(Bloomberg) -- The sinking global economy is suffering through a colossal disinflationary shock that could briefly push it into dangerous deflation territory for the first time in decades.With many national economies all but shutting down in an effort to contain the coronavirus, prices on everything from oil and copper to hotel rooms and restaurant take-out are tumbling.“A powerful disinflationary tide is now rising,” said Joseph Lupton, global economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co.That’s worrying because it could lengthen what may be the deepest recession since the Great Depression. Ebbing pricing power makes it harder for companies that piled on debt in the good times to meet their obligations. This could prompt them to make additional cuts in payrolls and investment or even default on their debts and go bankrupt.While weak or falling prices may seem like an unalloyed good for consumers, a widespread deflationary price decline can be deleterious for the...
(Bloomberg) -- The sinking global economy is suffering through a colossal disinflationary shock that could briefly push it into dangerous deflation territory for the first time in decades.With many national economies all but shutting down in an effort to contain the coronavirus, prices on everything from oil and copper to hotel rooms and restaurant take-out are tumbling.“A powerful disinflationary tide is now rising,” said Joseph Lupton, global economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co.That’s worrying because it could lengthen what may be the deepest recession since the Great Depression. Ebbing pricing power makes it harder for companies that piled on debt in the good times to meet their obligations. This could prompt them to make additional cuts in payrolls and investment or even default on their debts and go bankrupt.While weak or falling prices may seem like an unalloyed good for consumers, a widespread deflationary price decline can be deleterious for the...
Almost three months have passed since COVID-19 began its spread beyond China’s borders, and the market remains in free fall. Capping off another volatile week, stocks fell on Friday April 3 in response to disappointing U.S. economic data, offsetting gains posted in the previous session. Based on a new report from the Labor Department, the U.S. economy saw 701,000 jobs erased in March, much more than economists originally expected as the figure doesn’t even include the 10 million unemployment filings that occurred after March 14. In addition, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Friday that the state had experienced the biggest jump in COVID-19-related deaths the day before, sending the market plummeting even further. For those investors feeling hopeless right now, there’s a bright spot on the horizon. Several companies have stepped up to the plate, developing innovative solutions to fight off the deadly virus. According to some Wall Street...
Almost three months have passed since COVID-19 began its spread beyond China’s borders, and the market remains in free fall. Capping off another volatile week, stocks fell on Friday April 3 in response to disappointing U.S. economic data, offsetting gains posted in the previous session. Based on a new report from the Labor Department, the U.S. economy saw 701,000 jobs erased in March, much more than economists originally expected as the figure doesn’t even include the 10 million unemployment filings that occurred after March 14. In addition, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Friday that the state had experienced the biggest jump in COVID-19-related deaths the day before, sending the market plummeting even further. For those investors feeling hopeless right now, there’s a bright spot on the horizon. Several companies have stepped up to the plate, developing innovative solutions to fight off the deadly virus. According to some Wall Street...
