The Week in Business: It Was All About the Coronavirus
The Week in Business: It Was All About the Coronavirus
I’m going to do my taxes this week. There, I said it. Maybe now I’ll actually follow through. Or I’ll spend the week wandering from supermarket to supermarket, stocking up on canned soup. The coronavirus has been rattling the business world since January, but this week was different: It sent the markets tumbling and now seems poised to disrupt every aspect of American life. Maybe we’ll all end up doing our taxes from the safety of a bunker. — David Yaffe-Bellany
What’s Up? (Feb. 23-Feb. 29)
Stock Market Plunges
As cases of the coronavirus spread around the globe, stock markets entered a seven-day meltdown, with analysts issuing new warnings that the outbreak could drag down economies around the globe. The market losses last week were the largest since the financial crisis in October 2008, even as the Federal Reserve sought to assure investors on Friday that the American economy remained strong. For some companies, however, the apocalypse has been good for business: Investors are betting that people will load up on Clorox wipes and Campbell’s soups.
A New Bob at Disney
After delaying his retirement several times, Bob Iger abruptly stepped down as chief executive of Disney on Tuesday. (No, he’s not running for president: “It’s a little late for that,” he said.) He will be replaced by Bob Chapek, or Bob C, as he’s known in the halls of Disney. But the shared given name is where the similarities end. Mr. Iger is a larger-than-life personality who had a successful career in television before he became chief executive in 2005. Mr. Chapek is a quiet and efficient operator with almost no experience in television. He has spent most of his nearly three decades at Disney working in less flashy businesses like consumer products.
