Name? Giuseppe Conte
Westphalian identity? Italian
Age? 55
Why is he in the news? He locked down Italy last night; that is not a nightclub at Gran Via but an entire country with a population of 60 million.
Why do we care? This is the latest of drastic steps to combat the corona crisis. All these extreme measures have equally extreme impacts on our daily lives, most commonly through the economy. With the lockdown in place for the next two weeks, Italy’s already stagnating economy will face a recession for sure. As always, politicians on all levels are quick to call for help and huge aid packages to suffering multinational companies and banks, especially banks. Those poor banks must be really important if we save them for the second time in 10 years.
But what most overlook is how much this is hurting the average Joe who is not receiving any aid packages. For the next two weeks restaurants must remain closed. Who will reimburse the owners for their losses? What about the suppliers? This is but one example of many people suffering economically from the coronavirus and the extreme measures being taken to ensure it’s containment.
Why should you care? Luckily, you are rich and educated. If you have not bought a put option on the stock market yet, you missed out. Now is the time to do so because there is only one way for the economy to go this next week and that is down. But no worries, after you have cashed in on your put, you still have your stocks in place which will (100%) return to old strength. If you are smart, you buy even more while the prices are low, you know, numbers and stuff.
Editor’s disclaimer: this newsletter does not advise nor endorse any type of investments. If you lose money because of this entry, please sue Dario personally.
Who does not care? Syrian Refugees, do you know what they care about? Humane living conditions and not being bombarded by the Syrian, Russian or Turkish governments. The news about corona does not seem to stop them at all. While everybody has been worried about Corona, von der Leyen and Erdogan met yesterday, agreeing that nothing changes, and no problems will be solved. Shouldn’t we care a little at least?
Any further comments? The pasta at our local supermarkets is already sold out. Will Italy’s lockdown affect the global pasta production? Asking for a friend…
