Stock market chaos

[Superspy]

Probably until the death rate in America explodes.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Which it is doing at a frightening pace.

[Not Now Kato]

Now more in America than China or Italy.  What is Trump doing, besides nothing?

[BillyStubbsTears]

Whoa.

An indication of how f**ked the financial markets are at the moment.

https://mobile.twitter.com/paulkrugman/status/1243594772184530944

Top line on that graph is effectively the interest rate that the market charges to US companies wanting to borrow money. Bottom line is the figure for the US Govt borrowing. They usually track, with industry being a slightly higher risk, so charged a slightly higher rate.

Since CV-19 started, the markets are basically saying "f**k lending to business. We want to give everything we have to the Govt to keep for us, and we'll charge no interest. In fact we will pay you to look after it for us."

If we are going to survive this, economically, Govts have to take that money in massive amounts, and use it to support companies and jobs.

Effectively, the whole capitalist world has become socialist overnight. We no longer trust the markets and private companies. We all need central Govt to save our futures.

This will have massive repercussions on future politics.

[BobG]

I hope it does Billy. Having wasted February we now have a government pointing fingers at individuals and their behaviour. After 40 years of neo-liberalism and the dismantling of the post war consensus in the west, promoting self employment, zero hours contracts, the gig economy. limited companies and sole traders who could possibly have thought it doesn't lend itself to collective responsibility and action...? Where did panic buying come from do you think? It didn't happen in the 1950's flu epidemics.It didn't happen with the mid 60's typhoid epidemic. It's a phenomenon of the neo liberal world where "there is no such thing as society". Individual self interest trumps everything.

In June 2017 almost every Tory MP voted to oppose giving NHS nurses a decent pay rise. When the rise was blocked the Tories cheered. If everyone who has recently applauded nurses and doctors could also vote for a progressive government that will adequately fund the NHS, not carve off bits of it for privatisation, will pay workers properly and will not saddle newly qualified nurses with with crippling debt that would be a proper thank you.

If nothing else, this crisis shows who the most important people in society really are. It's not politicians, financiers, journalists, business leaders and their ilk is it?

I think I am becoming a revolutionary.

BobG

PS My advisor chappy has proved his worth this last few weeks. I'm down 6.1% overall. That's chuffing brilliant in my eyes.