Coronavirus/COVID-19

[Curmudgeon]

Yes, my advisor has likewise taken steps to mitigate the losses. The problem is that the profit taking from selling securities and concerting them into cash as a hedge against the falling markets will generate a large tax bill in April of 2021.

Go into safe assets. Converting to cash is a loser because inflation will rise when the fed starts to panic and cut interest rates again in response to trump bellowing about the markets.


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There are no "safe" assets in a recession. At least cash is liquid.

[Fencer reregistered]

I am told that there is a similar story in a Boston hospital -- a patient who shows every indication of the virus, but hasn't been tested because the tests aren't available.

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[Fencer reregistered]

Generally, my source -- for obvious reasons -- is https://twitter.com/lindabarlow?lang=en

[Fencer reregistered]

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[Bleeding Green]

Yeah I guess it'll spread here in the US because no one is going to get tested unless they're literally about to die. So good luck quarantining it when the guy who works at Chipotle can't take a sick day without getting fired.

[captain green]

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I'm from Indiana and he was absolutely horrible Its like dumber just passed it to dumb. At least it's better than passing it to dumbest.
Also Germany just got one person also didn't travel anywhere. Which leads me to think 12 monkey's scenario.

[K For Three]

My mom's first cousin used to work for the CDC and is still connected. She talked to her today and her cousin basically said:

1) they are working on vaccines for this, trial runs etc.
2) take normal precautions like you would with any flu/illness
3) she doesn't believe we have to worry about it too much in the US, but she would personally avoid traveling outside the country.

[Fencer reregistered]

My mom's first cousin used to work for the CDC and is still connected. She talked to her today and her cousin basically said:

1) they are working on vaccines for this, trial runs etc.
2) take normal precautions like you would with any flu/illness
3) she doesn't believe we have to worry about it too much in the US, but she would personally avoid traveling outside the country.

Is there any reason to be confident it will be less serious here than it is in Japan or Korea?

I think we could easily have:
-- Modest disruptions in availability of stuff, exacerbated by panic buying.
-- Lockdown of a major metropolitan area for a short period of time.

And if there happens to be a mild natural disaster, recovery could be slower than usual.

So, since we live in Acton, MA, we're laying in sufficient foods and meds for a few weeks, and that's largely foods that would be usable if there's no electricity, because short power outages are common around here. And we have a lot of batteries for our lanterns. On the other hand, while I bought 24 liters of bottled water for $12, I'm basically assuming water supplies won't be interrupted, because that's so rarely a problem around here.

[K For Three]

My mom's first cousin used to work for the CDC and is still connected. She talked to her today and her cousin basically said:

1) they are working on vaccines for this, trial runs etc.
2) take normal precautions like you would with any flu/illness
3) she doesn't believe we have to worry about it too much in the US, but she would personally avoid traveling outside the country.

Is there any reason to be confident it will be less serious here than it is in Japan or Korea?

I think we could easily have:
-- Modest disruptions in availability of stuff, exacerbated by panic buying.
-- Lockdown of a major metropolitan area for a short period of time.

And if there happens to be a mild natural disaster, recovery could be slower than usual.

So, since we live in Acton, MA, we're laying in sufficient foods and meds for a few weeks, and that's largely foods that would be usable if there's no electricity, because short power outages are common around here. And we have a lot of batteries for our lanterns. On the other hand, while I bought 24 liters of bottled water for $12, I'm basically assuming water supplies won't be interrupted, because that's so rarely a problem around here.

This is my mom's best friend/first cousin and maid of honor she talks to every week from afar. In some ways she doesn't want my mom to panic but I think she wouldn't BS us either. She's been extremely reliable in the past over medical issues and illnesses. She used to work in labs full time for the CDC. She's an absolute science freak and she isn't freaking out over it but yeah they need to figure out a vaccine. It's being worked on furiously behind the scenes with great minds trying to figure this virus out.

I think you sound OK though with your planning Fencer. Having enough food/water and MEDS is crucial. I think that the medication aspect is being over looked considering where the medicine can come from and how much supply pharmacies in the future might have.

