Governments pull out stops to mitigate fallout from Covid-19

THE past week saw policymakers across the pandemic-stricken world unleashing a slew of monetary and fiscal measures to soften the blow of an unprecedented health crisis wrought by Covid-19.

"Whatever it takes" seems to be the mantra among central banks and governments, as they fight off the coronavirus-induced recession with drastic measures to save jobs and businesses, and stem the bloodletting in financial markets amid widespread lockdowns that have brought the world to a near standstill.

Already, major economies like the United States and the European Union are expected to slip into recession this year, even as updates out of these developed nations suggest that the worst from the virus outbreak has yet to come. More of such forceful measures cannot be ruled out if the fallout worsens.