Apple is the best bellwether for the coronavirus fallout

Outbreak is supply and demand shock for tech giant and markets must wake up to the global risks

There are plenty of signs of the strains China's economy is coming under as a result of the coronavirus. The sharp fall in German business confidence is one because Europe's biggest economy suffers when demand for its exports falls. The decision by Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong's flag carrier airline, to cancel 40% of its flights in February and March is another.

But the best bellwether of what has been happening in China is Apple, which has warned that it is on course to miss its revenue forecasts in the first three months of 2020. China is a big market for Apple - accounting for about one-sixth of its global revenues - and is the source of most of its products. The coronavirus represents a demand and a supply shock to the company.

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