The Economic Impact of the Coronavirus on the World

The coronavirus outbreak, which originated in China, has infected more than 37 million people around the globe at the time of writing, according to the World Health Organisation. This never seen before pandemic has led nearly every single country in the world to close its borders, announce a state of emergency and put its residents under total lockdown. While the world is still figuring out how to stop the deadly disease and find a cure, the virus continues to spread, affecting everything and everyone on its way.

The consequences of the pandemic will most likely be devastating, long after the virus is put under control, especially for small and medium businesses. This means a global recession, with all major regions affected. Read on to get a better understanding of how the virus has become the biggest threat to the financial markets and the global economy. What is specific about this crisis, which are the most damaged countries and markets, and what should we expect from the upcoming future?

How is Coronavirus Shutting Down Economies?

The rapid coronavirus spread has put economies and health organisations across the world to the test. COVID-19 hit the global economy with a vicious strength infecting millions of people at the same time. The global GDP growth is expected to drop by approximately 3%, which could cost nearly $20 trillion. Yes, trillion – that’s greater than the economies of Japan, France, and Germany, combined. However, that’s not the worst part.

Spreading across millions of people, the COVID-19 has caused a fearful situation in many countries across the globe. With a lot of help from the media, coronavirus became the most talked-about topic in 2020. Of course, it would, the disease changed the world as we know it. Some lost their jobs, others lost loved ones, but we all lost the peace of mind we had when we are in public. Wearing masks and carrying a sanitiser everywhere we go might have sounded extremely odd in February, but now we’re so used to it that we don’t even bat an eye.

COVID-19 plunged the global market, many people lost their jobs, and many others were infected. The virus shut down tens of thousands of businesses that were more than beneficial to the countries’ economies where they operated in. The airline industry took a huge hit, losing more than $100 billion in lost customers, salaries, and maintenance. Many brands’ stock prices dropped drastically as well.

Closed borders, delays and restrictions on import from given countries like China have also majorly affected the economies in certain countries. Most of the non-edible goods we buy every day are Chinese. When China’s export was shut down, many manufacturers had to stop producing. That ultimately caused businesses across the world to have nothing to deliver, nothing to sell, leading to closed gates, layoffs, and even more hits to local economies. Now, a deep recession is expected around the corner.

What Happens During a Recession?

Recessions are scary. The fear adds up to the fact that people aren’t truly aware of what a recession really is, but they know it’s bad because the media says so. What happens during a recession? To make it simple, you earn less money while your expenditures grow. Economists define a recession when there are two consecutive quarters of declines in GDP. You could say that we’re pretty familiar with such downturns, most of the countries often are in and out of recession.

What happens during such economic slowdowns is businesses are starting to produce less and therefore earning less, simply because people are afraid to spend their money. All that ultimately results in companies either closing doors or laying off many of their employees. That directly impacts the economy of the given country in a negative way. Everything is linked. The coronavirus outbreak resulted in a full-blown butterfly effect, originating from China and then taking over the world by storm. It shrank economies, demolished businesses, and increased unemployment rates.

However, just like everything in the world, it’s not all doom and gloom – coronavirus allowed many businesses to flourish and grow! Look at the entertainment niche – all those streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and HBO and many videogame platforms simply blew up! Staying at home gave a great chance to delivery, for both food and goods to shine. Pharmaceuticals are also continually booming during the global pandemic, and do we even have to mention all the companies that were producing hand sanitiser gels and masks? You get the idea!

Recessions are cyclic, meaning that they’re bound to happen every once in a while. What matters the most is the depth of that recession. Although the current downturn is expected to be the worst that the world has ever seen, as always, there are some who lose and some who benefit. Okay, but what should we do during such a recession? What can we do to make things better and survive this whole situation? – In the following paragraph, you’ll learn more about the things you can do to remain financially stable and healthy during the COVID-19 crisis.

What to Do During an Economic Crisis?

In times of global economic crisis, your actions and decisions determine your financial stability and well-being. Of course, this is not your ordinary recession where businesses simply need stimulation. With a disease spreading at such fast pace, you need to not only monitor your finances, but you also need to maintain social distance and prevent any chance of infection. There are quite a few things that individuals should maintain in order to stay afloat during this economic crisis.

