How far will life in the US be altered as a result of Covid-19?

On Thursday Major League Baseball and National Hockey League joined the National Basketball Association in suspending league play. Nascar also cancelled its event this weekend in Miami.

College basketball’s March Madness tournament cancelled its tournament as well Thursday afternoon.

I am now wondering what the Sports section of newspapers will look like.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a ban of gatherings of more than 500 people in the state and if a venue is allowed to hold less than 500, then the new limit is half of the old legal limit.

All Broadway productions are going dark until April 12, the producers guild announced Thursday.

As many employers set up systems so employees can work from home, will public transportation shut down or be cut back dramatically? We already see empty NYC subway stations and train cars.

There are other countries that are staggering the workday in order to alleviate crowded public transportation.

Many Christian churches have altered their mass to allow parishioners to forego shaking hands as a sign of peace and are not using a community wine chalice. Will all religious ceremonies have to be curtailed before the pandemic dies off? I’m not sure if New York State’s crowd ban will be used in houses of worship, while other countries such as Poland have banned churchgoing outright.

On Wall Street we are seeing panic selling with Dow 2,000 point selloffs becoming a daily occurrence. I’m not a financial advisor but I can point out some of my own trading philosophy.

All the trillions that have come out of the stock market in the last two weeks has to go somewhere. If it’s in the bond market or cash it will come back into equities once these large investors feel a floor is in for the market.

Trying to time the market of when to get out or jump in for individual investors is not a profitable game plan. Leaving your money in the market is the only way to catch the entire rise in the markets once investors feel confident.

That confidence will probably come from the Federal Reserve with a rate cut and additional overnight liquidity.

So to answer my opening question, I guess plenty will change for the time being. But it should be over in short order.

We just need valid information on Covid-19 so each of us can make a risk assessment for ourselves.