In The News

Russia vs Saudi Arabia: Reuters

Davide Barbuscia and Darya Korsunskaya March 10, 2020
OPEC nations failed to reach agreement with a group of non-OPEC nations led by Russia to limit oil production and, in defiance, Saudi Arabia approved opening the pumps for full production, forcing prices to plummet. Stock prices of major oil companies also fall. Saudi Arabia and Russia have large financial cushions, but other countries and oil companies with debt could struggle. “The world’s top...

Governments Clamp Down: New York Times

March 9, 2020
The world has more than 110,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and nations impose more restrictions to contain the spread, which also slows spending and hurts businesses. “Italy began one of the largest-ever attempts to restrict the movement of people in a Western democracy, with a lockdown of the country’s northern region affecting about 16 million people and fueling questions about whether...

China Everywhere: Times of India

Nayan Chanda March 9, 2020
COVID-19 has fueled a slowdown in travel, trade, economic growth and globalization yet globalization is far from dead, suggests Nayan Chanda, founding editor of YaleGlobal Online. “[A]mid all the recent sound and fury against globalisation, the global economy itself has grown ever more enmeshed.” Chanda warns of challenges in delinking and adjusting globalization’s many ties. China’s share of...

OPEC to Russia – It’s Over: OilPrice.com

Julianne Geiger March 8, 2020
A meeting between OPEC and non-OPC members, more than 20 nations in all, resulted in no deal to cut oil production in order to boost prices. “OPEC and the Coronavirus have been pressuring Russia for weeks as oil prices have tumbled to sub-$50 per barrel, but Russia has so far decided it doesn’t want to participate in further production cuts to offset the loss in demand,” reports Julianne Geiger...

Apple, Google Crack Down on COVID-19 Apps: CNBC

Kif Leswing March 7, 2020
Major platforms like Apple and Google are restricting apps on the COVID-19 to those produced or approved by recognized governments and hospitals. “Four independent developers told CNBC that Apple rejected their apps, which would allow people to see stats about which countries have confirmed cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus,” reports Kif Leswing for CNBC. “Some of these apps used public data from...

Student Builds COVID-19 Tracking Website: GeekWire

Kurt Schlosser March 5, 2020
A new coronavirus for China emerged in early January, and a 17-year-old student in Mercer Island, Washington, worried about misinformation. Before the disease spread from China, Avi Schiffmann set out make a one-stop website that compiles official data. “The site’s simple homepage consists of quick facts that are updated every 10 minutes, including total confirmed cases, total deaths, countries...

Medicine Shortages? South China Morning Post

Simone McCarthy March 4, 2020
China has ordered closures of businesses and schools to prevent the spread of COVID-19. “As the world’s top producer of active pharmaceutical ingredients, … China’s disrupted factory output has the potential to upset global supply chains, and regulators have been watching with concern,” reports Simone McCarthy for South China Morning Post. The US Food and Drug Administration named 20 drugs with...