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The future price of orange juice has risen by more than 20% this month as consumers look for healthy products during the coronavirus pandemic.

While demand has risen, supply has been hit as producers struggle to transport goods because of transport restrictions.

This has driven a rise in "futures" prices, which indicate its cost for delivery in the coming months.

Orange juice futures are the best performing asset so far this year.

Read more here

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BBC Radio 4

The business select committee has said that it’s received thousands of messages from concerned workers who still have to go into work in the UK - including office-based staff, travel agents and furniture manufacturers.

Rachel Reeves, Labour MP and head of the committee, said that “many businesses are not doing what the government is asking them to do.

“Lots of workers have told us that even if they have symptoms, or are living with a vulnerable person, they are still being made to go to work. That’s not acceptable. The government has put in place a scheme for income replacement, which business should use to pay staff if they’re not coming to work.”

She also called for other firms, such as call centres, to ensure staff can work from home: “In time, businesses will be held accountable for their role, what they’ve done in this pandemic.”

As we mentioned earlier the Tokyo governor has asked people to stay at home this weekend to try and prevent an "explosive" rise in coronavirus cases.

That seems to have caused people in the city to rush out and stock up on food and essentials.

We hadn't seen this in Tokyo yet, though the pictures of empty shelves are a familiar sight by now from cities around the world where panic buying has been happening.

Officials in the UK, US, Australia, and Hong Kong have warned against buying more than you need and have sought to reassure people there are adequate supplies.

Tokyo has some 212 confirmed cases for a total of 1,200 in Japan.

Image source, Erina McNelis

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Wake Up to Money

Image source, TSB Bank

Banks have been criticised by firms and MPs for insisting on personal guarantees to issue government-backed emergency loans to business owners.

It means that the banks can go after the personal property of the owner of a firm if their business goes under and they cannot afford to pay off the debt.

Debbie Crosbie, chief executive of TSB Bank, told the BBC’s Wake Up to Money that it was in the process of finalising what business interruption loans it will offer.

She added that it was unlikely TSB bank would look at personal guarantees because the level of its lending is generally lower than other High Street banks.

“In TSB, the large majority of our 100,000 business customers are sole traders - very small companies, people who work in the gig economy, which is why we’ve really focussed on the smaller end of that support.”

She said that the coronavirus had been "extremely challenging, but banks are trying their best to respond."

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With confirmed cases and deaths continuing to soar, several states are enacting measures to combat the spread of coronavirus. The disease has been reported in each of America's 50 states, although some are experiencing worse outbreaks than others. Here are five states that have been hit with the highest number of deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University:

• New York 368
• Washington 133
• California 67
• Louisiana 65
• New Jersey 62

• Georgia 47

Good morning to those just joining us in the UK, and around the world.

Here is a quick summary of some of the main developments in the UK:

• Self-employed workers facing financial difficulties will find out later what financial aid they will be offered by the government
• Banks have been criticised by firms and MPs for asking business owners to put their own property up to secure loans

• The government has ordered 10,000 ventilators from Dyson, which says it designed a new type to help the NHS response
• All NHS workers and social care staff will be given free parking during the outbreak
• A decision about whether or not this year's Wimbledon will go ahead as planned will be made next week
• And on Wednesday the number of coronavirus deaths in the UK rose by 41, taking the total to 463

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BBC Radio 4

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We already know that the government plans to provide wage subsidies of 80% of salaries (up to £2,500 per month) for staff kept on by employers during the pandemic.

But Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to set out measures to help self-employed workers facing financial difficulties as a result of coronavirus later today.

Dr Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, told the BBC’s Today programme: "For many people that have seen their businesses disappear in the blink of an eye, things like statutory sick pay or universal credit just isn't enough. Their custom has literally evaporated overnight."

He also argued the case for the UK following a similar route to Denmark or Norway, which try to replace up to 80% of recent earnings for self-employed people: "The way you can do that is by looking back at recent tax returns and filings to make sure you aren't under-paying or over-paying an individual."

"It doesn't need to be perfect - we just need a system in place to get help to some of these businesses. So many of them are counting time in hours and days, rather than weeks or months. They simply don't have the cash to keep going for that long."

A 21-year-old woman with no underlying conditions died after contracting coronavirus, says her family.

Chloe Middleton, from Buckinghamshire in England, died last week.

Her aunt called for people to "protect" themselves, saying "please, please adhere to government rules".

Read more about her here.

Image source, Family picture

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The world has been given an early indication of the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic as Singapore released its preliminary first quarter growth figures.

The southeast Asian nation said gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 2.2% year-on-year while, compared with the previous quarter, GDP fell by 10.6%.

