New Zealand wins plaudits for coronavirus approach
Jamie Smyth in Sydney
Four weeks after imposing one of the world’s strictest lockdowns, New Zealand is on course to eliminate the coronavirus.
Unlike most western nations, which are aiming to suppress the virus, the Pacific nation of 5m people has set a goal of completely snuffing out the virus to enable the progressive reopening of the economy.
New Zealand’s remote location, tough measures and low level of international connections are limiting the spread of coronavirus with 1,401 confirmed and probable cases and nine deaths. On Thursday, just 15 new cases were reported, the lowest number of new infections since March 22.
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Asia-Pacific stocks climb ahead of China GDP data
Asia-Pacific stocks gained on Friday morning ahead of China’s gross domestic product figures for the first quarter in what is expected to be the first year-on-year decline in four decades.
The Topix in Japan gained 1 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi climbed 2.1 per cent and the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia was up 0.3 per cent. S&P 500 futures pointed to a 2.9 per cent gain when US markets reopen.
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Latin America faces prospect of another ‘lost decade’, IMF warns
Jude Webber in Mexico City
Latin America faces the prospect of another “lost decade” as the coronavirus crisis wreaks havoc on economies across the region, Alejandro Werner, the IMF’s Western hemisphere director, said.
The global lender, which has received 16 requests for emergency aid from countries in the region, forecast a contraction of 5.2 per cent for Latin America this year, after a 0.1 per cent fall last year. Its two biggest economies, Brazil and Mexico, are forecast to shrink 5.3 per cent and 6.6 per cent respectively.
Despite hopes for a bounce in 2021, with regional growth of 3.4 per cent, Mr Werner told an online news conference that Latin America “has in front of it the specter of another lost decade” in terms of income per capita from 2015-22.
Growth next year will not make up for commodity price shocks that triggered recession in Brazil, balance of payment crises suffered for example in Argentina and Ecuador and now the Covid-19 shock, he said.
Debt crises in Latin America in the 1980s triggered what was dubbed the “lost decade” when Mexico and other countries were unable to service their debt.
Singapore reports record daily rise in new infections
Stefania Palma in Singapore
Singapore set another record for daily increases in coronavirus cases, reporting 728 new infections on Thursday evening that take the country’s total to 4,427.
The number of new cases represents a jump of more than 60 per cent in 24 hours.
The city state is fighting a new wave of infections driven by an outbreak in its foreign worker dormitories, where risk of contagion is high given the often crowded living quarters.
About 90 per cent of Thursday’s patients were linked to these structures.
None of the new infections were imported while about 20 per cent had yet to be linked to previously confirmed cases.
Source: Economy - ft.com
