Covid-19 Losses, Stock Market Gains & Political Fallout — Who is Rigging the Market?
As of 12/27/2020 – Fortunately, this is our last post on Covid-19. Congress passed a $900 billion relief package this week that included a foreign aid component for Pakistan and other distant locals. What?!! As of this hour, the President is still refusing to sign the bill, calling for additional sums he is fully aware that House and Senate Republicans will not pass. All bets are off for critically needed unemployment and eviction relief. Oddly, CNN’s page tracking cases and losses is down at this hour. The link works, but nothing appears. So back we go to virusncov.com, which reports: post-Christmas total cases -19,447,257; losses -340,146; and recovered – 11,412,108. The numbers blur. The well-off have – by and large – had a very prosperous pandemic indeed. Plandemic? It certainly feels like it. The true story will be written one day, but relatively few will read the book, certainly not the millions thrown into poverty. With prayers for your health and safety, signing off…
As of 12/20/2020 – Eight million more people fell into poverty over the last few months. Hunger and homelessness is exploding. And the Fed keeps printing money – 120 billion in a single month – pushing the stock market to new heights. The Federal Reserve has proven decisively that no tragedy is great enough to threaten the market. No crash will happen on this Fed’s watch (or the next) unless they permit the market to fall. Dark money, international central bankers, Members of Congress trading stocks like junkies – all in on the scheme. Meanwhile, the U.S. is losing over 3000 people per day, with 316,000 deaths since January 1 + 18 million cases. Staggering tragedies. but the market keeps delivering and almost no one is asking why/how. The media is silent. Members of Congress do not utter a word.
As of 12/13/2020 – The Pfizer vaccine has been approved and now the race is on for inoculation. With record levels of unemployment and countless businesses shuttered for good, some sectors – notably the tech industry – will continue to rake in revenue. Billionaires have increased their wealth over 2020 by a trillion dollars or more. Economists predict a “K-shaped recovery,” where the top earners amass wealth just as quickly the majority lose it. And on the 239th. trading day of the year – Thursday, Dec. 10 – CNN reported this banner headline: 299,399 deaths. It remained at that strangely synchronous number throughout the day. We’ve now reached the equivalent of 9/11 Trade Center losses daily and over 14 million cases. Quite an achievement and legacy from the Trump Administration.
As of 12/6/2020 – Over 14 million U.S. cases; over 281,500 lost – the equivalent of a 9/11 every day. And yet, Republican Senator David Purdue of Georgia reportedly found time to place over 2200 stock trades this past year in sectors that benefited from the Covid-19 crisis – while chairing or sitting on key Senate committees that provided him with information related to these trades. He is hardly alone. Senators and Members of the House are not prohibited from trading stocks. Now we understand how many actually spend their days. The crisis has provided a huge financial bonus. We are literally playing our legislators to trade with our lives.
As of 11/29/2020 – One in five Americans are experiencing food insecurity – including 1 in 4 children. We know that 140 Americans are classified as poor or working in low wage jobs. Food bank lines have risen exponentially since the Covid-19 crisis began. In other words, half the population is suffering…and yet the DOW & S&P hit all time highs this week. What is the market celebrating? A treasure load of Fed money.
“The Fed has expanded its balance sheet by $3.1 trillion this year. To put that into perspective, in response to the Great Financial Crisis, the Fed expanded its balance sheet by this same amount over the course of FIVE YEARS from 2008 to… 2013,” wrote Graham Summers. “Put another way, it took the Fed FIVE YEARS to spend the same amount of money during the worst financial crisis and recession in 80 years. This time around, the Fed spent it in EIGHT MONTHS. If you want a reason for stocks exploding to new all-time highs over and over again, it’s this TSUNAMI of liquidity the Fed has provided.” (Side note: Over 13 million U.S. Covid-19 cases this week and closing in on 267k deaths. After all, death and suffering do seem to be a side note to market exhilaration.)
