Monday Morning Briefing: U.S. auto industry begins reopening plants

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May 18, 2020 Reuters News Now What you need to know about the coronavirus today Back on the road The U.S. auto industry is slowly returning to life, with assembly plants scheduled to reopen on Monday and suppliers gearing up in support as the sector that employs nearly 1 million people seeks to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler all have been preparing for weeks to reopen their North American factories in a push to restart work in an industry that accounts for about 6% of U.S. economic activity. Track the spread of the virus with this state-by-state and county map. Hitting new lows Japan's economy became the world's largest to slip into recession after the pandemic, first-quarter data showed on Monday, putting the nation on course for what could be its deepest postwar slump. The GDP numbers underlined the broadening impact of the outbreak, with exports plunging the most since the devastating March 2011 earthquake as global lockdowns and supply chain disruptions hit shipments of Japanese goods. China on alert for new wave While much of the rest of the world is experimenting with easing restrictions, one Chinese province is back in a partial lockdown after a spate of infections. Jilin in the northeast reported two more confirmed cases over the weekend to take its total number of new infections to 33 since the first case of the current wave was reported on May 7. Pop-up carparks Australia's most populous state New South Wales was encouraging its residents to avoid peak-hour public transport as it began its first full week of loosened lockdown measures, which saw people heading back to offices. To aid with maintaining social distancing, extra bicycle lanes and pop-up car parking lots would be made available, officials said. From Breakingviews: Corona Capital - Crisis M&A, Emirates, Lithium. Read concise views on the pandemic’s financial fallout from Breakingviews columnists across the globe. Reuters reporters and editors around the world are investigating the response to the coronavirus pandemic. We need your help to tell these stories. Our news organization wants to capture the full scope of what’s happening and how we got here by drawing on a wide variety of sources. Here’s a look at our coverage. Are you a government employee or contractor involved in coronavirus testing or the wider public health response? Are you a doctor, nurse or health worker caring for patients? Have you worked on similar outbreaks in the past? Has the disease known as COVID-19 personally affected you or your family? Are you aware of new problems that are about to emerge, such as critical supply shortages? We need your tips, firsthand accounts, relevant documents or expert knowledge. Please contact us at coronavirus@reuters.com. We prefer tips from named sources, but if you’d rather remain anonymous, you can submit a confidential news tip. Here’s how. Follow the money What did eight weeks and $3 trillion buy the U.S. in the fight against coronavirus? Unemployment checks are flowing, $490 billion has been shipped to small businesses, and the Federal Reserve has put about $2.5 trillion and counting behind domestic and global markets. Yet two months into the fight against the most severe pandemic to arise in the age of globalization, neither the health nor the economic war has been won. Many analysts fear the country has at best fought back worst-case outcomes. U.S. officials are crafting proposals to push American companies to move operations or key suppliers out of China that include tax breaks, new rules, and carefully structured subsidies. Interviews with a dozen current and former government officials, industry executives and members of Congress show widespread discussions underway - including the idea of a “reshoring fund” originally stocked with $25 billion - to encourage U.S. companies to drastically revamp their relationship with China. Japan’s SoftBank reported a stunning $18 billion loss at its giant Vision Fund, pushing Masayoshi Son’s conglomerate to a record loss and highlighting the deepening crisis at its portfolio companies from the global downturn. SoftBank also said Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma will resign from its board, the latest departure by a high-profile ally of the group's CEO. QE or not QE? China’s plans to step up stimulus support for the virus-ravaged economy have promoted a heated debate among economists and advisers over whether the central bank should monetize its fiscal deficit through quantitative easing. Life under lockdown Special Report: Across U.S., COVID-19 takes a hidden toll behind bars ‘Death sentence:’ as COVID-19 spreads in jails and prisons, lack of testing and inconsistent tracking of cases raises risks for inmates, staff and surrounding communities. 8 min read Beaches, parks busy as Europe heat wave and U.S. spring test new coronavirus rules Summer weather is enticing much of the world to emerge from coronavirus lockdowns as centers of the outbreak from New York to Italy and Spain gradually lift restrictions that have kept millions indoors for months. 7 min read Ardern becomes New Zealand's most popular PM in a century: poll Jacinda Ardern became New Zealand’s most popular prime minister in a century, a Newshub-Reid Research poll showed, thanks to her COVID-19 response that made the country among the most successful in curbing the spread of the disease. 2 min read UK adds loss of smell and taste to COVID-19 symptom list The United Kingdom has added the loss of smell and taste to its official list of COVID-19 symptoms including fever and new continuous cough - a step that it hopes could help pick up about 2 percent more cases of the novel coronavirus. 2 min read Top Stories on Reuters TV Health key to economic recovery - Fed Chair Powell Business   1:26 Apple reopening 25 more U.S. stores Business   1:10 Real news for busy people More Newsletters Reuters News Reuters TV               © 2020 Thomson Reuters. 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