Human Contact
January 21, 2020
–Now it’s all about the Wuhan coronavirus that is spread by human contact, potentially made worse by travel plans during the lunar new year. US stock futures down just 40 to 50 bps from record highs last week. Hang Seng down 2.8%, Nikkei down 90 bps. TYH traded a high of 129-155, the highest since Soleimani hit. Feb treasury options expire Friday and can provide cheap short term protection. An acceleration of this virus will be a large impediment to the movement of goods and people. For now, authorities seem to be monitoring the situation with body temperature scans; for example, Macau is not restricting the flow on incoming visitors,”…local authorities would be enforcing body-temperature checks on all passengers arriving in Macau via flights from mainland China.” https://www.ggrasia.com/for-now-no-limit-on-macau-visitor-flow-amid-china-virus-govt/
–Some people are comparing this potential outbreak to SARS in 2003. According to ‘the internet’ SARS was first discovered in Asia in Feb 2003. US stacks had sold off from 2000 to 2002 but were already turning back up at the time of the SARS discovery.
–It’s a light week for US economic news, so Impeachment and Davos will have to suffice for news and entertainment.
