Staff members wearing masks monitor thermal scanners that detect temperatures of passengers at the Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan, Hubei province January 21, 2020. With China imposing quarantines on millions of people in several cities beyond Wuhan itself, while prolonging the break for a week beyond its scheduled finish on January 30, ripple effects for companies are inevitable.
The move could affect global supply chains for tech companies that rely on Foxconn to manufacture everything from Apple’s iPhones to flat-screen TVs and laptops. “It is the self-feeding negative feedback loop on economic activity, and thus growth, it creates,” he said, warning that a months-long crisis could even force the Federal Reserve to shift tack on US interest rates.
Apple itself yesterday gave an unusually wide revenue forecast for this quarter, due to uncertainty about how the outbreak will affect its business.