As we look at where we are, the Coronavirus has infected more than 90,000 people, and is responsible for more than 3000 deaths and is now making its way to the US. Unfortunately, when we are confronted with something like this when we don’t know what the outcome is going to be, it becomes worrisome for our well-being and our money. Especially when you see empty shelves at Costco and the 10 year treasury falling below 1% for the first time in history.
So while we have no idea of how wide this virus is going to spread, reacting out of fear typically doesn’t work out for the best. Of course, you want to make sure that you take precautionary measures to take care of yourself like washing your hands frequently, staying away from people who might be sick. You also want to seriously consider having an appropriate stock of food prescriptions and supplies in the event you are required to be isolated or quarantined at home, and for that, I have provided a couple of attachments below to help guide you on best practices.
One question that keeps coming up over and over is how should we handle the financial side of this epidemic and it doesn’t take a lot to see that these markets have become extremely volatile with stocks falling 11% at the end of February which was the worst week-long stock market drop since the 2008 mortgage financial crisis.
Now I do not doubt that after seeing the markets on its heels with the recent trade war and now the virus, there is going to be a negative drag on the global economy. This is mainly from the disruption of supply chains and global travel. But does this mean that we are going to have one of the largest recessions of all time? At this point, it’s too early to tell and it’s impossible to know how the markets will ultimately respond. But we can look to the past for some answers. And what we know from history is that markets tend to react to an epidemic and or a pandemic in the short term but tend to recover within a few months. This one could take quite a bit longer since I do not think the economy is as strong as it has been reported.
So bottom line, as long as we have had a stock market, it has always come back and I recommend that you go forward with a level head and step back and take a look at your personal and financial situation currently but panic is not going to serve you well in dealing with the Coronavirus as it spreads either on the community or national level.