As of 11/22/2020 – Now we’re up to over 1,400 deaths per day and over 256,000 losses. But Covid-19 has also been a wealth creator on steroids. More Americans have achieved over a million dollars in net worth than in any comparable period in U.S. history. U.S. Billionaires have increased their wealth by over 150-200 billion. The stock market has been racing upwards to new highs since the first deaths were announced in January. Dormant drug companies are now national heroes. And yet, 54 million Americans are hungry. Car lines stretch for miles in Texas alone in the quest for food. What does this disparity tell you?
As of 11/15/2020 – As Covid-19 cases reached stratospheric highs this past week (11 million U.S. cases & +242,000 losses), so did the SPY & Dow – closing in on November 9 highs — the first Monday following the election. Why are so few (is there anyone?) asking how these market runs can be justified amidst the pain & suffering? Dark Money. Manipulation. The billionaires and millionaires are literally making off like bandits. While pundits declared that Trump had lost control of the pandemic, perhaps he’s been in total control all along – of intentional death and destruction. (We await “the inevitable book” to reveal what we have been living through.)
As of 11/8/2020 – Covid-19 Cases have surpassed 9.9 million and deaths 237 million. Trading Days: 217 as of Monday. The stock market came roaring back in hopes of a Biden win and – God Bless America – Donald Trump is now the big loser. Joe Biden won more votes than any candidate in U.S. history – over 74 million – and Kamala Harris has broken the glass ceiling as the first female, black and South Asian vice president. Billions of people around the globe were ecstatic.
As of 11/1/2020 – Covid-19 cases & losses have surpassed the number of trading days and the date. (Cases 9,158,275; Deaths 230,732 – Trading days: 212. Therefore, based on the weekly numbers described below (throughout this column), we may be nearing the pinnacle of pain, with horrible consequences. Fatalities as a percentage of cases have already declined. Speaking of a drops, the market manipulators who made billions marching the market up are now pushing it down. This week saw the largest stock market drop since March 2020.
As of 10/25/20 – With the highest spike in cases on Friday, October 23, more people have died from Covid-19 than in the past 5 flu seasons combined. I tracked the relationship between deaths and calendar date over several days – as per reporting on CNN.com: Tuesday, October 20: 220,134 deaths; Wed, October 21: 222,222; Friday, October 23: 224,180 deaths and as of today, October 25, we’ve reached 226,000+ deaths (230k according to Virusncov.com). Will the virus start winding down when November 1 comes around?
As of 10/19/2020 – Now we know why Trump refused to warn the public about the Covid-19 crisis: He was sharing insider information with wealthy donors and traders. In early February, Trump’s economic advisers warned top donors/traders about the dangers of COVID – while downplaying its impact in public. According to a secret memo obtained by the New York Times, Trump officials gave traders invaluable notice about the impending catastrophe. Written by hedge fund veteran William Callanan, a member of the board of the Hoover Institution, the memo was circulated in a Hoover Institute meeting on February 24, 2020. According to Johns Hopkins U., on Friday, October 17, US Covid deaths surpassed 217,000 and reached 219,676 today, (October 18). Virus.com numbers: Total Cases: 8,380,717; Deaths: 224,642. Trading days: 201.
As of 10/11/2020 – Virusncov.com numbers “echo” Monday’s 197th. trading day: Total Cases: 7,973,252; Deaths: 219,561. The market is giddy with excitement, ripping higher by the day. A jolly rally for the .01 percent. Johns Hopkins University records 7,742,279 cases and 214,639 deaths. Life losses will likely reach or surpass 215,000 by October 15. The New York Times reports that at least 200 businesses obtained contract rewards as a result of payments to president’s golf and hotel properties. They called it kickbacks in days of yore.
As of 10/4/2020 – Johns Hopkins University: Cases: 7,383,356 – Deaths 209,399. Trading days as of Monday: 192. Virusncov.com numbers: 7,601,182 – 214,280 deaths. The president of the United States has now joined the 7.3 (or 7.6 million), with his infection apparently rooted in the Rose Garden ceremony for Supreme Court nominee, Amy Barrett. At least eight people attending that ceremony, including three Republican senators, have contracted the virus. The market sank at market open on Friday with the news of the president’s diagnosis, but quickly recovered.
