this is worklife, from bbc news, with sally bundock, and samantha simmonds. economic emergency. america's central bank makes another unscheduled slash in the cost of borrowing because of coronavirus. live from london, that's our top story on monday 16th march. as the virus slows down economies around the world the us federal reserve makes a dramtic1% cut to the cost of borrowing and takes action with other central banks to limit the damage — but will it help?

investors are not convinced for now — stock markets in asia and europe tumble again — china's factory output collapses with some of the worst numbers ever reported by the world's second biggest economy. and with central banks practically out of ammunition, we'll find out if tax cuts and government spending will be the next economic weapon to fight coronavirus. and we'll hear from one small buisness owner about how his chain of park cafes is struggling, with people staying at home because of coronavirus, and what help he needs to weather the storm and you can be a part of the conversation. tell us what you think about the stories we are covering or what is happening where you are. just get in touch with the hashtag #bbcworklife. welcome to the programme.

as governments around the world increasingly restrict the movement of people to try and stop the spread of coronavirus, economies are slowing down dramatically. less money is being spent in shops, travel and entertainment. it's prompted growing fears of a global recession that costs tens of millions ofjobs — so, central banks are taking unprecedented action to try and ease the pain. in its second emergency meeting this month, the us central bank — the most important in the world — slashed the cost of borrowing to effectively zero — cutting its main interest rate to a range of zero to 0.25%. it's also restarted qe — which is otherwise known as printing money — to the tune of $700 billion as it tries to keep credit flowing to both households and businesses — particularly the smaller ones that are suffering most. importantly, there is also

coordinated action with central banks around the world including the uk,japan and europe, to increase the availability of dollars — something crucial to financial stability. and all of this is happening because — supermarkets aside — our towns and cities are grinding to a halt as samira hussain reports from new york. across america, the economic damage is mounting, as businesses close and people are asked to practise social distancing. this weekend, new york city felt very much like the economy is grinding to a halt. the 9/11 memorial is roped off, there are few people in the streets, the public schools have all shut their doors, and even starbucks will serve you coffee, but no hanging about in the shop. recognising the impact coronavirus is already having, america's central bank took an unprecedented move on sunday,

cutting interest rates to near zero, and launching a $700 billion stimulus programme, in coordination with its european partners. the president seemed pleased with the fed's move. it's really good news, great for our country, it is something we are very happy, i have to say this, very happy. his treasury secretary went so far as to say the country is not in a recession, in an interview with abc news on sunday. the president's former top economic adviser said that he feels we are now in a recession, is he right? i don't think so. i think the real issue is not the economic situation today. the real issue is what economic tools are we going to use to make sure we get through this? but, so far, the government has failed to enact legislation to help the us economy. the coronavirus bill has passed the house by the republican—led senate has yet to even schedule a vote. while washington continues the fight among themselves, it is everyday americans that

will bear the brunt of this crisis. some 70% of america's economy is made up of consumer spending, so, it's hard to see how social distancing doesn't fast become an economic slowdown. samira hussain, bbc news, new york. the first markets to react were in asia, a torrid trading session with japan closing down 2.5% lower, hong kong down over 4%. another new trading week. in europe right now, you can see we have got markets falling pretty dramatically. london is down over 5.5%. elsewhere, serious declines. we have a cameraman in vision as well! investors very much on edge. it would seem traders as well a very nervous as we start another week

where it is very hard to know what might happen next. the news from china in terms of economic data today, showing factory production, a dramatic decline in the first two months of this year, adding to the nerves the global economy is in a very, very fragile position, given what is going on with coronavirus. that is the update on the markets. andrew, we have seen central banks trying to put in new measures new packages, are they out of ammunition now? they are getting close to being out of conventional ammunition with interest rates, now the vote going to the level it set in the aftermath of the financial crisis, the lowest it has ever been. there are options of going below zero, the european central bank has done that with one

of its interest rates, in europe, similar things. it is not a cost free then, there are concerns it has adverse effects on banking profitability. they can do quantitative easing. if you are a central bank, you can create money out of thin air. in theory there is no limit. the federal bank saying $700 billion in its package. in principle there is no saint it can't go further but how effective will it be. this reaction on financial markets, there is the confidence right now, despite these measures. for one thing, they do think central banks, they have these concerns about whether they can do much more. increasingly they will be looking for governments to take more aggressive action with taxes and

spending programmes. how will they finance that? it might be directly oi’ finance that? it might be directly or indirectly by central banks. in effect, printing money into the financial system. you have to bear in mind we have further moves towards restricting movement over the weekend in different countries. what markets are thinking about is what will be the implication for economic activity and the prophets of the companies whose shares we are trading in. there of other restrictions are very negative. at the end of last week, we don't have official forecasts of a global recession, but a recently retired vice president of the european central bank was saying there is now going to be a global recession. many see it as inevitable, absolutely. markets are responding. they are pressing that in. increasingly so.

