“An unprecedented number of Americans have resorted to food banks for emergency supplies since the coronavirus pandemic triggered widespread layoffs.
“The demand for food aid has increased as much as eightfold in some areas, according to an investigation by the Guardian, which gives a nationwide snapshot of the hunger crisis facing the US as millions become unemployed.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/02/us-food-banks-coronavirus-demand-unemployment
““Our estimate is that by the end of June, 20 million people [in the US] will have lost their jobs — and I am wondering if even that is optimistic,” Shierholz said.
“The political ramifications of such a huge economic shock are unknowable.”
“As many as 30% of Americans with home loans – about 15 million households –- could stop paying if the U.S. economy remains closed through the summer or beyond, according to an estimate by Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics.
““This is an unprecedented event,” said Susan Wachter, professor of real estate and finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.”
“About 110 million U.S. adults had credit-card debt at the start of the coronavirus outbreak, according to new data from CreditCards.com.
“Almost two-thirds of them ran up the debt to pay for necessities like groceries, child-care or medical treatment.”
““The response [to the government’s relief programme] is overwhelming — it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen in my career,” said Craig Street, the chief lending officer of United Midwest Savings Bank, a community bank in Columbus, Ohio. “We’re talking about attempting to do 10 times our normal monthly loan volume, and maybe more than that.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/02/business/small-business-coronavirus-stimulus.html
We were already in a global auto sales recession in 2019.
“Europe’s car makers may be facing the worst crisis they’ve ever dealt with as production ceases and retail operations close during the coronavirus-induced lockdown. New car registrations have plummeted in the past few weeks as nationwide lockdowns are put in place.”
“The Eurozone is teetering in the edge of a collapse. The massive economic costs caused by the coronavirus outbreak and the draconian measures needed to contain it are pillaging the world economy.
“However, they will deliver their worst hit on the Eurozone [even worse for the emerging markets IMO].”
https://reaction.life/the-looming-collapse-of-the-eurozone/
“Japan’s services sector contracted in March at the fastest pace since the global financial crisis more than 10 years ago, as a shock to demand from the coronavirus pandemic slammed business activity and expectations.
“The world’s third-largest economy is on the brink of a recession [it already was, prior to coronavirus]…”
“China’s central bank on Friday lowered its official yuan midpoint to the weakest level since the 2008 global financial crisis, reflecting broad dollar gains as investors sought safety amid the deepening economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.”
“India is on the verge of an unprecedented economic catastrophe as the humanitarian disaster from the Covid-19 pandemic unfolds.
“The sheer scale of disruption from the ongoing 21-day national lockdown, announced by prime minister Narendra Modi on March 24 to contain the outbreak, is unprecedented in Indian history.”
https://qz.com/india/1830822/coronavirus-may-push-indias-struggling-economy-off-the-cliff/
“Investors are bracing themselves for an emerging market credit crisis as the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic hits vulnerable countries and limits their ability to repay debts.
“Commodity prices have plunged and demand has frozen as the outbreak has spread across the globe, with currencies tumbling against the dollar. This has hit all emerging markets, particularly those burdened with high debts and fiscal deficits.
Zambia, one of Africa’s biggest copper producers, has joined Ecuador in telling investors it was struggling to repay debts… The woes of the two countries reflect broad distress in emerging markets.”
https://www.ft.com/content/bcdcf566-4dae-4d8b-8bc8-2dbbb54da1f8
“Coronavirus-ravaged corpses have been rotting in the streets of the port city of Guayaquil in Ecuador — while others lay unclaimed in hospitals and clinics because morgues were filled to capacity, according to a report.”
https://nypost.com/2020/04/02/rotting-corpses-litter-ecuador-streets-as-coronavirus-spreads/
“The world’s top oil and gas companies are rushing to raise tens of billion of dollars in debt to help them weather one of the worst downturns in the sector’s history while faced with high fixed costs and looming dividend payments.”
“In a chilling reminder of how fast the coronavirus epidemic has spread around the world, Fitch Ratings changed its 2020 view on the global economy to “deep global recession” from slow growth in just 10 days.
““The speed with which the coronavirus pandemic is evolving has necessitated another round of huge cuts to our [gross domestic product] forecasts,” Fitch said in a research report.”
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