The Federal Reserve’s first attempt to stabilise the US economy in the face of the threat from the coronavirus seems to have failed. On March 3, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decided to cut the so-called fed funds interest rate by 50 basis points, from a range of 1.5% to 1.75% to a new range of 1% to 1.25%. ...

When a financial crisis erupted in the US a little more than a decade ago, the impact rapidly spread to all corners of the globe and idled factories in far-distant China. The Covid-19 outbreak has had a similar impact, with manufacturing brought to a halt from a disaster that started in China and escalated worldwide. One example is Hon Hai ...

The coronavirus epidemic has forced governments to make difficult choices. One of the hardest — and perhaps most symbolic — is whether to shut down schools to contain the contagion. Any generalised lockdown would inevitably take a toll on the children and their working parents. The limited evidence we have, however, shows that this measure can be effective in slowing ...