The scientist who first detected the new strain of the COVID-19 virus variant said on Friday that he is concerned about how fast it appears to have accumulated its unusual pattern of mutations. Dr. Sikhulile Moyo, a director for the Botswana Harvard HIV Reference Laboratory and a research fellow at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public…

WASHINGTON—Global economic growth projections from the International Monetary Fund will likely be downgraded due to the emergence of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Friday. “A new variant that may spread very rapidly can dent confidence, and in that sense, we are likely to see some downgrades of…

BEIJING—Global stocks and Wall Street futures were mixed Thursday as traders tried to figure out the potential impact of the latest coronavirus variant. London and Frankfurt opened lower and Shanghai and Tokyo fell. Hong Kong advanced. It is unclear whether omicron is more dangerous than other variants. But governments have responded by tightening travel controls….

LONDON—As global markets fell last week on news of the new Omicron coronavirus variant, one cryptocurrency with the same name soared after the Greek letter entered the investor lexicon. The price of the hitherto-obscure digital token, whose Twitter feed has little more than 1,000 followers, rose almost ten-fold from Friday to Monday morning when it…

TORONTO—Ontario is investigating four more possible cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant of concern, and the province’s top doctor said it’s likely more will be detected after an initial two cases were confirmed over the weekend. Dr. Kieran Moore said two of the potential cases are in the Hamilton, Ont., area and two are in…

Would-be travelers around the world are considering hitting the pause button on their holiday plans amid the discovery of the new CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus Omicron variant, travel agents said on Monday. The new variant of the novel coronavirus was discovered in South Africa, the country’s health minister, Joe Phaahla, announced last Thursday. There is growing concern among scientists…

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Sunday criticized the “heavy burdens” that travel bans place on southern African nations and urged countries across the globe not to impose flight bans unless they are “scientifically based” amid concerns over the new COVID-19 variant, Omicron. In a statement, the public health agency called on countries to “follow science and…

WASHINGTON—Delta Air Lines and United Airlines said on Friday they do not plan any changes to their South Africa-U.S. routes after the White House said it plans to impose new travel curbs on southern Africa starting Monday amid concerns about a new COVID-19 variant. Delta and United are the only U.S. passenger carriers that have…

GENEVA—The World Trade Organization (WTO) became the first major diplomatic casualty of the new coronavirus variant on Friday when it postponed its first ministerial meeting in four years due to the deteriorating health situation. Ministers from WTO members were due to have gathered next week for a meeting widely seen as a test of the…

WASHINGTON/LONDON—Shares tumbled on Wall Street on Friday as they reopened after Thanksgiving, while European stocks saw their biggest sell-off in 17 months and oil prices plunged by $10 per barrel as fears over a new coronavirus variant sent investors scurrying to safe-haven assets. The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday designated a new COVID-19 variant…