As of 9/27/20 – We reached a tragic milestone today: 7,310,748 cases, of which 14,093 are in severe condition and 209,357 have died. Monday is the 187th trading day. The market is again celebrating financial domination by wealthy, pro-gun, pro-life (but not your life) Trump supporters. With Trump’s anti-Obamacare, pro-life, pro-second amendment Supreme Court nominee about to sail through, one wonders how the ship of state can ever steady itself again. As several commentators have noted, it appears that the North lost the Civil War after all. Now what?
As of 9/20/20 Are you better off today under Donald Trump than you were before he took office? Total Covid-19 Cases: 6,970,044 of which 14084 are in severe condition; Deaths: 203,851 (3%); Recovered: 4,223,987 (61%) Trump cult supporters do not seem to care if you live or die. Trump sycophants (including nearly every Republican Member of Congress) do not really care either. After all, the White House (Republican Party) is demanding that the Supreme Court strike down the Affordable Care Act, including precondition protections afforded over 130 million Americans. Your life is at stake. Monday is the 182nd. trading day on Monday. Trade Donald Trump for Joe Biden.
As of 9/13/20 Johns Hopkins reports more than 6.5 million cases and 193,843 deaths, while Virusncov.com reports over 6.6 million US cases and 198,293 deaths. Monday is the 177th trading day of the year. Jeff Bezos lost $7.9bn in this week’s market whiplash, but his overall wealth catapulted from $69.3bn to over $184bn from the start of the year. He’s hardly alone. As the pandemic kills, the stock market offers thrills galore for investors.
As of 9/6/2020 The SPY suffered a 3% pullback last week (DIA/Nasdaq pullbacks as well), just as cases and trading days decoupled. The manipulators can’t keep up, it seems. Entering trading day 173, total cases reached 6,447,730, with 14,938 in severe condition. Deaths: 193,041 – or 3% of total cases. Fifty-eight percent – 3,713,555 – recovered. – Virusncov.com
And now Trump plans to decouple current and future retirees from their social security benefits by temporarily deferring – and then permanently deferring – payroll taxes – which underpin he social security fund. What are the benefits: None. “This allows employers to stop withholding the employee’s Social Security portion from their paycheck (6.2%). Sounds like good news right? But the truth is, all those employees will need to REPAY this next year before April 30th. And where will they get that money then? TaxMama’s advice? If you are working and earning a paycheck, don’t fall for this. Tell your boss to take the normal withholding. OR start saving up to pay it back next year.” – itaxmama.com
As of 8/30/20 – Entering the 168th trading day of the year tomorrow, Covid-19 deaths topped 186,882 today (Sunday). Total cases climbed to 6,141,697, of which 16,026 are in severe condition (Virusncov.com). Given this death spiral, devastating forest fires in California and horrific hurricanes in Louisiana and Texas, the mighty SPY ETF broke new records at 350.72 on August 28th.
Death, fire, hurricanes. Aren’t they cause for celebration? Is Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell intentionally underwriting Donald Trump’s reelection by printing money? (We know how much Donald loves/touts his market success.) To quote Bubble author Graham Summer, “In response to the Great Financial Crisis of 2008, central banks printed $12 trillion in new money from 2008 to 2012. They’ve already printed HALF of this in six months ($6 trillion and change) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. And when you include stimulus programs, the number swells to $15 trillion.”
