, Columnist
What If You Can't Afford to Fight Coronavirus?
The world’s major economies are ramping up their spending on defenses. They aren’t the most vulnerable.
Of course Singapore’s on top of things. It's rich.
Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
As the coronavirus has tiptoed closer to global pandemic status, the world’s major economies are ramping up their spending on defenses.
Italy plans to spend $4 billion on emergency economic measures to tackle the outbreak, while South Korea will set aside at least $5.12 billion and U.S. lawmakers rejected a White House request of $2.5 billion as too low. Expectations of additional fiscal and monetary measures to combat the disease helped fuel a rebound in risk assets Monday.