January 1st was to be a not only the start of a new year, but also a new decade.
I believe most people, including myself, had high hopes for a positive change. For the first few days it was like any normal January. But things progressively got worse and worse.
It started with a flu out break in China. North America started hearing about it in early to mid January. But it started a few weeks before that. This new virus was taking China by storm and millions of people were forced in to quarantine. Soon transportation was stopped. No flights, no trains. Temporary hospitals were popping
up. The virus shut down shops, factories and movie theatres. Anywhere where people gathered was blocked. There were thousands of cases and hundreds of deaths. The virus left China and spread across the world. Countries did not know how to deal with such a quick out break.
In early February, Canada had another problem. A group of First Nations in northern BC had a disagreement about a pipeline that was to be built across its lands. Some wanted it and others did not. As word got out about the quarrel, people took sides. And things escalated fast. Soon people against the pipeline where blocking trains all across the country. The rail companies had to lay people off because no trains were moving. Ships waiting in the harbour for rail supplies were set back at least 2 weeks. This causes a great disturbance in commerce around the country. As the blockades where removed by police and other protestors left, things got back to normal pretty quick and Canadians caught their breath.
But not for long. The virus found its way to North America.
It had spread like wild fire. More and more Jurisdictions have reported more and more cases. Now in mid March, it has been declared and epidemic. NBA, NHL, MLB, and NCAA have postponed or canceled their seasons. Governments are limiting travel. the Church has come out and made serious changes to the April general conference. This year there will be no participation physically in the conference centre or in church buildings. Only via satellite will it be broad cast.
Now as this escalates, Russia and Saudi Arabia have had a disagreement about oil production. The Saudis wanted to lower output because of the decrease in travel and such due to covid-19. Russia disagreed and would not join in on curtailments. The Saudis then changed their mind and stated they will flood the market with record production. This caused UAE and other nations to join, which caused the price of oil to drop from 50$/bbl to around 30$/ bbl. Good for consumers, not good for companies and folks who like to work.
Now let’s be realistic. Covid-19 is a variation of the flu. It is highly contagious and effects the elderly, smokers, and immune deficiency folks the worst. Not one death under 10 yrs old. Very few below 20. So many will recover. The oil market has always had ups and downs, but investors are shying away from such volatility.
The rest of the stock market has been hit really hard as major sell offs continue to plague markets.
I have not even written a hundredth part of what has happened and the effects of all of it. It has been devastating.
It’s only March, and there is a lot of days left of 2020. We can only hope that there is a recovery in the summer to bring back hope and optimism.
