HONG KONG (AP) - Hong Kong’s government is proposing a nearly $1,300 cash handout for each resident over 18 years old to help alleviate hardships brought on by the spreading viral outbreak and prolonged political protests.
The subsidy was among a slew of emergency measures in a budget presented to the city’s legislature Wednesday by Financial Secretary Paul Chan .
"I consider that, with ample fiscal reserves, the government has to increase public expenditure amid an economic downturn to stimulate the economy and ride out the difficult times with members of the public," Chan said.
Not to change the topic here:
US economy: Coronavirus could disrupt tourism, iPhone supply
The outbreak in China is dampening visits by Chinese tourists, raising the prospect of shortages and price increases for iPhones and other products, and disrupting parts deliveries for carmakers.
"It's consequential," Diane Swonk, chief economist of Grant Thornton, says of shipment delays and product shortages. "It's going to happen."
The effects on the economy and commerce have been modest, but the toll is likely to grow if factory shutdowns in China persist and the outbreak continues to spread rapidly. Chinese authorities say the number of new cases has dropped, but global health officials are cautious, noting thousands of infections could go undetected.
Bloomberg - Are you a robot?
Commentary: Equity is essential to economic opportunity | Fortune
Quite a lot has been going on:
Fed should not cut rates since the U.S.
"We have contained this. I won't say airtight, but it's pretty close to airtight," Kudlow told CNBC . The outbreak is a "human tragedy," but it's not likely to become an "economic tragedy," he said.
Kudlow also said he does not expect the Federal Reserve to "make any panic move" to cut rates as a result of the epidemic — despite a 1,000-point plunge on the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Monday. The Dow closed down by almost 900 points Tuesday.
"I think they would prefer the option of staying the course with rates," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott.
Former Dallas Fed president Richard Fisher on the economic effects of coronavirus
Free exchange - Wage gains for low earners have helped sustain America's economic expansion |
A T 128 MONTHS and counting, America's economic expansion is the longest on record. Longevity has not come easily. The expansion trundled along despite global manufacturing downturns in 2016 and 2019, conflicts over trade, and a bout of monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve. The recovery ploughed ahead last year even as business investment decelerated and residential-construction investment shrank, thanks to rock-steady growth in personal consumption.
Since the turn of the millennium demand, not supply, has been the binding constraint on economic growth. Quiescent inflation suggests that spending has only rarely bumped up against the economy's production capacity over this period. Annual inflation has been just 1.8% on average, down from about 3.5% during the preceding 20 years and 4.5% in the two decades before that.
Finance Ministers Grapple Over Economic Threat of Climate Change - The New York Times
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — The United States, under pressure from European countries to address the economic threat of climate change , agreed on Sunday to include a reference to those risks in a joint statement at the conclusion of a meeting of the world's top economic leaders.
The inclusion of the term "climate change" in a statement from the Group of 20 finance ministers appeared to be a notable, but subtle, acknowledgment by the United States that the threat from rising temperatures was a valid economic concern. The reference, on the third page of the document and at the bottom of a long list of potential risks, said the "financial stability implications of climate change" were being monitored by the G20's Financial Stability Board.
Happening on Twitter
My call in the House of Commons for the Government to back plans for further support for the people of Hong Kong. H… https://t.co/O9gKN0pWrv amcarmichaelMP (from UK) Tue Feb 25 13:14:44 +0000 2020
Hong Kong plans to hand out HK$10,000 in cash to eligible adults—an "exceptional" measure that will cost HK$71 bill… https://t.co/hOnODw5xXf BloombergAsia Wed Feb 26 03:40:30 +0000 2020
Hong Kong plans $15 billion spending to support its economy amid coronavirus outbreak https://t.co/jtMjHCESUJ CNBC (from Englewood Cliffs, NJ) Wed Feb 26 03:55:54 +0000 2020
Hong Kong plans a multi-million dollar campaign to promote the rule of law after months of protests https://t.co/Ib6Xnw7bbQ business (from New York and the World) Wed Feb 26 07:11:05 +0000 2020
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