Until this occurs, financial markets will remain in a tizzy...

[bmw]

It's more contagious (maybe - I'm not even sure we have enough data YET to confirm this, but it looks like it probably is) than the flu, but we don't have a vaccine yet either. Considering that roughly half of all Americans get a flu shot every year and that the effectiveness rating of the shot is somewhere close to 50%, the flu would actually be 25% more contagious were it not for the vaccine.

[TC Talks]

and this virus is 25 times more deadly than the flu and 4 times more contagious. And as for your ethical question? Without the steps government has already taken, many people would be forced to be around large groups or lose their ability to earn a living. That isn't a choice as you make it seem.

It seems like you are put out that you can't watch sports?

[MWmetalhead]

Responding to bmw...

Completely irrelevant.

Why? Because you say so?

No one is forced to congregate in public around sick people, either.

Rate This and TC Talks counterpointed that suggestion perfectly; I have nothing further to add other than to suggest self-quarantining is a sensible option for those who are considered physically vulnerable.

[bmw]

It looks like I just have to admit that I'm in a small minority and agree to disagree with the threat this virus supposedly poses.

And MW - your stance on this appears to have significantly changed since late January, at which time you said the following:

About a 0.5 for me at this point.

The mainstream media like to spread panic about the latest epidemic or virus. They do it every year. They'll resort to anything to whip middle aged suburban women into a frenzy and make them pay attention to the news.

Using unfamiliar, scary sounding names is part of the gimmick.

This is basically an upper respiratory infection. And guess what? The coronavirus has been present in the United States for many, many decades!! What's going on in China is simply a severe strain of the virus.

What has changed since then to change your opinion? Even in late January, it was being reported that of the cases in China, 20% resulted in "severe" illness and over 3.5% were dying. It was also known that the spread, even then, was EXPONENTIAL.

[Colonel Flagg]

How many people were dead from H1N1 before the great Barack Obama decided to take action? 2009 was a long time ago, but can any of you handwringing worry-warts remember for us? What, if any, restrictions were placed upon us then?

It is simply amazing to me how some people are so easily duped.

[Rate This]

How many people were dead from H1N1 before the great Barack Obama decided to take action? 2009 was a long time ago, but can any of you handwringing worry-warts remember for us? What, if any, restrictions were placed upon us then?

It is simply amazing to me how some people are so easily duped.

H1N1 wasn’t remotely the same...

[bmw]

H1N1 wasn’t remotely the same...

I had it. BY FAR the sickest I've ever been in my life. I won't say I was near death, but I'm not exaggerating when I say that during the worst day of it I was genuinely becoming worried I might end up in the hospital.

[Rate This]

H1N1 wasn’t remotely the same...

I had it. BY FAR the sickest I've ever been in my life. I won't say I was near death, but I'm not exaggerating when I say that during the worst day of it I was genuinely becoming worried I might end up in the hospital.

I should clarify not in symptoms and how it affected those who got it but in the speed with which it traveled and infected people. It killed 18,000 and infected 600,000.

[audiophile]

H1N1 wasn’t remotely the same...

I had it. BY FAR the sickest I've ever been in my life. I won't say I was near death, but I'm not exaggerating when I say that during the worst day of it I was genuinely becoming worried I might end up in the hospital.

I had extreme chills, did you?

I never got tested but it was at same time it was going around.

[Rate This]

Interest rates have now been slashed to near 0% and the fed has loosened bank lending rules.

[Lester The Nightfly]

Here's what USA Today said about how this plays out back in September:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/20 ... 293676001/[/url]

I'd love to hear MW's take on this

[Rate This]

Futures are down 1000 points and hit the point where they can’t fall any further... tomorrow is gonna be really bad.

[bmw]

Futures are down 1000 points and hit the point where they can’t fall any further... tomorrow is gonna be really bad.

Quite frankly I was a bit surprised by the big spike in stock prices at the end of trading on Friday. Investors HAD to know that this weekend wasn't going to go well. I think a bottom isn't too far off, but we certainly aren't there yet.

[Rate This]

Futures are down 1000 points and hit the point where they can’t fall any further... tomorrow is gonna be really bad.

Quite frankly I was a bit surprised by the big spike in stock prices at the end of trading on Friday. Investors HAD to know that this weekend wasn't going to go well. I think a bottom isn't too far off, but we certainly aren't there yet.

I’m not... the market almost always goes way up after going way down... I think people buy it up on one day and sell it the next and make a quick buck..

[bmw]

I've been in and out of it quickly with some day trades and made some quick small profits myself, but I made one bad move and got in before the big 10% drop middle of last week...So I've decided I'm pot-committed at this point and will just leave the small chunk of money I have in there now there to sit until the recovery starts - which, I'm quickly coming to the reality that this might be a while out yet.