This is CNBC’s live blog covering all the latest news on the coronavirus outbreak. All times below are in Eastern time. This blog will be updated throughout the day as the news breaks.
- Global cases: More than 2,416,100
- Global deaths: At least 165,939
- US cases: More than 759,700
- US deaths: At least 40,683
The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
10:36 am: US restaurants on track to lose $240 billion by the end of 2020, survey says
U.S. restaurants are on track to lose $50 billion in April, with losses amounting to an estimated $240 billion by the end of 2020, as the coronavirus crisis ravages the industry, according to a National Restaurant Association survey released on Monday.
Two thirds of U.S. restaurant workers — or 8 million people — have been laid off or furloughed as 4 in 10 restaurants are closed, but at least 60% of operators say existing federal relief programs will not help them prevent more layoffs, the survey found. —Reuters
10:31 am: Retailers are begging for the government’s help — but Treasury might not listen
Retail is reeling, as stores shutter and thousands of people lose their jobs while the coronavirus spreads. Now, the Treasury Department must decide whether the risk of the industry toppling is worth putting taxpayer money where many others would not. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has shown little appetite for risk and losses, even as he attempts to support a cratering economy.
Many mid-sized retailers do not qualify for programs the government has begun to roll out to save ailing companies. They are too big to qualify for the Main Street lending program aimed at companies with fewer than 10,000 employees or $2.5 billion in sales. Their debt is too distressed to qualify for the Primary Market Corporate Credit Facility aimed at larger companies.
That means companies like Macy’s, which has roughly $25 billion in sales but whose credit was downgraded to junk before the pandemic, may be out of luck if they want government relief. The retailer is working with investment bank Lazard to restructure its debt, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information is confidential. They added that the company is not focusing on bankruptcy. —Lauren Hirsch
10:15 am: New York City extends cancellation of summer festivals, concerts, and parades through June
New York City is canceling concerts, festivals and parades, including the 2020 Pride march, through June as the city seeks to drive down its coronavirus infection rate, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday.
On Friday, De Blasio canceled nonessential events through May. In extending the cancellations through June, de Blasio it was a decision “we have to make.” Most of the events will be rescheduled, he said.
“That joy and that pride that all of these events bring, that celebration, will be back,” de Blasio said at a press conference, noting that the gay Pride parade was to mark the annual event’s 50th anniversary. —Will Feuer
10:08 am: Facebook just released its symptom tracking map
Facebook released its first map that tracks coronavirus symptoms county-by-county, which it plans to update daily throughout the outbreak.
Facebook partnered with researchers from Carnegie Mellon University to create an opt-in survey designed to help identify Covid-19 hotspots earlier. The map breaks down the percentage of people per county who have self-reported coronavirus symptoms, such as loss of smell, cough and fever.
It shows, for example, that 1.45% of people in New York County have reported coronavirus symptoms. But, as you can see in the map below, there’s also a huge portion of the map without enough participants to show any data.
Still, more than one million people responded to the survey within the first two weeks, according to Facebook. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company will roll out the survey globally this week, which will help it provide a more complete picture. —Jessica Bursztynsky
9:46 am: Mohamed El-Erian sees US economy contracting up to 14% this year
Mohamed El-Erian 190326
Anjali Sundaram | CNBC
The U.S. economy could experience a double-digit percentage contraction in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Mohamed El-Erian told CNBC on Monday, suggesting a much steeper decline than most economists.
“I think we may be at minus 10% to minus 14% growth for the U.S.,” the Allianz chief economic said on “Squawk Box.” “This is a big hit.”
El-Erian said the distinct nature of this economic hit —stemming from a health crisis — means traditional frameworks may not be applicable, acting as a further obstacle for a rebound. “The benefits you would expect normally, lower oil price means more dollars in consumers’ pockets, even that doesn’t work in this economy. So I’m a little bit more worried than what the consensus of economists out there is right now.” —Kevin Stankiewicz
9:35 am: Dow drops more than 400 points as oil prices fall on energy demand concerns
9:29 am: Outbreak at wind power plant in North Dakota shuts down production
An outbreak of Covid-19 at a wind power facility in North Dakota has forced it to temporarily close, the latest example of how the pandemic is impacting the renewable energy sector.
