Coronavirus fear: Morgan Stanley, Goldman declare global recession underway

The outlook could darken even further if the virus lasts longer than anticipated, or wields greater economic pain -- given factories, schools, restaurants and shops are closing around the world

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley economists joined the rush on Wall Street to declare that the coronavirus has triggered a global recession, with the debate now focusing on its likely length and depth.A day after President Donald Trump conceded the U.S. slump alone is set to be “a bad one,” economists threw away their forecasts that the world could avoid tumbling into recession for the first time since the financial crisis.

Behind the rethink: The virus’s spread to Europe and the U.S., as well as new evidence that China -- the first to be hit by what is