- In the US, 3.8 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, as can be read in The Wall Street Journal. This brings the total to 30.3 million unemployed, or 22.7 percent of the labor force and close to the peak of the Great Depression (23 percent).
- The European statistical agency Eurostat reports that the eurozone economy shrank by 3.8 percent in the first quarter compared to the last three months of 2019. According to Eurostat, this is the largest decline since 1985. The second quarter figures are expected to be even worse.
- The Dutch colleagues at CBS reports that the number of bankruptcies of companies and institutions in week 17 (20 to 24 April) amounted to 112. That is 47 more than the previous week.
- The biochip companies Surfix, Qurin Diagnostics, LioniX International and PhotonDelta have entered an accelerated development process to detect the Covid-19 virus using a photonic biochip and ultra-sensitive sensors. Within six to nine months they hope to bring a device to the market that can provide a result within five minutes. writes EngineersOnline.
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