Big Virus Shock Can Be Contained and Reversed
But fear and uncertainty threaten to cause paralysis and overreaction.
Panic won’t help.
Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
I’m not prone to making directive calls in columns like this one or to using capital letters in my social media posts. Rather than telling people what to think, I strongly prefer to try to help them reach their own conclusions by providing analysis and insights.
In the last few weeks, however, I’ve made two notable exceptions: in repeatedly urging policy makers, companies and individuals to realize that the coronavirus shock was fundamentally different in that it would trigger unprecedented economic sudden stops, a phenomenon that is extremely unfamiliar outside of fragile or failed states and communities hit by big natural disasters; and, as I anticipated a much bigger and generalized market correction, by urging investors not to keep on buying the dip, an investment strategy that had performed extremely well in recent years.