Techdirt has just written about the extraordinary legal action taken against a company producing Covid-19 tests. Sadly, it's not the only example of some individuals putting profits before people. Here's a story from Italy, which is currently seeing more new coronavirus cases and deaths than anywhere else in the world. Last Thursday, a hospital in Brescia, in the north of Italy, needed supplies of special valves in order to use breathing equipment to help keep Covid-19 patients alive in intensive care (original in Italian). The manufacturer was unable to provide them because of the demand for this particular valve. The Metro site explains what happened next:

With the help of the editor of a local newspaper Giornale di Brescia and tech expert Massimo Temporelli, doctors launched a search for a 3D printer -- a devise that produces three dimensional objects from computer designs.

Word soon reached Fracassi, a pharmaceutical company boss in possession of the coveted machine. He immediately brought his device to the hospital and, in just a few hours, redesigned and then produced the missing piece.

Actually, it wasn't quite as simple as that suggests. Business Insider Italia explains that even though the original manufacturer was unable to supply the part, it refused to share the relevant 3D file with Fracassi to help him print the valve. It even went so far as to threaten him for patent infringement if he tried to do so on his own. Since lives were at stake, he went ahead anyway, creating the 3D file from scratch. According to the Metro article, he produced an initial batch of ten, and then 100 more, all for free. Fracassi admits that his 3D-printed versions might not be very durable or re-usable. But when it's possible to make replacements so cheaply -- each 3D-printed part costs just one euro, or roughly a dollar -- that isn't a problem. At least it wouldn't be, except for that threat of legal action, which is also why Fracassi doesn't dare share his 3D file with other hospitals, despite their desperate need for these valves.

And if you're wondering why the original manufacturer would risk what is bound to be awful publicity for its actions, over something that only costs one euro to make, a detail in the Business Insider Italia article provides an explanation: the official list price for a single valve is 10,000 euros -- about $11,000. This is a perfect example of how granting an intellectual monopoly in the form of a patent allows almost arbitrarily high prices to be charged, and quite legally. That would be bad enough in any situation, but when lives are at stake, and Italian hospitals struggle to buy even basic equipment like face masks, demanding such a sum is even worse. And when a pandemic is raging out of control, for a company to threaten those selflessly trying to save lives in this way is completely beyond the pale.

Asia-Pacific markets finished significantly lower on Wednesday again, shrugging off the stimulus pledges by world leaders. Investors fear the measures may still not be enough to protect economies though the crisis.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed down over four percent while China's Shanghai Composite was off almost two percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 was trading 1.68 percent lower.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was the worst performer in the region, dropping by almost seven percent. South Korea's Kospi ended the day down 4.9 percent.

European stock markets have also felt the jitters, with the Stoxx 600 index falling 3.3 percent in early trading. Germany's DAX was off almost five percent while France's CAC 40 index has slid over four percent. Britain's FTSE 100 was trading five percent lower as of 10:00 GMT.

Fears of a deep downturn have been shaking markets despite the stimulus packages announced by the US, UK, and the Eurozone.

"Volatility across markets has created considerable anxiety amongst investors trying to gauge the effectiveness" of various healthcare, monetary and fiscal policy responses, said Bob Michele, global head of fixed income at JP Morgan Asset Management, in a research note seen by CNBC.

The US Federal Reserve announced plans on Tuesday to unfreeze the $1 trillion commercial paper market that should help businesses get short-term loans to pay workers and finance inventories. The UK has unveiled a £330 billion plan to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, with the EU bringing out a £37 billion support package.

The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite have lost over seven percent, leading to a 15-minute "circuit breaker" halt at around 1 pm Eastern time.

Shares trading on the London, Frankfurt, and Paris bourses faced another day of huge losses, with key indices falling between three and five percent.

Stocks in Australia led the losses in Asia Pacific with the country's S&P/ASX 200 index falling more than six percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped more than four percent. China's Shanghai Composite and Japan's Nikkei 225 were both down, losing more than one and a half percent.

The US stock market has been on a rollercoaster ride - massive drops followed by huge rebounds - as investor panic driven by the spread of the coronavirus sets in. On the financial markets, it was also reflected by the CBOE Volatility Index, which is sometimes referred to as the Fear Index. The index tends to rise during market turmoil, and it soared to historic highs earlier this week.

The Dow and S&P 500 entered a bear market last week, putting an end to the historic bull run. The Dow is already more than 30 percent off its all-time high of around 29,500 points seen in February, to around 20,000 points on Wednesday.

The price of US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for April delivery fell six percent and was trading below $26 per barrel. If prices continue to drop, by the end of the day they could close at the lowest level since May 2003.

Futures for the international benchmark, Brent crude, were down more than three percent, trading below $28 per barrel as of 10:00am GMT.

On Tuesday, Goldman Sachs slashed its oil price forecast again citing "unprecedented" demand losses. The bank now expects both WTI and Brent to trade at around $20 per barrel in the second quarter.

Apart from the coronavirus, the ongoing row between two major oil producers, Russia and Saudi Arabia, has been affecting the energy market. After the two failed to reach a new deal on production cuts, Saudi Arabia pledged to dramatically ramp up production and give discounts to its buyers in a move that may further shake the already oversupplied market.

Meanwhile, Russian state lender Sberbank says that it has already been looking into worst-case scenarios for the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic. According to Sberbank CEO Herman Gref, the most stressful outcome includes oil going down to $20 per barrel and Russia's national currency tumbling to 100 rubles per dollar. However, Gref believes that the bank will manage to stay afloat even under those circumstances.

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