Finance Minister Grant Robertson said a recession in New Zealand is now almost certain and would likely be more severe than the downturn after the 2008 global financial crisis. The government currently has a net debt level much lower than many other countries that gives it room to borrow. New Zealand has so far been largely spared from the disease itself, with only eight confirmed cases of the coronavirus. But many parts of the economy have already been hard it, especially the tourism industry, the nation’s single largest earner of foreign income. The government is also requiring nearly every new arrival to quarantine themselves for two weeks, effectively halting the flow of tourists.-AP

Source: The Standard March 17, 2020 01:52 UTC