-- Lockdown of a major metropolitan area for a short period of time.

I don't think we are quite there yet.

Also keep in mind that paranoia and fear can weaken the immune system, not what anyone needs right now. Political figures in the US might be downplaying it too just to keep the masses from freaking out too much. However the news makes people think the zombie apocalypse is on it's way.

I am not quite at the point yet where I think anyone should be going out with masks on but I did read on twitter some have seen it at airports in major cities already in the US. Absolutely though congested metropolitan areas are at a higher risk here or in any country right now.

Panic buying for some items such as medical masks is already happening. There is a shortage happening in many places. I checked on amazon and many are out of stock or will ship in several weeks from now. My folks have a box of masks though so theres that...

People also have to learn to use these masks the right way. Make sure they are fitted right on your face, learn to breathe more through your noise while wearing one. And dispose of it everyday then wash your hands and don't touch it again, some claim you should wear a new one every several hours but at least you should not be wearing the same one out twice in a suspicious area, they are meant to be disposable for a reason.

[return2glory]

Forget the stock market more a minute.

Lives are being lost. Let’s all put ot positive thoughts are a cure to be found.

[Curmudgeon]

Your odds of surviving the coronavirus are at least 98% if you live in a first world country. Those are better odds than you will get with any major surgery.

[zoyathedestroya]

Good luck in the November elections, you guys! (I thought this was CNN just aggregating an Onion article or something).

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[Gant]

Good luck in the November elections, you guys! (I thought this was CNN just aggregating an Onion article or something).

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Our great nation has a long tradition of similar wisdom.

Americans have loved McDonald’s Quarter Pounder ever since a franchisee introduced the iconic burger to the country in 1972. In the 1980s, A&W attempted to capitalize on the success of the Quarter Pounder—and drum up a little competition for Ronald and friends—by introducing a third-pound burger. The bigger burger gave consumers more bang for their collective buck. It was priced the same as the Quarter Pounder but delivered more meat. It even outperformed McDonald’s in blind taste tests, with consumers preferring the flavor of A&W’s burger.

But when it came down to actually purchasing the third-pound burgers, most Americans simply would not do it. Baffled, A&W ordered more tests and focus groups. After chatting with people who snubbed the A&W burger for the smaller Quarter Pounder, the reason became clear: Americans suck at fractions. Alfred Taubman, who owned A&W at the time, wrote about the confusion in his book Threshold Resistance:

More than half of the participants in the Yankelovich focus groups questioned the price of our burger. "Why," they asked, "should we pay the same amount for a third of a pound of meat as we do for a quarter-pound of meat at McDonald's? You're overcharging us." Honestly. People thought a third of a pound was less than a quarter of a pound. After all, three is less than four!

Not understanding that a fourth is actually smaller than a third, many consumers eschewed the better-tasting burger in favor of the one they thought was the better deal.

Maybe our current state of affairs can be explained by reports like these.


https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/76144/why-no-one-wanted-aws-third-pound-burger

[Fencer reregistered]

Good luck in the November elections, you guys! (I thought this was CNN just aggregating an Onion article or something).

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Our great nation has a long tradition of similar wisdom.

Americans have loved McDonald’s Quarter Pounder ever since a franchisee introduced the iconic burger to the country in 1972. In the 1980s, A&W attempted to capitalize on the success of the Quarter Pounder—and drum up a little competition for Ronald and friends—by introducing a third-pound burger. The bigger burger gave consumers more bang for their collective buck. It was priced the same as the Quarter Pounder but delivered more meat. It even outperformed McDonald’s in blind taste tests, with consumers preferring the flavor of A&W’s burger.

But when it came down to actually purchasing the third-pound burgers, most Americans simply would not do it. Baffled, A&W ordered more tests and focus groups. After chatting with people who snubbed the A&W burger for the smaller Quarter Pounder, the reason became clear: Americans suck at fractions. Alfred Taubman, who owned A&W at the time, wrote about the confusion in his book Threshold Resistance:

More than half of the participants in the Yankelovich focus groups questioned the price of our burger. "Why," they asked, "should we pay the same amount for a third of a pound of meat as we do for a quarter-pound of meat at McDonald's? You're overcharging us." Honestly. People thought a third of a pound was less than a quarter of a pound. After all, three is less than four!

