The US sharemarket was placed in an automatic trading halt this morning after stocks plummeted more than 7 per cent at opening.
The halt followed sharp falls in the European and Asian markets, with the Australian stock exchange recording its worst day since the global financial crisis.
The global markets are reacting to the disintegration of an alliance between OPEC and Russia, which caused the worst one-day crash in crude prices in nearly 30 years and added to panic triggered by the escalating coronavirus situation.
Analysts have dubbed the day’s trading ‘Black Monday’, saying the market reaction is “utter carnage”.
It will likely be another day before we find out what that crash in oil prices will mean for cuts at the petrol pumps in New Zealand.
Z Energy says it needs to wait and see if that price settles – if it does, it could mean a drop in price by up to 10 cents a litre.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said yesterday that petrol companies were “always very quick” to put prices up in times of international crisis and that she hoped “they’d respond in the reverse” by putting prices down.
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Business bracing for impact
Meanwhile, the local business community has welcomed the government's business continuity package to support those hit by the effects of the coronavirus outbreak.
Finance Minister Grant Robertson outlined details of the plan yesterday, which included a targeted wage subsidy package for workers in the most adversely impacted sectors.
Treasury and the IRD are also developing tax policy options, with a focus on more flexibility for targeted small businesses to meet their tax requirements. Further details are due to be discussed in cabinet tomorrow.
News of the business continuity package came on the same day Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr said "all businesses should be preparing for possible disruptions from Covid-19".
One of the country’s largest businesses, Air New Zealand, also revealed further details of its own coronavirus disruptions, saying it couldn’t rule out staff redundancies as a response.
The airline has already axed multiple flights, while new CEO Greg Foran has also taken a $250,000 pay cut.
The DNA of an eating disorder
A Christchurch research team is about to lead the world's largest genetic study on eating disorders – and they’re looking for more than 3,500 volunteers who have experienced the illness to provide their DNA.
The investigation will help identify the biological components that heighten a person's risk of developing anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorders - conditions that have the highest mortality rates of any mental illness.
NZ’s new top cop
Andrew Coster has been named as New Zealand’s next Police Commissioner .
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made the announcement yesterday, saying she knew Mr Coster would lead his team of 13,000 people “with positivity, inclusion and integrity”.
Meanwhile, outgoing Police Commissioner Mike Bush has apologised to the man who spoke to 1 NEWS about an alleged homophobic attack in Wellington during Pride weekend.
The man claimed police refused to walk him and his partner home after the attack. Mr Bush said yesterday that wasn't good enough and promised to work with rainbow communities.
Renae Maihi responds
Renae Maihi has responded to Sir Bob Jones, who claims he didn’t want to abandon his high-profile defamation case against her last month.
Appearing on Q+A on Sunday, Sir Bob told host Jack Tame he couldn’t reveal why he dropped the case because of a confidential agreement between the parties.
However, Ms Maihi released a statement last night saying there’s “no such agreement” .
She says the only agreement the two parties have in place concerns the amount of money Sir Bob must pay towards her legal fees after abandoning the trial.
Other news of note this morning:
Brisbane woman Hannah Clarke and her three children have been remembered in an emotional funeral service.
Wider North Island drought declarations are expected , despite yesterday’s rain.
A CNN poll finds Joe Biden has a double-digit lead over Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination.
And here’s a headline you’ll likely only find in New Zealand : Flutterboard dispute with well-known East Coast dolphin ends badly for swimmer.
And finally...
Last week, the folks at Fair Go were investigating how many hot chips should come in a scoop from the local chippy. This week, they went on the hunt for New Zealand’s most generous hot chip portions in their inaugural, viewer-driven and entirely trust-based survey of best value for money. So, do you want to know which part of the country has the most generous scoop of hot chips? Well, you know what to do .
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