About this episode
More cases confirmed: China reports more than two thousand new cases of coronavirus, pushing the death toll to over 1,700. In response, Hubei province bans all vehicle traffic while France reports the first death outside Asia. Chinese stocks jump as the PBOC cuts its medium-term lending rate by 10 basis points, in an effort to curb the economic impact of the virus. Elsewhere in Asia, recession fears rise as Japan's GDP contracts by more than 6 percent in the fourth quarter. BoJ Governor Kuroda says the coronavirus is the top risk facing the world's third-largest economy. In the aerospace industry, Airbus says it 'deeply regrets' a US decision to hike tariffs on European-made aircraft, as the White House trade office raises the stakes in the 15-year long dispute over subsidies. In Europe, the U.S. warns nations against doing business with Huawei, as Defense Secretary Mark Esper tells CNBC exclusively that Washington is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to find a viable 5G alternative. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .