In This Edition

Key Takeaways

The IMF will further downgrade the global economic outlook. WHO expressed optimism for coronavirus treatments. World's largest container shipping line forecasts a drop in volume up to 25 percent in Q2 as supply chains are disrupted.

Conditions Updates

A rundown of important global developments in markets, in business, and region-by-region, as well as statistical risk assessments by country and by US state. 

The World Health Organization

Amid an unprecedented pandemic the WHO has gained notoriety not only for its public health recommendations and frequent press briefings, but also for its role in the global controversy surrounding China’s involvement in the pandemic. The organization also plays a key role in shaping international norms and regulations around public health.

Sports and COVID-19

While we will start to see live televised sports again the coming days and weeks, significant questions remain about the future status of leagues and events, especially should we see a global resurgence of the coronavirus in the fall, as is projected by numerous public health experts and virologists. Fans should be prepared to accept a new normal for following their favorite teams - most likely at a distance or exclusively through a TV screen for the foreseeable future.  

Science Under the Scope: What’s the Deal with the IHME Model?

A number of experts questioned the model’s methodology and its low morbidity and mortality predictions. The experience with the IHME model shows the challenge of predictive modeling for epidemics and pandemics, because the predictions are entirely dependent on both the quality of the input data and the assumptions made in the model.

COVID-19 and Automation

The coronavirus pandemic is set to outpace the automation effect of past recessions, as technology has never been cheaper, and reducing human exposure has never been more important. 2019 assessments of automation potential predicted that occupations in food service, manufacturing, warehousing, and transportation sectors were most vulnerable to becoming automated.