Covid strikes again

The surge in new infections, despite its huge scale, has not led to the kind of panic as was seen in the spring. This has been evident in how the stock markets are behaving. There’s little chance of the sort of index meltdown we saw in February and March. In fact, some reputable investment banks have been suggesting that the indexes would have collapsed anyway, even without the coronavirus. Nonetheless, investors are still in something of a pandemic-induced panic, as was best demonstrated by the market’s sharp reaction when Donald Trump became infected. Investors are also worried by the upcoming US presidential election, with a victory for Joe Biden in October now looking more likely than the re-election of Donald Trump. The question of whether US economic policy is set to change hangs heavily in the air, not only when it comes to economic stimulus and taxation, but also in terms of US relations with China, which have proven to be crucial over the last few years. The Asian