Published in El Pais, February 18th, 2020.
Unless you have been living under a rock you are aware of the coronavirus that has China under lockdown and the world living in fear of what will happen if it hits where you live. Its understandable to be concerned about it but where I am most worried of is how it will affect the economy.
The other day I saw a political cartoon that summed the situation up perfectly. A man was in a doctor’s office and the doctor told him “There is no sign of the coronavirus except in your portfolio”. Up until recently the economic impact on the virus has been purely speculation but now it seems this has come into reality. Despite President’s Xi calling on China to get back to work many factories remain closed and companies around the world are warning their customers that supplies are running low. It is even getting professional athletes voicing concern as they are unable to order more equipment for themselves. This will become even more problematic should this become a global pandemic as entire industries will soon falter and stock market prices start to crash.
Technological progress seems to be hampered as well. It is a poor secret that the new Xbox and PlayStation consoles will be arriving soon but the reveal events might soon be postponed due to fear of spreading the virus some are even worried they will have to push back the release date past Christmas as the factories are no longer building the video game consoles.
If you are wondering what to do? it is to be more prepared financially. This is a time where investments that were safe only a few months ago could now be risky. Should you have any investments now would be the time to speak with a financial advisor regarding the crisis and how best to weather this storm.
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