COVID-19 may cause global recession – McKinsey

LONDON – Global business consultancy, Mckinsey, has issued a coronavirus briefing which suggests global GDP will fall by between 0.3 and 0.7 per cent during 2020 in a ‘best case scenario’ while in a ‘pessimistic scenario’ a global recession is forecast. The briefing also notes that some sectors will suffer more than others, with consumer sectors such as apparel suffering “delayed demand” as customers “put off discretionary spending because of worry about the pandemic but will eventually purchase such items later, once the fear subsides and confidence returns.” China will mostly likely recover first from the virus, the briefing says, but the global impact will be felt much longer.