Europe needs to act decisively

Say France, Italy as coronavirus locks down north Italy

Reuters, Rome
Italy's prime minister yesterday promised "massive shock therapy" to beat the coronavirus and urged Europe to act decisively after markets plunged and his country sealed off much of its wealthy industrial north.

France echoed Giuseppe Conte's call for action, saying Europe must come up with a "strong, massive and coordinated response" and euro zone finance ministers, meeting next week, must decide on a stimulus plan to avoid economic crisis.

France had 1,126 confirmed coronavirus cases and 19 deaths as of Sunday evening. The central bank estimated the economy would barely grow in the first quarter from the previous three months and warned of a potentially severe slowdown.

Stocks have fallen worldwide as the virus has spread, cutting global supply lines and crippling industry.

They plummeted again yesterday as prices for crude oil tumbled as much as 33% after Saudi Arabia launched a price war with Russia, sending investors already worried by the coronavirus fleeing for the safety of bonds and the Japanese yen.

US stock futures fell 5% to hit their daily lower limit and halt trading. London's FTSE 100 shed 8.4 percent a few minutes after the open in its worst single-day drop since the financial crisis.