As of 8/23/20 – The SPY ETF reached a new high on Friday at 339.72 (just as short-sellers and options traders closed their positions for the week – naturally). Given that Friday was the 162 trading day of the year, new cases – as of today, 5,856,961 – will surely catch up this week, and all will be in sync. True to form, Covid deaths also reached a new high at 180,390 – along with 16729 severe cases. – Virusncov.com
As of 8/16/2020 – Friday, August 13 was the 155th trading day. Total cases were 5,537,047 as of Sunday, August 16, according to https://virusncov.com/covid-statistics/usa:
Severe Condition: 17186
Deaths: 172,741
Deaths/Total Cases: (3%)
Recovered: 2,904,417
Recovered/ Total Cases: (52%)
The SPY ETF closed at 337.84 on 8/12 and reached a “new” interim high of 338.83 on Friday – only a hairline away from the all time high of 339.08 prior to the market “crash.”
Need I say more? Well, yes. The total wealth of US billionaires soared to $685bn since the middle of March for a combined $3.65tn. The February March market meltdown took 4 weeks, while the market spiral upwards has gone on for nearly six months. Plandemic.
“The Fed or whoever is rigging the market”: “The fact is that since the market bottom, the FANG stocks have done almost all the heavy lifting, holding the rest of the market up for months. Even with their recent correction, they’ve more than TRIPLED the performance of the S&P 500 from the March lows. Put another way, time and again, no matter how overbought they became, the big FANG stocks continue to rally higher and higher, driven by “someone” who seemed hellbent on insuring the market didn’t collapse again. Why were companies outperforming/rallying so much? Because the large tech stocks (Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Facebook) are where central banks are buying. Regardless of who is doing the buying, “someone” is ramping the market using these companies. And very likely they will continue to do so no matter what.” – Graham Summers, author,
As of 8/9/2020 – Lockstep: Friday was the 151th trading day of the year and Monday is the 152nd. Thus we have now officially entered the “5’s”. VirusNCovid.com reports total U.S. cases at 5,152,132 as of 10:00 a.m. EST, while Johns Hopkins University reported U.S. confirmed cases at 5,000,603 and U.S. Deaths 162,441. JHU also reports 56,174 new confirmed cases and 1,076 deaths. I hesitate to use the word “plandemic” due to conspiracy theories swirling around this term. But the consequences are clear: Disproportionate deaths of Blacks, Latinos, elderly, sick and infirm populations. Crippling of the middle and working classes. Destruction of Black, Latino and women owned businesses. Devastated families, with the burden of care on working women, single mothers and essential workers. Accelerated hunger, homelessness. Transforming the U.S. public into slaves – while the rich get filthy, filthy rich via fantastical stock market trajectories. “Fang” stocks Facebook, Apple Google & Microsoft are levitating. Pharmaceutical companies have gained unimaginable power over our future. It couldn’t be better planned than if it WAS planned, so to speak.
And have I mentioned Kodak? On July 28, 2020, Kodak won a government loan to transform the company into a pharmaceutical ingredients producer – due entirely to an executive order signed by the president permitting a U.S. foreign aid agency to provide loans to U.S. businesses. The following day, Kodak’s stock price tripped 20 circuit breakers, rising from roughly $2.00 to $61.00 in four days. The SEC is investigating insider trading, but the real targets should be (and will not be) invisible traders connected to the president.
As of 8/2/2020 – Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering reported 4,620,502 coronavirus cases and 154,449 deaths at 4:00 a.m. ET on Sunday, August 2. By tomorrow, the 147th. trading day of the year, total U.S. cases will no doubt reach 4.7 million or above – in lockstep once again, though by cases versus deaths this week. This column has become an unintended time capsule for one of the strangest (repeated weekly) coincidences in memory. We should call it: It can’t be, but it is. Update:
As of 7/26/2020 – On Tuesday July 21, the 138th trading day of the year, John Hopkins University reported 3.8 million+ coronavirus cases. On July 22, the 139th trading day, U.S. cases increased to 3.9 million+ cases (39,210,024), and over 4 million cases on the 140th trading day. As of today, over 146,000 Americans have died and tens of thousands who contracted the virus will suffer for months if not years to come.
