The outbreak of the coronavirus has dealt a shock to the global economy with unprecedented speed. Following are developments on Friday related to the global economy, the work place and the spread of the virus.
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CROWD CONTROL: Walmart still wants customers, just fewer of them at a time. The nation's largest retailer said it will now allow no more than five customers for each 1,000 square feet at a given time, roughly about 20% of the average store's capacity. To oversee the restriction, workers will mark a queue at a single-entry door, and direct arriving customers there, where they'll be admitted one by one. Walmart joins Target and others in trying to limit the number of customers in the store to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
COSTS MOUNT: The pandemic will cost the global economy as much as $4.1 trillion, or nearly 5% of all economic activity, according to new estimates from the Asian Development Bank.
The head of the International Monetary Fund said the recession sparked by the coronavirus pandemic is "way worse" than the 2008 global recession. At a press briefing in Geneva on Friday, IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva described the situation as "a crisis like no other."
SMALL BUSINESS: More than $875 million in loan applications had been processed through the new small business loan program, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said via Twitter, "almost all from community banks!" Mnuchin said in that tweet that big banks were also taking applications and would be submitting them shortly. However, there were signs that the program is off to a rough start.
HEAVY INDUSTRY: Toyota is halting production at five of its 18 plants in Japan as sales evaporate. The stoppage will last three days for most of the plants, but one plant will close until mid-April.
The affected plants produce vehicles for export, including Lexus luxury models and the Prius hybrid. Other Japanese automakers, such as Honda Motor Co., have also suspended production.
The U.S. auto industry is completely shut down.
CORONA SIDELINED BY CORONAVIRUS: The coronavirus pandemic is even closing the taps on Corona beer -- along with most other brews across Mexico.
Major breweries announced Friday they are suspending operations in response to government orders for non-essential businesses to keep their workers at home.
Grupo Modelo, maker of Corona among other popular brands, said it will suspend its operations at plants around the country by Sunday. The company pointed out in a statement that thousands of farmers depend on it buying their grain. It said it has a plan that would allow it to continue production with 75% of its workforce at home if the government decides to allow it to continue operating.
Some Mexican states have also imposed dry laws that restrict the sale of alcohol during the health crisis.
ROUNDING IT OUT: The U.S. typically has a unique response to crisis, and the coronavirus is no different.
Firearm sales spiked 85% last month compared with the March last year, according an analysis of the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System by Small Arms Analytics and Forecasting.
The laws of supply and demand also apply to arming up, of course, and the cost of adding guns the the shopping list will cost you.
"Much of the industry's inventory will have been depleted, so that we anticipate that weapons and ammunition prices increased as well," said Jurgen Brauer, SAAF's chief economist.
Data on prices will be released soon.
Business on 04/04/2020