The devastation caused to the US economy by the coronavirus pandemic was thrown into even sharper relief Wednesday with the release of data showing deep damage to retail sales and manufacturing.

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz hailed a Wednesday agreement by G20 nations to pause debt payments by the world's poorest nations as "an act of international solidarity of historic dimensions."

With the global economy plunged into the worst recession in a century, the Group of 20 nations on Wednesday announced a one-year debt standstill for the world's poorest nations as they struggle to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

Global stocks sank Wednesday as the coronavirus infects the global economic outlook, while oil prices slumped as OPEC-led output cuts were deemed insufficient to soak up a vast supply glut.

Aviation giant Emirates has launched a 10-minute coronavirus blood test for passengers departing from its Dubai home base, in what it claimed Wednesday as a first for the industry. 

Canada's GDP plunged 9 percent in March due to travel restrictions and temporary business closures to fight the coronavirus pandemic, dragging down first quarter growth to -2.6 percent, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.

Europe's economic powerhouse Germany plunged into recession in March, with the slump sparked by the coronavirus pandemic likely to last until the middle of the year, the economy ministry said Wednesday.

Oil rebounded in Asian trade Wednesday following sharp falls the day before, as doubts persist about whether a deal to cut output is enough to bolster coronavirus-hit prices.

Asian equities were lower in Wednesday trade, bucking an overnight rally on Wall Street prompted by encouraging signs that US coronavirus infection rates were in decline.

American officials are beginning to tackle the question of how to safely reopen for business and ease lockdowns that have helped slow the pandemic but battered the economy.

The International Monetary Fund projected Tuesday that Lebanon's economy will shrink 12% in 2020 amid the country's worst economic and financial crisis in decades.

The announcement came as the local currency hit its highest pound-to-dollar exchange rate ever on the parallel market.