Travel evaporates; streaming makes isolation life bearable

The outbreak of the coronavirus has dealt a shock to the global economy with unprecedented speed. Following are developments Thursday related to the global economy, the work place and the spread of the virus.

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GLOBAL SHOCK: There is no place on earth inhabited by humans that is not being hit by the economic shock of the pandemic. The U.S. rolled out a $2.3 trillion plan to stabilize the economy Thursday.

— Oxfam is warning half a billion people in the developing world could be pushed into poverty. In the run-up to three key international economic meetings next week, the anti-poverty group is urging developed countries to intensify relief efforts. In a report based on research at King’s College London and the Australian National University, Oxfam is calling for the immediate cancellation of $1 trillion in debt payments due from developing countries this year.

— Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to fall into a recession for the first time in a quarter-century, according to the World Bank. A new report from the bank projects growth across the nearly 50-country region to fall this year from 2.4%, to at best minus 2.1% , but that could hit negative 5%. Countries that depend heavily on oil production and mining will be hit especially hard. And the largest economies — South Africa, Nigeria and Angola — which already were sluggish, will see even more pain.

— Canada lost more than a million jobs last month. The unemployment rate is now 7.8%. The 2.2% jump in unemployment is the largest single-month change in more than four decades.

— South Korea’s top central banker says he expects slow but positive economic growth for the trade-dependent country this year despite worldwide shocks wrought by the coronavirus. Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol’s assessment on Thursday came after the bank held its policy rate at 0.75% despite calls for lower borrowing costs.

THIN AIR: There has never been a more severe disruption to travel, particularly travel by air. The devastation in the travel industry has continued to ripple outward daily.

— The number of passengers carried by French-Dutch airline group Air France-KLM plunged by 57% in March compared with the same month a year ago. The group anticipates the suspension of more than 90% of its planned capacity in April and May due to travel restrictions, it said Thursday.

— Portugal halted commercial flights at all five of its five international airports. New restrictions were activated Thursday that would prevent travel or prevent more than five people gathering in one place, essentially a prohibition on travel with other people.

SUPPLY DEMANDED: The need for protective equipment and other medical gear has prompted a broad response from companies to produce it.

— More than 100 companies have submitted legitimate responses to the German government’s calls for protective medical equipment, the country's health minister said. Germany wants to reduce its dependence on Asian manufacturers because surging demand has made supply scarce. The government plans to award contracts for companies to supply it with protective equipment from mid-August at the latest through the end of 2021.

TECH MALFUNCTION: No sector in the S&P has been unscathed by the outbreak, and that includes technology. Every company, from startups to the biggest tech firms in the world, are suffering.

— U.S. sales of iPhones dropped 56% in March compared with a year earlier, according to a report from KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst John Vinh. The firm used data from 2 million KeyBank credit and debit cards to reach that conclusion. Online sales have not been able to make up for the loss of sales from Apple stores, closed for the outbreak. KeyBank also found that people who are buying iPhones are leaning toward cheaper models now, with the economic outlook dark.

— A venture capital firm says it has raised $2 billion in new funds to invest in startups it believes will be key to a global economic recovery. Index Ventures, with headquarters in London and San Francisco, is betting that there will be lucrative opportunities to emerge from the crisis.

MARKETS: It has been the best week on Wall Street in 11 years, with the S&P 500, the Dow and Nasdaq each notching a 10-point gain so far this week.

— Stocks jumped on Wall Street Thursday after the Federal Reserve launched its latest unprecedented effort to support the economy through the coronavirus outbreak.

PANDEMIC AND CHILL: Isolation during the outbreak has created a number of shared experiences. Streaming entertainment is one of them. Revisiting old favorites or exploring new genres, there are millions of people navigating Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu or Disney.

— After launching just five months ago, Disney says it’s surpassed 50 million paid subscribers worldwide. The entertainment juggernaut has expanded aggressively during the outbreak, launching streaming services in Italy, the U.K. and Germany over the past two weeks.