The bonds are structured so that their principal, or face value, is written down following outbreaks of certain diseases named as covered perils.

They were issued to raise funds for the World Bank’s Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility, which sends money to developing countries that need help tackling these diseases. To date, the pandemic securities have not been triggered.

The first vaccine trials were expected to begin in about two months and it would take a further three months to determine safety and efficacy which means the fastest possible time frame would still be upwards of 6-8 months before a breakthrough, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said at the White House briefing, with Trump looking on.

-In the United States, Microsoft became the second trillion-dollar company to warn about its results after Apple. X. Its Frankfurt-listed shares were down 4%.
-Global equities have now fallen for six straight days. Wall Street’s so-called fear gauge was near its late 2018 highs.

“COVID-19 is battering the global economy in numerous ways. Chinese business travel and tourism has all but stopped; global airlines are not going to China and cruise lines are cancelling most Asia-Pacific itineraries. This is a huge problem for major travel destinations, including in the US, where some 3 million Chinese tourists visit each year,” Moody’s Analytics said.

Oxford Economics Ltd. reckons an international health crisis could be enough to wipe more than $1 trillion from global gross domestic product. That would be the economic price tag for a spike in workplace absenteeism, lower productivity, sliding travel, disrupted supply chains and reduced trade and investment.