Virus outbreak chills markets, outlook for global economy

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) – The widening coronavirus outbreak threatens to seriously disrupt the global economy just as it was steadying itself against the headwinds from the U.S.-China trade dispute. Some economists think the world’s economy could shrink as a whole in the first quarter of this year. That would be the first such downturn since the global financial crisis more than a decade ago. Some top officials think the effect could be brief. But worse scenarios could also play out. Stocks have fallen sharply around the world amid news of outbreaks in more countries. Concerns are high in Europe, where the three largest economies are already scraping along at the edge of recession