{"id":1799,"date":"2020-03-05T14:12:53","date_gmt":"2020-03-05T14:12:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/?p=1799"},"modified":"2026-02-17T21:48:56","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T21:48:56","slug":"coronavirus-uncertainty-framing-the-situation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/fr\/coronavirus-uncertainty-framing-the-situation\/","title":{"rendered":"Coronavirus Uncertainty – Framing the Situation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many are concerned that a new strain of coronavirus that has\nravaged China may prompt the recession we have been expecting for so long,\nspreading globally and forcing factories to shut down, consumers to stay home\nand businesses to shrink operations. The concern has led to a newsworthy sell\noff in equity markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During times like these it can be easy to succumb to the\nfear currently roiling the markets, but while the coronavirus<\/a>\nremains a threat in the short-term, we hold our positions for the long-term.\nThat is not to say concerns around the virus are unwarranted; from a health\nperspective it is important to treat the situation with caution, but this is\nnot the first crisis we have encountered as investors over the last decade, and\nit won\u2019t be the last, yet here we remain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, some of you may have questions as to how bad things\ncurrently are and why markets have been hit so hard, so let\u2019s take a moment to\nprovide a better understanding of the impact of the coronavirus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We will start with what we know about the virus. Since its\ndiscovery late last year, we have seen roughly 96,713 confirmed cases of the\ncoronavirus, or COVID-19 (COVI for coronavirus, D for disease and 19 for 2019),\nthe majority of which are in China. The disease has, however, reached a total\nof 65 countries and caused 3,303 deaths around the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While we have been aware of COVID-19 for a few months now,\nthe sell-off has come on the back of its continuing spread, which has led to\nflight cancellations and factory closures, with many particularly concerned around\nthe prolonged impact the virus will have on China and the U.S. given their\nroles in the global economy. China represents a quarter of global manufacturing\n(we\u2019ve already seen a meaningful impact from supply chain disruptions on\nbusiness activity), and the U.S. represents 43% of the global stock market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adding to the concern are the pre-existing conditions of the\nmarket. Corporate debt is currently high in the U.S., and the operating P\/E ratio\n(a measure of how \u201cexpensive\u201d the S&P500 stock index is) is currently 23.6x,\nabove its long-term average of 15.8x. Both of these factors leave more room for\ncompanies to fall should we experience a downturn, and with interest rates\nalready low, there\u2019s little room for monetary policy to stimulate lending\nactivity (although the Bank of Canada and the Federal Reserve have already cut rates\nby 50bps).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clearly, things don\u2019t look good, but let\u2019s discuss some more\nencouraging information. Firstly, the number of new cases in China has been\nfalling by the day, meaning attempts to control the disease appear to be\nworking. Secondly, a less shared statistic; 53,610 have so far recovered from\nthe disease. This does not mean COVID-19 is not dangerous, but it does help us\nframe the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, COVID-19 may be what pushes us into a recession,\nbut long-term it\u2019s impact will fade, as did that of our past debacles. This is\nthe advantage we have as investors; by focusing on quality companies with solid\nfinancials and operations set to benefit in the long-term, we don\u2019t need to\ngive credibility to the short-term market fears, which we know is incredibly\ndifficult to predict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, the situation calls\nfor vigilance, both in terms of our investments and in terms of our health; medical\nprofessionals advise us to wash our hands thoroughly, avoid touching our eyes,\nnose or mouth, and follow instructions from the respective authorities. The\nbiggest risk for investors right now however is fear, which can often tempt us\ninto carrying out rash or emotion-based decisions rather than focusing our\nefforts on logical investment decisions. In conclusion, our investment team\ncontinues to monitor the potential risks of the coronavirus and we have cash\nreserves that both protect the downside of your portfolio and are available to\ntake advantage of any investment opportunities.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many are concerned that a new strain of coronavirus that has ravaged China may prompt the recession we have been expecting for so long, spreading globally and forcing factories to shut down, consumers to stay home and businesses to shrink operations. The concern has led to a newsworthy sell off [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-miscellaneous"],"yoast_head":"\nCoronavirus Uncertainty - Framing the Situation - Watson Di Primio Steel (WDS)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/fr\/coronavirus-uncertainty-framing-the-situation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Coronavirus Uncertainty - Framing the Situation - Watson Di Primio Steel (WDS)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Many are concerned that a new strain of coronavirus that has ravaged China may prompt the recession we have been expecting for so long, spreading globally and forcing factories to shut down, consumers to stay home and businesses to shrink operations. The concern has led to a newsworthy sell off [\u2026]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/fr\/coronavirus-uncertainty-framing-the-situation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Watson Di Primio Steel (WDS)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/watson-di-primio-steel-wds-investment-management-ltd-\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-03-05T14:12:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-17T21:48:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Richard Coffin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@wdsinvest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@wdsinvest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"\u00c9crit par\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Richard Coffin\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wdsinvest.com\\\/coronavirus-uncertainty-framing-the-situation\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wdsinvest.com\\\/coronavirus-uncertainty-framing-the-situation\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Richard Coffin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wdsinvest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c9f9c7b6746ff469add60b674650c3ab\"},\"headline\":\"Coronavirus Uncertainty – Framing the