Covid-19 will be tamed eventually... (The virus will change things in some ways)

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 Covid-19 will be tamed eventually... (The virus will change things in some ways)

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• A pandemic: Countries are hit by a pandemic they weren't prepared for, forcing lockdowns. The global economy will enter a recession now, and countries forced to announce stimulus plans to battle the economic fallout.
• The world will change: COVID-19 will change the world permanently in some fundamental ways.

1. Need for social distancing - people are now discovering new ways of living and working. Not just IT, but other sectors too are working from home (WFH).
2. Companies think of new ways - for cyber security, totally new approaches are being thought of
3. Virtues of WFH - costs go down, productivity may go up, quality of life rises suddenly, digital meetings are effective enough (Zoom, Skype, Hangouts)
4. Companies may permanently accept WFH as a model (very bad news for real estate players)

• Video entertainment: Once people are addicted to OTT platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime, what will happen to multiplexes? That industry may change.
• Digital payments: These are bound to rise, as people are suddenly forced to go for online banking. Online grocery stores are suddenly seeing huge rise in business volumes.
• Global multilateralism: The strong surge of nationalism in past few years now seedm to be countered by the need for multilateralism, after COVID trouble. This pandemic cannot be controlled otherwise.
• Vaccine needed: Scientists are coordinating across the world to find a vaccine, and doctors from China and Cuba are helping the Italians, in Italy!
• Businesses about to sink: Some businesses may simply collapse in another few months' time, as the pandemic rages. Indian aviation sector may need government support if it is to survive at all. So across the world, stimulus will happen.
• Poor healthcare system: It is clear that all weaknesses of the government healthcare system are now exposed fully, for everyone to see. Sudden new investments won't work if spending as a per cent of GDP has been low steadily. India faces this problem right now. The govt left the healthcare sector for private parties, and that's hurting badly now.
• OPEC: A lot will change on the oil front. US is a big producer of oil, not a leading consumer alone. As Saudis and Russians failed to agree to production cuts, US shale oil producers were hit badly. Most will go bankrupt, forcing the US to force the Russians and Saudis to sit together and work things out! US may actually start working with the OPEC now, rather than against it.
• Summary : Fundamental changes are afoot in global economy, in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

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