Things were going smoothly with your life plans, and then there was a bump in the night . . . Coronavirus! Headlines are filled with a mix of assertion and speculation. Opinions are couched in disclaimers. At this time, how can you best address your personal well-being, medical and financial?
What Has Happened?
At times of uncertainty, reliable resources are most important. We believe in going to the sources. The World Health Organization ("WHO") is a primary resource on global health matters including the Coronavirus. WHO issued its 38th daily Situation report with the latest news from around the world. The primary resource on U.S. health matters is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ("CDC"). CDC has a wide range of information regarding both healthcare recommendations and country-wide updates. Unfortunately, current reports indicate that the disease continues to spread globally.
Financial markets initially ignored this medical concern as the global stock market actually rose +6% in the weeks following emergence of the Coronavirus symptoms last December. In the past 12 trading days, however, a full stock market correction (price decline of -10% or more) has occurred. The linkage to Coronavirus is direct in that evidence emerging from countries most directly affected to date, i.e., China, indicates that the cost of containment has been a material slowdown in economic activity. A rebound will occur but timing and magnitude of any downturn remain uncertain at this time.
What Are the Implications?
Coronavirus is a rare moment of converging health concerns, medical and financial. As an occurrence with few precedents, projecting outcomes amidst current uncertainties is most challenging. Potential outcomes, nevertheless, are clear. One could be stricken with Coronavirus with near term if not longer-term medical consequences. One could experience financial losses on a temporary or a sustained basis.
What Should You Do?
• Avoid precipitous actions and stay the course with good practices, both medical and financial.
• Seek the most reliable medical information; e.g., from WHO, CDC and your own medical providers.
• Take care of your medical well-being; e.g., be current on exams, tests vaccinations and prescribed treatments and protocols.
• Seek the most reliable financial information, e.g., government sources ( federalreserve.gov , worldbank.org ) , recognized publications ( wsj.com , kiplinger.com ) and your trusted financial advisor.
How may we help you? Let us know and we will be in touch.