As stocks are dropping, the comparisons to the 2007-2009 financial crisis are natural. But they're also not entirely accurate.
The CEOs of America's big banks and financial institutions met with President Donald Trump in Washington this afternoon.
Leading cruise ship operators are worth a fraction of what they were valued at before the coronavirus outbreak.
The cruise industry is ground zero for the carnage in the tourism sector. Travelers are shying away from booking cruises out of fear they'll contract coronavirus or get stuck on a ship at sea.
The staggering losses reflect rising fears about the financial health of cruise companies.
S&P Global Ratings said Tuesday it could downgrade Carnival and Royal Caribbean because of diminished cruise demand and rising leverage.
"We believe it is increasingly likely that the demand for cruises will remain weak even after the virus is contained," S&P warned.
US stocks sold off sharply on Wednesday, with the Dow falling into a bear market.
Stocks erased all of Tuesday’s gains. Coronavirus fears again weighed on markets, as the World Health Organization designated the global outbreak a pandemic.
The index was down nearly 6% Wednesday afternoon when it briefly dipped into bear market territory.
The New York Federal Reserve promised Wednesday to inject tens of billions of additional dollars into the financial system in hopes of easing coronavirus pressures rocking Wall Street.
The NY Fed said it will now offer at least $175 billion in its daily overnight repo operations. That's up from at least $150 billion that was announced Monday and at least $100 billion before that.
And the NY Fed will now offer one-month repo operations of at least $50 billion.
Officials cited the coronavirus pandemic, which has hit Wall Street firms and forced some employees to work remotely.
The moves should "help smooth functioning of funding markets as market participants implement business resiliency plans in response to the coronavirus," the NY Fed said in a statement.
Translation: the Fed doesn't want borrowing costs to spike during the ongoing market mayhem. That's what happened last fall, setting off alarm bells on Wall Street.
The index was last down 1,390 points, or 5.6%, Wednesday.
The S&P 500 fell 5.1%, and the Nasdaq was down 5%.
"I want you to know that here at Starbucks, you should never have to choose between work and taking care of yourself," wrote Rossann Williams, who leads company-operated business in the United States.
Employees don't need to show symptoms to take advantage of the expanded policy, she added. If they can't come back to work after 14 days, employees may qualify for more paid leave.
Here's where the three most widely watched market indexes stand as of mid-afternoon Wednesday -- and what they need to close at in order to be considered in a bear market.