Fine Gael swap power since the foundation of the state.
U.S. utilities stocks have outperformed other traditional havens in recent days, as worries over the spreading coronavirus epidemic sparked a rush to safety. Comparatively high yields and expectations of steady earnings during troubled times have made utilities a popular destination for nervous investors.
Some technology firms in China have maintained operations to manufacture parts and products despite government calls in various cities and provinces for companies to halt work to help stop the spread of a new coronavirus. Telecom giant Huawei said it had resumed production of goods including consumer devices and carrier equipment, and operations were running normally.
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