and the latest from beijing, a terrible day in trading in asia. 0ne terrible day in trading in asia. one of the reasons we have some grim figures from the government, i will read some out, so, for example, fixed asset investment here, down 24.5%. the first yearly decline on record. jerry— fabric of industrial output, down 13%. first time since 1998 has gone down like that. retail sales, down 20.5%, first decline on record. cpi up by 5.3%. it goes on. funnily enough, when the government statistician released these figures, they are saying they expect a pretty dramatic turnaround here in march. given how much things have sunk here with the economy, effectively shut

down in large part, i think it would have to turn around, no question. the only thing to remember is, after sa rs the only thing to remember is, after sars here, there was a big jump in the economy afterwards. china did recover quite quickly. thank you for the update. joining us now is craig erlam, senior market analyst at the foreign exchange traders 0anda. thank you forjoining us. i believe you are at home. are you in self isolation? not quite self isolation, we are taking precautions. as of friday, eve ryo ne taking precautions. as of friday, everyone in the office will be spending more time at home it seems. many companies are doing so already, following suit quite shortly. give us your take on what is happening on the markets this week? it is what we have seen for a couple of weeks, central banks are cutting

across the board, manyjoined the federal reserve, acting overnight, in new zealand as well. add across asia following suit this week, to stabilise markets as best they can. most importantly, ensure credit conditions remain favourable because the bigger risk is they tighten up and put further enormous pressure on the economies. we were talking about the increasing speculation, the world heading into a global recession, will that have an impact on markets? absolutely, in equity markets, the prospect of lower earnings over the quarter this year and the knock—on effects. for many companies this will be a short—term pain and they will be a short—term pain and they will bounce back later. if you are looking at the airlines, there could be considerable damage in the short, medium and even long—term. it won't be straightforward, for some, it

will be. it is clear the next quarter will be extremely painful. this is where governments and central banks will have to work closely together to ease the pain as much as they can, particularly for those companies that rely on short—term funding. thank you for your time. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. coronavirus is continuing to have a huge impact on airlines. british airways owner iag says it's cutting the number of available seats across its networks by 75% for april and may. meanwhile, budget carrier easyjet is making "further significant cancellations" as customer demand falls away and government travel restrictions grow. so, too, is air france, klm and the scandinavian carrier sas. it is halting most of its flights and will temporarily lay off up to 10,000 employees, or 90% of the airline's total workforce.

fiat chrysler says that its subsidiaries. it says it would suspend production at most of their european manufacturing plants. the italian—american car—maker says the temporary suspension would last until march 27, as the coronavirus epidemic continues to spread. the french luxury group lvmh said it would begin producing sanitising hand gel. its french factories that produce perfume and make—up for brands like christian dior and givenchy will temporarily change its production line starting today. the group says 12 tonnes will be produced as soon as this week and will be delivered "at no charge" to french health authorities. for the media, there is only one story in town. coronavirus is dominating the news agenda. joining us now to have a look at some of the different stories is russ shaw, founder of tech london advocates —

let's start with the story in the ft about the strain on broadband. and with the surge in her work, but you are not convinced. i sincerely hope we can but if you look at spain, and italy, the network operators have really struggled to cope with the huge increase in demand, more video conferencing, more people, younger people, especially when schools are closed, on video games, consuming a huge amount of bandwidth. great that bt is saying they are ready but are we really ready? craig is one of many working at home, all to do with technology. and children learning from home. it will bea children learning from home. it will be a strain on the broadband network. companies like bt are saying they are prepared, they have enough capacity particularly at peak times which tends to be between 8—9 pm.

