giganova
Well-known
This will be the great economic divider:
Millions of low income people will loose their jobs and all their savings.
People with money who are smart & bold will make boatloads of money. Four weeks ago I sat next to a colleague in a meeting who bought $5k stock of a bio-pharma company on his iPhone. This week he sold it for $80k. $75k profit in four weeks with a click on his iPhone! My colleagues are all getting ready to convert their savings into real estate because the housing market will crash, banks won't give loans and it will be a cash-buyers wet dream snatching homes for cheap that they will flip in a few years making hundreds of thousands of $$ by just waiting.
Millions of low income people will loose their jobs and all their savings.
People with money who are smart & bold will make boatloads of money. Four weeks ago I sat next to a colleague in a meeting who bought $5k stock of a bio-pharma company on his iPhone. This week he sold it for $80k. $75k profit in four weeks with a click on his iPhone! My colleagues are all getting ready to convert their savings into real estate because the housing market will crash, banks won't give loans and it will be a cash-buyers wet dream snatching homes for cheap that they will flip in a few years making hundreds of thousands of $$ by just waiting.
DownUnder
Nikon Nomad
We live in odd and unusual times.
Photo gear prices in the Melbourne shops are dropping as sales dwindle. Yet on Ebay, prices are escalating madly - sellers trying to get A$600 for what look like clapped-out 1960s Nikkormat FTNs with missing parts. Ebay prices in Australia were never particularly real-worldly anyway - profiteers haunt charity shops and weekend home sales looking for cheap bargains to flog online at up to 10x their value. As we call it, "dramtime"...
Equally sadly, infantile comments by infantile posters have proliferated on photo web sites (this one being no exception). Much like infantile voters elect infantile politicians and when things go belly-up, try to avoid responsibility for their actions and look for excuses, or launch verbal attacks. As someone I know once wrote, the 'net abounds with midgets prancing about on stilts. Everyone can be a Mussolini - in real-time they are more like Mister Minit.
When posters make offensive comments, it's best to ignore them by not feeding their vanity with responses, and consider blocking them if this is possible. Attention is like oxygen to them and if no-one rises to their childish bait, they will soon go back to their usual game of annoying their long-suffering family and friends. Good riddance to them, and as the great Shakespeare wrote, let there be a pox upon them (at least literarily).
A good resolution in these woeful times is to keep your senses sharp, your mental and physical tanks clean, and avoid buying into the bait of commenting too much on threads like these - unless you have something helpful to the original discussion to say.
(I now opt out of this discussion. To keep my emotional well-being on an even kilter, I will refrain from commenting, and indeed even reading, any more toxic threads and posts in future.)
To my friends in (and our fellow posters) from Italy, we feel great sadness for you - but we know you are a resilient people, and we look ahead to future times when you will once more be in the forefront of everything that is good and enjoyable and worthwhile in culture, customs, fashion, social civility and good grace, natural politeness, food - and surely, all your excellent wines.
Photo gear prices in the Melbourne shops are dropping as sales dwindle. Yet on Ebay, prices are escalating madly - sellers trying to get A$600 for what look like clapped-out 1960s Nikkormat FTNs with missing parts. Ebay prices in Australia were never particularly real-worldly anyway - profiteers haunt charity shops and weekend home sales looking for cheap bargains to flog online at up to 10x their value. As we call it, "dramtime"...
Equally sadly, infantile comments by infantile posters have proliferated on photo web sites (this one being no exception). Much like infantile voters elect infantile politicians and when things go belly-up, try to avoid responsibility for their actions and look for excuses, or launch verbal attacks. As someone I know once wrote, the 'net abounds with midgets prancing about on stilts. Everyone can be a Mussolini - in real-time they are more like Mister Minit.
When posters make offensive comments, it's best to ignore them by not feeding their vanity with responses, and consider blocking them if this is possible. Attention is like oxygen to them and if no-one rises to their childish bait, they will soon go back to their usual game of annoying their long-suffering family and friends. Good riddance to them, and as the great Shakespeare wrote, let there be a pox upon them (at least literarily).
A good resolution in these woeful times is to keep your senses sharp, your mental and physical tanks clean, and avoid buying into the bait of commenting too much on threads like these - unless you have something helpful to the original discussion to say.
(I now opt out of this discussion. To keep my emotional well-being on an even kilter, I will refrain from commenting, and indeed even reading, any more toxic threads and posts in future.)
