Stresses, known and unknown

Global financial market stress driving market volatility; economic impact of coronavirus and drop in oil prices remain uncertain

Global markets are in turmoil. Some volatility is normal: Existential issues generally crop up every year or two, causing the “buy on dips”  philosophy to be questioned for long enough, to cause a sell-off in risky assets. But the speed and quantum of price changes seen over the past month remind many of the turbulent months a decade back. There appear to be three big questions financial markets are struggling to answer, and, as always, it is the uncertainty in quantifying their impact that is more troubling than the problems themselves. The first is the impact of coronavirus on global