but those times may be shifting, if school is closed, kids come back from school, for pm, on video games. we would like them to be learning but they may not be. that is something we will experience. coming out of this it will put more pressure on operators in the uk to be 5g ready so we don't have these capacity issues going forward. so many countries are struggling to get tests for coronavirus, not just in their country, but getting them done quickly so they know how many have the virus. 0ne article here say there is a ten minute coronavirus test for $1, that could be a game—changer. this company is a uk health tech company, exciting to see health tech businesses in the uk stepped up. this company is working on kits that can help, targeting africa. the coronavirus is only just

can help, targeting africa. the coronavirus is onlyjust starting to reach africa. if they can do these kits, offer them for $1 apiece and get many across africa tested quickly, that might help at least slow down the rate of infection there. we are seeing companies in there. we are seeing companies in the uk doing a lot of work on analysing data for viruses and vaccines. companies like this will become more vitalfor the health services. a lot of good things will come out in the end, do you think democratisation of tech is one? i hope so. as, we are looking at the company with a public—private sector reaction, the government has offered up reaction, the government has offered up to reaction, the government has offered $1 reaction, the government has offered up to $1 million, that collaboration will be a good thing that tech can help expand. good to have some positive news, wouldn't it? thank you.

till to come. and we'll hear from one small buisness owner about how his chain of park cafes is struggling with people staying at home because of coronavirus. you're with worklife from bbc news. as the coronavirus spreads, more and more office workers are being asked to work from home. but what if you run a business where working from home is difficult? nina warhurst is at a factory in burnley that manufactures plastic housewares — how are they continuing to run a business? 0ver over to you. you can probably see behind me some of the products they make, plastic containers. businesses across the country waking up this morning to some really big decisions, what to do if their staff aren't feeling well. three members of staff here have been advised to self—isolate by medical professionals. the company has taken the expensive decision to top up statutory sick pay and them full average salary. it is difficult for

us average salary. it is difficult for us individually and businesses. some, where they can, have advised all workers to stay at home regardless of their state of health. good morning. you run a marketing company, relatively easy to make that decision to tell workers to stay put this morning. for us, there is not a lot of cost in working from home, we already offer flexible working. in working from home, we already offerflexible working. it in working from home, we already offer flexible working. it is a no—brainerfor us to offer flexible working. it is a no—brainer for us to operate this way. it reduces the risk of becoming poorly and spreading the virus. is there a risk long term you had taken this decision a bit too soon and they will be in isolation for too long? i don't think so. we can offer it from home indefinitely, there is no issue to the ability to deliver our services long—term. what are you saying to your employees, advising them to do in

terms of what pattern? clearly, you need to follow the guidance the government is offering and we are carrying on, as if it is normal. some great working from home and say, it is easy. how do you remain productive? we are doing lots of things in the background to keep people engaged, we can use technology available at our disposal to make sure people feel engaged with the team. we have good staff, we trust them to get on with work, we will still be as productive. a lot is about trusting your staff. businesses across the country i say this is a fluid situation, one day ata this is a fluid situation, one day at a time. a reminder of our top story, the us

central bank has dramatically slashed interest rates, taking action with other central banks around the world to limit the economic damage of coronavirus. now, for most people, a cup of coffee or tea is vital fuel that keeps them going through the day — i know it is for me. that's why, in the uk alone, britons spend more than $2,000 a year each in cafes and coffee shops — that's equivalent to around 8% of the average uk salary. but as the fear of the coronavirus continues to disrupt our daily routine, how has this affected businesses? well, our next guest, rob colicci, knows all about it, because he runs colicci. it's a family business of cafes and restaurants across london. rob colicci, welcome to the programme. in the uk, we are not at the point seenin in the uk, we are not at the point seen in italy or spain, where people are in lockdown are not allowed to go anywhere. but that could be on the cards. what are your thoughts?

it is an unprecedented scenario. london is deserted of tourists, the city has all but removed —— to remote working, so trade is down, the hospitality sector is struggling. last week alone, the majority of our sites are in central london, last week, we were over 50% down, and we are expecting that to continue to fall in the coming weeks. if we remember we have had such a wet february. your cafe is and kiosks are in parks in central london, it is ice creams, coffee, tea, that alone meant you have come out of a tough winter. we area out of a tough winter. we are a seasonal business, we rely on the weather. we have undergone a lot of growth in the last few years. we area lot of growth in the last few years. we are a cash rich business at the

end of the season but we are coming into our season off the back of a lot of capital expenditure. it is a stress test of the business. but we area stress test of the business. but we are a strong, financially stable, profitable business, we have got a very co—operative bank who had been with us for 30 years, they know and understand our business well. when your bank help you if you need? they have said as much. that is really reassuring. we have also got very understanding partners, clients, suppliers. we are a family business. we treat them like that as well. being in london, in hospitality, you have been impacted by brexit. your cost of labour has gone up. cost of labour has suddenly gone up. 0nce cost of labour has suddenly gone up. once upon cost of labour has suddenly gone up. 0nce upona cost of labour has suddenly gone up. once upon a time, we would have cvs posted to kiosks and cadres, now, we won't even see one. we took the view

