Coronavirus thread

[OlongJohnson]

Do we have a list of which companies god how much? If so, I haven't seen it.

My understanding is that the Fed has said they're going to publish a list of which companies received how much in loans. Not up yet.

Yeah I don't understand it, particularly given that even if you're still employed, now is a good time to be hoarding cash and paying down debts. I splurged on ammo early in COVID but now that I am well stocked, almost all of my gun buying is going to be on pause while I shore up my financial cushion.

With insanely low interest rates, it's possible that people with significant reserves might take the opportunity to pick up some extra nice things that they've been thinking about for awhile. Especially if they have a little more time to enjoy them. And if you think we're doomed to an inflation bomb at some point in the future, low-interest debt you can easily service isn't terrible.

[Nephrology]

I also must say that little snippets like this explain to me why topics that I had previously spent a lot of time thinking about - i.e. putative therapeutics for SIRS - are suddenly an issues of political tug of war in the lay media. Never in a million years if you had asked me prior to 1 Mar 2020 would I have imagined that CNN/Fox would be throwing missiles back and forth over the efficacy of a hydroxychloroquine or remdesivir for SIRS/ARDS. Never.

In light of this book, it is obvious this topic was politically weaponized, because EVERYTHING newsworthy is now deliberately weaponized to divide public opinion. It really is the only explanation that makes any sense to me. It is clearly not because the lay public is suddenly crazy for the hot, hot topic of clinical study design and in vitro experimentation.

]

With insanely low interest rates, it's possible that people with significant reserves might take the opportunity to pick up some extra nice things that they've been thinking about for awhile. Especially if they have a little more time to enjoy them. And if you think we're doomed to an inflation bomb at some point in the future, low-interest debt you can easily service isn't terrible.

Perhaps. Maybe other people feel differently about debt, but I never really see it as an opportunity except to build credit with money that I already have for a future mortgage and/or auto loan. I try not to keep balances on my revolving credit lines unless im in an unexpected financial pinch (has happened before, especially when I made less and was worse about saving).

Still, I'm not everyone, and other people should do what they wish with their money/credit. I am just surprised that would be a very popular choice.

[blues]

I don't think that Taibbi's observations are anything new...but it's good that he has made such thoughts available in an easily accessible way.

I wonder, however, how many people actually "get it". Divide and conquer, (along with smoke and mirrors), has been a time proven strategy for millennia.

[Navin Johnson]

It Maybe a rhetorical question but it's still a good one.

I always thought that people struggling to make a living, make ends meet was good story for the media. However all they seem to be concentrating on right now is the gross numbers of infections and deaths and how poorly they think the current president is handling things.

We just finished our third fiscal quarter at the end of June. I'm waiting to see the numbers to see if in May and June we were able to make up for the significant, massive losses we faced in March and April. We've all taken pay cuts and haven't been told when we can go back to where we were. We've also lost a couple of employees, left for reasons unrelated to the virus. We haven't been told if or when we can replace them.

Yet, in a nearby town I have an acquaintance who sells boats for a living. He says he can't keep any boats on his lot. They're selling faster than they can get them in. He's made so much he was able to buy himself a 38 foot center console that fully kitted out goes for close to $500,000. All of the boat ramps around here are completely full every day.

I always thought that in economic downturns that luxury item like boats never sold. I can understand to some degree people purchasing Firearms like crazy but not boats.

Where is all this money coming from?

People who can afford a larger boat etc. have money and two bad months did not effect them much.

The stock market has done very well the last several years.

RVs and boats are replacing travel vacations right now so it is an excuse to buy one.

20 year financing and manufacture incentives help also. (if one wants a boat or RV there will be many used on the market in 2-3 years)

As noted many people are able to work from home. I have friends that were working 50-60 hours a week during corona.

It is also likely a bit of a pent-up surge.

[Stephanie B]

Coronavirus by hospital admitting region.



The darker the blue, the heavier the caseload. The map at the link is interactive; you can mouse over each region and see how many cases they've had in the previous two weeks.

I'm guessing that northwest Maine is covered by a Canadian hospital system.

[Borderland]

It Maybe a rhetorical question but it's still a good one.

I always thought that people struggling to make a living, make ends meet was good story for the media. However all they seem to be concentrating on right now is the gross numbers of infections and deaths and how poorly they think the current president is handling things.

