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 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and one of the top U.S. health officials said reopening the country's economy hinges on the government seeing major communities at the end of their coronavirus outbreaks and developing treatments for the disease, among other hurdles. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was taken out of intensive care Thursday evening and moved back to the main hospital ward.The number of confirmed cases has reached nearly 1.6 million globally as of April 10, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News. U.S. cases now stand at 461,437 compared to Spain with 153,222 as the next highest country. New York state reported the fewest hospitalizations since the outbreak began, even as deaths hit another high.Leaders from Germany to New York urged residents to abide by restrictions as a weekend of Easter celebrations loom. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended "No Sail Order" for all cruise ships. Italy and Spain are preparing for several more weeks of lockdowns, while India further tightened measures.China reported 42 additional confirmed coronavirus cases for April 9, including 38 from abroad. South Korea recorded 27 more cases over 24 hours, with Daegu, the epicenter of outbreak in the country in late February, reporting no new cases for the first time.Asian stocks saw mixed trading Friday in a holiday-hit session as investors mulled new measures from the Federal Reserve to cushion the fallout from the coronavirus. The dollar steadied after an o
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 (Bloomberg) -- Three years ago, America's largest pension fund made an unusual investment. It bought so-called tail-risk protection, a kind of insurance against financial catastrophe. In a market meltdown like the one sparked by the coronavirus, the strategy promised a massive payout -- more than $1 billion.If only the California Public Employees Retirement System had stuck with the plan. Instead, Calpers, as the fund is known, removed one of its two hedges against a bear market just weeks before the viral outbreak sent stocks reeling, according to people familiar with its decision.The timing couldn't have been worse. The fund had incurred hundreds of millions of dollars in premium-like costs for those investments. Then it missed out on a bonanza when disaster finally struck.Softening the blow, Calpers held on to the second hedge long enough to make several hundred million dollars, one of the people said.Ben Meng, chief investment officer of Calpers, said the fund terminated the hedges because they were costly and other risk-management tools are more effective, cheaper and better suited to an asset manager of its size."At times like this, we need to strongly resist ‘resulting bias' -- looking at recent results and then using those results to judge the merits of a decision," Meng said in a statement. "We are a long-term investor. For the size and complexity of our portfolio, we need to think differently."Calpers had been warned about the perils of shifting strategy. At an August 2019 meeting of its
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How do you lead and market your brand during a crisis when everything feels wrong? Aliza Licht, Author and Host of LEAVE YOUR MARK, and Alison Koplar Wyatt, Co-Founder of The Female Founder Collective, sit down for a fireside chat to discuss leadership and marketing right now.
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 All of a sudden, renewed optimism about the government stimulus package and a handful of data points suggesting the spread of COVID-19 may be slowing has the S&P 500 up 10.3% since April 1. Unfortunately, the economy and the market are not out of the woods just yet.It may be years before some businesses get back to normal, and some may never recover. Given most stocks have rallied significantly off their lows so far this month, it may be a good time to cash out of some of the dead weight in your portfolio while the prices are decent.Here are the eight Underperform-rated stocks with the most potential downside, according to Bank of America.Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc (NYSE: DO) Travel restrictions amid the COVID-19 shutdown have crippled global crude oil demand. At the worst possible time, Saudi Arabia and Russia have entered a pricing war that has pushed oil prices to fresh 20-year lows.Analyst Chase Mulvehill says oil prices will likely drop even further once global storage capacity is completely used up, essentially forcing production to stop. Diamond may struggle to sustain its cash flow, bringing its $2 billion in debt into focus.Bank of America has an Underperform rating and 25-cent price target for DO stock.See Also: 8 Best Investment Strategies During A RecessionYPF SA (NYSE: YPF) YPF is an Argentinian oil E&P, refining and distribution company.Analyst Frank McGann recently cut his price target for YPF and other Latin American oil and gas producers due to an increasingly bearish outlook for crude oil prices. McGann said YPF will likely cut capex and
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