Stocks

Tesla suspends operations at its car factory from Monday

Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla, announced today that he would temporarily shut down production from Monday at Tesla’s factory in San Francisco Bay Area. Local government officials and workers pressured Tesla in recent days to stop making cars. The company’s factory, as well as the majority of the Bay Area, are under orders to shelter in place.

Fremont Police Department stated earlier today that city officials and Kimberly Petersen, the chief of Police Department, were planning to meet with Tesla management. They wanted to discuss compliance as Alameda County limited the operations of nonessential businesses. So far, it’s unknown when the factory resumes working due to the coronavirus uncertainty.

What’s happening in the stock markets?

After the volatile session, major stocks rose slightly on Thursday. Investors contemplated the evidence of sharp economic decline, as well as the United States and Europe’s efforts to offset the damage.

While the day started with a sharp decline on Wall Street, at the end of the session, the S&P 500 gained less than 1%. European shares also increased insignificantly. However, oil prices rebounded after they fell on the bearish territory on Wednesday.

Asia-Pacific stocks also recovered a little on Friday morning. Shares in Hong Kong, Australia, South Korea, and Taiwan were all trading higher by 3 % or more. In Tokyo, on the other hand, the market was down by 1% in early morning trading.

Meanwhile, economists are making increasingly dire predictions about the likely damage to the job market. According to them, the unemployment rate will quickly surpass the 10% level it hit during the last recession.

Patrick Anderson, an economist in East Lansing, Mich, stated that the current situation is a body blow to the economy, unlike anything the world has experienced in recent memory. He added that even the Great Recession did not include the shuttering of businesses by government order. While the authorities tell people to say home and distance themselves.