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On the onset of the year 2020, the unprecedented outbreak of novel coronavirus, initially as a human health epidemic and later as a global pandemic, has wobbled the economies of affected countries across the globe. The consequential unexpected occurrences of supply- and demand-side shocks forced the economies to trim down their growth prospects. The interplay of these shocks has generated spirals of downturns in all major economic sectors, including the financial sector in affected countries. Specifically, the stock markets immediately nosedived, following the outbreak of the global spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Thus, we examine the behaviour of the selected Asian stock markets amid the huge uncertainties of the corona pandemic and find the occurrences of volatility clustering in these markets. Such volatility clustering primarily occurred, owing to the pessimistic and panic sentiments of investors, and the increase in the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases, changes in oil prices, and exchange rates were found to be significant in channelizing the fears and uncertainties of coronavirus pandemic to cause unexpected nosedives in Asian stock markets.

The recent discovery of superconductivity in iron selenide has attracted considerable attention due to the simplicity of composition, unconventional nature of superconductivity, and ease of synthesis. We have synthesized superconducting FeSe nanowires with a simple catalyst-aided vapor transport reaction at 800 °C in an inert atmosphere. The precursors were chosen to be elemental Se and iron acetylacetonate [Fe(III)(C₅H₈O₂)₃]. These vaporized very easily, thereby facilitating transport, and also contributed to the formation of a carbonaceous shell encapsulating the FeSe nanowires. The superconductivity of these nanocables was confirmed through magnetic measurements and a T(c) of ≈8 K was obtained for an ensemble of nanocables. The length of FeSe filling inside the carbon nanofibers could be varied by controlling the reaction conditions while the diameter of nanowires was dependent on the thickness of Au-Pd coating used as a catalyst. Extensive analysis through high-resolution microscopy revealed that there was considerable lattice contraction of FeSe in the nanocable up to about 3.6% along the c-direction leading to a reduced spacing between the (001) lattice planes. Interestingly, this compression was more pronounced near the catalyst-FeSe interface and was reduced further along the length of the nanocable. The presence of carbon nanofibers as a shell around the FeSe protected the FeSe nanowires from both atmospheric O₂ and moisture attack, as was evident from the very long ambient condition shelf life of these nanocables, and also makes them more stable under e-beam irradiation.