We just finished our third fiscal quarter at the end of June. I'm waiting to see the numbers to see if in May and June we were able to make up for the significant, massive losses we faced in March and April. We've all taken pay cuts and haven't been told when we can go back to where we were. We've also lost a couple of employees, left for reasons unrelated to the virus. We haven't been told if or when we can replace them.

Yet, in a nearby town I have an acquaintance who sells boats for a living. He says he can't keep any boats on his lot. They're selling faster than they can get them in. He's made so much he was able to buy himself a 38 foot center console that fully kitted out goes for close to $500,000. All of the boat ramps around here are completely full every day.

I always thought that in economic downturns that luxury item like boats never sold. I can understand to some degree people purchasing Firearms like crazy but not boats.

Where is all this money coming from?

Along those lines. I went for a hike in a state park on Sunday. There's a pretty nice boat launch there and a big parking lot. Crab season just opened so I expected a few crabbers but the parking lot and launch was hammered with boaters. More than I've ever seen.

[Borderland]

My understanding is that the Fed has said they're going to publish a list of which companies received how much in loans. Not up yet.



With insanely low interest rates, it's possible that people with significant reserves might take the opportunity to pick up some extra nice things that they've been thinking about for awhile. Especially if they have a little more time to enjoy them. And if you think we're doomed to an inflation bomb at some point in the future, low-interest debt you can easily service isn't terrible.

3.5% mortgage v. 7% average market return. I'll take the mortgage and invest the money that would pay it off.

[Nephrology]

Coronavirus by hospital admitting region.



The darker the blue, the heavier the caseload. The map at the link is interactive; you can mouse over each region and see how many cases they've had in the previous two weeks.

I'm guessing that northwest Maine is covered by a Canadian hospital system.

Those are some huge catchement areas in MT/WY/etc.

I don't think that Taibbi's observations are anything new...but it's good that he has made such thoughts available in an easily accessible way.

I wonder, however, how many people actually "get it". Divide and conquer, (along with smoke and mirrors), has been a time proven strategy for millennia.

To be honest, though I always sort of knew in some way that what he was saying was true, it is very easy to get lost in it.

I grew up in CT and modeled a lot of my young self (and current self) after my grandfather, who was a Roosevelt Republican (not literally - he wasn't THAT old). Fiscally conservative but ultimately fairly centrist. Shirt and tie every day, no elbows on the table kind of guy. Very successful lawyer who was soft spoken but had a mind as sharp as a tack up until the day he died. He read the NY Times and the Wall St Journal every morning as religion. As a result, so did I. These were the objective voices of reason, so I had been raised to believe.

I had slowly stopped reading these papers - first the Journal, because all the good market analysis was ending up online anyway - and then the NYT. First slowly, then suddenly - I'd already stopped going to their website for reasons I had a hard time articulating, but when they put up the "Yes, we really mean defund the police article" I could not cancel my $4 educational subscription fast enough. I'd rather send those $4 directly to Vladimir Putin every month than give them another red cent of my money. (Speaking of which, I absolutely gave far more credence to the Russiagate investigation than I ever should have. It wasn't until I read Taibbi that I realized how much the NYT had deliberately misled me, which frankly is absolutely criminal. )

Still, even then, I hadn't put together a coherent version of why I felt this way until I read Taibbi's book. It is so refreshing to find someone who actually believes that journalism should be about reporting the facts as clearly as possible and then allowing the readers to decide for themselves what they feel. The consequences of the death of this journalistic philosophy are frankly astounding (and appalling) when put into perspective. We now live in a world that is almost fully post-truth. It is the stuff of nightmares.

[AKDoug]

Do we have a list of which companies god how much? If so, I haven't seen it.

Yeah I don't understand it, particularly given that even if you're still employed, now is a good time to be hoarding cash and paying down debts. I splurged on ammo early in COVID but now that I am well stocked, almost all of my gun buying is going to be on pause while I shore up my financial cushion.

I'm sure the info is out there. However, there isn't a complete list of individuals that receive social assistance from the government either. I will not oppose the issuance of a list, and my company will be on it, but I'm not sure what purpose it really serves. If we end up going down the road of "they didn't deserve it" or "they didn't need it" that just furthers the divisiveness in this country. I will assure you that in April I was confident I was absolutely going to need it. My take of the PPP money was less than what my employees and my company will pay in income tax for 2019.

[Grey]

Treasury just released the lists for all loans under $150,000 by state.

https://home.treasury.gov/policy-iss...oan-level-data