As the Senate and House undertake negotiations for another multi-trillion relief package, the $10 trillion time bomb keeps ticking. We predicted a market drop last week, and indeed the first leg down occurred for the SPY on Friday, 7/24/20, but only after reaching another interim high – perhaps staging a comeback to March, 2020 all time highs?
As of 7/19/2020 – On Friday, 7/17/20, 2020, the CDC reported 77,000 Covid-19 cases – our highest daily number and, in fact, the highest daily number on the planet. On that same day, the SPY was holding steady in 3-day rally – much of it carried out in after-hours and pre-market trading. By Friday’s 134th trading day, over 140 thousand Americans had succumbed , along with 135,000 Europeans. We now enter the 135th trading day. Stunning synchronicity.
Approaching a $10 trillion national debt “time bomb,” watch for a possible market drop in the days ahead. “We are now entering the time in which the true structural damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will be revealed,” warns trading expert Graham Summers. Banks told businesses in April, “Don’t worry about making any debt payments for 90 days… but come July you’ll have to start paying us again. And if they have not TRULY recovered from the economic shutdown… we’re about to see a TSUNAMI of defaults and bankruptcies.”
Retro-Posts Regarding the 2008 Bailout
Stock Market Miracle for Wealthy Donors: Bubble for the Rest?
Wall Street vs Main Street: Greatest Wealth Heist in US History
As of 7/12/2020 – Coronavirus cases are accelerating in all but four states and over 134,000 Americans have fallen victim to the deadly virus. Multiple states are reporting more than 10,000 cases in a day, with Texas reaching 10,351 and Florida reporting over 15,000 in a single day! Still refusing to issue a statewide mask mandate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis insists that everything is fine. One begins to wonder: Could a foreign actor be paying a bounty for every dead American? (Jesting?)
We mark 130 trading days for the year on Monday. The SPY took off like a rocket on Friday, July 10 – moving up nearly 10 points by the end of the day. Death, pain and suffering are clearly good for business. Pundits insist: It’s the Fed pumping money into the market, blah, blah. Americans are flummoxed and flabbergasted by the unceasing spiral upwards. Well, that might be about to change. The Fed drained $24 billion in liquidity from the system this week and announced that it will continue to do so. The Fed statement: “Since the SMCCF’s launch, as market functioning has improved, we have slowed the pace of purchases, from about $300 million per day to a bit under $200 million a day. If market conditions continue to improve, Fed purchases could slow further, potentially reaching very low levels or stopping entirely.” Now the billionaires will benefit by shorting the market. Either way, they gain & the majority of Americans lose.
As of 7/5/2020 – On July 4th., Covid-19 deaths surpassed 129,6000 – you guessed it – just as we reach the 129th trading day of the year on Monday, July 6. The biggest loser – as in, he’s a loser: Donald Trump, above all. Joining the Loser’s Club: Florida’s blood-on-his-hands Governor Ron DeSantis for refusing to mandate masks as Florida becomes a Covid-19 hot spot. DeSantis is hoping voters will forget by the time he runs for reelection. Good luck with that. Even staunch Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas finally mandated masks prior to the July 4th holiday.
As of 6/28/2020 – Covid-19 deaths have now surpassed 125,000, along with trading dates for the year – 123 as of Friday. We’ll keep you posted. See discussion below. The biggest loser this week: President Donald Trump. Polls now indicate that former Vice-President Joe Biden is winning hearts and votes in battle ground states. The blood-on-their-hands Republican loser’s club is joined by Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida and Texas Governor Greg Abbott for refusing to mandate masks in public with cases and deaths in their states reaching tragic heights. Nine Texas mayors are asking Abbott to rethink his policies, while mayors of numerous Florida cities – including Miami- are mandating masks.
As of 6/21/202 – I’ve been updating you on the (strange/coincidental or…) link between Covid-19 deaths and the US stock market. On May 16, Covid-19 deaths reached 100,000 at precisely 100 trading dates for the year. This past week, deaths surpassed 117,000 at 117 trading days and at 119 trading days (a Friday), with Saturday, June 20 approaching, over 119,000 deaths were reported. [Update for 6/22: On the 120th trading date, deaths surpassed 120,000 and the market continued to spiral upwards.]
