Initial purpose (spring 2020) of these slides was to present some graphs to compare developments in Norway with the Rest-of-World (primarily the US). Graphs are updated, text not

• Some useful links
• Covid-19
• Foreign exchange
• Equity markets
• Fixed income markets (interest rates)

Financial markets are like “barometers” of the economy (apparently due to Gustav Cassel). Graphs show developments in key markets: FX, equity markets (including VIX), and government and private interest rates.

• Princeton webinar on the economic implications of the Covid-19
• U Virginia, Darden webinar on the economic and financial implications of the Covid-19
• Macro-finance webinar series (containing some Covid-19-relevant presetations)
• Hoover Institution
• Royal Economic Society Covid-19 webinars
• BIS Bulletins: Short, topical, notes written by BIS economists.
• CEPR Covid Economics Review
• VOXeu’s Covid-19 page

• Johns Hopkins U Covid-19
  • This presentation rely on JHU-data. Data is also available from ECDC.
• ECDC Covid-19
• NYU Stern VLab’s Covid-19
• Interactive Shiny app
• Google mobility reports

• Focus on deaths as there are large international differences in testing-frequency/strategy, which makes comparison difficult
• However: There are differences also in how different countries report number of deaths. There has been reports that Italy only reports those that die in hospitals, and also reports that there are differences across states in the US whether deaths are reported due to Covid-19 or other underlying causes
• Selection of countries is a bit arbitrary, but seems that countries with less or late Covid-measures experience higher growth-rate in deaths.

## [1] "DEXUSEU" "DEXUSUK"

Selected dates and events (as of spring 2020). NOT UPDATED

• USD appreciated spring 2020
  • A quick depreciation in early march due to carry-unwinding (CHF and JPY appreciated)
  • Followed by a new appreciation, most likely as investor seeking safe asset (US Treasury) or needing US cash.
  • CHF and JPY depreciated against USD in this period
• NOK has depreciated a lot, but mostly in a big overnight jump in very illiquid markets
  • NB bought NOK bn 16 last three weeks, compared to NOK bn 3.3 the three preceding weeks
• Other currencies has also depreciated, like GBP (vs. USD) or SEK (vs. EUR).

• All markets down. Downward slide started Feb. 21
• Bottom reached (so-far) Mar 23.
  • US markets down -37% at most
  • Oslo down -32% at most
• VIX reached peak last 10-years on Mar 16.
• But (surprisingly) flat (or even positive) since mid-March
  • Lots of quite negative news since mid-March without reactions
  • US up 93% since bottom
  • OSE up 88% since bottom

• Central bank rates reduced
• T-bill rates close to zero
• Credit spreads widen (high-yield - Investment grade)

• JHU Covid-data via GitHub

• St.Louis Fed FRED: FX and US Government bonds

• DataStream: FX and equity

• Thomson Reuters Eikon: Intraday EURNOK

• Yahoo Finance: Equity and VIX

• Norges Bank: Norske renter, NB ukentlige valutakjøp

• Quandl: US corporate bonds

• Norwegian government: Timeline

• International timeline