BitGou: Friday Morning Briefing: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tests positive for coronavirus

Coronavirus

UK Prime Minister tests positive for coronavirus
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested positive for coronavirus and is self isolating but will still lead the government’s response to the outbreak. “Over the last 24 hours I have developed mild symptoms and tested positive for coronavirus,” Johnson said. “I am now self-isolating, but I will continue to lead the government’s response via video-conference as we fight this virus.”

What you need to know about the coronavirus

U.S. overtakes China
There are now more than half a million coronavirus cases across 202 countries and territories globally, with the United States overtaking China as the country with the most infections. Infection rates are starting to pick up in Africa, Latin America and parts of the Middle East. The United States contributed roughly one-third of newly reported cases, as testing in the country expanded, with over 17,000 cases in the past 24 hours, and 281 deaths, the highest single-day case load of any country since the outbreak began.

Record U.S. jobless claims; $5 trillion injection
The number of Americans filing unemployment claims surged to a record 3.28 million last week, the clearest evidence yet of the virus' impact on the economy. Leaders of the G20 agreed to inject some $5 trillion into the global economy, with that headline-grabbing figure including the $2 trillion the House of Representatives is expected to give final approval to on Friday.

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Xi Jinping offers Trump help in fighting coronavirus
Chinese President Xi Jinping told President Donald Trump during a phone call that he would have China’s support in fighting the coronavirus, as the United States faces the prospect of becoming the next global epicenter of the pandemic.

Breakingviews - Corona Capital: Sovereign funds, India rates, Next. India’s central bank throws borrowers a credit lifeline and retailer Next has warehouse woes. Breakingviews columnists across the globe tackle the latest financial fallout from Covid-19 in Corona Capital.

World

Brazil will cut back on efforts to fight environmental crimes during the coronavirus outbreak, an official at environmental agency Ibama told Reuters, despite concerns that reduced protection could lead to a spike in deforestation. Ibama Director of Environmental Protection Olivaldi Azevedo said the outbreak has left him little choice but to send fewer enforcement personnel into the field because of the highly contagious virus.

In an emotional show of solidarity, locked-down Britons all over the country took to their balconies and doorsteps on Thursday evening to applaud health workers who are battling the spread of coronavirus. Britain’s efforts to keep its economy afloat through the coronavirus crisis are likely to cause its budget deficit to more than triple to over $210 billion over the coming year, a think tank said.

Support for the demands of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong has grown even as rallies have paused due to the coronavirus outbreak, according to a survey conducted for Reuters that also showed a widespread lack of confidence in the government’s ability to manage the COVID-19 crisis.

Getting within a meter of another person at a restaurant or a shopping queue in Singapore can now land you in prison under some of the toughest punishments seen worldwide to implement social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.

A spike in coronavirus patients means hospitals in and around Paris will reach saturation point within 48 hours, the head of the French Hospital Federation said, with the peak not expected until April. Paris and its suburbs now account for over a quarter of the 29,000 confirmed coronavirus infections in French hospitals, with almost 1,300 now in intensive care. The death toll nationwide as of Thursday evening stood at 1,696.

The fight against the coronavirus in Australia is being hampered by mixed messages from the national and state governments, leaving the public confused, as the prime minister’s incremental approach contrasts with a state push to ‘go hard, go fast’.

Business

Exclusive: Russia calls for new enlarged OPEC deal to tackle oil demand collapse

A new OPEC+ deal to balance oil markets might be possible if other countries join in, Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund said, adding that countries should also cooperate to cushion the economic fallout from coronavirus.

3 min read

U.S. airlines to dash for cash grants, not loans, even with potential government stake

U.S. airlines are preparing to tap the government for up to $25 billion in grants to cover payroll in a sharp travel downturn triggered by the coronavirus, even after the government warned it may take stakes in exchange for bailout funds, people familiar with the matter said.

4 min read

Mini-bull, tired bear, or something in-between

Investors could be forgiven for doing a double-take: Wait, we’re back in a bull market? The Dow Jones' surge of over 20% from its coronavirus-induced recent low this week, by one definition used on Wall Street, suggests a new bull market. The surge came on hopes a $2 trillion stimulus measure would flood the country with cash in a bid to counter the economic impact of the intensifying pandemic. But that definition should be treated with a large piece of caution.

3 min read