World Coronavirus Dispatch: Global GDP growth estimated at negative 4.7%

Consumers in 26 countries fret about jobs, Australia's unemployment rate 13.3%, One in three South Korean patients improves with remdesivir and other pandemic-related news across the globe

Consumers across 26 countries are concerned about their jobs and household budgets, and they’re cautious about spending or investing the money they do have, according to a new YouGov survey. It suggests that signs of a rebound in some measures of activity -- cited by a number of policy makers as reason for optimism -- will take time to get people back in shops, airports or restaurants. Read more here

Let’s look at the global statistics

Total Confirmed Cases: 12,720,798
Change Over Yesterday: 189,559


Total Deaths: 569,128


Total Recovered: 71,116,957

Nations hit with most cases: US (3,304,942), Brazil (1,864,681), India (878,254), Russia (726,036) and Peru (326,326)

Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center 

Record $1 trillion of new global corporate debt in 2020: Companies around the world will take on as much as $1 trillion of new debt in 2020, as they try to shore up their finances against the coronavirus, a new study of 900 top firms has estimated. The unprecedented increase will see total global corporate debt jump by 12 per cent to around $9.3 trillion. Read more here

Global GDP growth estimated at negative 4.7 per cent: Bloomberg Economics is dropping its estimate for global growth in 2020 to -4.7 per cent, the lowest on record since World War-II. Despite some countries re-opening businesses, new estimates suggest that the recovery will be slower than earlier anticipated. Read more here.

Australia’s effective unemployment rate 13.3 per cent: Australia’s effective unemployment rate that also includes people who have opted against searching for work as the economy contracts is almost double the official jobless level. The figure is around 13.3 per cent, in contrast to the official unemployment rate of 7.1 per cent, according to Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. Read more here.

China Q2 GDP growth seen at 3 per cent, numbers out Thursday: The country first hit by the coronavirus will this week have a clearer picture of its progress on nursing the economy back to health. China reports second-quarter GDP on Thursday, along with readings for industrial output and retail sales. Bloomberg Economics forecast more than 3 percent growth. Read more here.

One in three South Korean Covid-19 patients improves with remdesivir: In its latest update on the drug, Gilead said an analysis showed remdesivir helped reduce the risk of death in severely ill Covid-19 patients but cautioned that rigorous clinical trials were needed to confirm the benefit. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the drug showed good signs. Read more here.

Alibaba's Jack Ma sells $9.6 billion worth shares: Alibaba Group co-founder Jack Ma has cut his stake in the company over the past year to 4.8 per cent from 6.4 per cent, cashing out around $9.6 billion at its current share price, the firm’s annual filing released on Friday showed. Read more here.

Specials

How the world's busiest airport envisions post-Covid travel: “Whatever the new normal it’s going to be more and more around self-service,” Sean Donohue, chief executive of Dallas-Forth Worth International Airport (DFW), said. The airport is working with American Airlines - whose home base is DFW - to roll out a self-check-in for luggage, and all of its restrooms will be entirely touchless by the end of July with technology developed by Infax. They will have hands-free sinks, soap, flushing toilets, and paper towel dispensers, which will be equipped with sensors to alert workers when supplies are low. Read more here.

Post-lockdown working poses challenges for people with disfigurement: For employees with visible differences, the shift to more virtual duties is creating fresh anxieties. Becky Hewitt, chief executive of Changing Faces, a UK-based charity that supports people with visible differences, says that for some of its clients, the lockdown has re-awoken memories of times when they felt uncomfortable meeting strangers. As a general principle, Anjan Chatterjee, director of the Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics at the University of Pennsylvania, recommends making hiring panels as diverse as possible. Being open to the idea that you may harbour an appearance prejudice, he says, is a step towards overcoming it. Read more here.

Podcast: Four new insights about coronavirus


Infection rates broke records across the US, with many of the most severe surges in areas that reopened fastest. One thing that seems to have played a factor: transmission indoors, such as in restaurants and bars. NYT break down the risk, and look at what else scientists have learned about the coronavirus and how it spreads. Listen here.

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