Governments step up economic response to virusCoronavirus could push world economic growth into reverse. US Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell started the effort to calm market on Friday saying the US central bank "will use our tools and act as appropriate to support the economy". Call to 'act swiftly'Governments, meanwhile, appeared to be moving to coordinating their economic efforts to combat economic disruptions caused by the coronavirus. "In this event, global growth could drop to 1.5 percent in 2020, half the rate projected prior to the virus outbreak," it said. The global travel and tourism sectors have already been hit hard, first by a reduction of travel to and from China, and now more broadly as companies scale back travel and cancel conventions.

Source: Bangkok Post March 02, 2020 12:11 UTC