Friends
President Trump’s address to the American people did little to calm the nerves of investors. In fact, it appeared to make it worse as just after he began to speak, stock futures plummeted. As we begin trading today, stocks are once again under immense selling pressure. The uncertainty and fear of the COVID-19 virus is causing investors to sell stocks in what can only be described as a panic. Just after the beginning of trading the 7% down circuit breaker kicked in and stocks were halted. Once stocks reopened for trading, stocks continued to come under selling pressure.
We all saw the headlines yesterday, and travel bans and cancellations continue this mornings. The headlines are likely to get worse before they get better.
This is a moment when we need unity and strength from the Federal Government. Unfortunately, we are likely to getting partisan bickering. But, the markets at some point will demand both fiscal and monetary responses be implemented. As we saw during the financial meltdown in 2008, the markets got so bad that the Fed and Congress had to come together. We are fast approaching that moment in this crisis. Remember, this is an event caused by a health crisis. This is not a crisis caused by subprime lending and Wall Street maleficence. As a matter of fact, the most recent economic data was remarkably good.
We understand that these are difficult times, so don’t hesitate to give us a call, even if it’s just to hear a friendly voice. I had someone ask me if I could talk to one of their loved ones yesterday, who is not a client of ours, to help them get through what is going on. We are glad to talk to loved ones or friends of yours who just need to have a conversation with someone at this point. So please, if you want to talk, or there is someone you know or love who needs to talk to someone, give us a call.
I’ll leave it there for the moment. We will continue to keep you updated.
