— Ratings agency Fitch cut Italy’s government debt grade, the first downgrade to a major economy to reflect the surge in public debt that is expected to hit countries dealing with the vast costs of the coronavirus lockdown. Fitch expects the outbreak to shrink the Italian economy by 8% this year and that there's a risk of a deeper downturn. — The United Nations’ main labor body is again raising its prediction of job losses due to the pandemic. It is estimating the equivalent of 305 million full-time jobs could be lost in the second quarter, up from a prior estimate for the equivalent of 195 million full-time job losses. The economy could lose 30-40 million jobs by year-end, says Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, executive chairperson of biopharmaceutical company Biocon.

Source: International New York Times April 29, 2020 12:33 UTC