https://www.barrons.com/articles/co...rus-ppp-businesses-seek-sba-loans-51586969155
Covid-19 Cases Globally Pass the 2 Million Mark as U.S. Businesses Seek Loans
By
Al Root
April 15, 2020 12:47 pm ET
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Photograph by Mario Tama/Getty Images
Covid-19 coronavirus cases around the globe topped the 2 million mark on Wednesday morning, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, while deaths around the world now total 128,000. About 5,700 people lost their lives Tuesday.
There is some relatively good news as well. About 59,000 new cases were diagnosed around the world Tuesday, the lowest number since March 25.
The U.S. government continues to work to cushion the economic blow from efforts to contain the pandemic. Bank of America (ticker: BAC), Wells Fargo (WFC), and JPMorgan Chase (JPM), for instance, received almost 1 million applications for the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program in the days following the program’s launch on April 3. Loans under the program, part of the federal government’s $2 trillion stimulus package, can be forgiven if the money is used to pay wages.
New Covid-19 Cases Diagnosed Insideand Outside of China DailySources: World Health Organization, JohnsHopkinsNote: Most recent day is preliminary number
ChinaOutside
In America, more than 600,000 cases have now been diagnosed. About 27,000 cases were diagnosed Tuesday, up a little from recent days, but down from more than 30,000 cases daily in early April.
New York City and its surrounding counties remain the heart of the American outbreak, with more than 220,000 cases diagnosed, more than one-third of the American total. Deaths in the city have topped 7,000, while the U.S. death tally was at 26,059 as of 9:44 a.m. Eastern time.
Roughly 500,000 New Yorkers and more than 3 million Americans overall have now been tested for Covid-19 now. More than 2.5 million tested negative for the virus.
And recoveries, along with new cases, are growing. Almost 50,000 U.S. residents have recovered. Global recoveries now top more than 500,000.
New Covid-19 Cases Diagnosed in theUnited StatesSources: World Health Organization, JohnsHopkinsNote: Lastest day is preliminary data
Covid-19 continues to fuel stock-market volatility. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average are down almost 3% in midday trading Wednesday.
Banks’ shares are lower as well. Citigroup (C) stock is off by 4% , while Bank of America shares are down 6.6%. Those two banks reported lower-than-expected earnings Wednesday. Higher provisions for loan losses arising from the Covid-19 economic slow down are to blame.
The banking sector, along with energy and travel , has been hit hard by the pandemic. The KBW Bank Index is down about 40% year to date.
Write to Al Root at [email protected]
