Coronavirus infects stock market, oil pricesCoronavirus infects stock market, oil prices

COVID-19 or in layman’s terms the coronavirus is bashing the na- tion’s stocks and oil prices. In fact, just Monday alone stock fell precip- itously by more than 2,000, with the Dow Jones Industrial average end- ing the day at 23,851.02. Oil finished the day at 30.92 a barrel.

So what? What does all that mean?

It means that 401k’s took a major hit. It also means that prices at the pump will fall if wholesalers pass on the steep decline in crude oil to retail outlets.

Is this recent downturn in the
stock market caused by the latest virus out of China, or is the media hyping the seriousness of the virus? Or, is some of it the result of a juggernaut stock mar- ket that hasn’t let up on the accelerator for more than 10 years making a delayed adjustment?

Yes, both.

Stocks reached a high of 29,551.42 on Feb. 12, 2020. With the close on Monday that’s a decline of 5,700.40 since that record high was reached. Keep in mind that the DOW had no major correction during the dramat- ic rise.

What does this all mean for us in Dodge County, Minnesota?

It means that some folks lost money if they pulled their investments as the DOW fell like a rock. It also means that some were able to buy their favorite stocks at garage sale prices.

For those in the county looking to buy fuel for spring planting farm should get fuel a lot less expen- sive.

It appears as though the Saudis and Russians had a snit and the Saudis decided to open the tap to their reserves and flood the market with crude.

Go figure – a few nations half a world away decide to benefit themselves, ends up helping motorists, farm- ers and other fossil fuel consumers. It’s a win-win.

As far as the coronavirus, a Mayo Clinic virology expert told Fox News, “It’s hard not to compare the coronavirus to previous virus outbreaks like SARS and MERS, two other deadly respiratory illnesses. Fox News spoke to Dr. Matthew Binnicker of Mayo Clinic about what similarities that can be drawn between these viral epidemics and what the medical community is doing in regards to testing to make sure COVID-19 doesn’t turn into a pandemic.”

Compared to SARS, that had a mortality rate 10 percent, and MERS killed 35 percent of those infect- ed, the coronavirus mortality rate is estimated to be about 3 percent of those infected.

Most who were alive back in 2003, when the virus SARS hit remember some talk about the virus and it was only eight years ago when MERS was bugging the world.

Bottom line: if we made it through SARS and MERS most of us will make it through this latest worldwide scare.

Dr. Binnicker did say that COVID-19 is more diffi- cult to contain. Okay. If we use a whole lot of commons sense, like: washing your hands (your mother told you to do that), cough and sneeze into your elbow, if you’re sick, stay home and fist bump rather than shaking hands. Most important: don’t panic.