We cannot predict when such liquidity shortages will happen. But we do know that when the global capital pipelines freeze up, a short-term liquidity problem can quickly slide into a deeper and longer-lasting solvency problem. A liquidity line that is available on demand can be a lifeline in such cases.

The IMF responded to this need by establishing a new facility last week called the Short-term Liquidity Line (SLL), the first addition to the IMF’s financing toolkit in almost ten years. As part of its broader crisis-response strategy, this new facility provides a reliable and renewable credit line, without ex post conditionality, to members with very strong fundamentals and policy frameworks—the same qualification criteria as another IMF facility called the Flexible Credit Line. The SLL is designed to address a special balance-of-payments need—potential, moderate, and short-term—reflected in capital account pressures following external shocks.

The virtual platform is a common space where the authorities of the Americas will be able to exchange, share and consult information, materials and tools to support them in addressing the challenges of the emergency that the novel coronavirus represents, as well as others that may arise in the future.

La directora del Departamento de Inclusión Social de la OEA, Betilde Muñoz-Pogossian, indicó que “además de las afectaciones en el tema de salud, de los que lamentablemente fallecen y luego los que no tienen acceso al sistema de salud  medicinas, están las consecuencias en las personas del cese de la actividad económica.

On March 20, 2020, Pope Francis asked the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (DPIHD) to establish a Commission consisting of five working groups with the objectives of: supporting local Churches, enabling them within their own local circumstances to be active agents of assistance in cooperation with Caritas Internationalis; focusing on the study of the pandemic, reflecting on society and a post-Covid-19 world, particularly in areas such as the environment, economy, employment, health, policy, communication and security; supporting the Holy See in its activities and in its relations with Countries and International Organizations, conveying to them the results of the research, dialogue and reflection undertaken; and funding its activities in the areas of research, analysis and communication.

The Foreign Ministers of Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Singapore, Sout Africa, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland signed this document, where they establish: “The COVID-19 pandemic is a wake-up call for multilateralism. Trying to cope with the immediate devastating effects of the virus, nations have turned toward imposing unprecedented executive measures, including closing borders. However, a virus knows no borders. All countries are affected. We must remain united in our shared humanity. The fight against this global pandemic, which is taking so many lives and challenging our societies, requires more and enhanced international cooperation and worldwide solidarity.” The document addresses the health, financial, information, prevention and economic challenges the world currently faces.

This article by the CATO Institute says that as the COVID-19 virus spreads across the U.S., some Americans have highlighted the economic consequences of the crisis, particularly the disruptive drop in production of goods destined for U.S. manufacturers. This has led to calls to use the crisis as an opportunity to decouple the two nations economically, one reason for such being to protect U.S. companies and consumers from supply disruptions.

There always is a case for diversification, says the CATO Institute article, as well as domestic production of narrowly defined essential goods. Yet autarky long has been recognized as a strategy of economic impoverishment. The benefits of international trade remain great, ensuring the ability to acquire goods that are better, cheaper, and varied. The diversity in product, process, and location offer important alternatives to sometimes limited domestic supplies. Further, the increased prosperity that results from economic specialization generates a long‐​term cushion to temporary disruptions. Countries forced to practice veritable autarky because of foreign sanctions, such as Iran, become desperate when faced with a healthcare crisis like the present.

As COVID-19 spreads quickly, so does the threat of cybercrime. Hackers are taking advantage of the current uncertainty to send out even more phishing messages than usual, with varying degrees of sophistication.

The sector which is most crucial to containing the spread of COVID-19 – healthcare – is perhaps also the most vulnerable to ransomware attack.

Security experts are increasingly concerned about cybercrime because it currently benefits from favourable external conditions: a massive and uncoordinated shift to working from home offices in both public and private sectors, nationwide lockdowns which require increasing use of electronic transactions, and a rush for basic necessities, which fractures any semblance of ‘civil’ society. In the long run, economic recession will likely trigger tectonic changes in how young people sustain themselves. An increased reliance on criminality, both online and offline, is to be expected, particularly in regions where youth unemployment was already high.

The relationship between catastrophes and organized crime is not straightforward, but past disasters can offer some clues. Especially in contexts marked by high levels of corruption, criminal groups reportedly have exploited crises to carry out extortion, embezzlement, diversion of aid, and other activities.

World trade was already slowing in 2019 before the COVID-19 outbreak. WTO trade statistics show that the volume of world merchandise trade shrank by 0.1% in 2019, marking the first annual decline since 2009, during the global financial crisis. Trade was relatively weak in the final quarter of 2019, but this is unlikely to have been influenced by COVID-19, which was first detected very late in the year. The seasonally-adjusted volume of world merchandise trade in Q4 was down 1.0% year-on-year and 1.2% compared to the previous quarter. Growth was held back by persistent trade tensions and by slowing economic activity in major economies.