By Nikos Mottas.
As of this writing, there are 140,214 Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases worldwide while the number of deaths mount to 5,123. China remains at the top of the countries with the most confirmed cases and casualties, while the epidemic situation seems to be particularly intense in Italy, Iran, South Korea and Spain.
The outbreak of Coronavirus has sparked huge uncertainty in global markets, while financial analysts are already predicting a new international economic recession. Last week, the OECD lowered its forecast for 2020 GDP growth from 2,9% to 2,4%, while the IMF warned that the disease’s spread has already pushed global growth in 2020 to below last year’s levels. The rapid outbreak of Coronavirus in Europe has pushed the eurozone’s wobbly economy toward recession, boosting fears about a severe slowdown in EU’s economic growth.