The cascading impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak, first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late December 2019, is becoming more apparent worldwide, and uncertainties regarding when the epidemic can be fully contained are too great to permit reliable forecasting of the financial and economic costs.

Self-proclaimed democratic socialist Senator Bernie Sanders is now the undisputed front-runner in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, having come from behind to dominate the first two contests of the 2020 Democratic race - the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary.

US stocks suffered on Friday as the COVID-19 coronavirus continues to spread. The price falls followed a day of stunning gains as Chinese banks cut interest rates in a bid to stave off continuing economic distress.

Late last month, Russia’s Central Bank released statistics indicating that the country managed to retain its recently-won fifth place among the countries with the largest gold reserves, increasing its lead over China and gaining on third and fourth place holders Italy and France.

Stockholm’s move comes amid growing concerns among governments, central banks and even intelligence agencies that cryptocurrencies could pose a major threat to traditional global financial structures and institutions backed by the dollar.

A data breach last summer is estimated to have affected some 10.6 million individuals, including a number of high-profile guests, such as Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Justin Bieber and various US government officials, according to a new report.

Online dating platform OkCupid has caught the attention of those on both sides of the climate change debate after recently announcing that its website’s filter now has an option associated with the heated issue.

US technology firms are now deciding whether they should move their data and accounts, which belong to their UK customers and services users, to the US which critics say has weaker privacy protections compared to the EU, and will make it easier for authorities to access.

NEW YORK (Sputnik) - Wall Street’s major stock indicators, including that of the biggest technology companies, hit record highs on expectations that China will offer more of a stimulus to lift the second-largest economy from the doldrums of the coronavirus.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) assesses that Argentina's debt is unsustainable due to the depreciation of the peso, real GDP contraction and other financial risks, the Fund said in a statement.

TORONTO (Sputnik) - Canada’s VIA Rail will temporarily lay off 1,000 workers due to service disruptions amid pipeline protests, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The businesswoman bought the hotel in the centre of Dublin for $23.7 million in 2012 and spent roughly another $10.8 million to refurbish the property.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Venezuelan oil company PDVSA is paying off the debt it owes to Russia's Rosneft as scheduled, Rosneft Vice President for Commerce and Logistics Otabek Karimov said on Wednesday.

New Delhi (Sputnik): The US and India currently enjoy bilateral trade to the tune of more than $140 billion. But their recent disputes over trade, immigration, and technology have led to a strained relationship.

New Delhi (Sputnik): Earlier on Monday, US financial services company Moody’s had slashed the global growth forecast, including that of China, claiming that “the coronavirus outbreak has diminished optimism about prospects of an incipient stabilization of global growth”.

BUENOS AIRES (Sputnik) - Venezuelan oil and gas company PDVSA has condemned US sanctions against Rosneft subsidiary Rosneft Trading SA, calling them an attempt by the US government to take control of the global oil market.

BUENOS AIRES (Sputnik) - Caracas will include US sanctions against Russian energy company Rosneft's trading subsidiary Rosneft Trading in a complaint filed earlier with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against the United States, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said.

A US federal judge ruled Tuesday that Huawei cannot sue the US government over its decision to ban the Chinese tech giant from obtaining federal contracts.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Russian energy company Rosneft has slammed Washington's sanctions on its trading subsidiary as illegal and groundless, while also pledging to look into ways to protect itself judicially after studying the released documents of the US Department of the Treasury related to the restrictions.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Tehran should focus on developing domestic production while the West's sanctions remain in full force, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh said on Tuesday.