🇯🇵 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for all schools in the country to close from Monday until the end of their spring holidays as part of measures to combat the spread of coronavirus. https://bloom.bg/32CjxMT

🇬🇧 Boris Johnson told the EU he'll walk away from the negotiating table in June if it's not clear he's going to get a Canada-style free trade agreement for the U.K. https://bloom.bg/2wTuden

🇪🇸 Why Spain can't shake one of the world's highest unemployment rates. https://bloom.bg/2T16wt0

📉 The worldwide stock sell-off is gathering speed. The S&P 500 and Dow are down by 10% from their all-time highs: https://bloom.bg/2wSs9mR

⬇ Underlying demand in the U.S. economy was slower than initially reported at the end of last year. Consumer spending was revised down to a 1.7% increase from 1.8% increase: https://bloom.bg/2wSs9mR

😷 Microsoft became the latest tech giant to reduce its quarterly outlook based on the outbreak of the coronavirus: https://bloom.bg/2TnAjej

🔻 Stocks are tumbling in Asia after worries about the coronavirus triggered the biggest drop for U.S. equities since 2011. Follow the latest on markets here: https://bloom.bg/3cckhg1

📉 The further plunge in U.S. shares means we've just witnessed the fastest stock market correction on record: 6 days. https://bloom.bg/32x0GTz

🐕 Meanwhile, the pet dog of a coronavirus patient in Hong Kong has been found to have a “low level” of the virus. Officials will carry out tests to confirm whether the dog has really been infected, or if it was a result of environmental contamination of its mouth and nose. https://bloom.bg/2vqYAsb

😷 Fear over coronavirus tightened its grip on global markets, with stocks across Europe and Asia plunging and equity futures pointing to yet more pain at the New York open. https://bloom.bg/3cj0z28

Switzerland canceled large events and Germany quarantined about 1,000 people as Europe stepped up measures to contain the spread of the virus. https://bloom.bg/2uDnSTz

🌍 Meanwhile, Nigeria's government confirmed the first coronavirus case in sub-Saharan Africa. https://bloom.bg/2PypR2K

🚉 Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney acknowledges that the coronavirus is likely to cause disruptions to everyday life, such as school closures and changes to public transportation: https://bloom.bg/3abSj2g

📉 U.S. stocks plunge for the seventh straight day: https://bloom.bg/2VvF20v

⚡ Here’s where investors are finding refuge in the market storm: https://bloom.bg/2VrYUS5

In the weeks before his shock resignation as prime minister threw Malaysia into turmoil, Mahathir Mohamad was getting agitated.

He wanted quicker action on a key part of his “New Malaysia” agenda, but his proposals only spurred more infighting — including a conflict that led to a scrapped $7 billion deal and eventually helped bring down the coalition.

But Mahathir, who is 94, hasn’t given up. This account of what led to his resignation is based on conversations with multiple officials: https://bloom.bg/38dpLE4

The coronavirus is pushing the global economy toward its first contraction since 2009, according to the OECD. https://bloom.bg/2wmKA2y

India's health ministry reported two more cases of the virus, in New Delhi and the southern state of Telangana. https://bloom.bg/32GcxP6

Turkey deployed swarms of killer drones to strike Russian-backed Syrian government forces. https://bloom.bg/2uKlMkK

🇺🇸 The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a Democratic appeal that seeks to reaffirm the Affordable Care Act’s constitutionality: https://bloom.bg/2vnXUUB

💡 Jack Welch, who built General Electric into one of the world’s largest companies, has died. He was 84: https://bloom.bg/2TfbzGn

😷 Teams from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are racing to catch up to spread of the coronavirus: https://bloom.bg/39h9XS3

Hello 👋 Here’s what we’re reading today:

✈️ Private jets. Escaping to Italy (yes, Italy). Lots of hand-washing. Here’s how the wealthy are preparing for the U.S. coronavirus outbreak: https://bloom.bg/2Tx7hsP

🇨🇳 One of China’s most ambitious projects is becoming a corridor to nowhere. A planned $62 billion initiative in Pakistan has been plagued by delays and a lack of funding — more signs of trouble for Xi Jinping’s signature policy. https://bloom.bg/2Tjwlop

🐦 And Twitter is “strongly encouraging” its almost 5,000 employees around the world to work from home due to coronavirus concerns. It’s mandatory for employees in Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea, but other offices will remain open for those who want or need to come in. https://bloom.bg/2PHKaL2

Group of Seven finance chiefs are holding a rare conference to discuss ways to shield the world economy from the coronavirus. https://bloom.bg/2PFNjLC

Europe's richest man, Bernard Arnault, is among a pack of potential bidders vying for London's Ritz Hotel. https://bloom.bg/3aqulAe

BMW will roll out the electric i4 sedan next year to take on Tesla's Model 3. https://bloom.bg/2vq4VEn

⬇ The U.S. Federal Reserve delivered an emergency interest rate cut in a bid to protect markets from the spreading coronavirus: https://bloom.bg/38kvJ6e

