Are We Headed for Another Stock Market Crash?

The daily headlines continue to bombard us with a steady stream of terrifying news on the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the novel coronavirus popped up back in January, it has wrought unspeakable havoc on multiple countries and the global economy. Stock markets around the world have swooned as entire industries such as airlines, tourism, and hospitality have suffered staggering losses due to lockdowns and restrictions on movement.

Retailers lament a drop in the number of customers shopping in malls, while social distancing measures limit the number of diners within cafes and restaurants. And even companies that have not been in the direct line of fire have suffered knock-on effects. Although the latest Bureau of Labor statistics showed that the core U.S. unemployment rate fell from 10.2% to 8.4% in August, the number of jobless people actively looking for work still stood at a staggering 13.6 million.

With the pandemic situation growing steadily worse in countries such as India, and rebounding upward again in Europe after some successes at containment, the possibility looms that many countries will have to return to lockdown conditions. Some already have done so. Is another market crash on the horizon?

Source Fool.com