World stocks tumbled for the fifth straight day on Wednesday, while safe-haven gold rose back towards seven-year highs and U.S. bond yields held near record lows after governments and health authorities warned of a possible coronavirus pandemic. U.S. Treasury yields teetered near record lows hit the previous day, when Wall Street equity indexes slid more than 3% on news the coronavirus was continuing to spread and dozens of countries, from South Korea to Italy, had accelerated emergency measures. Adding to alarm, the World Health Organization said the epidemic had peaked in China, but urged other countries to prepare for virus outbreaks. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also, in a change of tone, advised Americans to be ready for community spread of the virus. (GRAPHIC – Global stocks’ performance vs. reported coronavirus cases: here ) The virus has claimed almost 3,000 lives in mainland […]