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These are troubling times. Covid-19 case numbers are jumping every day, more countries are being added to travel ban lists, and the virus outbreak is now officially a pandemic. But some bankers are still finding the positives in all the chaos.

As the coronavirus advances deeper into the US and northern Europe, capital markets have had one of their most shocking and arduous weeks for many years.

What a time to be a new UK chancellor of the exchequer preparing to make your maiden Budget speech, as Rishi Sunak will do on Wednesday. He has motive and opportunity to borrow big and pay little for it. Brexit and the coronavirus outbreak mean a lot of spending will need to be funded to keep the UK economy running. But how the cash is deployed will shape the government's credibility in the eyes of Gilt investors.

Every time a UK company gets into trouble, the call goes up for a state rescue — calls which the government, sensibly, usually rejects. With the increasingly troubled Intu, however, it might not be the worst idea.

Market participants are calling on European financial authorities to help banks deal with the impact of Covid-19. Forbearance could come in the shape of state guarantees or in the form of the relaxation of certain elements of bank capital requirements.

Italy’s capital markets bankers are keeping calm amid the coronavirus crisis, getting used to working from home, and trying to support clients as well as they can, while wishing for help from Europe and the European Central Bank. But they are not allowing themselves to hope the worst is over. The health crisis is acute and getting worse.

Companies in sectors under strain from the Covid-19 outbreak are expected to rely on bank funding if debt markets remain out of reach, using funds from as yet undrawn revolving credit facilities and signing new bridges to bond facilities or bilateral loans.

Banks have started splitting up trading teams across locations, while many of those working in the capital markets have been stuck at home. This has caused a couple of hiccups and worries but some wonder if it will lead to a shift in attitudes about meetings and work flexibility once coronavirus passes.

Can the capital markets function properly with its workforce operating remotely, whether from home or at disaster recovery centres? This question is becoming increasingly important as the Covid-19 infection rate rockets and the death toll grows. One organisation that has more experience of coping than most is the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, based in Beijing.

Asia’s IPO markets have been hit hard by the coronavirus epidemic, as travel bans and self-quarantine orders have delayed roadshows and brought deal flow to a near standstill. For the listing markets to survive, issuers, ECM bankers and investors need to adapt rapidly — and put some faith in technology.

In this round-up, the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) infections has surpassed the 100,000 mark, both China’s import and export volumes declined year-on-year for January and February, and property developers suffered huge drops in contracted sales last month.

In this round-up, Covid-19 infections have spread across the world at an alarming speed, the Chinese central bank did not follow its US counterpart to lower interest rates, and the media row between the two countries has deepened.