Over the weekend, North Dakota’s Department of Health said there were 110 confirmed cases of coronavirus in people connected to the LM Wind Power plant in Grand Forks — a total that includes both employees and “their close contacts.” The site, which produces rotor blades for wind turbines and employs 900 people, closed last Wednesday after eight workers tested positive for coronavirus.
In a statement, a spokesperson for GE — which owns LM Wind Power — said the Grand Forks facility would be temporarily closed for at least two weeks in order to “conduct an extensive disinfection process.” Employees would continue to be paid “as usual” during this time, they added. —Anmar Frangoul
9:17 am: The pandemic will likely leave a lasting legacy on retail: Fewer department stores
A “Temporarily Closed” sign hangs in the window of Nordstrom Inc. store in the Midtown neighborhood of New York, U.S., on Friday, March 20, 2020.
Gabby Jones | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Before Covid-19 hit the U.S., department stores were in trouble because they had failed to keep up with shoppers’ changing tastes. These retailers had been investing in ways to win back customers. But now their stores are closed to halt the spread of the virus. And no one knows exactly how long this will be the case.
For J.C. Penney, the bankruptcy clock is ticking after it skipped a mid-April interest payment. Its turnaround plans have been sidelined by the coronavirus pandemic, which has forced the closure of all of its stores. Macy’s, with liquidity drying up, has tapped advisors at investment bank Lazard and law firm Kirkland & Ellis to explore options that include new financing. Nordstrom in early April raised $600 million by placing a handful of its real estate assets into a separate company and borrowing against the new entity by issuing bonds.
High-end department store chain Neiman Marcus also on April 15 missed a payment on some of its bonds, according to a letter sent to the retailer’s board from Marble Ridge Capital, which owns a significant portion of the $137.7 million in bonds that mature in October 2021. Neiman Marcus now has until the middle of May to make the interest payment. After that, pending no payment, the company could be pushed into bankruptcy court by its bondholders. —Lauren Thomas
9:09 am: Novartis, US drug regulator agree to malaria drug trial against Covid-19
Novartis has won the go-ahead from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to conduct a randomized trial of malaria drug hydroxychloroquine against COVID-19 disease, the Swiss drugmaker said on Monday, to see if it helps patients.
Novartis plans to start recruiting 440 patients for its Phase III, or late-stage, trial within weeks at more than a dozen U.S. sites. Results will be reported as soon as possible, the company added.
Use of the drug, also approved to treat lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, has soared after having been promoted by President Donald Trump, with some worried the administration’s advocacy for an unproven medicine for COVID-19 has short-circuited the FDA’s oversight process. —Reuters
9:03 am: Southeast Asia could be the next hot spot — these charts show why
The number of coronavirus infections in Southeast Asia has risen quickly in recent weeks, with mounting worries among experts that the region could turn into a hot spot for the fast-spreading disease.
The region as a whole has reported more than 28,000 cases as of Sunday, according to data by Johns Hopkins University. Collectively, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore account for 87.9% of total cases reported in Southeast Asia, the data showed. —Yen Nee Lee
8:53 am: United Airlines posts $2.1 billion pretax loss as coronavirus roils business, seeks more federal aid
United Airlines reported a $2.1 billion loss for first quarter as the coronavirus pandemic drove travel demand down to the lowest level in decades.
The Chicago-based airline said has applied for up to $4.5 billion in government loans on top of about $5 billion federal payroll grants and loans it also expects to receive to weather the crisis.
United is the first major U.S. airline to detail the results — while they are preliminary — of the virus on its results in the first three months of the year. The disease and harsh measures to stop it from spreading such as stay-at-home orders has ravaged air travel demand and and prompted carriers to slash most of their flights. —Leslie Josephs
8:48 am: Germany and others need to fund the post-virus recovery across Europe, Spanish minister says
MADRID, SPAIN – FEBRUARY 26: Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation Nadia Calvino attends ‘Reino de España a la Trayectoria Empresarial’ awards, in honour of Placido Arango ‘In Memoriam’ at El Prado Museum on February 26, 2020 in Madrid, Spain.
Carlos Alvarez
Germany needs to understand it will have to fund the post-pandemic recovery across Europe, Spain’s economy minister told CNBC Monday, just days ahead of another pivotal meeting for the European Union (EU).
