Monday 2nd March 2020

Friday marked a bad end to a tumultuous week for the markets, with equities, commodities and bond yields all hit hard. The PMI numbers from China provided evidence of how hard COVID-19 is hitting production. Phil Dobbie asks NAB’s Tapas Strickland whether these numbers will add to the downward spiral at the start of this week. On Friday the US Federal Reserve issued a statement saying the central bank will use its tools it has available to “act as appropriate to support the economy.” So, does that mean we can expect a significant rate cut at their next meeting – and will they be beaten to it by the RBA tomorrow and the Bank of Canada later in the week?