For a while now I have been bearish to say the least, on how the markets have been going up without any real logical reason. In reality there were so many negative warning signs around. As we head into this financial crisis we have to understand that we were already living an unrealized crisis throughout the world.
We were sinking deeper into a worldwide crisis hole with no core values which was started by Trump and deepened further by other leaders which Trump supported because they shared similar nationalistic views. This ultimately resulted in a quick destruction of years of cooperation between countries. Governments and business leaders from developed countries to the developing world jumped onto this band wagon of debt based growth which further contributed to this perfect financial storm of overvalued markets.
We have put profit and stock market rises above long term and fair distribution of wealth and resources. We have allowed the rich to get richer and encouraged the poor and middle class to consume above their means so that they have to work harder and thereby contributing both by consumption and production to the rise of stock markets. Governments have further fueled the fire by approving unnecessary tax cuts and incentives whose sole intention was the continued increase in market valuation, irrespective of the worrying fundamentals.
Investors and institutions simply believed that this is the new market and it will not come to an end even though they couldn’t explain the exaggerated bullish sentiment. It’s a problem when leaders believe their success is measured solely on stock market increases and not on how their population is really doing on the ground. With a disappearing middle class and a growing income gap, the reality is that economically the USA and most of the developed world wasn’t really looking as good as Governments led us to believe. History is a funny thing, it always seems to repeat itself. I guess it stands true that in the end, after all, we are only human and are doomed to keep making the same assumptions and mistakes as previous generations did but we always expect different results just as they themselves did.
We can’t now simply blame Coronavirus as we were throwing Gasoline on the fire way before its arrival. Coronavirus is the final and yes vital symptom to our deeper sickness. A sickness that made us self centered as countries and as individuals as we only seemed to want to make ourselves and own countries Great again. We knew the benefits that mutual cooperation and cross border and cultural interests had brought us.
However we decided to elect and support leaders who lie, have dubious track records, lack global vision and simultaneously have low morals to lead humanity into the future. In the end we can only blame ourselves and yet we will have to rely on ourselves to get out of this huge mess. With company profits dropping, low interest rates limiting the response to the crisis, oil prices plummeting and investor sentiment turning negative we are close to panic and this is the build up to the perfect financial market storm….
Actually the perfect financial storm has arrived but fortunately like all storms they will pass, this one however could take longer and be tougher than we ever expected. Tie down the hatchets and hold on tight it’s going to be a bumpy ride.