📝 Here’s a brief history of when U.S. Fed officials have delivered an inter-meeting shift to monetary policy: https://bloom.bg/32KalpI

📈 U.S. stocks swung wildly as investors assessed whether an emergency Fed rate cut will do enough to effectively combat the economic impact of the coronavirus: https://bloom.bg/2VEfM86

🇺🇸 Joe Biden is sweeping up significant victories on Super Tuesday, vaulting his candidacy into a dead heat with Bernie Sanders, the presumed front-runner for the Democratic nomination for U.S. president. Biden spent a year limping through the campaign — but everything's changed for him in the span of 72 hours. https://bloom.bg/2Ii5gLX

📈 U.S. index futures rose, retracing about half of the previous day’s tumble. https://bloom.bg/2IgjxJh

👀 Follow along for live results and analysis, along with how the process of becoming the Democratic nominee actually works: https://bloom.bg/39lWJU1

🇺🇸 Joe Biden reopened a path to the Democratic nomination that was out of reach a few days ago. https://bloom.bg/2x9GiMA

😷 Europe is working to contain the coronavirus outbreak, as the number of confirmed cases continues to rise. https://bloom.bg/2vFbgvv

🏠 Switzerland's negative interest rates make owning a home increasingly unaffordable, according to Credit Suisse. https://bloom.bg/2Tkdo54

🇺🇸 The race for the Democratic presidential nomination has tightened further. Here’s where things stand after Super Tuesday: https://bloom.bg/3arOWEp

📍Just 29% of the U.S. workforce is equipped to work from home, leaving many in limbo in case of a coronavirus outbreak: https://bloom.bg/2IwIdxj

🚗 General Motors unveiled plans to roll out an EV for every one of its brands starting this year, vowing they’ll make money and boast top-end range better than any Tesla model currently on the market: https://bloom.bg/32XzsWo

✈️ Inadequate cleaning on a Qantas plane may have exposed workers and passengers to the coronavirus, according to a workplace safety watchdog. An inspector "observed workers wiping over multiple tray tables with the same wet cloth with no disinfectant and cleaning unknown liquids on floors and surfaces," the notice said. https://bloom.bg/2VK5EL7

🦠 A scientist who’s been chasing viruses for decades may hold the key to a coronavirus cure. He’s racing for answers in a windowless, locked-down lab in a secret location in North Carolina. https://bloom.bg/2uYyVa6

📱 You might run into trouble getting a replacement iPhone if yours is damaged. Apple recently warned retail employees about shortages for as long as two to four weeks. https://bloom.bg/3ctQqQl

💉 Here's what doctors in Wuhan who are treating Covid-19 patients told us about the coronavirus. https://bloom.bg/3cx40Ct

🚨 A fresh standoff between Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan is testing the fragile alliance that has allowed Russia and Turkey to work together in the Middle East. https://bloom.bg/39BGbrD

💰 Find out how a crooked banker tapped professionals to manage a web of dirty money. https://bloom.bg/2TCTgdq

🔴 The Trump administration won’t meet its promised timeline of having a million coronavirus tests available by the end of the week: https://bloom.bg/2IopP9u

🚘 There’s only one bright spot in the brutal car market, and that’s electric vehicles: https://bloom.bg/2TIY2Gf

📊 Coronavirus rocks U.S. markets again. The S&P 500 fell 2.4% at the open of trading— giving up over half of Wednesday’s gains: https://bloom.bg/39p8Wra

🔬 Beating the coronavirus faces long odds. Still, there is hope: China quickly provided the virus's genetic sequence, giving other researchers a faster start in the hunt for treatments and vaccines. https://bloom.bg/2VOxplW

🍴 The outbreak is turning one luxury treat — lobsters — into a more affordable meal. U.S. prices plummeted after top buyer China halted shipments. https://bloom.bg/39onl70

🔱 Gold is heading for the biggest weekly gain since 2016, proving it's an effective haven. Goldman says the metal has virus immunity. https://bloom.bg/3auNTDD

Even the world's top infectious-disease specialists still aren't sure how lethal a threat the coronavirus presents. https://bloom.bg/2wvAw7N

It's time to really worry about the impact the virus will have on global markets, according to the manager of a peer-beating fund. https://bloom.bg/32WYC7t

From tea boy to tattooed trader: A secret tipster's life and death. https://bloom.bg/38oIyMJ

🚫 OPEC+ talks ended in dramatic failure, auguring the end of an alliance between Saudi Arabia and Russia that has underpinned crude prices and changed the balance of power in the Middle East: https://bloom.bg/2ImCqdz

📝 Donald Trump signed a $7.8 billion emergency coronavirus spending bill on Friday after the number of infections continued to rise and stocks tumbled: https://bloom.bg/38wagHq

📉 The coronavirus is going global, and it could bring the world economy to a standstill: https://bloom.bg/2vItxrO