Couple of stories from FT today:
Loss of working hours to equal 195m full-time jobs, UN agency warns
The coronavirus crisis will cut working hours by almost 7 per cent worldwide in the second quarter of 2020, a “catastrophic” effect that is equivalent to the loss of 195m full-time workers, the International Labour Organization said on Tuesday.
The UN agency warned that 1.25bn workers — almost two-fifths of the 3.3 billion-strong global workforce — are employed in sectors suffering drastic falls in output, from retail and real estate to manufacturing, accommodation and food services. More than four-fifths of the global workforce live in countries where full or partial lockdown measures are in place.
Income of 73% in US hit by outbreak — FT-Peterson poll
In a sign of how widespread the pandemic’s economic impact has become, almost as many families making more than $100,000 a year reported a hit to their income (71 per cent), as those making less than $50,000 (74 per cent). Similarly, 53 per cent of those making less than $50,000 said they would lose their pay if illness forced them to stop work, while 47 per cent of those making more than $100,000 were in the same boat.
This economic impact of this crisis is far from over, as a matter of fact it is just beginning, increasingly this will start to show in the upcoming economic reports and quarterly earnings. The market rally in my opinion is nothing but a classic bear market rally. Historically, the sharpest rallies took place during bear markets, today is no different, the selling will resume as the year unfolds, and the reality of a constrained global economic rebound becomes evident.