We have read how the economy will be crippled by lockdowns. China’s Q1 GDP growth is negative 6.8 percent versus a year ago, according to government statistics released Friday. Article here. This was caused by the extensive city lockdowns which helped to reduce the effects from COVID-19 tremendously. Please refer to the below image for Active Cases in China. Information from worldometeres.info
Malaysia’s Movement Control Order (MCO) has also caused the forecast for GDP growth for 2020 to drop to either a positive 0.5% or as bad as a negative 2% by our Bank Negara Malaysia(BNM). Latest forecast on 2021 GDP growth for Malaysia is here. One said up to 9% growth!
Due to the devastating effects to the economy from a lockdown, the U.S. will be reopening in some states. Article in stratistimes.com US President Donald Trump said on Saturday (April 18) that Texas and Vermont will allow certain businesses to reopen on Monday while observing coronavirus-related precautions while Montana will begin lifting restrictions on Friday. He said, “We continue to see a number of positive signs that the virus has passed its peak.”
There were some state governors who warned that they will not act prematurely by opening their economies unless there are more testing for the virus. Business leaders have also told Trump that there needs to be a widespread testing in place before their companies will return to normal operations. On this request, Trump said, “”our testing is getting better and better.” Please read the full article here: Article in stratistimes.com
The U.S. economy is the largest in the world. All its actions will be watched closely. If this proves to be a successful move, then they have helped to show that businesses can continue even with COVID-19. It’s a balance between the virus and the businesses. One week can be a very long time when it comes the economy. Happy following.
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