I can’t imagine how this could be…but it is. The Federal Reserve has been purchasing every possible asset class aside from stocks – spending over $5 trillion to-date – and signaled this week that stock purchases are on the table. Which means: Covid-19 and the Fed response could be creating the greatest stock market bubble in history, while disproportionately killing the elderly, unhealthy and people of color. And yet…thanks to nearly three weeks of multiracial Black Lives Matter Protests, we – the people – might just come through this stronger than every. I’m fairly certain that current winners/drivers are not counting on that outcome.
As of 6/14/2020 – The U.S. has surpassed 2 million cases of Covid-19 and nearly 115,000 deaths. Street protests continue as do the senseless killings of unarmed black men by the police. What part of “Thou Shalt Not Kill” do such officers of the law fail to understand? The vast majority of police officers are brave men and women who keep us safe. But as Martin Luther King warned: “The time is always right to do what is right.”
As of 6/7/2020 – With U.S. Covid-19 deaths surpassing 110,000 and Black Lives Matter protests moving into their 10th day, the U.S. stock market continued to surge. American billionaires have now increased their wealth by nearly $600 billion since the February-March 2020 stock market crash that bottomed on 3/23/20. Coincidences?
As of 5/31/2020 – With Covid-19 deaths nearing 100,000 on May 16, 2020, the U.S. stock market also marked 100 trading days for the year. Obfuscating the deadly Covid-19 numbers – including at least 1,778,515 coronavirus cases – the market rallied to yet another post-March-crash high. Surpassing 100,000 cases on May 29, the market continued to rally. As of today, we have sustained 104,000 losses with the market enters it’s 104th trading day tomorrow (June 1) – a fascinating coincidence? With over 40 million unemployed, billionaires reportedly increased their wealth by over five hundred billion dollars since the Covid-19 crisis began.
Given over 4 trillion pumped into the economy by Congress & the Federal Reserve, the mega rich are having a very good crisis indeed. Meanwhile, the pandemic will reportedly leave over 54 million Americans without access to and/or ability to purchase sufficient food. With Black Lives Matter protests ripping through the nation over the murder-by-police of George Floyd, financial gurus will likely try to extend the rally by declaring that tomorrow is at least better than yesterday.
As of 5/3/2020 – 1143,433 US cases, 66,760 deaths. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is now the de facto president of a coalition seven northeaster states. Governor Gavin Newsom is the virtual president of California. Ohio & Maryland Republican governors rank far higher than Trump. Red states with Democratic governors rate their governors higher than Trump. Governors are trumping Trump.(#TrumpWho) With 30 million US citizens applying for unemployment benefits, the Guardian and others report that Trump is funneling stimulus funds to his close cronies.
As of 4/12/2020 – over 530,000 cases, 20,000 deaths. Recoveries appear to be unavailable at this time on the CDC website. For the first time in US history, all 50 states are under a federal disaster declaration. Here’s what we know. TRUMP IGNORED critical internal government warnings about this infectious disease, losing a precious three week period to prepare – thus tragically resulting in thousands of deaths. Even a 3-day delay in that time period – let alone weeks – accelerated the number of cases and deaths. See https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/11/politics/new-york-times-coronavirus-trump-administration/ Trump’s actions resulted in the deaths of his supporters and non-supporters. But naturally, Fox News hosts – with the exception of Tucker Carlson – will not tell you so.
Winners: China, which is manufacturing and selling critical PPE equipment to the US and worldwide. Losers: The world, but especially the US, which now has the highest number of cases and deaths per country on the planet.
