Over a third of the world’s population is now living under some form of lockdown due to coronavirus.

Although some reports have forecasted up to 20% drop in property prices, there is consensus that a rebound will follow very quickly once the dust settles.

With many countries extending their lockdown period to hunker down and wait out the storm, the world continues struggle with containing the spread of COVID-19.

As the pandemic episode continues to play out in many parts of the world, early data points are streaming in, giving a glimpse of the potential impact.

After their precipitous falls since February, stock markets across the world saw spurts of modest rebounds in the past two weeks.

Global markets temporarily found support as tougher virus control measures were implemented and massive government stimulus packages were announced.

Read up on past Weekly Vantage Points to find out the hottest news during the period of Q1 2020.

The past week was marked by governments worldwide announcing stimulus packages of such monumental scale that it dwarfs all previous measures.

In just a matter of days, investors find themselves in the middle of an investment minefield. Equity markets are being ravaged, commodities prices have plunged while interest rates reach new lows.

Yet another week of headlines dominated by COVID-19, with the World Health Organisation officially labelling the outbreak as a pandemic.

Governments around the world are coming in fast and furious with economic supportive measures to combat the coronavirus situation.

Global markets plunged following an extensive sell-off amid worsening news surrounding the coronavirus outbreak.

On the macro level, total cross-border investments in Asia Pacific reached US$57bn in 2019 for a second consecutive record year.

In times of uncertainties such as this, investors had previously gravitated towards REITs to seek shelter.

As the markets recover from the trade war resolution, we saw major indexes recovering to all time highs earlier this year.

The first month of 2020 ends in choppy waters as the world struggles with the outbreak of coronavirus in China, placing nations worldwide on high alert.