To my friends in (and our fellow posters) from Italy, we feel great sadness for you - but we know you are a resilient people, and we look ahead to future times when you will once more be in the forefront of everything that is good and enjoyable and worthwhile in culture, customs, fashion, social civility and good grace, natural politeness, food - and surely, all your excellent wines.
ornate_wrasse
Moderator
This is so true.
Gregm61
Well-known
Bought me a classic Elgin BW Raymond Rail Road pocket watch to pass the time, LOL...
It is magnificent.
It is magnificent.
robert blu
quiet photographer
lawrence
Veteran
The UK Govt now says that social distancing may have to last up to a year, so it sounds like it could be the opposite
mike rosenlof
Insufficient information
I'm expecting some goodies from Igor's Camera Exchange later this afternoon.
Jamie123
Veteran
On the upside, no one is going to complain about some lens' long minimum focus distance.
helen.HH
To Light & Love ...
An article/ video to make You Smile...leave it to the crazy Italians, wink wink
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/v...balconies-under-coronavirus-quarantine?source
excerpt:
”Italians have now been at home for nine days, and, from Bologna to Rome, they have invited their neighbors to engage in what they call a “Flash Mob Sonoro,” or a sound flash mob. Musical competency is not a requirement, and neither is possessing a traditional instrument. A pot or a wooden spoon can suffice, if only because their sounds will join those of many other people who, from their balconies and windows, are hoping to create a bond”
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/v...balconies-under-coronavirus-quarantine?source
excerpt:
”Italians have now been at home for nine days, and, from Bologna to Rome, they have invited their neighbors to engage in what they call a “Flash Mob Sonoro,” or a sound flash mob. Musical competency is not a requirement, and neither is possessing a traditional instrument. A pot or a wooden spoon can suffice, if only because their sounds will join those of many other people who, from their balconies and windows, are hoping to create a bond”
newsgrunt
Well-known
to be fair, we don't know the situation The Poster is in. They may have family or friends who are infected, or they're tired of people not taking this seriously, and have had enough (obviously).
all one needs to do is look at March breakers in Florida, and to hear their comments, to understand that there's a disconnect out there.
nonetheless, stay safe everyone
all one needs to do is look at March breakers in Florida, and to hear their comments, to understand that there's a disconnect out there.
nonetheless, stay safe everyone
raid
Dad Photographer
This thread on the coronavirus received a large number of reads and postings, much faster than the other thread on the virus and cancelled travel. This may be an indication that people here worry more about the economy and the impact on their income than worrying about canceled travel plans. This makes sense.
robert blu
quiet photographer
Today at 11 am all thge italians radio stations broadcasted the same music, the italian hymn and three "happy" songs. People were invited to sing together.
We did it and it worked to relax and cancel the tension at least for a short time.
We did it and it worked to relax and cancel the tension at least for a short time.
lynnb
Veteran
I think that's wonderful Robert. I can only imagine the Italians thinking of that - a reflection of the community culture and Italian passion. Would've loved to be in the streets hearing it, if it wasn't for the virus risk.
raid
Dad Photographer
I agree with Lynn. This was a wonderful idea by someone! The Nation sings in harmony across Italia. Things will get better at the end of the tunnel.
peterm1
Veteran
Reflecting for a moment on the title of this thread "Cornavirus economic slowdown and GAS".........
It's pretty clear at this stage that we are not talking about an "economic slowdown". We are instead talking about a full on recession, and most likely a deep one at least for the duration of this crisis and for some time afterward.
The policies now (sometimes belatedly) being implemented and ramped-up in most western countries are to focus on the only thing they can focus on - flattening the upward curve of people contracting coronavirus so as to minimize the impact on hospital facilities and prevent them from being overwhelmed which if (actually probably when) it happens will cost more lives for obvious reasons. Of course the majority of people who will need this will continue to be, we are told, the elderly and already sick. Essentially flattening the curve means social distancing, self isolating, closing borders, reducing travel etc and all the bad things which go with it - especially job losses and the inevitable secondary, flow-on reduction in demand this causes on top of the direct reductions in demand caused by people not travelling, going to restaurants etc (i.e. the people who lose their jobs because other people are not going to restaurants etc are in turn causing more job losses as they are not doing this any more either). All of which means economic pain like we have never experienced in our lives. Even the G.F.C. of 2008 or the 1988 crash were not like this. We were not hiding in our homes..... the streets and shops and cafes and theatres were not empty. And I have never in my life seen an economy in which planes are grounded like they are now and hotels are virtually empty. But now they are.
