The global economic threat of the coronavirus

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• ?? 1 CEO thing: WeWork has named real-estate-industry veteran Sandeep Mathrani as its new CEO.
• ?? 1 Super Bowl thing: The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 in last night's game. The most memorable Super Bowl commercials.
• ?? 1 2020 thing: The Iowa caucuses are tonight. What you need to know.

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1 big thing: The global economic threat of the coronavirus

By: Dion Rabouin, Joann Muller ? Newsletter: Axios Markets, Axios Navigate (sign up here)

The coronavirus has the potential to be as damaging to the global economy as the U.S.-China trade war, economists tell Axios, and if not contained could wreak havoc on businesses across the globe, with great uncertainty over how bad things could get.

Why it matters: The epicenter of the virus is China, which is now the world's top trading nation and largest commodity buyer, and the no. 1 trading partner for many of the world's biggest economies, including Germany and Japan, which both are suffering already from anemic growth.

Go deeper: Read the full story

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2. Global mergers are off to a slow start in 2020

By: Dan Primack ? Newsletter: Axios Pro Rata (sign up here)

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

There was only $164 billion of announced global mergers and acquisitions in January, the slowest start to a year since 2013, per Refinitiv.

Why it matters: This comes off a 2019 in which volume was down slightly from 2018, but still the fourth-largest dollar volume in history and sixth-straight year above $3 trillion.

Go deeper: Three theories for the early 2020 lethargy

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3. The future of moving

By: Erica Pandey  ? Newsletter: Axios Future (sign up here)

Illustration: A?da Amer/Axios

Moving companies, a $25 billion business in the U.S., look like an upcoming target for disruption.

Why it matters: Technology has made dozens of tasks easier: We can use GPS for road trips instead of printing out directions, we can order our groceries online and get them delivered, and we can even meet our spouses on apps. But moving still sucks.

Go deeper: Read the full story

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