Global stockmarkets rang in the first day of the new quarter on a sombre【昏暗的；阴沉的；暗淡的；阴郁的】 note after President Donald Trump warned that between 100,000 to 240,000 Americans were likely to die of covid-19. The S&P 500, America’s main index, closed down by 4.4%. London’s FTSE 100 closed 3.8% lower and Japan’s Topix was also down by 3.7%.
Manufacturing activity in the two largest euro-zone economies slumped in March as the pandemic forced plant closures. German manufacturers saw their sharpest drop in output since 2009, with the IHS Markit’s purchasing managers’ index down to 45.4 from 48 in February (any number under 50 suggests a contraction). France’s PMI fell to 43.2, from 49.8 in February.
Spain’s death toll from covid-19 increased by 864 in the 24-hour period ending on Wednesday evening, a record for the country hardest-hit by the virus after Italy. Though the country’s infection rate has slowed in recent days, the coronavirus has still claimed more than 9,000 lives in Spain and 30,000 across Europe. In America, the death toll surpassed 5,000.
The British government promised to step up testing for the disease after criticism that it is not doing enough. Germany is conducting more than 70,000 tests a day on average; Britain slightly fewer than 10,000. The government has pledged to increase this number to 25,000. Early tests on NHS workers have found that relatively few of those in self-isolation were actually infected.
SoftBank, a Japanese group, has reneged on【违背】 its promise to purchase $3bn worth of stock from WeWork, a once starry-eyed American office-subleasing firm. The agreement was signed last year as part of a bail-out, but SoftBank says that conditions for the deal have not been met. Adam Neumann, WeWork’s former chief executive, and other investors are expected to sue.
Saudi Arabia asked Muslims to postpone making plans to make the haj this summer, to stem the spread of infection. The pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina is scheduled to begin in late July and 2m travellers were expected. All able-bodied Muslims are required to make the haj at least once in their lifetimes.
The UN’s annual climate summit, due to be held in Glasgow in November, has been postponed because of covid-19 until 2021. Though COP26, as it is known, had been widely touted as the most important conference since the Paris meeting in 2015, “countries are rightly focusing their efforts on saving lives”, said Alok Sharma, president of the convening group.
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