Global stocks plunged on Monday and prices for crude oil tumbled as much as 33% after Saudi Arabia launched a price war with Russia, sending investors already worried by the coronavirus fleeing for the safety of bonds and the yen.
Japan will boost its special financing for small and mid-size firms hit by the coronavirus to 1.6 trillion yen ($15.6 billion), according to a government document seen by Reuters on Monday.
Tesco plans to return $6.6 billion to shareholders after it agreed to sell its supermarket businesses in Thailand and Malaysia to Charoen Pokphand Group as part of a plan to refocus on Britain.
U.S. stock index futures plunged 5% on Monday to hit a daily trading limit, as global recession fears were amplified by a 25% slump in oil prices and the relentless march of the coronavirus across the United States and Europe.
Oil prices lost as much as a third of their value on Monday in their biggest daily rout since the 1991 Gulf War as Saudi Arabia and Russia signaled they would hike output in a market already awash with crude after their three-year supply pact collapsed.
Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus:
Older Americans, especially those with chronic medical concerns, should probably avoid big social gatherings and airline flights, given the rapid spread of coronavirus, a top U.S. health official said on Sunday, as investors braced for another volatile week in financial markets.
Saudi investors, who dipped into savings and took out loans to participate in Aramco's record share offering, have been shocked by the free-fall in the shares of the kingdom's crown jewel after an oil output pact between OPEC and its allies collapsed.
"This is going to be treacherous for a while. I would advise most retail investors to stay on the sidelines, not panic. There will be opportunities but they're not now," the chief economic advisor at Allianz said.
Are you financially prepared if you can't go to work? As fears about the coronavirus mount, so do concerns about possible quarantines, office closures and school shutdowns.
"This is just the need for fiscal policy," CNBC's Jim Cramer said.
Trading on U.S. stock exchanges was halted immediately after opening on Monday, as the S&P 500 fell 7%, triggering an automatic 15 minute cutout put in place after the 2008-9 financial crisis.
Saudi Aramco shares fell by as much as 10% on Monday, dropping below their December listing price after Saudi Arabia and Russia said they would raise oil production in a battle for market share, sending crude prices down by a third.
Government policymakers will need to implement “substantial” targeted fiscal, monetary and financial market measures to combat the economic impact from the rapidly spreading coronavirus, International Monetary Fund chief economist Gita Gopinath said on Monday.
Twitter Inc announced a deal with Elliott Management and private equity firm Silver Lake on Monday, handing both board seats after a month in which activist investors were said to be pushing for the removal of Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey.