What happened yesterday?!

Get straight to the good stuff every day with the Multiply Minute; a lightning-quick round-up of the money news and how it affects you.

Black Monday

Yesterday the FTSE 100 suffered its biggest fall in a single day since 2008 financial crash. The markets closed 7.7% down, erasing £125 billion from the value of our biggest companies. It was the same story across the world: Europe and the US both suffered big sell-offs. Why the panic? It was a reaction to the double whammy of coronavirus and a 30% dive in oil prices after Saudi Arabia upped production and flooded the market.

Tuesday so far

Global stock markets opened a little bit higher this morning. Oil prices have also bounced slightly, up 5% from yesterday’s historic low. Uncertainty about how and when coronavirus will be contained means things will stay shaky for the time being. But there’s optimism in Asia, where Japan’s Prime Minister has promised to work with the central bank there to shore up the economy.

Beat it, Boris bounce

It was all going so well for business leaders. Having reported higher confidence after the certainty that came with last year’s election result and Brexit decision, bosses are now shaken again in the face of coronavirus. One in five believes the outbreak poses a “high” or “severe” threat to business (paywall) thanks to impacts including low orders and quarantined workers.

One more sleep

Tomorrow is Rishi Sunak’s budget, when the chancellor’s spending plans will be revealed. It was set to be an important moment even before coronavirus appeared, supermarkets ran out of everything, and the world’s stock markets freaked out. But now, the challenges are akin to those faced by wartime governments. How will he respond? We'll find out tomorrow.