Doctors have been preparing for 15 years for “the big one,” a pandemic that will rock the global public health system like an earthquake. Now, with the rapid spread of coronavirus, it may be happening. This viral outbreak probably won’t look like anything that most of us have seen. Some schools may be closed; sports schedules will be modified; travel ...

In Finland’s epic national poem, the Kalevala, a hero is tasked with retrieving the mythical sampo, a mill capable of producing salt, meal and gold that is a talisman of happiness and prosperity. It’s a task that now befalls Pekka Lundmark, the executive appointed as chief of Nokia Oyj with a mandate to return the troubled Finnish network-equipment maker to ...

The Federal Reserve finally succumbed to rising pressure from financial markets that have been roiled by the widening coronavirus crisis with its pledge to “act as appropriate to sustain the expansion.” Despite repeated denials that it was too early to consider a policy shift, the Fed eventually recognised that they couldn’t let markets slide day after day without a firm ...

The biggest coronavirus risk to retailers on both sides of the Atlantic may turn out to be empty stores, rather than empty shelves. As the outbreak has spread from Asia to Europe and the US, concern has shifted from the impact on supply chains because of closed Chinese factories to the potential of the deadly disease to put a sudden ...

If the quantum of public spending alone decided the seriousness with which small, open Asian economies are fighting the coronavirus, then Hong Kong’s HK$120 billion ($15.4 billion) package ought to be three times punchier than rival Singapore’s. When it comes to the quality of expenditure and the financing, though, Hong Kong’s plan seems to be less about protecting lives and ...

The Italian government has announced a 3.6-billion euro ($4 billion) stimulus package to help the economy cope with the coronavirus outbreak. The response appears timely and proportionate. Rome can always add to the stimulus later — provided the financial markets allow it. Roberto Gualtieri, minister of finance, said in an interview that he was looking at a three-step plan to ...

Twitter Inc. deserves a full-time CEO. That’s the message from activist investor Elliott Management Corp., which has taken a stake of around 5% and has nominated members to the social-media company’s board as part of a campaign to oust incumbent Jack Dorsey. In addition to running Twitter — which he co-founded — Dorsey is also CEO of online payments processor ...

Bloomberg American stock-index futures rose with European equities as investors took in surprises from the US presidential primary along with market reactions to the Federal Reserve’s emergency interest-rate cut. Treasuries higher continued their rally, while the dollar steadied. Contracts on the S&P 500 rebounded from a tumble on Tuesday, when the 50 basis-point Fed move failed to ease concerns about ...

Bloomberg Indian stocks declined, with the benchmark headed for its lowest level in more than four months, after the health ministry reported new novel coronavirus cases. The S&P BSE Sensex dropped 1.6% to 37,996.89 in Mumbai on Wednesday after earlier swinging between gains and losses. The index rebounded on March 3, snapping the worst seven-day rout in almost five years ...

Bloomberg Just as stocks everywhere are being whipsawed by concern that the spreading coronavirus outbreak could bring global economic growth to a standstill, Hong Kong equities have shown relative stability. The Hang Seng Index hasn’t seen a move exceeding 3% in either direction in six months, while the S&P 500 Index has posted moves of that magnitude in four out ...