COVID-19 – This week saw continued dispute amongst officials, regarding appropriate times to ease lockdown restrictions. However, as confirmed cases continue to rise passing 2,100,000 cases globally this week, these plans have been somewhat clouded as many argued that the easing of restrictions and reopening of economies would be premature.
In the US, President Donald Trump unveiled his guidelines on scrapping most social distancing measures and re-opening the US economy in three stages, that would take 4 weeks. This was not the announcement many individuals were expecting as it marks a significant step back from Trumps earlier statements, in which he claimed he had “ultimate authority” over state lockdowns. He told reporters on Thursday “we are not opening all at once, but one careful step at a time”, which differed to his earlier statements in which he wanted to reopen the economy with a “big bang”.
Elsewhere, China’s gross domestic product fell by 6.8% in the first quarter, which makes it the first drop since data was gathered in 1992. This comes as Asia was forced to close many of its major economies due to coronavirus effects. Factory activity was halted in various economies, causing slumps in both investments and retail sales.
The UK announced that they will be extending its isolation period by a further 3 weeks, as the number of recorded cases has not fallen to a level where restrictions can be eased.
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