Global Economy

PBS News Hour: “The Cascading Economic Effects of Plummeting Oil Prices”

Veronica Horton
28 April 2020

The fallout from the global COVID-19 pandemic continued this week as oil prices plunged below zero. In a highly unusual situation, producers were quite literally paying buyers to take excess supplies. The crisis came as global demand for oil continued to be at record lows as government mandated shutdowns kept businesses closed and consumers at home in nearly every country in the world. Despite a recent agreement among OPEC + producers to reduce production by 10 percent, the glut of oil on the market was significant. With storage options all but exhausted and no easy way to simply stop production, it is unclear just what will happen next. Prices will almost certainly stay low though, even as the global economy begins to reopen, at least until existing excess supplies work their way through the system. Just how long it will take for demand to return to pre-COVID-19 levels is uncertain as signs that the world may be in for a prolonged recessionary period continue to grow.

CNN Business: “Why oil prices are crashing and what it means”

Veronica Horton
21 April 2020

This video explores the standoff between Saudi Arabia and Russia over oil production. The clash between the two countries reached new levels at a recent meeting in Vienna where OPEC+ countries attempted to hammer out a solution to the current glut of oil on the market that is driving prices to long time lows. While it is clear that global demand for oil is at one of its lowest points ever thanks to the closures of most economies in respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that production of oil must be slowed, Russia is unwilling to do so, and Saudi Arabia has refused to reduce its production unless Russia does as well. While further negotiations have produced some acknowledgement that all oil producers will need to cut production at least until the global economy is reopened, just what those reductions will look like is still unknown, suggesting that uncertainty will continue to roil oil markets and for now prices are likely to remain low.

BBC News: “Coronavirus: Carmakers Answer Pleas to Make Medical Supplies”

Veronica Horton
31 March 2020

Abstract: In response to desperate calls for help from government officials, doctors, and hospitals around the world, automakers are stepping up to help in the battle to stop the Covid-19 pandemic that has hit nations across the globe. Automakers, with…

PBS News Hour: “Economist Ken Rogoff on Whether the U.S. Has Ever Experienced A Crisis Like This One”

Veronica Horton
24 March 2020

As the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic continues to pile up, Harvard economist Ken Rogoff says that a global recession is almost certainly in the cards, at least in the short term. Already filings for unemployment benefits have surged, stock markets around the world have crashed (taking with them the gains of the past three years), and factories and shops are shutting down. Many countries are now implementing emergency fiscal stimulus policies in an attempt to stop the carnage, but the economic chaos is expected to be especially challenging for developing countries and emerging markets. China, the origin of the novel coronavirus, now offers a glimpse of optimism as it begins to reopen its economy following its own period of social distancing and economic lockdown, although it is unclear who will buy its products if the rest of the world is staying home.

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Global Economy

PBS News Hour: “The Cascading Economic Effects of Plummeting Oil Prices”

CNN Business: “Why oil prices are crashing and what it means”

BBC News: “Coronavirus: Carmakers Answer Pleas to Make Medical Supplies”

PBS News Hour: “Economist Ken Rogoff on Whether the U.S. Has Ever Experienced A Crisis Like This One”