As of 3/22/2020 – with 26,668 US cases, 340 deaths and 176 recovered. Now we know. The Chinese government unleashed this virus on the world by withholding vital information for several crucial weeks that could have helped the world prepare – in particular the United States and hardest hit Italy. China refused initial State Department requests to send medical professionals to assess and assist. Senior US intelligence advisors warned President Trump of the looming pandemic in January, but aside from barring all visitors from China, Trump insisted in a televised briefing that a “miracle” might resolve the problem.
In spite of dire requests by the governors of New York, California and Washington State over the past week for immediate activation of the Department of Defense Logistics Agency & the Corps of Engineers – to manage delivery of Personal Protection Equipment for medical staff and to build satellite hospital facilities – President Trump refused to do so as of March 22, 2020. Two Republican senators unloaded millions of dollars in stocks – allegedly all or most of their holdings – following secret intelligence agency briefings, while failing to inform the public of the looming emergency. The husband of one is the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange. The husband of a Senate democrat sold large quantities of stock in a single biotech company, while the Senator’s personal holdings remained in a blind trust and were not sold.
Acting like a President: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, whose daily televised press conferences sustained, educated and calmed the nation – for at least 15 minutes when followed by a Trump briefing to the nation.
Winners: Pharmaceutical companies large and small working on life-saving virus drugs and vaccines. (No blame here. Let’s pray they succeed.)
Winners: Short-Sellers. The market had its worst drop in history, along with countless down days resulting in multiple periods of suspended trading.
Winners: Bad actors worldwide who have now learned how to bring down the US and global economies – in fact, to hold US and European nations hostage, but strangely not China, which is now reporting no additional deaths from the virus, with citizens returning to work/life/restaurants/cafes (albeit many wearing masks, which of course US citizens, let alone health care workers, still do not have).
Winners: The wealthy will not only get by, but they (and others sitting on cash) will buy stock at new lows – leading to many more millionaires and billionaires.
Losers: Just about every poor, lower income and middle class American, along with their children.
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As of 3/8/2020, with 14 deaths in the US, media outlets and countless officials are declaring a pandemic.
Winners
Big Pharma: Target of the Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren campaigns, villains in the opioid crisis…but now? How quickly will we forget? Big Pharma stocks are surging.
Chinese stock market (Pay Attention!): “While U.S. investors are grappling with a violent sell-off as the coronavirus spreads, their Chinese counterparts at the heart of the outbreak are back to making decent money again…China investors have already gone through the panic stage that their U.S. counterparts are experiencing now…” – Bloomberg.com
Security stocks are surging.
Price gougers and sanitizer companies are surging.
The Media: Headline of the Day. “Deaths from coronavirus in Spain rise from 10 to 13” – TheGuardian.com
Freedom: Population control advocates: Italy bars over 10 million people, a quarter of their northern based population – from leaving their area. As of early reports, Italians are more panicked over enforced control of movement than the virus.
Fear Mongers: Political chaos, hatred, division. You know the script.
People who ride public transit and dare to fly. Buses, trains, airports and planes are being fully sanitized, perhaps for the first time in public memory? As in EVER? Why did it take them so long? Remember when we wrote about rusty shopping carts – and about an “organic” chain that didn’t seem to care? Rust can also be life-threatening. Or how about people who put children and “support” dogs in their carts? How about filthy check out counters?
Losers
Decimated Stock Markets: Millions – if not tens of millions – in the US watch retirement and non-retirement accounts drop like a rock.
Healthy part-time workers and freelancers prevented from doing their jobs – who may never recover lost incomes. [Updated on 3/22 – Given trillion dollar+ stimulus, part-time workers and freelancers may be covered for all of their lost income through April 30. More to come.]
Healthy full time workers prevented from doing their jobs – who might (or might not) recover lost opportunities and income.
What Virus?
The French retain a sense of humor. “It’s International Women’s Day and participants in events on the streets largely don’t seem to be letting coronavirus get in the way….Many held placards comparing the virus to gender inequality, with slogans reading “stop the patriarchal virus” and “stop the patriarchal pandemic”, whilst dressed in outfits which resemble hazmat suits.” – TheGuardian.com
To be continued…