Situation\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-03-05T14:12:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-17T21:48:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wdsinvest.com\\\/coronavirus-uncertainty-framing-the-situation\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":668,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wdsinvest.com\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Miscellaneous\"],\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/wdsinvest.com\\\/coronavirus-uncertainty-framing-the-situation\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wdsinvest.com\\\/coronavirus-uncertainty-framing-the-situation\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wdsinvest.com\\\/coronavirus-uncertainty-framing-the-situation\\\/\",\"name\":\"Coronavirus Uncertainty - Framing the Situation - Watson Di Primio Steel (WDS)\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wdsinvest.com\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-03-05T14:12:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-17T21:48:56+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wdsinvest.com\\\/coronavirus-uncertainty-framing-the-situation\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/wdsinvest.com\\\/coronavirus-uncertainty-framing-the-situation\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wdsinvest.com\\\/coronavirus-uncertainty-framing-the-situation\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wdsinvest.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Coronavirus Uncertainty – Framing the Situation\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wdsinvest.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wdsinvest.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Watson Di Primio Steel (WDS)\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wdsinvest.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wdsinvest.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wdsinvest.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"WDS - Ottawa Wealth Management\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wdsinvest.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wdsinvest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wdsinvest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/01\\\/favicon.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wdsinvest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/01\\\/favicon.png\",\"width\":32,\"height\":32,\"caption\":\"WDS - Ottawa Wealth Management\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wdsinvest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/watson-di-primio-steel-wds-investment-management-ltd-\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/wdsinvest\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wdsinvest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c9f9c7b6746ff469add60b674650c3ab\",\"name\":\"Richard Coffin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d3e53d0a3e1293a11eff19a818c9adf653479ab954672cab02303afa8f67c65e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d3e53d0a3e1293a11eff19a818c9adf653479ab954672cab02303afa8f67c65e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d3e53d0a3e1293a11eff19a818c9adf653479ab954672cab02303afa8f67c65e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Richard Coffin\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wdsinvest.com\\\/fr\\\/author\\\/rcoffin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Coronavirus Uncertainty - Framing the Situation - Watson Di Primio Steel (WDS)","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/fr\/coronavirus-uncertainty-framing-the-situation\/","og_locale":"fr_FR","og_type":"article","og_title":"Coronavirus Uncertainty - Framing the Situation - Watson Di Primio Steel (WDS)","og_description":"Many are concerned that a new strain of coronavirus that has ravaged China may prompt the recession we have been expecting for so long, spreading globally and forcing factories to shut down, consumers to stay home and businesses to shrink operations. The concern has led to a newsworthy sell off [\u2026]","og_url":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/fr\/coronavirus-uncertainty-framing-the-situation\/","og_site_name":"Watson Di Primio Steel (WDS)","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/watson-di-primio-steel-wds-investment-management-ltd-","article_published_time":"2020-03-05T14:12:53+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-17T21:48:56+00:00","author":"Richard Coffin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@wdsinvest","twitter_site":"@wdsinvest","twitter_misc":{"\u00c9crit par":"Richard Coffin"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/coronavirus-uncertainty-framing-the-situation\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/coronavirus-uncertainty-framing-the-situation\/"},"author":{"name":"Richard Coffin","@id":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c9f9c7b6746ff469add60b674650c3ab"},"headline":"Coronavirus Uncertainty – Framing the Situation","datePublished":"2020-03-05T14:12:53+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-17T21:48:56+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/coronavirus-uncertainty-framing-the-situation\/"},"wordCount":668,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Miscellaneous"],"inLanguage":"fr-FR","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/coronavirus-uncertainty-framing-the-situation\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/coronavirus-uncertainty-framing-the-situation\/","url":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/coronavirus-uncertainty-framing-the-situation\/","name":"Coronavirus Uncertainty - Framing the Situation - Watson Di Primio Steel (WDS)","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-03-05T14:12:53+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-17T21:48:56+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/coronavirus-uncertainty-framing-the-situation\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"fr-FR","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/coronavirus-uncertainty-framing-the-situation\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/coronavirus-uncertainty-framing-the-situation\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Coronavirus Uncertainty – Framing the Situation"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/","name":"Watson Di Primio Steel (WDS)","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"fr-FR"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/#organization","name":"WDS - Ottawa Wealth Management","url":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/favicon.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/favicon.png","width":32,"height":32,"caption":"WDS - Ottawa Wealth Management"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/watson-di-primio-steel-wds-investment-management-ltd-","https:\/\/x.com\/wdsinvest"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c9f9c7b6746ff469add60b674650c3ab","name":"Richard Coffin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d3e53d0a3e1293a11eff19a818c9adf653479ab954672cab02303afa8f67c65e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d3e53d0a3e1293a11eff19a818c9adf653479ab954672cab02303afa8f67c65e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d3e53d0a3e1293a11eff19a818c9adf653479ab954672cab02303afa8f67c65e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Richard Coffin"},"url":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/fr\/author\/rcoffin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1799"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2131,"href":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1799\/revisions\/2131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wdsinvest.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}