(BONUS) Modern Markets Episode 5.2: Trump Seeks Nation Return to Work
March 25th, 2020, by FomoHunt
NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE - S&P 500 - $2,477 | DIJA - $21,200 | Bitcoin - $6,630
“This week, it's going to get bad”
Trump Seeks Nation Return to Work
(Image Courtesy of: https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-return-to-work-says-seniors-will-be-watched-over-2020-3)
In a statement that seems to contradict expert opinion, President Trump may be close to partially lifting the recommendation for citizens to shelter in place. During the daily COVID-19 press conference earlier this week Trump said that he hoped America would again soon be open for business: “Very soon, a lot sooner than three or four months that somebody was suggesting. A lot sooner. We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself.”
The cure he mentions is the quarantine or “shelter in place” order that has been given by governors around the state as they try to mitigate the infection rate. Some of the affected states, California, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and Ohio, are allowing people to go to the grocery store and be in public as long as social distancing is practiced. While sending people back to work would indeed start the economy back up, it runs the serious risk of overloading a healthcare system on the brink of collapse. As it stands the medical system is already being stressed to its capacity.
Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York city has been forthright in the limits of his hospitals. As of March 19th, he is on record saying they have 2-3 weeks of medical supplies before they run out:
“I don’t have the perfect day for you, we’re assessing all the time but it is a day, two weeks from now or three weeks from now where we must, by then, have had a very substantial resupply. So I think the simple way to think about it, is that the federal government has, essentially, two weeks to get us major resupply or the people of New York City are going to be in much greater danger.”
The current sentiment from the White House is that Governors are responsible for procuring medical supplies. This has created a bidding war between states as they vie for the dwindling amount of medical supplies available.
In contrast to the proposed reopening of US businesses, Italy is in full lockdown. Only grocery stores, banks, post offices, and pharmacies are allowed to remain open. Citizens are required to have a reason to be outside of their homes and all public spaces are closed off. Over 100,000 people in Italy have already been fined for violating the quarantine. Italian Mayors are publicly shouting at their constituents to stay inside, and berating those breaking the quarantine orders. The mortality rate in Italy has been very high, roughly 10% with over 6,000 deaths attributed to COVID-19.
Presidential Health advisor, Tony Fauci, has stated that the crisis will take time: “I cannot see that all of a sudden, next week or two weeks from now it's going to be over. I don't think there's a chance of that. I think it's going to be several weeks.”
The economic crisis stemming from COVID-19 is undeniable, and will be explored more in the next newsletter. But ignoring the advice of health professionals for the sake of quarterly returns will result in exponentially more deaths than ordering people to shelter in place. This is a very trying time for all the countries of the world. ~Kaltoro.
This newsletter, analysis, research, opinion, and commentary provided by Modern Markets, lead analyst Kaltoro, with contributions from TytanInc and Digital Lawrence and does not constitute financial advice. The publication incorporates data from numerous sources including, but not limited to, CoinMarketCap, Bloomberg, CNBC, Lunar Crush, and the team at FomoHunt.