It marks the biggest quarterly contraction since 2009, in the midst of the global financial crisis.

The trade-reliant city state now looks to be heading for its first full-year recession in about two decades.

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Earlier we reported that the US Senate had unanimously passed a $2tn (£1.7tn) coronavirus disaster aid bill. It's the largest economic stimulus in American history - if signed into law, it will impact millions of Americans and all manner of businesses. But what is actually in the bill?

• American adults with a salary of up to $75,000 a year will be sent cheques for $1,200. The payments will be less for those making over $75,000 - the cap is set at $99,000 per person, or $198,000 for couples
• A $500 billion lending program will be established for businesses, cities and states

• Another $367 billion will go towards an employee retention fund for small businesses
• A further $17 billion is earmarked to help companies deemed crucial for national security
• The airline industry - which has taken heavy losses - will be the biggest recipient of the bill. Passenger airlines qualify for $25bn in loans, and another $25bn in grants. Cargo carriers will be eligible for another $8bn, divided between loans and grants
• Roughly $100bn will be given for assistance to hospitals

UK online clothing store Pretty Little Thing has faced calls to close its warehouse, which has been described as a "breeding ground for Covid-19".

One worker, identified only as Patrick, said the warehouse in Sheffield had 4ft wide aisles where up to 10 people worked at a time.

Another worker said there were only four small sanitiser dispensers in the warehouse and they were always empty.

"The work we do is not essential, who wants to buy clothes not knowing when you will be able to wear them?" he said.

Read more about the situation here.

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The UK government has ordered 10,000 ventilators from Dyson - though they won't be coming immediately.

The firm says it hopes to build the ventilators from its base in Wiltshire - but it could take a couple of weeks to move from the prototype to actual production.

The NHS currently has just over 8,000. It's estimated it will need at least 30,000 to deal with the potential flood of virus victims.

Image source, Getty Images

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Wake Up to Money

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In response to falls across stock markets seen since the coronavirus pandemic began, many countries and central banks have announced stimulus packages to shore up their economies.

But what was it about the US emergency virus deal, worth more than $1.8 trillion (£1.5tn), in particular that made investors sit up and take notice?

Laura Lambie, senior investment director at Investec, told the BBC's Wake Up to Money: “It’s the size of it, and the fact that they’re the last major economy to announce such things. But when we get markets opening this morning mind you, a bit of realism might kick in.

“Stimulus packages are all well and good, but what we really need to see is a drop in the virus itself, and there are some concerns about comments made by the US President, a 'laissez-faire' attitude about lockdowns, for example in New York and in other major cities.

"We really need to get this virus under control in the US, and any signs that is not happening would have a detrimental impact on markets.”

If you're a self-employed worker in the UK, here's a bit of news that might make you feel a bit better.

The government earlier set out plans for 80% wage subsidises for staff kept on by their employers - Chancellor Rishi Sunak now says he wants similar plans in place for freelancers.

There are currently around one million people that are self-employed in the UK.

But the government also says that drawing up plans for self-employed people has proven "incredibly difficult". This is because their income can sometimes be irregular and intermittent.

Read more about what is being done, here.

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Indian-administered Kashmir has reported its first death from the virus - a 65-year-old man.

He had recently returned from attending a religious congregation outside Kashmir that included people from Malayasia and Indonesia.

The disputed region has 11 active Covid-19 cases, and more than 5,000 have been quarantined and are being monitored for symptoms.

We're now shifting our focus slightly to the UK.

The number of coronavirus deaths in the UK has risen to 463, up from 422. That's a daily increase of 41 - less than half the increase from a day earlier.

Cases are up, with 9,529 cases as of Wednesday compared to 8,077 cases the day before.

Some 97,019 have been tested for the virus - of which 87,490 had tested negative.

To find out specifically how many cases there are in each part of England, check out this tracker by Public Health England. , external

Russia's government will stop all overseas flights from the country starting 27 March. The ban will not apply to repatriation flights and flights carried out by "separate orders of the Russian government", Interfax news agency reported.

It's worth noting that Russia has comparatively fewer cases than other European countries - just 658, with three deaths.

On Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin postponed a vote on a constitutional change that would allow him to stay in power for two more consecutive terms.

Still have questions about this virus and how it spreads? Our 60-second video explainer tells you all you need to know.

The number of people with Covid-19 who have died in Germany has increased by 50 to 198, according to official figures.

The number of cases is 36,508 - an increase of 4,995.

It's one of the most instinctual things to do - and also something you absolutely shouldn't be doing right now. Here's a video on why we love to touch our faces, and how to overcome that urge.