⁍ FDI flows to European economies turned negative for the first time ever.

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⁍ flows to the United States fell by 61% to $51 billion.

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⁍ Global FDI fell as multinationals postponed investments to preserve cash.

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– “It was drastic more than we expected for the whole year,” James Zhan, director of the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development’s investment and research division, tells Reuters. “It was more than we expected for the first half of this year went down by close to half … It was more drastic than we expected for the whole year.” According to the UN’s latest report, global foreign direct investment, orFDI, fell by 49% in the first half of this year from the same period a year ago, and is on course to fall by up to 40% for the year as a whole. In the first half of this year, flows to the US fell 61% to $51 billion, while those to Europe fell by 40% to $20 billion and those to China by 40% to $7 billion. Among industrialized countries, Italy, the US, Brazil, and Australia were hardest hit, with flows falling to $98 billion—a level last seen in 1994.