One of the best advice we have is to keep being productive. If you’re an employee, keep working hard, be as beneficial to the company as ever. That way, not only you safeguard your position in case the company has to layoff people, but you also make yourself eligible for a raise or promotion. Another thing you should do is create an emergency fund. We know that it could be difficult to start saving in times of recession, but as that fund grows, you’re going to feel more confident and more peaceful about upcoming challenges.

Shrinking your expenditure has always been a no-brainer, not only during a global economic crisis. We suggest you create a weekly or monthly budget and try to stick to it. That way, it’ll be easier for you to start shrinking your expenses, and save money. The financial risks increase while the economy is in recession – this means that you should stray away from making investments with money you can’t afford to lose.

If you’re a business owner, you might need to delay investing in expensive new equipment and technology. However, at the same time, you should also keep an eye out for deals. Right now, there are businesses that are closing doors and new ones that are just getting started; you never know what opportunities in terms of new employees and partnerships you might find.

Which Countries Were Affected by Coronavirus the Worst?

COVID-19 is everywhere in one way or another. No matter in which country you reside, you’re either directly or indirectly affected by the global pandemic. There is no way around that, but there are certain countries who have had it much worse than others. In most nations, the economic downturn starts by having a large number of infected people, resulting in strict measures by their governments.

A country that has been impacted the most from the outbreak is none other but the United States with a whopping amount of cases – 8 million. Followed by India, which has 7.3 million infected, then it’s Brazil, Russia, and Colombia with a total of 7 million, combined. That’s nearly 23 million infected from only five countries. The measurements that the governments have to take are as drastic as possible, like closing establishments entirely, placing penalties on people who don’t wear masks and don’t respect the social distance, closing borders, and so on.

Every measure that the government takes against the COVID-19 outbreak reflects on the economy and adds up to the depth of the recession. Some countries that rely on tourism and import have it way worse than others. Nations that don’t have a decent health-care system are also fighting an uphill battle. It’s no doubt that coronavirus has changed our day-to-day life, but if with the cumulative right decisions, we will make it through. It’s time to look at another sector that’s doing surprisingly well in times of such crisis.

The Online Casino Sector During Recession in the Top 6 Countries

During the COVID-19 outbreak, brick and mortar establishments are facing difficult challenges, while online industries are thriving. The case is not much different in the gambling industry. The stay-at-home lockdown gave online casinos a tremendous opportunity to grow and show itself as a legitimate alternative to land-based casinos. In countries like the UK, the USA, India, China, Japan, and Germany, the iGaming industry has genuinely shined. Of course, it hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows for online casinos either. With so many people transitioning to them, governments have implemented much stricter laws and regulations.

The perfect example of operators under careful monitoring is the UK online casinos. A poll in the UK shows that 28% of the punters who used to bet at least once a week now bet at least twice. On the other hand, some of the best US online casinos used the coronavirus situation in their marketing campaigns as an opportunity to bring more customers in. Although not in our top 6 countries, you can find reliability, trust, and security in the best online casino in Canada as well.

The Future for Online Casinos Post Coronavirus

The pandemic truly helped the iGaming industry take away the spotlight from brick and mortar casinos. Analysts forecast growth in the online gambling platform services as a whole. You only have to check out all the new casino sites in the UK to see how the industry is thriving. However, things weren’t so bright for online sports betting websites. As you know, there are hardly any sports being played now. That also gave an opportunity for people to try the virtual sports sections in online casinos. If you’re not interested in sports betting, other gambling and casino opportunities, you can always find amazing games to play in our online casino India guide.

The future for online casinos post coronavirus is looking as bright as ever. Players are swarming to play slots, roulette, blackjack, and live dealer games at live casinos during their stay-at-home period. While the iGaming industry thrives in many countries, it sure hasn’t skipped Japan as you can find high-quality games and services in every Japanese online casino. Analysts say that the online gambling industry has grown with nearly 13% since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. You could say that the virus has brought the wind of change to 2020, but the iGaming industry was the one with a windmill.