Not understanding that a fourth is actually smaller than a third, many consumers eschewed the better-tasting burger in favor of the one they thought was the better deal.

Maybe our current state of affairs can be explained by reports like these.


https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/76144/why-no-one-wanted-aws-third-pound-burger

I've seen a tweet claiming that the article is nonsense. Supposedly, the underlying survey says the 38% figure is people who wouldn't have ordered the beer even before the virus, but with the virus the figure is up to 42 or 43%.

[Ed Pinkney]

Good luck in the November elections, you guys! (I thought this was CNN just aggregating an Onion article or something).

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Our great nation has a long tradition of similar wisdom.

Americans have loved McDonald’s Quarter Pounder ever since a franchisee introduced the iconic burger to the country in 1972. In the 1980s, A&W attempted to capitalize on the success of the Quarter Pounder—and drum up a little competition for Ronald and friends—by introducing a third-pound burger. The bigger burger gave consumers more bang for their collective buck. It was priced the same as the Quarter Pounder but delivered more meat. It even outperformed McDonald’s in blind taste tests, with consumers preferring the flavor of A&W’s burger.

But when it came down to actually purchasing the third-pound burgers, most Americans simply would not do it. Baffled, A&W ordered more tests and focus groups. After chatting with people who snubbed the A&W burger for the smaller Quarter Pounder, the reason became clear: Americans suck at fractions. Alfred Taubman, who owned A&W at the time, wrote about the confusion in his book Threshold Resistance:

More than half of the participants in the Yankelovich focus groups questioned the price of our burger. "Why," they asked, "should we pay the same amount for a third of a pound of meat as we do for a quarter-pound of meat at McDonald's? You're overcharging us." Honestly. People thought a third of a pound was less than a quarter of a pound. After all, three is less than four!

Not understanding that a fourth is actually smaller than a third, many consumers eschewed the better-tasting burger in favor of the one they thought was the better deal.

Maybe our current state of affairs can be explained by reports like these.


https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/76144/why-no-one-wanted-aws-third-pound-burger

I've seen a tweet claiming that the article is nonsense. Supposedly, the underlying survey says the 38% figure is people who wouldn't have ordered the beer even before the virus, but with the virus the figure is up to 42 or 43%.

Irrespective of the accuracy of a story like this, one of our biggest threats is a lack of scientific literacy.

[bobbutts]

Your odds of surviving the coronavirus are at least 98% if you live in a first world country. Those are better odds than you will get with any major surgery.

They're probably much better than that if you are healthy and relatively young and worse if you are old and sick.

[SMTBSI]

Our great nation has a long tradition of similar wisdom.



Maybe our current state of affairs can be explained by reports like these.


https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/76144/why-no-one-wanted-aws-third-pound-burger

I've seen a tweet claiming that the article is nonsense. Supposedly, the underlying survey says the 38% figure is people who wouldn't have ordered the beer even before the virus, but with the virus the figure is up to 42 or 43%.

Irrespective of the accuracy of a story like this, one of our biggest threats is a lack of scientific literacy.

It's important to promote scientific literacy in this country.

And it's important to promote accurate reporting.

When you see a study or article that confirms your beliefs, or supports your position, but is flawed, it's very important to be able to critique or reject it.

This isn't aimed at anyone in particular.

[SMTBSI]

Your odds of surviving the coronavirus are at least 98% if you live in a first world country. Those are better odds than you will get with any major surgery.

It's a question of breadth. In terms of societal disruption, 2% mortality among a couple thousand patients is a lot different than 2% mortality among tens of millions.

Obviously the goal is to keep it more in the first range, and part of accomplishing that is taking it seriously and being proactive with countermeasures.

[MagicBagley18]

Good luck in the November elections, you guys! (I thought this was CNN just aggregating an Onion article or something).

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100% of said 38% would have traded hayward for Drummond