Potential POSITIVE effects of corona virus

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https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/07/b...ion/index.html

I'm not sure if index fund threads are kept somewhere else on the forum, but potentially good news for the Global Robotics and Automation Fund later in the year (BOT), a few excerpts from the article:

"Brain Corp., which supplies autonomous floor-scrubbing robots to grocers, said it saw a 13% jump in the usage of its robots at stores in March compared to a year ago. Grocers staying open during the crisis have shortened their hours to allow for deep cleaning overnight.

Walmart (WMT), the country's largest retailer and private employer, will have Brain Corp's self-driving robots in 1,860 of its more than 4,700 US stores by the end of the year. It will also have robots that scan shelf inventory at 1,000 stores and bots at 1,700 stores that automatically scan boxes as they come off delivery trucks and sort them by department onto conveyer belts by the end of the year."

"At a handful of Schnucks Markets stores in the Midwest, Tally, an autonomous robot, scans shelves to alert employees when products are out of stock or labeled incorrectly, said Brad Bogolea, CEO of Simbe Robotics, which developed the robot.
"This massive surge in demand was a major shock to most retailers' inventory counts," said Bogolea. The robot has been helping workers restock items on shelves by giving them real-time data on which items are out, he said."

[Blue Skies]

US equities surge on news Bernie Sanders dropped out of Democratic race leaving Joe Biden the presumptive nominee.

Has to be v helpful to NZ exporters & our economy to have Bernie's anti free trade, protectionist policies out of the way.

[sb9]

US equities surge on news Bernie Sanders dropped out of Democratic race leaving Joe Biden the presumptive nominee.

Has to be v helpful to NZ exporters & our economy to have Bernie's anti free trade, protectionist policies out of the way.

Looks like another decent day on course for NZX with DOW now up more than 700 points..would be nice finish for the upcoming long weekend.

[BlackPeter]

US equities surge on news Bernie Sanders dropped out of Democratic race leaving Joe Biden the presumptive nominee.

Has to be v helpful to NZ exporters & our economy to have Bernie's anti free trade, protectionist policies out of the way.

Problem is, we still have Trumps anti free trade protectionist policies in the way ;

[steveb]

but surely they would not vote trump in for another 4 years!

[blackcap]

but surely they would not vote trump in for another 4 years!

I think they will. His approval is increasing (as it does during these crisis) and he is currently the market favourite to be elected again. Biden is not a credible or candidate that inspires. That said I think someone else is going to take Biden's place at the convention.

[dobby41]

I think they will. His approval is increasing (as it does during these crisis) and he is currently the market favourite to be elected again. Biden is not a credible or candidate that inspires. That said I think someone else is going to take Biden's place at the convention.

Is there someone else to take Biden's place? I thought he was IT now that Bernie has stood aside?

[clip]

I think they will. His approval is increasing (as it does during these crisis) and he is currently the market favourite to be elected again. Biden is not a credible or candidate that inspires. That said I think someone else is going to take Biden's place at the convention.

I do too, as bad as trump is, there's really nobody more 'votable' than him, especially not Biden. Can you imagine the young and the ethnic turning out in droves to vote for an old, rich, sometimes-seemingly-senile, white man? Doubt it.

[BlackPeter]

but surely they would not vote trump in for another 4 years!

Probably not the right discussion for this thread - however a bit of reality can never hurt.

Coronavirus makes not just sick but as well stupid. Americans well might re-elect Trump. His approval ratings are close to their peak - currently around 44.6%. His disapproval rating just 50% ... and given the skewed US election system this would be enough to get him hold on power.

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com...roval-ratings/

[Bobdn]

The overreaction of government's around the world and the resultant steep decline in markets have enabled me to deploy cash that I had built up over the last year back into the market. That's positive for me. Now, it could be that the worst depression the world has ever seen comes out of this and I lose all my money, only time will tell. If that happens, that will be a negative and I'll need to post it on the other thread.

Australia has on average 1500 to 3000 influenza deaths each year. Covid has taken 50 souls so far.

New Zealand has on average 400- 500 influenza deaths each year. Covid has taken the life of one person so far.