Absent the advent of a vaccine, flattening the curve does not mean reducing the number of people who will eventually get the disease, it means spreading out the time over which they will get it. And ironically this means lengthening the time in which all people have to suffer economic pain while controls are in place. Eventually this will be over and things will eventually improve (they always do because we live in the real world and people have to do the things that make things better - its in our nature). But in the mean time........
Perhaps treatments like chloroquine which is now being touted as a potentially effective treatment for the disease (albeit largely untested in this strain of coronavirus) will reduce the threat of health system collapse and allow an earlier reduction in the economic pain. It remains to be seen.
Somehow my heart is not in GAS right at this moment.
My thoughts are with you all. Stay safe folks and good luck, I suspect we will all need it - one way or another.
It's pretty clear at this stage that we are not talking about an "economic slowdown". We are instead talking about a full on recession, and most likely a deep one at least for the duration of this crisis and for some time afterward.
The policies now (sometimes belatedly) being implemented and ramped-up in most western countries are to focus on the only thing they can focus on - flattening the upward curve of people contracting coronavirus so as to minimize the impact on hospital facilities and prevent them from being overwhelmed which if (actually probably when) it happens will cost more lives for obvious reasons. Of course the majority of people who will need this will continue to be, we are told, the elderly and already sick. Essentially flattening the curve means social distancing, self isolating, closing borders, reducing travel etc and all the bad things which go with it - especially job losses and the inevitable secondary, flow-on reduction in demand this causes on top of the direct reductions in demand caused by people not travelling, going to restaurants etc (i.e. the people who lose their jobs because other people are not going to restaurants etc are in turn causing more job losses as they are not doing this any more either). All of which means economic pain like we have never experienced in our lives. Even the G.F.C. of 2008 or the 1988 crash were not like this. We were not hiding in our homes..... the streets and shops and cafes and theatres were not empty. And I have never in my life seen an economy in which planes are grounded like they are now and hotels are virtually empty. But now they are.
Absent the advent of a vaccine, flattening the curve does not mean reducing the number of people who will eventually get the disease, it means spreading out the time over which they will get it. And ironically this means lengthening the time in which all people have to suffer economic pain while controls are in place. Eventually this will be over and things will eventually improve (they always do because we live in the real world and people have to do the things that make things better - its in our nature). But in the mean time........
Perhaps treatments like chloroquine which is now being touted as a potentially effective treatment for the disease (albeit largely untested in this strain of coronavirus) will reduce the threat of health system collapse and allow an earlier reduction in the economic pain. It remains to be seen.
Somehow my heart is not in GAS right at this moment.
My thoughts are with you all. Stay safe folks and good luck, I suspect we will all need it - one way or another.
raid
Dad Photographer
I always push aside any thoughts based on GAS when I sense potential financial worries on the horizon. This is the natural thing to do.
I have lived my life as an optimistic person and I believe that things will work out in the end.
I have lived my life as an optimistic person and I believe that things will work out in the end.
Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
At this point, in the 5th/6th largest city in the country, only 2 hours from the largest one, I have RAS. Rights Acquisition Syndrome. Next door in the state of New Jersey, police recently broke up two weddings because more than 10 people were in attendance at each.
While I agree that keeping physical distance is necessary to stem the spread of COVID-19, I also see that every state is enacting similar restrictions at the behest of the president. This has effectively made any sort of social gathering for our most basic right to protest, illegal.
Phil Forrest
While I agree that keeping physical distance is necessary to stem the spread of COVID-19, I also see that every state is enacting similar restrictions at the behest of the president. This has effectively made any sort of social gathering for our most basic right to protest, illegal.
Phil Forrest
farlymac
PF McFarland
Not enough of us Italians around here to have a Flash Mob Sonoro, Robert. But if my neighbors did have one, the folks down the hill might call the police on us for breaking the peace.
Stay well!
PF
Stay well!
PF
lynnb
Veteran
Peter, you are correct. The most effective measures for protecting life during this pandemic are also causing a recession. Financial commentators are saying the world economy is entering uncharted waters as never before have all countries simultaneously put a halt to virtually all economic activity.
Have a look at the weekly jobless stats reported in the NYT. These figures are too recent to appear in the monthly US unemployment statistics. When the monthly stats are published soon, they will push a lot of buttons. Trading algorithms will certainly include labour force statistics.
This is going to be a rough ride for the world economy, it's only to be hoped that governments step in with strong measures early to minimise the damage to their citizens, and take special measures to protect the most vulnerable. I won't go on about whether I think the Australian govt's measures will be adequate.
robert blu
quiet photographer
I fully agree what Peter wrote. Unforuantely in Italy we are experiencing what ahppen when hospitals are overwhelmed. It wil be an hard time.