US recommends organisers cancel events of more than 50 people
Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday evening recommended that organisers of events that are expected to draw more than 50 people should cancel those events for the next two months.
The recommendation comes as companies and institutions across the US are increasingly telling workers to telecommute and as citizens increasingly avoid restaurants and other venues where people gather in big groups.
But the CDC said the recommendation did not apply to schools, third-level education institutions and businesses.
The recommendation comes as some states in the US, including Georgia, have decided to postpone their presidential primaries. Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, the two remaining contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination, have started holding virtual campaign rallies because of the spreading pandemic.
Mr Biden and Mr Sanders will shortly begin their first one-on-one debate on Sunday evening, which started with an elbow bump instead of a handshake. The debate had been scheduled to be held before a live audience in Arizona, but was moved to an empty studio in Washington because of coronavirus fears.
US futures tumble despite Fed intervention
By Katie Martin, Robin Wigglesworth, Colby Smith and Hudson Lockett
US stocks headed for another slide as Asian trading got under way on Monday, despite an aggressive package of measures to support markets from the Federal Reserve and other major central banks.
Futures markets pointed to a 4 per cent decline in the benchmark S&P 500 index when it starts trading later in the global day, even after the Fed said it would slash interest rates effectively to zero and kick-start a fresh programme of bond buying in response to the deepening crisis over the coronavirus pandemic. At one point the futures were limit down, suggesting a 5 per cent fall.
In early trading in Asia-Pacific markets, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 5 per cent. Japan’s benchmark Topix rose 1.2 per cent after the central bank announced it would hold an emergency policy meeting at noon on Monday. The dollar index, which tracks the currency against a basket of its peers, fell 1 per cent. The Japanese yen, a haven during times of uncertainty, rose 1.3 per cent to ¥106.33 against the greenback.
The 10-year US Treasury yield fell 26 basis points to 0.6823 per cent. Yields fall as prices rise.
“The Fed has thrown everything at this. If we are now facing the end of central bank action, it means we are on our own,” said Seema Shah, chief strategist at Principal Global Investors. “There is a fear settling in the market, investors are terrified that this was all that was left.”
