Analysts and investors lose their bearings in the coronavirus fallout | Nils Pratley

Financial measures look like the wrong weapons to combat a healthcare crisis

"Make this stop." The headline on Bank of America's rejig of its economic forecasts for Europe summed up the mood in financial markets.

City analysts and investors have lost their bearings. How do you make sensible estimates about the financial fallout from a virus with the potential, as in parts of China, to bring economic activity to a standstill?