The contrast seems rather unpalatable. Hundreds of thousands dead, millions infected, national economies closed down. The last 2 weeks have also seen what feel like era defining protests across the modern world aimed at correcting centuries of injustices. Are markets "seeing through" future risks or simply being inflated by central bank largesse? Are markets even functioning in any rational manner any more? Do you stay on the train to avoid missing out on a Fed backstopped boom? Or look to the fundamentals of where the next 12 months will see us? Or is this the same thing....
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Soaring Stocks in the Midst of a Crisis
The contrast seems grotesque. A deadly pandemic has shut down the global economy and left millions of workers furloughed, fired, or stranded without gigs. The future for most businesses looks uncertain to dismal. Yet U.S. stock indices are near all-time highs, at giddy valuations comparable to the 2000 dot-com bubble and 1929. Foreign Policy researched but could not find a moment in financial history that remotely resembles today—so we asked a panel of leading experts to help us make sense of the markets, and what their state tells us about the economy and society going forward.