to change our strategy with staff and the tension was really at the forefront. training, developing staff we had. that equally comes at a cost. this isafamily that equally comes at a cost. this is a family business. you were saying you had been scooping ice cream from the age of 12! my kids would love that! for you, this is central to everything, notjust your livelihood, but your whole family is connected to this. we absolutely love what we do. we have invested in it our whole lives. also, our staff, we are very proud of who they are, the staff we have been able to retain over the years. it isa been able to retain over the years. it is a scary time. we will have to carry them through this. there is a strategy beyond this that, actually, when the recovery period, we have

got two be ready to capitalise and maximise on the opportunity at that point. we wish you all the very best. we hope all is well view and the family. thank you for being the programme. now, more on the impact of the coronavirus. we turn to the us where the entertainment industry is facing challenging times as the outbreak continues to grip the country. michelle fleury has more from new york. despite the huge amounts of tv shows and films being consumed around the world at the moment, the entertainment industry is the latest being hit by the outbreak. in recent days, a number of movies due out soon have been pushed back. take the latest james bond film, the ninth instalment of fast and furious, and the live action movie mulan. it's not just release dates beinh delayed, there is talk of shutting down production entirely. comcast‘s tv unit said on thursday they are pausing production for two weeks, the same with production on apple tv‘s drama the morning show. and talk shows filmed in front

of live tv audiences are going ahead without the crowds. as for movie theatres, we know, in china, ticket sales fell 90%. this is worse than anything the industry could have scripted. a quick look at how the markets are faring. it started on a shaky note. in europe, london, the ftse 100 it started on a shaky note. in europe, london, the ftse100 down over 8%. paris, 10%. europe, london, the ftse100 down over8%. paris, 10%. iwanted europe, london, the ftse100 down over 8%. paris, 10%. iwanted to look at sudden shares to get a sense of what is on the move. iag, its shares are down now over 20% just today. that gives you a sense of panic in markets, despite that move on the part of the us central bank to cut rates and other measures by central banks, the markets are heading in one direction. do get in touch with us. we will be back

tomorrow with plenty more. thanks for being with us. see you soon, goodbye. higher pressure is building from the south. not as straightforward as this area of high pressure giving dry weather because there are weather fronts about and we will still have outbreaks of rain particularly today across scotland and northern ireland, spreading into the afternoon. still some sunshine elsewhere. england and wales, starting with cloud, that will melt away. plenty of dry and sunny weather this afternoon. maximum temperatures, 13. 10 celsius further north and west. tonight, the rain will move south and east but will break out. patchy rain will spread

into england and wales. showers behind it. temperatures are staying above freezing, a frost—free night to ta ke above freezing, a frost—free night to take us into tuesday morning. for england and well, cloudy to start, some patchy rain across wales and the south—west. more significant rain into northern ireland and scotland. stay wet in the afternoon. further south, brighter skies, sunshine, temperatures 13, above average. 10 celsius for scotland and northern ireland. this cold front ringing the rain will gradually move south and east as we go through wednesday. behind this cold front, there is colder air. across southern areas, it is mild. we keep those milder temperatures. further north it will turn colder. 0n

milder temperatures. further north it will turn colder. on wednesday, we will see outbreaks of rain which will break up into the south—east. some brighter weather towards north—western areas. 9 degrees. 13 in the south—east ahead of that cold front. into thursday, that cold front. into thursday, that cold front will move southwards, still some outbreaks of rain on friday. high pressure develops in the north. in northern parts at the weekend, plenty of dry and bright weather. in the south, that will be affected by the south, that will be affected by the weather front and some outbreaks of rain as well. that is all for me, goodbye.

you're watching bbc news at 9:00 with me, carrie gracie. the headlines: markets fall sharply again — after moves by central banks across the world to join forces and try and limit the impact of coronavirus. from today — the uk government holds daily televised briefings — to update the public on the fight against the virus. new york city and los angeles shut down bars, restaurants and other public places. we'll be live in italy, where there's already lockdown — and in france, where the government is warning the situation is deteriorating very fast. at 9:15am — we'll speak to the national co—ordinator of the mutual aid network, who says the response to people

panic buying is to protect each other and check