- Asian stock markets are rising strongly despite increasing concerns over the continuing spread of the novel coronavirus. The Japanese Nikkei 225 Index is up by almost 2% today.
- The Chair of the Federal Reserve said the U.S. economy is entering a period of extraordinary uncertainty and emphasized the importance of containing the coronavirus to economic health.
- Gold made a new 8-year high weekly close last Friday, and looks likely to rise higher still this week.
- Friday saw the highest daily tally yet of new confirmed coronavirus cases yet worldwide, with 194,190 new confirmed cases. The World Health Organization says “the worst is yet to come”.
- In Forex, risk sentiment has improved, with precious metals and the Australian Dollar strong, while the Japanese Yen is currently the weakest currency.
- Coronavirus deaths in Latin America and the Caribbean are 52% of the global daily total, well exceeding those in both the U.S.A. (12%) and Europe (approx. 10%) which shows that the epicenter of the pandemic is in South America.
- Total confirmed new coronavirus cases stand at over 10.3 million with an average case fatality rate of 4.91%.
- Brazil continues to see more daily deaths from coronavirus than any other country in the world.
- The rate of new coronavirus infections appears to be increasing most quickly in Brazil, the U.S.A., India, Mexico, Colombia, South Africa, Iraq, Serbia, Costa Rica, Israel, the Czech Republic, Japan, Austria, Switzerland, and Slovenia.