The 27 European countries that make up the EU remain at loggerheads over how to mitigate the economic shock from Covid-19, despite putting together a half-a-trillion-euro package for more immediate spending needs earlier this month. Their main concern now is to present a second plan that will deal with the vast amount of virus-related debt that is expected to creep up across the region.
Nadia Calvino, Spanish economic affairs minister and deputy prime minister, told CNBC Monday that Germany has a budget surplus that it is “quite determined” to use. “Now, what we need is for them to understand that we need to also fund the recovery of the rest of the (EU) countries, that we need to fund the recovery of the whole of Europe,” she added. —Silvia Amaro
7:38 am: Putin says Russia has not yet reached its peak
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the country has managed to curb the Covid-19 crisis, but the peak of the outbreak is still ahead.
The number of Russian confirmed coronavirus cases surpassed 47,000 on Monday with a death toll of 405. (See additional entry below about Russia.) —Reuters
7:25 am: Burger chain Shake Shack to return $10 million government loan
Shake Shack said it will return the $10 million small business loan it received from the U.S. government, making the burger chain the first major firm to hand back money aimed at helping small businesses ride out the coronavirus crisis.
The company was able to raise additional capital, CEO Randy Garutti and founder Danny Meyer said in a blog post. Last week, it raised about $150 million in an equity offering.
The government’s $2.2 trillion aid package is aimed at helping small companies keep paying their employees and their basic bills during the shutdowns so that they are able to reopen quickly when public health allows.
Shake Shack said the money it received could be reallocated to the independent restaurants “who need it most, (and) haven’t gotten any assistance.” —Reuters
6:50 am: US markets haven’t priced in a ‘significant second wave,’ says Citi Private Bank
Major U.S. stock indexes may have recovered from their recent lows, but Citi Private Bank warned that the worst may not be over.
“In the event that we have a very significant second wave of disease in the United States that cause a further shutdown of the economy … that clearly is not priced into the market,” David Bailin, the bank’s chief investment officer, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia.”
“The other thing that may not be priced into the market is the fact that this virus may take another 18 to 24 months to really cycle through the globe, and ultimately have a vaccine,” he added. —Yen Nee Lee
6:07 am: Putin is distancing himself from Russia’s outbreak, but it could still damage him politically
People in medical masks in Red Square in central Moscow amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared a week off work and urged people to stay home to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Cafes, restaurants, shopping malls and parks are closed in Moscow.
Sergei Bobylev
Russia’s handling of the coronavirus epidemic is coming under increasing scrutiny and could potentially damage the credibility and legitimacy of President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin, experts say.
Russia was arguably slow to recognize that the epidemic was coming to the country, even as it spread rapidly among its neighbors and in Italy, Spain, Germany, and France.
On Sunday, Russia saw its largest daily rise in new confirmed cases, with its crisis response center reporting 6,060 new cases, bringing the total number of cases to 42,853. The number of reported deaths remains low, however, with total fatalities at 361. —Holly Ellyatt
5:37 am: Spain’s confirmed cases surpass 200,000, health ministry says
Healthcare workers wheel a patient to a triage tent at the Maimonides Medical Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York, the United States, April 19, 2020.
Michael Nagle | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images
The number of people diagnosed in Spain has surpassed 200,000, the country’s health ministry said.
The ministry said the number of cases rose to 200,210 from 195,944 cases on Sunday. The total number of deaths has reached 20,852, up from 20,453 the previous day.
Spain has overtaken Italy, which has 178,972 confirmed cases, as the worst-hit country in Europe, and second worst-hit country in the world after the U.S., which has almost 800,000 confirmed cases, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. —Holly Ellyatt
4:30 am: Austria calls for suspension of EU rules on state aid amid coronavirus crisis
EU rules on state aid to be suspended for countries like Austria that have shown solidarity with hard-hit member states during the coronavirus pandemic, Austrian Finance Minister Gernot Bluemel said Monday.
“This solidarity cannot be a one-way street. We also want to be able to show solidarity with our own companies, and we, therefore, demand that this crisis be used for solidarity in that we suspend the EU state aid regime for the duration of the crisis,” Bluemel told a news conference, Reuters reported. —Holly Ellyatt
Read CNBC’s coverage from CNBC’s Asia-Pacific and Europe teams overnight here: Spain’s confirmed cases surpass 200,000, health ministry says
