The impact of the deadly coronavirus is already bigger than the SARS outbreak of a decade ago, Vanity Fair is reporting.
Already, 360 people have died from the virus in China. That number surpasses the 349 people who died in China from the SARS outbreak.
And Vanity Fair noted the impact is now being felt on Wall Street. Oil prices are dropping, as they are down around 20% from their January high, depending on the type of crude. Apple has temporarily closed all of its stores in China. Employees of Goldman Sachs in China have been told to work from home.
The virus has left financial markets increasingly skittish, according to Vanity Fair.
"Everyone is taking this very seriously," said Tom Nides, a vice chairman at Morgan Stanley.
And one former senior Wall Street executive added: It's "bigger than SARS by far. Short-term cost already baked into markets. Has to persist for months to be a significant long-term drag on economy and it is too early to know.
"Keep [your] eye on mortality rates, which so far are relatively low, and [how it] spreads outside of China. In a week we will know much more."
But Goldman Sachs, in a research note shared with its investing clients, said: "Our Asia Economics team's baseline assumption is that the aggressive response from the authorities in China and elsewhere will bring the rate of new infections down sharply" by the end of March. If they are right, Goldman believes that global economic activity "should normalize" later this year."
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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