Hello and welcome to the Intelligence on Econmist Radio. I'm your host, Patrick Lane,

filling in for Jason Palmer. Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events

shaping your world.

When 2020 began, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, may have expected a

quietly successful year, reorienting the economy and rebuilding his international reputation.

Thanks to the coronavirus and an oil price war, it's not working out that way.

And one of the world's oldest figurative paintings was recently discovered in a limestone mine

in Indonesia. We pay a visit to find out more about the fight to save the 44,000 year old

scene.

First up, though.

For years, America's economy was a jobs machine. As the long expansion after the global financial

crisis rolled on, employment kept climbing and unemployment kept falling. In February, the

jobless rate was the lowest in 50 years, just 3.4%. The coronavirus outbreak is sending

that machine, screeching suddenly into reverse.

It is staggering right now. We're having businesses shudder. We're seeing hundreds of thousands

of New Jerseyans applying for unemployment insurance. Yesterday, on our sister podcast,

the economist asks, New Jersey Senator Corey Booker told us the impact the pandemic was already

having on the job market in the garden state.

We are seeing runs on our food banks that are extreme and threatening the capacity there.

There's not an area of our society that I don't see being affected by the economic crisis

combined with this health crisis.

It's a similar scene across many parts of the country. The past two weeks have seen

...