Coronavirus economic updates: IMF warns of 'worst economic fallout since the Great Depression'

Here is the latest on the COVID-19-induced financial crisis.

April 10, 2020, 10:26 AM

The coronavirus pandemic has quickly become not only a health care crisis but a financial one, shuttering businesses, upending industries and sending financial markets reeling.

Here's the latest news on how the COVID-19 crisis is affecting the economy. For more on financial resources available during the pandemic, click here.

Here's how the day is unfolding. Please refresh for updates.

Louis Vuitton to make free hospital gowns for healthcare workers in France

The French fashion house announced Friday it is shifting production at its ready-to-wear studio in Paris to make hospital gowns for frontline workers at six local hospitals.

The thousands of gowns will be made using fabrics and patterns approved by the local hospital center.

"We are proud to be able to help healthcare professionals at our level and put our know-how at the disposal of the Hôpitaux de Paris to create gowns for medical staff," Michael Burke, Louis Vuitton's CEO, said in a statement. "I would like to thank the artisans of our atelier who voluntarily participate in this civic act and who have been bravely applying themselves since this morning to equip healthcare workers in hospitals who are in need of gowns."

It is the latest in a growing list of companies that have shifted their efforts to creating masks, protective equipment and more for health care workers amid the pandemic.

Treasury and IRS launch online tool to help those who don't normally file tax returns receive stimulus payments

The U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service announced a new online tool Friday to help non-tax-filers receive their economic stimulus checks.

The "Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here" web portal allows people who did not file a tax return in 2018 or 2019 to submit basic personal information to the IRS, as well as their bank account information, to receive a direct deposit of the $1,200 as part of the CARES Act.

"The 'Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here' web portal is a tool for Americans who are not required to file tax returns to make sure they receive their payment as quickly and safely as possible," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. "Our teams at Treasury and the IRS are working around the clock to ensure American workers and families receive their Economic Impact Payments.”

IMF anticipates worst economic fallout since the Great Depression

In a preview of its World Economic Outlook event next week, the International Monetary Fund says the world should be prepared for the worst economic fallout since the Great Depression.

"Today we are confronted with a crisis like no other. COVID-19 has disrupted our social and economic order at lightning speed and on a scale that we have not seen in living memory," Kristalina Georgieva, IMF managing director, said in a statement Thursday.

Three months ago, the IMF said it expected at least 160 countries would see positive per capita income growth in 2020. As of Thursday, the organization now predicts over 170 countries will experience negative per capita income growth this year.

"The bleak outlook applies to advanced and developing economies alike. This crisis knows no boundaries. Everybody hurts," Georgieva said. "In fact, we anticipate the worst economic fallout since the Great Depression."

In the U.S., more than 16 million people have filed for unemployment insurance in just three weeks, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Markets uptick slightly

U.S. financial markets ticked up slightly to close out the trading week Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 1.2%.

The S&P 500 was up 1.5% and the Nasdaq rose by 0.8%.

News on Thursday of further intervention from the Federal Reserve possibly contributed to the gains.

Unprecedented volatility has roiled Wall Street for weeks amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

ABC News' William Mansell and Emily Shapiro contributed to this report.

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