SINGAPORE FACES BIGGER CONTRACTION AS MALAYSIA SHUTS BORDERS.

Malaysia's lockdown is the latest threat to a Singapore economy already reeling from the coronavirus outbreak. The city state relies heavily on its neighbor's workers and food, and Malaysia's move Monday night to ban all visitors and prevent residents from traveling overseas for about two weeks will choke off a key labor channel. Maybank Kim Eng Research Pte. estimates that about 400,000 Malaysians working and studying in Singapore cross the border on a daily basis.

The potential hit to the city state's economy could therefore be large. "Banning daily commuters will essentially cut off almost a 10th of Singapore's labor force, hurting both the manufacturing and services industries," said Chua Hak Bin, a senior economist at Maybank in Singapore. Singapore was already facing a recession because of virus-related disruptions to the city's trade and tourism. Maybank was estimating a 0.3 percent contraction in gross domestic product in 2020, with the potential for a more severe decline if the Malaysia shutdown takes a heavier toll on...