Note: As many experts expected, containment of COVID-19 has failed (but attempts at containment probably delayed the US epidemic giving policy makers crucial time to prepare).
Pay attention to the experts at the CDC about the virus (get a Flu shot, social distancing, hand washing, etc.). I’ll stay focused on the economic data, and suggest some (non-medical) government policies that would help.
Weekend:
• Schedule for Week of March 1, 2020
Monday:
• At 10:00 AM ET, ISM Manufacturing Index for January. The consensus is for the ISM to be at 50.4, down from 50.9 in January.
• At 10:00 AM, Construction Spending for December. The consensus is for a 0.7% increase in construction spending.
From CNBC: Pre-Market Data and Bloomberg futures: S&P 500 are down 34 and DOW futures are down 260 (fair value).
Oil prices were down over the last week with WTI futures at $45.14 per barrel and Brent at $50.36 barrel. A year ago, WTI was at $57, and Brent was at $65 – so oil prices are down 20% year-over-year.
Here is a graph from Gasbuddy.com for nationwide gasoline prices. Nationally prices are at $2.42 per gallon. A year ago prices were at $2.42 per gallon, so gasoline prices are unchanged year-over-year.