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IMF Says Great Lockdown Recession Likely Worst Since Depression

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61–70 of 134 posts

Re: IMF Says Great Lockdown Recession Likely Worst Since Depression

#61

Stock market doesn't seem to agree with this conclusion.

I don't know how anyone can trust the stock market right now. We're living in unprecedented uncertainty and on top of that, [literally] everything's closed and no one is buying anything, how can the economy possibly be growing like the market right now? Hot air that will crash eventually.

'analysts' say that a 'V-shaped' recovery is 'priced in'.

same 'analysts' mostly didn't notice a 11M city going into full lockdown.

Re: IMF Says Great Lockdown Recession Likely Worst Since Depression

#62
Based on some of these comments, the degree to which so many are out of touch is unbelievable. 17 MILLION people have filed for unemployment and I'm sure this week will be another 6M as companies don't keep this much cash on hand.

Tech's been living in a bubble for a long time and reality is starting to hit. Get out and talk to real people, not your Slack buddies working in SF.

Re: IMF Says Great Lockdown Recession Likely Worst Since Depression

#63

I don't get what the point of still using the term "recession" is. Even if it's temporary, this is a full-blown depression right?

How is it a depression if it's only been a few months? Also the IMF article predicts a 3% contraction for 2020 and a 5.8% growth in 2021, so by what definition is this a depression?

>Also the IMF article predicts a 3% contraction for 2020 and a 5.8% growth in 2021, so by what definition is this a depression?

I wonder how they get those numbers. At least half the US economy is in shutdown right now. Two months of that is equivalent to one month of the whole economy being shutdown; to 1/12th of annual GDP lost, or around 8.3%. Add another month and its 12.5% of output lost.

Re: IMF Says Great Lockdown Recession Likely Worst Since Depression

#64
post #30

The important question is whether the recession due to the lockdown (which is at least useful for stopping the virus) will continue after the virus has passed and the lockdown is lifted.

There will be huge shift in structure of business. Many small mom and pop shops are not coming back. Big chains, and franchises survive. Permanent changes in customer behavior. Many people with resistance and habits against 'new ways' are forced to learn internet shopping and delivery. Their habits can change permanently.

> Many small mom and pop shops are not coming back.

Yes, many of the ones that shut will not reopen. But new ones will be started. Over time, not all at once.

Re: IMF Says Great Lockdown Recession Likely Worst Since Depression

#65

The unemployment rate isn't even close to the 10% we saw after the '08 recession. Only about half. Does that mean that twice as many people are going to become unemployed, than are right now?

Unemployment numbers are updated monthly. The last batch of unemployment numbers were computed just before the US saw three successive weeks were new employment claims shattered records. Prior to this year, the record was about 800,000 in one week. Over the last three weeks, first 3.3 million, then 6.9 million, then 6.6 million have filed new claims. That's about 10% of the country who have become unemployed since the last monthly numbers came out, probably the steepest rise in unemployment in history.

Re: IMF Says Great Lockdown Recession Likely Worst Since Depression

#66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is it a depression if it's only been a few months? Also the IMF article predicts a 3% contraction for 2020 and a 5.8% growth in 2021, so by what definition is this a depression?

An unemployment rate of around 13% (as of two weeks ago[1], so probably even higher now) doesn't seem like it's going to just magically resolve itself, and it's going to have drastic effects. 1. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/upshot/coronavirus-jobles...

That's just an estimate. From your link:

>Be warned, these numbers yield an imprecise estimate of today’s unemployment rate, and the truth could easily be quite a lot higher or lower. This is not an estimate of the official unemployment rate for March, which reports the state of the economy a few weeks ago when the labor market was in better shape, nor is it a forecast for the official rate in April.

I don't find it useful to implicitly embed a financial forecasting model in the use of the term "depression".

Re: IMF Says Great Lockdown Recession Likely Worst Since Depression

#67

I think historians will look back at COVID-19 as a textbook way not to handle an emergency. They will point out that 99% of deaths were related to economic effects of our response, not the disease itself. Hundreds of millions will starve or die in failed states in an economic slowdown, while only hundreds of thousands die of disease.

How do people die from an economic slowdown? Maybe in poor countries but I don't think in a developed country an economic slowdown should kill anybody.

Re: IMF Says Great Lockdown Recession Likely Worst Since Depression

#68
post #30

The important question is whether the recession due to the lockdown (which is at least useful for stopping the virus) will continue after the virus has passed and the lockdown is lifted.

There will be huge shift in structure of business. Many small mom and pop shops are not coming back. Big chains, and franchises survive. Permanent changes in customer behavior. Many people with resistance and habits against 'new ways' are forced to learn internet shopping and delivery. Their habits can change permanently.

The change in habits cuts both ways. I've bought from many small online stores recently as a result of the big retailers (inc Amazon) being totally sold out.

Re: IMF Says Great Lockdown Recession Likely Worst Since Depression

#69

I think historians will look back at COVID-19 as a textbook way not to handle an emergency. They will point out that 99% of deaths were related to economic effects of our response, not the disease itself. Hundreds of millions will starve or die in failed states in an economic slowdown, while only hundreds of thousands die of disease.

How do people die from an economic slowdown? Maybe in poor countries but I don't think in a developed country an economic slowdown should kill anybody.

Recession in rich a country push people into poverty as well. In a country where health care is privatized, you die from being poor.

So recession in the US will lead to people dying.

Re: IMF Says Great Lockdown Recession Likely Worst Since Depression

#70

Stock market doesn't seem to agree with this conclusion.

I don't know how anyone can trust the stock market right now. We're living in unprecedented uncertainty and on top of that, [literally] everything's closed and no one is buying anything, how can the economy possibly be growing like the market right now? Hot air that will crash eventually.

I don't disagree with you that the stock market is inflated, but remember that stocks should be valued by looking at the estimated sum of their future cash flows, not just their current cash flows. And this is relative to a riskless cash flow, like e.g. treasuries, which are controlled by interest rates.
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