The slowdown started prior to covid-19, however it will be interesting to see how the overlay of the bursting of the huge post-2008 asset bubble personified by wework and a natural disaster which simply stops the global economy cold for a few months works out. One may obscure the other.
We may find markets and economies bounce back relatively quickly (within a year) because the perception of danger has passed.
All the normal rules of monetary and fiscal policy have been thrown out, and assets may well be inflated again in short order by the truly astounding levels of money pouring into the system across the globe. The US government is actually employing the helicopter money concept people used to joke about. We live in interesting times.
I think that as far as internet businesses are concerned, they're going to recover quickly and become stronger than ever. Social distancing is showing a lot of people the usefulness of the internet and I think that this is going to create a larger market in the future since more people are willing to rely on services provided online.
Re:Exit unicorns, pursued by bears
by Apocryphon on Tuesday April 07, 2020 @12:55PM
(#22804976)
Isn't there some sort of limit to the Fed's endless free money printing machine? Doesn't inflation or some other negative consequence kick in eventually?
You would think so yes. Normally this might trigger a crisis of confidence and sharp inflation but a) the rest of the world is doing it too, b) the USD is the world's reserve currency, c) we may suffer deflation due to the recession and fall in demand if it is long lasting.
It's hard to predict the consequences.
Yet here we are. I'm quite sure some who genuinely believe the coming recession is purely due to Covid-19 and not an inevitability that has been years in the making. I don't know what I would say to those people, I think they might be beyond convincing.
Anyway after a couple of painful years I'm sure we'll be able to watch the recovery and the beginnings of the next boom/bust cycle unfold right here on HN.