Warren Buffett doesn't sound too optimist about the coronavirus pandemic. This morning, markets crashed on coronavirus fears, right from the opening. When the Dow and NASDAQ were both more than 3% down I had a long talk with my financial advisor, who had already sold my only small investment in international travel (Carnival Cruise lines) and when I said that I'm nervous about this, she said, "Everybody is." Gold prices have been soaring since November-- from around $1,460 an ounce to around $1,685 today. Markets in China, South Korea and Italy are in panic-mode. If you've been following our coronavirus coverage, you've probably detected that I'm pretty skittish about this too, to put it mildly.When I come into my house from outside, I wash my hands with hot water and soap. I listen to Chris Martenson everyday-- religiously. He's scarier than Jaws or Orphan, Cabin in the Woods or The Shining. I keep thinking about stocking my pantry up with pasta and other non-perishable foods. The new Chris Martenson came out this afternoon:You like a rollercoaster ride? This is more like the infamous 250-foot-tall, long closed (1964) Parachute Jump at Coney Island. The market caught on long after Martenson. I knew I should have started selling equities sooner! Thank God I didn't own any airline stocks!
Stocks fell sharply on Monday, with Dow Jones Industrial Average losses reaching as much as 1,000 points at midday. The number of coronavirus cases outside China surged, stoking fears of a prolonged global economic slowdown from the virus spreading.The Dow traded 962 points lower, or 3.3%. The S&P 500 slid 3.2% while the Nasdaq Composite traded 3.8% lower. The 30-stock Dow is also negative for 2020.It was the biggest percentage drop for the S&P 500 since October 2018 and it was the biggest Dow point drop since February 2018. The Dow and S&P 500 also gave up their gains for 2020.“The second-largest economy in the world is completely shut down. People aren’t totally pricing that in,” said Larry Benedict, CEO of The Opportunistic Trader, adding a 10% to 15% correction in stocks may be starting. He also said some parts of the market, particularly large-cap tech stocks, appear to be over-owned. “It seems like there’s much more to come.”Airline stocks Delta and American were both down more than 7% while United traded 4% lower. Shares of casino operators Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts dropped at least 3.8% each. MGM Resorts slid 4.7%.Chipmakers were also down broadly. Nvidia shares were down more than 6% while Dow-component Intel traded 3.4% lower. AMD dipped 7.6%. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) was down by 4.2%.Apple and its suppliers took a hit as well. Shares of the iPhone maker were down by 4.3%. Skyworks Solutions and Qorvo dropped more than 3% each.Overseas markets fell sharply. The European Stoxx 600 dropped more than 3% while Korea’s Kospi index slid 3.9%.In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 1.8%.Legendary investor Warren Buffett said the coronavirus spread has softened up the U.S. economy, but noted it its still healthy. “Business is down but it’s down from a very good level,” Buffett told CNBC’s Becky Quick on Squawk Box. “You look at car holdings-- railcar holdings, moving goods around. And there again, that was affected by the tariffs too because people front-ended purchases, all kinds of things.” Buffett added he still recommends buying stocks for the long term.
And... the worst is yet to come. Also... just take a moment to contemplate who exactly is in charge of the U.S. response and what kind of a team he has around him. How brilliant does he look with his gargantuan cuts to the CDC? Pasta anyone? And speaking of Señor Trumpanzee, here are some words of wisdom from one of his biggest supporters, Rush Limbaugh: "It looks like the coronavirus is being weaponized as yet another element to bring down Donald Trump. Now, I want to tell you the truth about the coronavirus… You think I’m wrong about this? You think I’m missing it by saying that’s… Yeah, I’m dead right on this. The coronavirus is the common cold, folks."
